Sponsor's update from Quito, Ecuador

Child sponsorship update from the SOS Children's Village Quito, Ecuador from Winter 2008.

Dear Sponsors,

We’re very happy to be able to share with you some of the events which occurred this year in our SOS Children’s Village Quito. In this year 2008, we have celebrated 45 years of our foundation. It was a very special anniversary, which we celebrated together with our friends, coworkers and special guests, emphasizing the joy we have to share with many generations the family-based child-care we’ve offered to hundred and hundred of children.

In this year our efforts have been devoted to improve the conditions to reach a good family and community coexistence; through sport, social, recreational and artistic activities we are reaching that goal. The participation of our children and youth has been very satisfactory; they have showed positive energy all the time.

On August, we welcomed three siblings which were separated due to different reasons, after having lost their biological parents. Viviana, Darwin and José Luis found in their SOS mom Susy and in their 5 house siblings, a big and affective family, which have filled them with enthusiasm and joy. Right now, our village cares of 107 girls, boys and youth, in our 12 SOS families.

Our SOS moms’ formation continues with good results. Soon, mom Lourdes will get her diploma as SOS mom, after four years of training and she will get a university certificate from the “Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador”. It has been a long time since we’ve tried to reach this professional recognition, but finally, the training we offer to our organization’s mothers will be materialized in an academic diploma, officially admitted.

In the summer holidays, just like in the past 3 years, we organized the SOS Summer Olympiads with the participation of our village’s children and with the visit of 13 boys and girls from the SOS Children’s Village Cuenca; these sport events, carried out in one week, fill us all of joy and at the same time they’re moments of positive recreation for our children and youth.

Events at Quito, Ecuador

In the last months of this year, we have created the Youth Group in the village. We are working to give them all the necessary tools and the training with the purpose to start with this group, a new Youth Facility on February 2009. With all our youth, we emphasize very important topics for their formation, such as, principles, human values, sexual education, practical workshops and progressively they are being inserted in the job market.

In October we welcomed as the new directress of the team, Dr. Soledad Freire, after having directed for some years the SOS Children’s Village in Portoviejo. We are very happy to have her experience for our village’s development and progress and we’re sure that she will be very successful in her management.

On the other hand, our family strengthening programs continue with their work in benefit of the community and the seven social centers, located in the most impoverished neighborhoods of the city, are taking care of 954 boys and girls. We have also extended our service to more needy people through the 8 childminding programs, where community mothers and the staff (trained by SOS) take care of 405 children. With these efforts, about 900 very poor families of Quito city are being benefited. We support them to improve their life conditions, to relieve their conflicts; we offer them legal consultancy to reach paternity recognition, training about children’s rights, among others. We’re also giving them training to reach their job inclusion.

We work in particular with women (single mothers) with training and formation in microenterprises, which has meant an improvement in their lives’ quality due to the increasing of their income. In conclusion, we work in different areas to reach that every day more and more children can live in positive conditions for their development. Thanks for continue helping us with this responsibility to give all kids in our country, more chances for a better future.

To conclude, we want to say bye sending you and your beloved ones, our best wishes for the coming holidays of Christmas and New Year. May God fill of blessings your homes everyday of year 2009!

A fraternal greeting,
Soledad Freire
SOS Children’s Village Quito Directess