Field report from Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Charity field report from Santa Cruz, Bolivia from the Programme Director, Guido Pecho:

It is seven in the evening at Villa Esperanza, a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Santa Cruz in Bolivia. Rosario has a little rest while she attentively looks after her boys and two little girls that her neighbour Gonzalo has left in her care while he is at work. Gonzalo has tried to find a day-care place for his daughters but it has not proved to be easy and he has to leave the children with Rosario until he manages to find care for them. Although she is exhausted, Rosario patiently waits for the father of the two little girls to return.

This is not the first time Gonzalo has promised to be on time but has come late. Even though this is not easy for Rosario, she is aware of the difficulties her neighbour’s family faces. When his wife died a year ago, Gonzalo was left alone with the responsibility for the girls. The bricklayer often had to work overtime which forced him to lock up his daughters in their rented room - even though he was aware of the dangers this implied.

The story of Rosario and Gonzalo is just an example of the everyday reality at Villa Esperanza. This reality is the reason that people in the communities are increasingly asking for their children to go to the SOS Children’s Villag.

A spiral of poverty
Villa Esperanza - District 12 - is one of the poorest of Santa Cruz. It was created in 1995 and consists of 54 neighbourhoods with over 81,000 inhabitants. Over the last ten years, a population growth of 500% has been registered which is mainly due to urban-rural migration, illegal settlements and migration from other regions of the country.

The spiral of poverty ends in crowded living conditions and a lack of basic services. Although the inhabitants of Villa Esperanza have a strong fighting spirit and hope for better days, the fact that they are rural migrants puts them at a disadvantage on the labour market. A low income, exploitation, starting work at an early age and family disintegration seem to be the price they have to pay for looking for a better life in the city.

Supported by experience

In response to this situation, SOS Children has decided to work with communities, authorities and other organisations to define strategies to help the children and young people in District 12.

Our experience from the last four years of work in the SOS Social Centres and SOS Family Strengthening Programmes has revealed an inadequate infrastructure and a lack of support from the community. The established work with the community and government organisations has now, however, allowed us to develop strategies for restoring the rights of children. The aim is to develop a concept that asserts the rights of children while empowering and supporting families and communities in protecting children by safeguarding their rights. Accordingly, quality assurance measures have been developed to establish co-operation with all stakeholders to provide social support systems for children and their families.

The proposal
In this sense, we focus on the development of children in a family-based environment and try to provide an effective solution that is adapted to the situation of each child and young person. A comprehensive analysis of the situation of children and their families is the first step that needs to be taken to identify the measures that need to be taken to for ensure that the rights of children are restored. The basis of our measures is the well-being of children.

Every child and/or adolescent who cannot count on protection from his or her family should be able to grow up and develop in an SOS family. Nevertheless, the biological families are always considered the most important partners in the education of the children and young people. The main characteristics of this model are:

• A family-based environment. This is based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which describes the family as “… the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members and particularly children…” The aim is to ensure that every child grows in a family that takes care of him or her, as this is the most effective and sustainable means to ensure that the rights of children are exercised.
• An integral focus. In order to allow for the best possible development of each child, he/she receives the opportunities and support required to exercise his/her rights in a respectful, loving and safe environment. Within this environment, the well-being of the child is the guiding principle for all decisions.

Within this context, three strategies are applied:

• Strengthening of families at risk of separation to ensure that the children remain protected.
• Training of foster families in the communities to offer temporary care for children.
• Provision of long-term care in SOS families for children who have either lost their parents or whose parents cannot care for them due to a crisis situation.

Next steps and expected results

What lies ahead of us? The next steps that need to be taken in this project are:

• Gaining financial support to implement the programme (the family-based care services)
• Establishing work with the community to involve it in the development of the programme
• Opening of new community centres and increased community participation, as necessary
• Identification of families from the community who will be trained and supported to offer short-term care for children who temporarily cannot live with their parents.

As a goal, the District 12 families who participate in the programme should recognise children and young people as rights holders. Furthermore, we must ensure that the rights of children and young people are exercised. The children, young people and parents should fully develop their skills to gain adequate self-esteem and promote gender equity in their family life.

They will all be supported by organised communities whose work is based on a vision of social development and who are able to take responsible decisions that have an impact on public policies. That is the result that we want to achieve with our new challenge in Bolivia.

And if we manage to succeed, people like Gonzalo will eventually get the support they need and will know that their sons and daughters are in good care.

SOS Children has been working in Bolivia since 1968 and nine unique children's villages (El Alto, Jordan, Mallasa, Oruro, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Sucre, Tarija and Tiquipaya) caring for more than 1,100 children. In addition, many community based projects including this programme support a further 10,000 children and families throughout Bolivia.

You can support children in Bolivia by sponsoring a child.