Child Sponsorship background from Arequipa, Peru

SOS Children's Village Arequipa

SOS Children's Village Arequipa was built on a 4-acre property in the west of Arequipa, in a part of town called Cerro Colorado.

It consists of twelve family houses, where up to 108 children can find a new home, the village director's house, a house for the so-called SOS aunts (SOS mother trainees or family helpers who support the SOS mothers during their daily work and fill in for them when they are ill or on leave), a community building with rooms for functions and festivities, an administration and service area, a room for medical treatment, and small tailor's and carpenter's workshops. The children who live at this SOS Children's Village attend state-run schools in the neighbourhood, which helps them to integrate into the local community.

Other SOS Projects in Arequipa

SOS Social Centre Arequipa consists of a child-day-care centre and a health-care centre. It was opened in mid-2001. There are three group rooms for day care, two rooms for taking care of infants, and one classroom where information and training workshops for local women are held. Up to 140 children and women benefit from the SOS Social Centre programmes each day. The child-care centre enables women to leave their children under the care of trained staff during the day and go to work in order to earn money for their family.

The SOS Social Centre also provides basic medical care to destitute people from the neighbourhood. They can see a dentist or a physician. For youngsters from the SOS Children's Village, four SOS Youth Homes have been set up in town.

Young people usually move from the SOS Children's Village to an SOS Youth Home when they start a vocational training course or go on to higher education. With the support of qualified youth workers, the young people develop realistic perspectives for their future, learn to shoulder responsibility and increasingly make their own decisions. They are encouraged to develop team spirit and build up contacts with relatives and friends, as well as with the relevant authorities and potential employers. Up to 32 youngsters can live at the SOS Youth Homes in Arequipa.