Child Sponsorship background from Concepción, Chile

SOS Children's Village Concepción

SOS Children's Village Concepción, which opened in 1965, was Chile's first SOS Children's Village. It was built on a hill in an area particularly known for the low social status of its inhabitants. The SOS Children's Village consists of 13 family houses in which a total of 100 children can find a new, loving home. It also has a village director's house, a community centre for special events, a library, a sports hall and an administrative unit.

Other SOS Projects in Concepción

Two SOS Nurserys opened at the SOS Children's Village in 1988 and 1989, with a capacity of 116 and 140 preschool children (respectively) from the SOS Children's Village and the neighbouring areas.

There is an SOS Social Centre which is also run as a day-care centre and provides supervision for a further 160 children. The SOS Social Centre has a library, a kitchen with a dining hall, a playground and a sports ground in order to meet the children's need for physical recreation.

In 1986, an SOS Vocational Training Centre opened in Concepción. It is run as a technical school, and its nine classrooms can take up to 290 trainees. In addition to secondary education, theoretical and practical training in the sectors of gastronomy, textiles, electrical engineering and electronics is offered.

Six SOS Youth Homes for the older SOS Children's Village Children were established in Concepción. Up to 64 adolescents from the Children's Villages Bulnes, Concepción, Chaimávida, Coyanco and Puerto Varas can be housed in the SOS Youth Home for the period of their secondary or vocational education, in which a youth educator supervises them as they gradually get used to leading an independent life.

SOS Vocational Training Centre Chiguayante is also located in Concepción. It opened in March 1996, and is a training centre for SOS Children's Village mothers and other staff from SOS Children's Villages Chile. There, up to 53 SOS mothers or employees can receive training in their jobs that have a lot of responsibility or training in another field.