Child Sponsorship background from Malleco, Chile

SOS Children's Village Malleco

SOS Children's Village Malleco opened on 7 December 1981 and is located near to the town of Angol in the southern part of the province Malleco, which is also the homeland of the "Araucan Indians", who are a small ethnic group. Most of Angol's 80,000 inhabitants earn their living as farm workers or commuter to towns that are more than 100 kilometres away. Because both parents often earn the money for the family and there are no suitable childcare facilities, children are often left on their own during the day. They spend their time on the streets, where they are exposed to drugs and youth crime. Temuco is another large town near the SOS Children's Village.

SOS Children's Village Malleco consists of twelve family houses, providing a new loving home for a total of 109 children. It also has a village director's house, a community centre with and administrative unit and function rooms for special events and celebrations, a dental clinic, and a swimming pool. The children from SOS Children's Village Malleco attend local state schools and nurseries.

Other SOS Projects in Malleco

Three SOS Youth Homes were built in urban Angol and Temuco for young people in secondary or vocational education. In the facilities a youth educator monitors them as they gradually get used to leading an independent life.

SOS Social Centre Malleco, which was opened in 1997, is located on 11,250 m² of land in the borough Huequen, just 500 metres away from SOS Children's Village Malleco. The SOS Social Centre is run as a day-care centre and has four classrooms, a multi-purpose hall, a kitchen, a dining room, a clinic for minor emergencies, an administrative unit, and a spacious playground/sports ground. Up to 140 children from the local poor neighbourhoods aged 0-15 can be supervised there. In addition to a balanced meal, the children also receive primary and vocational education. School children are assisted with their homework in the afternoons and get other forms of support. They can acquire handicraft skills at a joiner's and tailor's workshop.