Child sponsorship letter from Asunción, Paraguay

An example child sponsorship report from Asunción, Paraguay:

Dear Sponsors,

I'm very pleased to greet you and share with you a little bit of the life at the SOS Children’s Village Asunción. It is our sincere intention to give a general idea of the work carried out here and the opportunities the children and adolescents have thanks to your constant support. We always say that the base to our labor is solidarity, being able to count with and trust people who understand the social meaning and transmit the spirit of SOS Children’s Villages. You as well as others are part of a movement of change and improvement in order to alleviate the unfortunate effects millions of children suffer around the world, and to prevent future social problems. The SOS Children’s Village in Asuncion gives residence to 16 SOS families, formed by 136 children and adolescents. Twenty-five youths are under the Semi-Independent Living care, reaching a more self-reliant stage in their lives.

June is a very busy month when it comes to school. Students are taking the first term exams. The goal as every year is that the children and adolescents obtain high grades so that they can advance to the next term without complications which if not resolved in time end up frustrating the children by the end of the year when they take global exams covering the same content again. If the content is not acquired properly, they go to tutors after classes and reinforce their study hours with their SOS mothers at home.

Some adolescents and young children have obtained very good results already. The School honors them with a certificate and encourages them to keep up the good work. They feel very proud and accomplished; being recognized for their effort builds up their confidence.

It is important to mention as well that the schools provide technical high school programmes designed to prepare youths for a smoother transition to the university and to give them the basic skills to facilitate obtaining their first job. There are high school programmes focused in Basic Sciences (Biology, chemistry, physics), Social Sciences (Anthropology, Ethics, and Sociology), Health, Accountability, Business, Marketing, Informatics and other technical fields like Carpentry or Electricity. Students usually choose the one that most relates to the career they would like to have in the future.

Besides school activities, children and adolescents attend dance classes at academies in Luque and dance classes given by a teacher at the SOS village. Three other youths, experts in this area, help young girls and boys to learn their first dance steps. There are three levels; beginners, intermediate, and advanced. The youths who reach the advance level develop leadership skills and contribute by handling new groups of dancers themselves.  Others form part of the music group where they also receive young children to teach them to play instruments. In Luque, there is a genuine interest in developing the children’s potential in this area.

At the SOS village, everything seems to have become livelier this year. The organization SOS Children’s Village turns 40 years old in Paraguay, and the SOS Children’s Village Asunción turns 27 years old. It was the second village opened. The music band is growing strong and practicing hard with determination and dedication so that they can have a perfect performance at the 40th anniversary concert. The dance group, in the same spirit tries to find new additions to the group, new ideas and creativity to be equally excellent. Just by seeing this, everybody looks forward to a great party and there is much excitement in the air.

Just as some are interested in dance and music; we have a great number of children and adolescents interested in sports as well. Since last year, the foundation Interfutura sponsored by the international soccer club Inter Milan, carries out a soccer school in the area of Zeballos Cué. Twenty-eight children from the SOS village attend this school with the condition that they also keep a good performance and grade average at their schools. It has turned out quite positive for the children as a great motivator and catalyst for waking the children’s interest in learning and appreciating an education. Now they are all very excited because of the tournament between all soccer schools in Asunción. A very nice thing to mention too is that one young man, who grew up at the SOS village, organizes sports activities for the weekends. He finished university and has a B.A in Sports Sciences. With determination and charisma, he gained children’s affection and interest after a few weekends. Everybody looks forward to what he prepares for each encounter. He is very good in directing groups and managing children.

Finally, we have only one more thing left to describe, and this is the immense excitement of Paraguay and the SOS village in particular, with the World Cup in South Africa. This sport is a tradition in Paraguay already, and we have read some theories that it was invented by the Guaranies (natives in Paraguay) in the time of the Jesuit reductions. Soccer is all most of our children and adolescents can talk about these days. Everything is colored ALBIRROJO (white and red), and even the little ones enthusiastically learn all the chants, songs and names of the players to cheer for them at every match. Other children hang flags on their bikes and complete their World Cup Sticker Album. At schools, teachers organized a nations’ festival so that all the students can learn about the 32 countries participating in the competitions. They do know how to take advantage of the interest the children have on this event. It is not only recreational but also educative in this sense. They now know about important historical and cultural facts which make everything more exciting when then they see the international players on television.

Dear sponsor, perhaps the anecdotes and experiences of the SOS Children’s Village Asuncion are not extraordinary if you look at them as daily common activities. However, they are quite valuable when considering how many obstacles our children and adolescents have overcome and continue overcoming. We feel honestly glad to be able to tell you that thanks to your solidarity and involvement in the lives of these children we can work to provide them with a good future and strengthen their communities.  

Our best regards and deep gratitude as always,

SOS Children’s Village Asunción