Child Sponsorship background in Tela, Honduras

SOS Children's Village Tela

Construction of SOS Children's Village Tela started one year after Hurricane Fifi's (1974)  had caused tremendous damage in the north of the country. This natural disaster brought about 5,000 casualties; over 60.000 people lost their homes. The region around Tela had been severely hit by the hurricane. Many children had lost their parents. As early as 1976, SOS Children's Villages provided homeless children and families with provisional shelter. In 1977, SOS Children's Village Tela opened its gates. 

SOS Children's Village Tela is situated in the district of Venecia, about 4 km from Tela's city centre. It consists of twelve family houses, the village director's house, staff accommodation and an administration and service area. Up to 108 orphaned and abandoned children can find a new home at the SOS Children's Village. The 8 hectare area also houses a little farm, which serves mainly to provide the families with vegetables and meat.

Other SOS Projects in Tela

Since its beginnings, SOS Children's Village Tela has grown, and numerous additional facilities have been added. In 1984, Tela's SOS Nursery opened its doors. It has quite a good reputation and there is a big demand for its places. In 2005, this facility was transformed into an SOS Social Centre including a day-care centre. Furthermore, the social centre organises child-minding programmes together with mothers and families of the local community. 

When boys and girls grow up and start a vocational training course or go on to higher education, they move to the SOS Youth Home in order to prepare for independent living. The SOS Youth Home in Tela consists of 12 houses where SOS youths live together in a semi-independent way. With the support of qualified youth workers, the young people develop realistic perspectives for their future.

Background to Tela

Tela is a town in Honduras on the northern Caribbean coast of the department of Atlantida.  Based in the Gulf of Honduras, the town became an important port in the early 1900s as headquarters of the Tela Railroad Company, later the United Fruit Company whose Honduran headquarters was there until 1970.  The town's long dock burned down in 1994.  A hasty replacement, opened in January 1995, collapsed due to high winds, and the remnant is now used for fishing.  At that point the town had an extensive rail yard, and trains used to run all the way out to the dock.  The population is around 30,000.