prevent child abandonment

141 Pages·2005·3.54 MB·English

SOS Children’s Villages - Bolivia
Supporting Family and
Community Strengthening to
PREVENT CHILD
ABANDONMENT
The road travelled
Lessons learnt
Challenges and commitments
SOS Children’s Villages Bolivia
Supporting Family and Community
Strengthening to
PREVENT CHILD
ABANDONMENT
Document prepared by:
Ana Ichaso
Revised and validated by:
Heinrich Müller
Nancy Ardaya
Jerry Bustillos
Alfonso Lupo
Special thanks to the directors, staff and participantsin the SOS programmes in Bolivia that contributed
their valuable experiences and stories.
General coordination:
SOS Children’s Villages Bolivia National Office
Calle Méndez Arcos 776, Sopocachi
Tel.: (591) [phone]
Fax.: (591) [phone]
[email protected]
La Paz, Bolivia
Photographs:
Alexander Gabriel, Jaime Cisneros
And SOS programme archives
Layout and Printing:
CENFOTEC Ind. de SOS Children’s Villages
Tel.: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[email protected]
First edition:
July 2005 (700 copies)
CONTENTS
page
PRESENTATION 5
I. WHSOOS W ChEild AreRn’Es VAillNagDes W – HOuAr Tvi sWionE a WndA mNisTsi oTnO ACHIEVE- 7
- The concept and the application of child abandonment prevention 2
- The SOS Children’s Villages child abandonment preventionprog4rammes
5
II. WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED, THE ROAD
TRAVELLED and LESSONS LEARNT
Component 1: Children’s protection and integral development 31
Component 2: Developing and empowering women to protect their 33
children better
Component 3: Developing and empowering vulnerable families to 51
take better care of their children
Component 4: Developing and empowering the community to take 79
better care of and protect their children
- Effects of the child abandonment prevention programmes on the 95
SOS staff
III.WHERE WE ARE HEADING – SOME CHALLENGES 115
and COMMITMENTS.
119
BIBLIOGRAPHY
126
ANNEXES
127
Supporting Family and Community Strengthening to PREVENT CHILD ABANDONMENT 1
“When millions of
people begin to do
more than what we
expect from them, the
good in the world will
begin to be multiplied
considerably.”
Hermann Gmeiner
SOS Children’s Villages Founder
“Preventive work does notcontradict the traditional conceptof SOS Children’s Villages, but
rather should be seen as
complementary. Hermann
Gmeiner’s concept should not
only be put into practice in the
SOS Children’s Villages; we
want all the world’s children tohave a mother, a family, brothersand sisters, a house and a
community.”
Helmut Kutin
President - SOS Kinderdorf International
PRESENTATION
“I wasn’t anybody before and I thought that onlyI had these problems. Now I’m the head of thisFamily Committee and I’ve sorted out a lot of myproblems with the support of female friends who’vegone through the same.”
When I heard this statement made by a woman whoparticipates in the SOS Children’s Villages FamilyStrengthening Programme in Bolivia I was overwhelmed.This proves that the work being carried out in the SOS SocialCentres and Community Homes makes sense, is successfulbecause it is developed in an environment where the womenfeel welcomed, listened to and supported.
This is where women’s rights prevail, where women areempowered, where the children have a quality of life becausetheir mothers believe in their children’s future and their ownlife takes on new meaning.
Our family strengthening programmes support those childrenin vulnerable situations, working with their families andcommunities to avoid these children being abandoned in thefuture because their mothers and fathers are unable toresolve their own problems of exclusion and marginalisationthrough their lack of education and work and productionopportunities.
Congratulations to the SOS – Bolivia teamfor their commitment to all the vulnerablecommunities, families, girls, boys and youngpeople!
Heinrich Müller
General Secretariat for Latin America and the Caribbean
SOS Kinderdorf International
Supporting Family and Community Strengthening to PREVENT CHILD ABANDONMENT 5
Who we are
What we
want to
achieve
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT
WE WANT TO ACHIEVE
The first SOS Children’s Village was founded by Hermann Gmeiner in 1949 in Imst,Austria. It was committed to helping vulnerable children, those who had lost theirhomes, their security and their families as a result of the Second World War. Throughthe support of many donors and staff, our organisation has grown over the years tohelp children in 131 countries around the world.
We carry out actions to benefit the children, by acting as an independentnon-governmental social development organisation. We respectdifferent religions and cultures and we work in countries andcommunities where our mission can contribute to development. Wework in the spirit of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of theChild and promote these rights around the world.
Our organisation pioneered the definition of the family focus in the long-term care oforphaned and abandoned children and child abandonment prevention. We have beenworking in Bolivia for over 36 years.
The SOS Children’s Villages vision: What we want for all thechildren in the world“FOR EACH CHILD TO BELONG TO A FAMILY and GROWUP IN AN ENVIRONMENT OF LOVE, RESPECT and
SECURITY.”
Each child belongs to a family.
The family is the centre ofsociety. Within a family eachchild is protected and enjoys asense of belonging. Here thechildren learn values, shareresponsibilities and set up life-long relationships. A familyenvironment offers them a solidbase on which to build their life.
8 Who we are - What we want to achieve
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT
WE WANT TO ACHIEVE
Each child grows up with love.
Through love and beingaccepted, emotional damage ishealed and children developconfidence. Once more they canbelieve and trust in themselvesand others and so can go on todiscover and use their talents.
Each child grows up
surrounded by respect.
Each child’s opinion is listenedto and taken seriously. Thechildren participate in takingdecisions that affect their livesand they are guided so that theycan be the protagonists of theirown development. The childrengrow up with respect and dignity,appreciated as a member of theirfamily and society.
Each child grows up in safety.
The children are protected fromabuse, abandonment andexploitation, and are protectedin cases of natural disasters andwar. They receive clothing, food,medical attention and education.These are the basicrequirements for the adequatedevelopment of all children.
Who we are - What we want to achieve 9
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT
WE WANT TO ACHIEVE
The SOS Children’s Villages mission: what we do“WE CREATE FAMILIES FOR VULNERABLE CHILDREN,WE SUPPORT THEM AS THEY DEVELOP THEIR OWNFUTURE AND WE PARTICIPATE IN THE DEVELOPMENTOF THEIR COMMUNITIES.”
We create families for childrenwho need them
SOS Children’s Villages worksfor children who, for differentreasons, have lost their familiesor whose families can not takeresponsibility for them. Thechildren are given theopportunity to set up lastingrelationships within a family. TheSOS Children’s Villages FamilyModel is based on fourprinciples: Each child needs amother and grows up morenaturally with brothers andsisters, in their own home, withina Village that supports them.
We support them in forming their own future
SOS Children’s Villages gives the children the possibility of livingaccording to their own culture and religion. They are supported sothat they discover and express their talents, interests and skills.They will receive the education and training that they need to becomeactive, successful members of society.
10 Who we are - What we want to achieve