Family strengthening high up in the Andes 

SOS Children's Villages' campaign in Ecuador and Bolivia is based on four components: children, women, families and communities. Regardless of whether they are co-workers at SOS Children's Villages, members of family committees (self-help groups), or representatives from local authorities or other organisations, all those involved work on the basis of these four components. SOS Children's Villages adopts an advisory role in Bolivia and Ecuador.

Co-workers at the SOS Children's Villages are called "facilitadores" (facilitators). They dedicate themselves to the personal development of parents and offer adequate training or advice on bringing up children. This involves "capacitación", i.e., enabling or qualifying those involved so that they can improve their lives as much as possible themselves. In addition, co-workers at SOS Children's Villages ensure that the family committees exchange experiences.

Cobblestones of Imbabura

The road to SOS Social Centre Imbabura (2,600 metres above sea level) is still partly made up of natural cobblestones. If these stones could talk, they would tell the traditional stories of the fights of long-established groups of people against the Inca immigrants. Lake Imbabura is still known as "Yahuarcocha", the Lake of Blood. However, the cobblestones of this hilly region in northern Ecuador could tell much more about another fight: the struggle of local farming and fishing families against poverty.

An SOS Social Centre, which is actually known as the "Centro Comunitario" (community centre), was set up in 2004 in El Apagate district for families such as these. The centre is a two-storey building with a sunny courtyard and a small outhouse and serves as a day-care centre for children up to the age of six. The furniture, teaching materials and all other equipment for the daily care of children were purchased with local donations. Nine caregivers look after 97 children whilst their parents go to work.

The community centre also serves as a counselling point for parents. SOS Children's Villages supports the family committee in organising its activities, gives active support with regard to enforcing children's rights, supporting single mothers, working with communities and with other organisations.

The first signs of success are apparent, such as with Margarita, a mother of three who took part in events at the community centre and is now working in a nearby food-production factory: "My children behave much better now. They argue a lot less. I've learnt how to cook more healthy meals for my children at cookery classes. I'd like to open my own business, so I'm saving up," says Margarita.

A neighbour, Jeanette, was subjected to violence from her husband and wasn't taking very good care of their two children. She, too, can vouch for the centre's work: "With the support of the community centre I've got over my family crisis. In the mornings I work as a maid in a house. In the afternoons I help my husband to make bricks."

The Portoviejo community centre is in the province of Manabí, which lies on the coast of the Pacific Ocean around 350 kilometres southwest of Imbabura. It is the central point of a network of relationships between 200 families, local authority representatives from ORI ("Operación Rescate Infantil" or Operation Child Rescue) and those who work at SOS Children's Villages.

The centre, which has been open since 2004, is located in an area full of migrants. The settlement is often the scene of social conflict (taxi drivers do not like to go there after 5 p.m.). However, it is precisely for this reason that it is an important location for families seeking help, mainly because the community centre is easily accessible for mothers and children. It is already seen as a model and ORI likes to refer to its events as specific examples of ways of strengthening families and educating communities.

Carmencita, Bolivian, three years old...

In Bolivia, where just 30% of children under the age of six are registered at a kindergarten or a similar educational establishment, thousands of children share the same fate as three-year old Carmencita*, who lives with her grandmother whilst her biological sister grows up with their father. One day her mother just disappeared.

Carmencita currently attends the "Doña Ilda" community centre in Tarija, in the south of the country. The centre, which is part of the family strengthening programme, is run in cooperation with the state organisation PAN ("Programa de Atención a la Niñez" or Attention to Childhood Programme). Some of the factors which determine whether someone is accepted into the programme include the family's income, the child's health, the parents' status and any other aspects requiring urgent assistance. Parents receive advice on how they can improve their own lives and how to give their children a healthy upbringing. They have to take active steps towards self-sufficiency and must be aware of their responsibilities.

A large SOS Social Centre in Tarija coordinates a network of community centres in and around town, caring for 1,500 families with around 2,000 children. Those families taking part earn an income from small, informal jobs. The men often work as builders and the women work as maids or casual workers, or make products from clay or textiles and sell them at the market. There are also plans for these families to be able to obtain grain so that they can engage in agricultural activities.

In El Alto (3,800 m above sea level), an SOS Social Centre is the focal point for a network of 42 community centres, and cares for around 1,600 children. El Alto is a satellite town that was formed ten years ago during a mass migration from the city. For the families who receive support, taking responsibility and actively participating are part of the concept of social life in a town where almost everyone is a "migrant in his or her own country". Many parents need assistance in learning about their rights (i.e., their rights as people in relation to the authorities or employers, as well as their children's rights) so that they can also exercise those rights if necessary.

* For privacy reasons, we have changed the girl's name.