Photo: A. Gabriel
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The activities of SOS Children's Villages in Carahue already started in the year 2000, when central and southern Chile were struck by heavy thunderstorms. SOS Children's Villages started a relief programme for 200 families in the small city some 50 km south-west of Temuco, through which means were provided for people to purchase corrugated sheet roofs.
The majority of the 25,000 inhabitants of Carahue live in rural areas and about 10,000 live in the city. The entire region of La Araucanía is one of the poorest of the country, approximately 27% of the population live in extreme poverty.
The SOS Social Centre is meant to help improve the living conditions of families. On the one hand, parents will be relieved through the day-long child and youth care provided by child education professionals, where children and youths will be involved in various activities.
On the other hand, mothers will be offered further training tailored to their needs. The SOS Social Centre includes two rooms for babies and four classrooms for the different age groups. A total of 140 children between the ages of 0 to 15 can be cared for there. Training programmes for up to 120 mothers will be offered in a large training hall.
In addition, the centre accommodates a medical station, in which paediatric examinations and dental treatments are carried out, and a small pharmacy, in which medication can be provided.