SOS Children's Village Chiclayo is situated in the city of the same name on the northern Pacific coast, near the Ecuadorean border. Chiclayo is about 780 km from the capital, Lima. The SOS Children's Village has been built on a 4-acre property at a distance of about two kilometres from the city centre. It consists of twelve family houses, where up to 108 children can find a new home.
In addition, there is the village director's house, a house for the so-called SOS aunts (SOS mother trainees or family helpers who support the SOS mothers during their daily work and fill in for them when they are ill or on leave), a community building with rooms for functions and festivities, and an administration and service area.
The SOS Kindergarten inside the SOS Children's Village is also attended by children from the local community. It consists of four classrooms, where up to 88 children can be taken care of.
For up to 18 youngsters from the SOS Children's Village, three SOS Youth Facilities have been set up in town. Young people usually move from the SOS Children's Village to an SOS Youth Facility when they start a vocational training course or go on to higher education. With the support of qualified youth workers, the young people develop realistic perspectives for their future, learn to shoulder responsibility and increasingly make their own decisions. They are encouraged to develop team spirit and build up contacts with relatives and friends, as well as with the relevant authorities and potential employers.
The SOS Social Centre is open to the local community. Its programmes have been specially adapted to the needs of the people living in the area. The main aim is to alleviate hardship and to prevent families from abandoning their children. The SOS Social Centre runs a day-care centre where pre-school children are looked after during the day. Most of their mothers are single mothers; the day-care centre enables them to go to work and make a living for themselves and their children. The SOS Social Centre also offers evening classes for adults and basic medical care.
The centre consists of several rooms for day-care including specially equipped rooms where babies are taken care of, a dining hall and a kitchen. There are classrooms for the evening classes, a pharmacy and an examination room, and offices for the administration. All in all, about 170 people benefit from the various programmes of the SOS Social Centre every day.