Child Sponsorship Background from Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan

SOS Children's Village Cholpon-Ata

The SOS Children's Village was established on a 3.8 hectares plot of land on the outskirts of Cholpon-Ata and its immediate neighbourhood is made up of mainly apartment buildings. Local schools, nursery schools, shops and markets are easily accessible. The official opening ceremony took place in June 2002.

SOS Children's Village Cholpon-Ata comprises twelve family houses, an administration and service area, a sports field and houses for the village director and the SOS aunts (who support the SOS mothers and take care of the children when the mothers are on leave).

Up to 120 children can find a new home in the twelve SOS families and are lovingly cared for by their SOS mothers.

Other SOS Projects in Cholpon-Ata

Additionally, an SOS Nursery School with three class rooms and a capacity to take in up to 75 children was set up. It is open to children both from the SOS Children's Village and from the neighbourhood, which greatly contributes to their integration and to mutual understanding.

An orchard with about 2,000 fruit trees was also laid out. The children helped to clear the territory of stones and to plant the trees. Today, they still help the gardener with watering the orchard and at the same time, they learn about agriculture and plant breeding.

The family strengthening programme offers access to essential services for children’s development (eg. educational, nutritional and health support, social skills) and supports families to protect and care for their children. The programme also aims at linking families with income generating activities and offers help to improve the parents’ parenting skills.

Background to Cholpon-Ata

Cholpon-Ata is a resort town on the northern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan with a population of about 8,000. Lake Issyk-Kul is the second largest mountain lake in the world.