SOS Social Centres in Peru

In Peru there are currently 14 Social Centres for children and the local community, including those in Ayacucho, Huancayo and Callao.  Many SOS Social Centres operate via Family Strengthening Programmes, which aim to support the wider community.  Below is some information about some of the Social Centres that SOS Children runs in Peru:

SOS Social Centres around Peru: In-Depth

Callao

Description of SOS Social Centre/FSP:

The SOS Social Centre is open to the local community. Its programmes have been specially adapted to the people's needs. The main aim is to alleviate hardship and thereby prevent destitute families from abandoning their children. The SOS Social Centre runs a day-care facility where pre-school children are looked after during the whole day. This makes it possible for the children's mothers, most of whom are single mothers, to go to work and make a living for themselves and for their children. In addition to that, the SOS Social Centre offers information workshops and evening classes for adults, and provides basic health care to destitute people.

The SOS Social Centre consists of several day-care rooms with specially equipped rooms for infants, a dining hall, a kitchen with a pantry, and a laundry. It includes classrooms for evening classes, offices for administration, a meeting room, the caretaker's flat and a store-room. A paediatrician and a dentist have their offices at the Centre, and there is a waiting room for their patients. The nurse who works at the centre also distributes medicine. All in all, about 520 people benefit from the various programmes of the Social Centre each day.

Cuzco

Description of SOS Social Centre/FSP:

An SOS Social Centre was opened in March 2003. It is open to the people from the neighbourhood and offers programmes that have been specially adapted to the needs of local community. Its main aim is to alleviate hardship and thereby prevent families from abandoning their children. The SOS Social Centre runs a day-care centre, where up to 120 pre-school kids can be looked after. This gives the children's mothers, most of whom are single mothers, the possibility to go to work and to make a living for themselves and their children.

Work and Achievements:

The Family Strengthening and Community Development Program Cusco assisted a total population of 928 children coming from 822 families.

Several activities for the promotion and defense of Children Rights were carried out in cooperation with the Committee for the Protection of Children and Adolescent Rights. Workshops, parades, and the exhibition of educational material related with children rights took place in cooperation with the Roundtable against Family Violence. 100% of the children got access to the first grade in local primary schools with good records. 79 children (9% of the population assisted) were supported through the services of the Big Sibling Program. Considerable improvement in their academic performance was observed as a result.

Huancayo

Description of SOS Social Centre/FSP:

The SOS Social Centre is open to the local community. Its programmes have been specially adapted to the people's needs. The main aim is to alleviate hardship and thereby prevent families from abandoning their children. The centre runs a day-care facility where pre-school children are looked after during the whole day. This enables the children's mothers, most of whom are single mothers, to go to work and make a living for themselves and their children. Apart from that, the SOS Social Centre offers information workshops and evening classes for adults, and provides basic medical care to destitute people. All in all, up to 200 people benefit from the programmes of the SOS Social Centre each day.

Zarate

Description of SOS Social Centre/FSP:

Two SOS Social Centres have been set up in town, SOS Social Centres Caraballyo and Huáscar. Both are open to the local community. Their programmes have been specially adapted to the needs of the people. The main aim is to alleviate hardship and thereby prevent families from abandoning their children. Both SOS Social Centres run day-care centres, where pre-school children are looked after. This makes it possible for the children's mothers, most of whom are single mothers, to go to work and make a living for themselves and their children. The SOS Social Centres also offer evening classes and training for adults, and they provide destitute people with basic medical care. All in all, up to 500 mothers and children benefit from the programmes of the two SOS Social Centres.

Chiclayo

Description of SOS Social Centre/FSP:

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.

Arequipa

Description of SOS Social Centre/FSP:

SOS Social Centre Arequipa consists of a child-day-care centre and a health-care centre. It was opened in mid-2001. There are three group rooms for day care, two rooms for taking care of infants, and one classroom where information and training workshops for local women are held. Up to 140 children and women benefit from the SOS Social Centre programmes each day. The child-care centre enables women to leave their children under the care of trained staff during the day and go to work in order to earn money for their family. The SOS Social Centre also provides basic medical care to destitute people from the neighbourhood. They can see a dentist or a physician.

Ayacucho

Description of SOS Social Centre/FSP:

An SOS Social Centre is part of the SOS Children's Village. The Social Centre has been in operation since January 2006 and focuses on so-called Family Strengthening Programmes. It provides support and child minding to up to 80 mothers and their children who live in extreme poverty. The objectives of the programme are to improve the nutritional condition of the children as well as the income situation of the mothers by training their basic skills, to assure integral health care and to prepare the children to attend kindergartens and schools. The main goal of the programme is to prevent children from being abandoned by their biological relatives due to their difficult social situation.