A hug between mother and child at Children's Village Paraíba,…

A hug between mother and child at Children's Village Paraíba, Brazil.

Here are some facts I found about the SOS Children's Village Paraíba where this lovely scene of mother and child took place. 

The activities of SOS Children's Villages in Brazil date back to the late 1960s. In spite of economic growth, which lasted into the early 1970s, many people were living in poverty back then. Therefore, SOS Children decided to become active in Brazil. By 1970, the first three SOS Children's Villages in Brasilia, Porto Alegre and Poà near São Paulo had been completed, and the first children had moved in. The Brazilian economic crisis during the 1980s led to extremely high inflation, which lasted for many years; as a consequence, the social situation of the poor deteriorated even more. This is one of the reasons why numerous additional SOS Children's Villages have been set up all over the country.

In order to support children who are ready to leave school on their way to becoming independent, many SOS Facilities have been established. Teenagers move there when they start vocational training or go on to higher education, and are assisted in their job search later on. In addition, SOS Social Centres (day-care centres, nurseries and crisis intervention centres) have been established. While SOS nurseries are attended by children from both the SOS Children's Villages and the local community, day-care centres provide full day care for children of working parents and single mothers. Since the state-run child-care centres and youth welfare authorities often cannot cope with the large numbers of destitute children, crisis intervention centres for the temporary accommodation of children in need have been established.

SOS Children's Villages has put lots of thought and time education in Brazil. SOS Schools and SOS Vocational Training Centres ensure that children and young adults both from the SOS Children's Villages and the local communities receive a good education and have better opportunities.

At present, there are 15 SOS Children's Villages in Brazil: Brasilia, Rio Grande do Norte (near Caicó), Goioerê, Paraíba (near João Pessoa), Juiz de Fora, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Santa Maria, Jacarepaguá and Pedra Bonita (near Rio de Janeiro), Bahia (near Salvador da Bahia), Poá, Rio Bonito and São Bernardo do Campo (near São Paulo) as well as Igarassu (near Recife). In addition, there are a large number of other SOS Children's Village facilities.

The country's twelfth SOS Children's Village was built in João Pessoa. This city with a population of about 400,000 is the capital of the federal province of Paraíba. The dry and hot region in the north of the country often suffers from long droughts, which affect the economy in a negative way. The difficult living conditions have made many people move to the big cities and industrial areas, where they hope to improve their social situation.

SOS Children's Village Paraíba is situated in the suburb of Mangabeira, about eleven kilometres from the city centre of João Pessoa. It was opened in May 1987 and consists of twelve family houses, where up to 120 children can find a new home. There is also 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 multi-purpose hall for functions and festivities, and an administration and service area.