A portrait of a girl, her family is supported by SOS Children's Villages in Iloilo,…
"The SOS family strengthening programme is helping my entire family"
- Lisa
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A portrait of girl whose family is supported by SOS Children's Villages in Iloilo, Philippines
"The SOS family strengthening programme is helping my entire family"
Bryl, a seventeen-year old boy is a family strengthening programme beneficiary in the Philippines. He is a first year college student studying for a Bachelor of Science at the Dominican College of Iloilo. He is the fourth child in a family of five. His mother works as an assistant in a beauty parlour while his father tends the farm. He shares with us how the programme has affected his life.
How did you learn about SOS Children's Villages? When I was in high school I learnt about SOS Children's Villages but I really didn't know what the organisation was all about. All I knew was that they helped children in need and the community in general. Only when I was chosen as family strengthening programme beneficiary, I had a deeper understanding about SOS Children's Villages.
When did you become part of the family strengthening programme? In June 2007 I was luckily enrolled in the family strengthening programme (FSP). Before I became a beneficiary I never expected that I would ever pursue college education because my parents cannot afford the expenses. I am really grateful to SOS Children's Villages for giving me the opportunity to pursue higher education.
In what way did the programme affect you? Earlier I used to spend all the time with my friends and I had no interest in studies because there was no chance I could go to college. Now I am working hard towards my goal of becoming a science graduate and taking up the profession of teaching. The family strengthening programme is also a motivation for my younger brother who now looks forward to joining college some day.
What are your feelings after being part of the programme? I am thankful to SOS Children's Villages for developing such programmes for the underprivileged. My parents have lived their life in poverty and as a child I would often think of helping them and putting an end to our situation but I could find no means of support. SOS Children's Villages is supporting not just my higher education but in a way helping my entire family. Also after being chosen for this programme I learnt the value of a family working together so as to be able to give what the family deemed best for each and everyone.
- Mary
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SOS CV Tegucigalpa (Honduras)
In August 2007, five siblings were admitted to SOS Children's Village Tegucigalpa in Honduras. They were in a social risk situation before. Now, their faces reflect the joy of living with a family.
Happy days together
From the moment on Gloria, Maria, Eduardo, Roxana and Cristina were admitted, a new opportunity was given to them to grow up in environment of respect, love and security in the warmth of a home, restoring again all that had been taken away from them.
In the year 2007 they could not study in school because their biological family did not register them, and by the time they were admitted to SOS Children's Village Tegucigalpa, the school year was too far underway. With the support of their SOS mother Avelina, it was possible to level them and prepare them for the new school year. In 2008, they all successfully passed their end-of-year exams with good grades.
Gloria, who is twelve years old, is the oldest sister. She helped her younger siblings to quickly adapt to their corresponding school grade. The girl is in an early stimulation programme, which is an accelerated primary education project, given that with her age she could not attend the normal school system. Through this programme, she will in 2009 complete her primary education and receive her sixth grade diploma. Gloria likes to draw and go shopping at the market to help her SOS mother. "What I like the most about living with my siblings is to be able to share time with them and be able to watch over them... my happiest day was my last birthday, because I was with them."
Her sister Mary is ten years old and she attends first grade at the community elementary school. Although she is usually very quiet, she says: "What I like the most about living here is that I can talk and play with my siblings."
Edward is the only boy in this family group. He is eight years old, attends second grade at the community elementary school and loves riding his bicycle. Eduardo is a very active child and is always doing something; he is very outgoing, too. "The happiest day ever for me at the village was Christmas", he recalls with a big smile on his lips.
Out of the five siblings, six-year-old Roxana is the most playful, sociable and affectionate one. She is now in third grade at the community elementary school. The smallest is Cristina, who is barely four years old. She is always 'super glued' to her SOS mother and accompanies her everywhere, according to Jeannette Roque, the village social worker.
Now they are happy to be part of a new home within the great SOS family. The family house, where the five siblings live at present along with four SOS siblings, is where the administrative offices of the village used to be located. With the help of an U.S. organization, which provided a valuable gift due to the need of welcoming this group of siblings, it was possible to remodel those offices and transform them into what is now a home. In the little faces of Gloria, Maria, Eduardo, Roxana and Cristina it is evident how happy they are to have a home, a family and the right to education, so they can forge a successful future.
SOS mother Avelina, who has been working for SOS Children's Villages for eleven years, says: "Living with them has been very good, these children are affectionate, they collaborate, and, more importantly, they are growing up together as a family".
For privacy reasons, we have changed the names of the children.
Article written by Jeannette Roque Martínez, social worker at SOS Children's Village Tegucigalpa
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