SOS relies on the kindness and generosity of Canadians to be able to provide a home for the most vulnerable children around the world.
By becoming a child sponsor you are helping an individual child in need.
(You will receive a Canadian charitable tax receipt)
Please help us ensure a loving home for every Chilean child. Sponsor a child in Chile now.
SOS Children's Villages in Malleco
SOS Children’s Villages has been working in Malleco since 1981.
For children in the Malleco region who are no longer able to live with their parents, 15 SOS families can provide a loving home for up to 126 children. In each family, the children live with their brothers and sisters and are affectionately cared for by their SOS mother.
When young people from the children’s village are ready to leave their family in order to pursue further education or vocational training, the SOS Youth Programme provides shared accommodation. The young people live together here and, with the support of qualified counsellors, they can learn to take responsibility, plan their future and prepare for independent adult life.
The transition from emergency relief to sustainable community programmes
SOS Children’s Village Malleco is located near the town of Angol in the Araucanía region in the Malleco province of Chile. Angol has over 50,000 inhabitants and its economy is based predominantly on agricultural activity and increasingly also forestry. However, many people from this region commute to larger towns up to 100 km away, meaning that children are often left on their own all day. Often, they end up spending time outside on the streets, where they are exposed to drugs and crime.
The Malleco province is one of the poorest in the country, with an estimated 55,000 households living below the national poverty line. What made matters far worse for much of the local population was the massive earthquake that hit Chile in 2010. It measured 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale and an estimated nine per cent of the Chilean population lost their homes due to the earthquake and the ensuing tsunami.
Angol was also severely affected: the majority of its shops, as well as its hospital were completely destroyed. More than 600 houses were very badly damaged and 400 of them had to be demolished as they were unsalvageable. SOS Children’s Villages provided emergency relief, such as food, clothing, and basic hygiene products, to around 280 families, as well as offering emotional support. These emergency programmes were then gradually turned into self-sustainable development programmes run by the community itself.
Rebuilding does not just refer to infrastructure
Hundreds of small farmers and business owners lost everything in the 2010 earthquake. Animals were killed, harvests destroyed, and forest fires demolished thousands of hectares. Migration to other parts of the country often seemed like the only option, but in many cases people’s lives did not actually improve once they had relocated. Often, infrastructure was not in place or they were unable to find work.
Our Impact
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The SOS Children's Village in Chile provides loving homes to orphaned and abandoned children |
1 VILLAGES | 74 Orphaned and Abandoned Children |
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The SOS Youth Facilities in Chile provides youth with a loving environment where they learn to transition into independent living and to expand their education |
1 YOUTH FACILITIES | 13 Youths in our Care |
Our Impact