Providing a Safe Home to Vulnerable Children in Mexico

SOS Children’s Villages began its work in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico, in 2003 and has been offering children with special needs a loving home with a provision of therapy, treatment, activities and education ever since. After twelve years, the SOS family homes required a range of restoration work and Transat’s generous support has helped ensure that the SOS Children’s Village Tuxtla remains a safe home for Mexico’s most vulnerable children.

In Mexico, possibilities are limited for children living with a disability. In the Chiapas region, where the SOS Children’s Village Tuxtla Gutiérrez is located, severe conditions of poverty and social exclusion continue to affect thousands of families. Children born to young parents in this area, who often go on to have large families, are particularly vulnerable, especially when they have a disability. In many cases, children with disabilities do not have access to proper health care or education opportunities and are frequently excluded.

This is the reason why SOS Children’s Villages Tuxtla Gutiérrez began its work in 2003. Alongside its family homes, the SOS Village includes the services of a multidisciplinary team composed of a doctor, a physical therapist, an occupational and speech therapist, a teaching specialist and a counsellor working together to benefit the children.

61 children from the region who are no longer able to live with their parents currently find a loving home in one of the 8 SOS families of the SOS Children’s Village Tuxtla Gutiérrez. Almost 70% of the SOS children in this SOS Village have special needs. The specialized care they receive greatly contributes to their holistic rehabilitation and the results on the children have been a drastic improvement in their health and cognitive development.