8/9/2019 SOS Childrens Villages pioneers new child care model in RP

1/3

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release

Media contacts:

Bienvenido L. Delgado, National Director Tel: +63 (2) 8070764, 8509654, 7993475,E-mail: home@sosphilippines.org, website: www.sosphilippines.org

Richard P. Burgos, PR Consultant Mobile: +63 9285082004,E-mail: burgosrp2003@yahoo.com

SOS Childrens Villages pioneers new child care model in RPOrphaned children integrated with local community to enable normal childhood development

August 17, 2010 / Manila, Philippines With the best interest of the child at the core of

its operations, SOS Childrens Village in Mariveles, Bataan makes history as the pioneer

community-integrated center in the Philippines designed to allow orphans to grow up with

local residents and live a normal childhood. Its family homes are built like standard private

residences with no distinguishing signages or isolating fences. To date, there are only four of

this kind of child care center in the whole world.

Children who were abandoned or can no longer be cared for by their parents and relatives

do not need to feel like societal outcasts. Based on SOS Childrens Villages experience of

61 years across 132 countries, the overall well-being of children is greatly enhanced with

opportunities to blend and develop in a typical community setting. SOS Childrens Village

Bataan is the first among eight villages in the Philippines to run this kind of child care model,

said SOS Bataans Village Director Salvador Ramirez.

Ramirez shared that setting up the village didnt come easy. A handful of the subdivision

home owners opposed the idea of having a child care organization inside the village.

They felt that it may pose certain risks to their privacy and conflicts in the neighborhood.

Fortunately a year has passed and we have encountered zero problems and discord with

our neighbors, he said.

SOS Childrens Village Bataan is located inside Golden Heights Subdivision, a middle-

income class subdivision in Mariveles, accessible via Bataans national highway, and near

two private schools and a public school. Six two-storey houses which can accommodate

1 | Page

mailto:home@sosphilippines.orghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sosphilippines.org&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhQ1bC8YH85fZG75MGSo4owKUnAwmailto:burgosrp2003@yahoo.commailto:burgosrp2003@yahoo.comhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sosphilippines.org&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhQ1bC8YH85fZG75MGSo4owKUnAwmailto:home@sosphilippines.org

8/9/2019 SOS Childrens Villages pioneers new child care model in RP

2/3

a family of twelve per floor, an administration office, a directors house, a staff house, and a

multipurpose hall comprise the village.

Some 28 employees care for 96 children 11 SOS Mothers, seven Aunts assisting the SOS

mothers, three Maintenance co-workers, two Village Educators, two Social Workers, two

Administration Staff, and one Village Director.

Ramirez said that SOS Childrens Village Bataans operational ratio is 1:3 one employee

per three children -- to ensure that all of the childrens emotional, psychological and physical

needs are met. They were forced to leave their biological families because the love and

care that they should have received were no longer there. Upon joining SOS, we want them

to experience motherly care and supervision, the time to play and be a child, gain proper

nutrition and acquire an education. This is why our co-workers play an important role in their

development, Ramirez said.

Apart from providing 24/7 child care, SOS Childrens Village Bataan co-workers actively

participate in local associations and events to ensure that they have regular community

engagement which can provide access to potential partners and donors. The village

multi-purpose hall will finish construction next month and will be open to accommodate

community events. On the second floor, an electronic library and computer center will allow

students within and outside the village to access the Internet for educational research.

We aim to engage the people of Bataan in understanding and appreciating the work that

SOS is doing for the children. Our doors are open for everyone to see and experience.

Perhaps we do not need to explain much, they can see our message in our children

vibrant, happy, healthy, friendly, and successful, he said.

By the end of this month, Mr. Helmut Kutin, President of SOS Childrens Villages

International, will visit the country to officially inaugurate the Childrens Village.

###

ABOUT SOS CHILDRENS VILLAGES

SOS Childrens Villages International is a private, non-political, non-denominational welfare

organization. SOS Childrens Villages Philippines is part of this largest international family-

based care organization operating in 132 countries and territories. There are 2,018 SOS

Childrens Villages and ancillary facilities around the world with more than a million children

under its care.

Here in the Philippines, SOS Childrens Villages are present in Calbayog, Cebu, Davao,

Iloilo, Lipa, Manila, Tacloban and, the newest, in Bataan. With 1,061 children now under its

care and 1,223 former SOS children who are now successfully independent, SOS Childrens

1 | Page

8/9/2019 SOS Childrens Villages pioneers new child care model in RP

3/3

Villages Philippines is the largest family-based care organization in the country today. For

more information, click on www.sosphilippines.org .

1 | Page

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sosphilippines.org&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhQ1bC8YH85fZG75MGSo4owKUnAwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sosphilippines.org&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGhQ1bC8YH85fZG75MGSo4owKUnAw