Child sponsorship letter from Oberá, Argentina

An example child sponsorship letter from Oberá, Argentina:

Dear Sponsors,

Please receive warm greetings from our SOS Children’s Village of Oberá! Once again we have the opportunity to come closer to you hereby and to tell you about the boys, girls and youngsters of our SOS families, as also to share with you the activities done at the SOS School along this period. We also would like to take this opportunity to thank you once more from the bottom of our heart for your generous contribution, which enables us to give the children a new home, a family and a better education.

The SOS School

Nowadays, about 900 pupils are attending our SOS School: counting 112 four- and five year old children in the Nursery, 433 in primary school, 246 in secondary school and 83 youngsters and adults attending our vocational training centre.

The end of the year 2009 came along as every year, full of emotions; parents seeing another year to finish for their sons and daughters, and the children fulfilling a year more, loaded with new experiences and longing for their excitedly expected vacations. At the act, there were mementoes of their way through school handed over, to the initial level pupils promoted to the first grade, as to those finishing their elementary level or third year of high school. The children also took table adornments and candles along, to share at the Christmas table with their families. The children themselves made those presents during the extended schedule workshops.

The beginning of the school year was filled with excitement, especially for those children going to nursery for the first time; their nursery teachers welcomed them at a new world with songs and games there. This also happened to the children starting the first grade, who accompanied by their former nursery teachers, begun this year at new activities, expectant about all novelties awaiting them there.

The Revolution of May 1810 was of crucial impact for our people and undoubtedly marked a before and an after at the Argentine Republic’s history. This revolution was a historic process resulting in rupture of the colonial laces that in those times tied us to Spain and enabling the move towards independence of our country by July 9, 1816.

This year the Bicentennial of the First National Government is celebrated with great exaltation. Therefore, all over the country multiple acts and festivities were performed to the evocation of that day. As along the whole country, our school could not be oblivious to the celebrations of our countries’ bicentennial, and therefore almost all activities done during the first months of the year were related to that event. Such for instance the pupils from the fourth, fifth and sixth grade of elementary experienced it; within the frame of a co-participation project with another school of the city of Oberá, they took part at a dance seminar to learn the National ‘Pericón’ (traditional Argentine dance), then to perform during the bicentennial festivities. At school a festive atmosphere was lived out, everybody worked helping to adorn the school and preparing themselves joyfully for the celebrations.

The Village

At the present time 96 boys, girls and youngsters are part of our families at the SOS Children’s Village of Obera, while 9 youngsters live outside the SOS Children’s Village at guided living programme and undertaking their first steps towards autonomous life. 

As already six months of this year 2010 have gone by, we started the year with interesting and fun outings, trips and some visits to biological families living at small towns of the inner Misiones province. As every year during the summer recess, the SOS families have been able to enjoy the barnyard belonging to the SOS Children’s Village, spending moments of the warm summer at this magical place. Through the barnyard runs a big creek, where the children can fish and swim freely. There the families could enjoy exuberant vegetation that characterizes the area and relax amid nature at open air, practicing sports and playing for long hours.

To this time of the year, the children are already fully inserted into their daily routine, and anxiously expect the winter vacations by July. Aside from going to school, the children also continue assisting to their extracurricular practices, thus as sports, arts and cultural ones. Among them, we can cite workshops on ceramics, handicrafts, English, chess, guitar, soccer, athletics, informatics, and plastic arts. Some children of the SOS Children’s Village also take part at dance groups of the different local communities. The presence of those communities in the area is due to large amount of immigrants coming from different countries to the province of Misiones by the beginnings of last century. German, Swiss, Italian, Spanish, Polish and Ukrainian immigrants, among others, once a year recall their roots at the ‘Immigrants Fest’, held in the city of Oberá. This festivity is very important to the city, since it relates to its identity and history. The children assist to dance workshops, where they practice with great enthusiasm along the year; to then take part at the major parade of communities taking place during the ‘Immigrants Fest’ by September.

Aside from taking part at extracurricular workshops, those children and youngsters requiring it, continue getting extra tuition at different subjects. Children and youngsters understand that the years of schooling are essential to obtain the necessary tools to achieve a well-rounded education as to reach to be in a future men and women capable of carrying on an independent life, even to think of building their own families.

We hope that we could give you an overview of our daily work through this report. We say good-bye, handing over kind greetings to you, on behalf of the entire community of the SOS Children’s Village Oberá, which also sincerely thanks you for your support and generosity.

Warmest regards,

SOS Children's Village Obera