Child sponsorship update from Rionegro
11/03/2008
Update from 2007
Dear friends,
Receive warm greetings on behalf of the community in the SOS Children’s Village Rionegro!
This is one of the years with many changes. For instance, a new director has been appointed for doing such responsibility after the former director, who was 9 years a co-worker of SOS Children’s Village, resigned to his position. Nowadays, the director is a woman! Like the first time in the SOS Children’s Village Colombia. We feel very proud of this fact, considering that she is doing both, the role of mother and professional. In this way it is showed that women are very important in the current society; they are able to fulfil very well the role of mother and the role of a worker; precisely, it is the experience that Claudia, the new director is going to share with you:
A new experience in Colombia: To be a Village Director
“Since February the 9th, I was appointed like village director; the first woman director in SOS Children’s Village Colombia. My life has interesting situations that I would like to share with you:
First of all, news about a woman managing a Village sounds to be strange because since many years ago it was an exclusive role for a man we were so faithful to the organisation beginnings Moreover, it was a way to answer the usual question about men inside the family model: The Director is the daddy’s figure and many girls and boys used to call him “daddy” It is a situation which has generated two facts:
I have felt a community female proud on behalf of the women in this organisation. It is something like a whole goal what makes us to feel very well inside SOS Children’s Village, breaking paradigms, traditions and giving new places for women and men -It is an issue of gender culture which is evident in our country.
On the other hand, the question about the role of a man in a Village lets us the task to think of this important topic for girls and boys development. It is harder if we have into account that culturally a man in our country does the role of authority, and nowadays ¿how will a woman do to be strong? And we ask ourselves ¿authority is force?, is it physical force? Nevertheless, beyond like a director I think, it is an impact for close people, how do biological families of the children has seen this situation? How does the SOS mother feel?, how girls, boys and youths imagine it? It is really something new
Doing this role I have could live the meaning about management a Village
How do all my colleagues leave the Village and go to their families at five O’clock in the afternoon, and I finish my job and I keep my work inside the Village?, it is a crucial change.
How to be aware that my house, built like the other ones at the Village is not an office is my family and a cozy place to share with my husband and child. Moreover, my family is just two minutes from the office by walking without cross streets
, without take a bus for what I can change from a my job into my family environment in minutes. It is nice for me to solve any situation talking with a mother a weekend while I am walking to buy milk for my family. It is a new, beauty and strange feeling.
It is nice to tell you that while I am new like a director, I am new like a mother because my baby is just 9 months; two nice roles which are a complement to be a biological mother helps me to understand emotions of women in SOS; to be a mother make me more sensible in front of girls and boys and make me closer to the SOS mothers what permit me to talk with property about their goods and difficulties, we share the role of mothers.
At the beginning was a difficulty because both to be a mother and to be director are two functions which need all attention and really it is not so easy; for instance, I was in a training process to be director for one month staying in different Colombian and Bolivian SOS Children’s Villages; one month outside home with a four months baby is not possible So, I decided to travel with him yes, the baby was also in training with mum.
It was so curious to travel to different places with diapers, baby carriage, milk bottles , but he always found the best babysitter what permit me to full fill my purposes quietly attending my family. I understood that to be a village director is not a job, is a life project it was important to see that to be a mother and to lead a village are two roles which are not possible to be separated.”
Claudia María - Director
Well
talking about the director’s family, it is also very important to say to you that we have nowadays 15 families; the mother of the new family is “Sortifany” who is in charge of 7 siblings between 6 months and 15 years old. During the process of welcome, the oldest girl expressed “I would like to live here now”; since her mother died in November of the previous year, all of her siblings were living in different boarding schools suffering both the lost of their mother and to be separated of their siblings and father; their father is an old man who works like a watchman in a neighbourhood -as soon as he knew about our presence, he told us deeply sad about his children and his distress to have them together; since then, we considered the possibility to offer them a family after suffering the “forced displacement” like a consequence of the army conflict.
Talking about those girls and boys who we visit before to welcome them in a SOS family, there are some of them who leave remembrances in our minds it is the case of Juan Pablo, a five years old boy, who told to the social worker, to the psychologist and the SOS mother that he would like to be at the SOS Children’s Village if the psychologist was his new father; it is an example of lack of paternal affection very common in our society.
Other of the cases was the Carlos Mario’s one; he is six years old boy who live with a lady who wanted to adopt him but different situations did not permit her to adopt the kid, she was looking for a place where she will be able to visit him time to time. Explaining this situation to Carlos, he became to cry because he does not want to be separated of her; immediately, tears begin to run on the social worker’s face. For that reason, the boy advises “she is also crying , so, I must not go”. It is very difficult to look the real situation of children who have lost mother and later must suffer other separations. For that reason, we are working hardly in doing mourns, taking into account that most of girls, boys and young people have not done mourning. So, we have conversations with their biological families about their backgrounds, through it we see a lot of pain because of lost of sons, daughters or siblings Finally, it means that it is very urgent to intensify a continuous joint meeting between children and their biological families.
There is another anecdote, it is about Agudelo siblings, who are in process of independence they were living together till this week when they have different projects and they need to be separated again; so, they were moving, the oldest sister took a doggy that somebody has given to her youngest sister considering how small was the moving truck, she had to put her TV set on her legs and the dog over the TV set; it was a cause of laughs because the driver became angry and he did not want to take the dog, but the girl did not want to leave it Finally the girl convinced the truck driver and he accepted to take the doggy inside a little place.
We will tell you more about the daily life of the SOS Children’s Village Rionegro by the next report on December. Thank you very much for your help to give a family for many girls, boys and young people from this region and from this country.
Sincerely,
Claudia María Restrepo Giraldo
Director
Sponsor's update from Armero Guayabal
Update from 2007
Dear friends:
In a town of the Antioquia department, called “Chachafruta” is located a little farm whose owner is a mature woman named “Gloria Margarita Bedoya”; she has worked for 14 years here. “Doña Gloria Margarita” became a widow since 10 years ago and she has tried to organise her life again together with a man, thinking of new life conditions together with her four children, but it has not been successful; her oldest children has gone to live an independent life to get better opportunities unfortunately, the man who lived with her take production of the farm away and did not share with her; it means that he just wanted to take advantage of her property. Moreover, this man has also maltreated her and her children. She was lucky because her neighbours knew about the family strengthening programme in the region and told her about its importance for children younger than 12 years old who were living in risk situations. Doña Gloria Margarita did not doubt about it and came to the programme to participate of this rural help promoted by the agro ecological school farm.
Since two years ago approximately “Doña Gloria” and her four girls and boys (Valentina 3, Sindy 7, Cristina 10 and Margarita 23 years old) are participating actively in the Agro-ecological Programme “Community and Family Strengthening Programme” where the promoter Margarita María is in charge of their training and guidance; she is a former girl from the agro ecological School Farm in Armero Guayabal, Tolima. According with “Doña Gloria”, she has been meaningful in the family development.
“Doña Gloria” has identified some improvements in herself and also in her children, especially in Cristian de Jesús, who was used to take someone else’s things and gave many problems to the family, being well-known in the county because of this bad habit. Nevertheless, people were afraid of the illegal army groups to take Cristian for those groups after many threats to catch him. Doña Gloria recognises that her son has not stolen since one year ago and Cristian is studying in the school of the region although he is one of the best students, he has improved his school performance. Doña Gloria says that she has changed a little like a mother and her attitudes toward him are better what maybe has a positive influence on Cristian better behaviour.
Nowadays, Doña Gloria must not work hard in other places to get money because she has a lot to do in her own one. Thanks for the promoter guidance and support, Doña Gloria has changed from having a cup of coffee, plantain and yucca to cultivate different kind of vegetables for her family consume and to share with neighbours and friends. It means that she plants other cultivations like beans, corn and some fruit trees on scale production (mango, orange, lemon, papaya, etc.). In her farm also she has begun to raise domestic animals (minor species) like big hens, chickens and pigs which become grown-up and help her like food and to sell and to earn money, useful for her solve family necessities. In her farm, there are routine activities which she must attend daily in order to ensure good results in production like preparation of organic fertilizer and biological mixture for the soil fertility management and plague control.
Doing different activities in her farm, permit her to be near of her children, to help them to make homework and to protect them all the time.
Doña Gloria is not only pendent of her farm but also she takes part of training every eight days lead by Margarita (promoter) or other institutions of the town together with six familias which participate in this programme.
Doña Gloria is participating in a family committee created approximately since one year ago; this committee makes joint efforts to find solutions to their difficulties and to complete pending activities in farms Moreover, they organise activities to earn money and they have a small fund to help each family in particular necessities.
Fortunately, there are five families like doña Gloria, who are giving evidence of the good work done by a member of the community helping like agro ecological promoter. She is doing actions for family strengthening expressing her happiness and affection for needy families of the county.
The purpose of the Agro Ecological School Farm SOS transcends not only the school farm facility and former youths but also 8 family strengthening programmes in 5 departments of Colombia; these programmes are supporting peasant families, indigenous, and afro-colombian people who live in difficult situations. This great improvement has been got thanks for committed people with sustainable rural development and thanks for many friends and sponsors SOS like you, who have believed and supported the programme.
The best for all of you!
Arlex Angarita L.
Director (E), Agro ecological School Farm SOS
Relevant Countries: Colombia.