SOS Children’s Villages helped 1,510 children and young people and 210 families in vulnerable situations in Castilla-La Mancha in 2021 – Lanza Digital

SOS Children’s Villages supported 1,510 children and young people and 210 families in Castilla-La Mancha in 2021 through its foster care, family strengthening and youth support programmes. In total, the direct care organization for children has supported 36,867 boys, girls, young people and families in Spain and through its development cooperation and emergency response projects in various countries in Latin America and Africa, as stated in a press release.

The pandemic hit particularly hard families with children who were already in a vulnerable position, whose living conditions worsened and dragged others who were forced to seek help. This is stated by SOS Children’s Villages in its report for 2021, in which it takes stock of a particularly difficult year for children and adolescents, in which this organization developed new projects and programs to respond to the identified growing needs.

In Castilla-La Mancha, Aldeas served 1,510 children and youth and 210 families in 2021. Specifically, it took in 111 children and adolescents who cannot live with their parents and supported 35 families in their protection programs: SOS Children’s Village , Youth Home , First Intake and Assessment Program and Specialized Family Foster Care Program.

In addition, the organization supported 1,218 children and adolescents and 175 families through its prevention programs, in which it works to improve their quality of life and prevent their circumstances from worsening, leading to the separation of parents and children. A task that the organization carries out in Castilla-La Mancha in a day center, family program, early childhood education center and participation kindergarten “El Huerto”.

Similarly, through its Youth Program in the Community of La Mancha, Aldeas accompanies 181 boys and girls who grew up in the protection system or were in a vulnerable situation in the process of autonomy and emancipation, providing them with the necessary tools to develop their best potential and their training to achieve their full social and labor inclusion.

In total, SOS Children’s Villages helped 12,904 children and young people in Spain in 2021, almost 20% more than in 2020, and 3,858 families. It has also contributed to improving the situation of children at risk across our borders through projects of Development cooperation in Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru, Morocco and Senegaland program of Urgent response In Venezuela, thanks to which it served 16,895 boys, girls and youth and 3,210 families. Her work in these countries focuses on caring for children and young people with a rights-based and holistic approach: strengthening families, creating sustainable communities that guarantee children’s rights and providing different alternative care options.

Committed to quality and transparency

SOS Children’s Villages explains in its 2021 report that quality systems, measurement, analysis of results and accountability are an integral part of its work.

In 2021, the organization received Level 1 certification from Keeping Children Safe, the world’s top child protection agency, which developed the International Child Protection Standards to ensure that organizations in direct care of children have comprehensive measures to Protection.

Likewise, Aldeas Infantiles SOS received in 2021 the SEAL 200+ international certification “for its excellent, innovative and sustainable management”, based on the EFQM model, with scope for the entire organization in Spain. In addition, it maintains ISO 9001:2015 certification and meets the Quality4Children quality standards for childcare.

In 2021, Aldeas also received the Transparency and Good Governance Seal from the NGO Development Coordinator, which certifies that the organization has passed the Transparency and Good Governance Tool assessment process.

On the other hand, the organization measures the satisfaction of the children, youth and families it serves through questionnaires to evaluate and analyze its results and to introduce innovations in its services. In 2021, it received a rating of 4.53 out of 5.

SOS Children’s Villages annually submits its reports to an external audit process and to the control of SOS Children’s Villages (an international federation of which it is a part), makes them public and deposits them with the Ministry of the Interior. In 2021, contributions from members, donors, sponsors and companies accounted for 77.4% of its total revenue, and subsidies provided by various public administrations for the remaining 22.6%.

The organization allocates 79.2% of its funds to its social programs; 14.9% to fundraising actions, partner and donor management and grant justification; and the remaining 5.9% to cover expenses related to the administration and management of the organization. The year ended with a positive result.

The work of SOS Children’s Villages in 2021 was made possible thanks to the support of 297,729 members, sponsors and donors and more than 400 companies, foundations and public institutions. In Castilla-La Mancha, the organization has 6,444 members, sponsors and donors.