SOS Children's Villages and Sucre Municipal Government, with the support of the Sarastro Foundation, prevent 232 children from losing family care with a project for vulnerable families affected by COVID-19.

The project also strengthened the municipal government's child protection system and the intervention communities by generating procedures, routes, and training in applying the United Nations Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children.

Due to the emergence of COVID-19, many families already in vulnerable situations faced worsening conditions and greater difficulties. The project provided these families with professional and psychosocial support at home (both virtual and face-to-face) for four years until they achieved self-reliance and became protective family environments for their children.

"The project has contributed to reducing the number of children and adolescents at risk of abandonment and has created the conditions for the Municipal Government to implement a care model for highly vulnerable families," commented Juan José García Céspedes, Program Manager of SOS Children's Villages in Sucre.

SIGNIFICANT RESULTS OF THE PROJECT

The project achieved three major results:

1. Prevention of Family Care Loss for 232 Children from 72 Families

In collaboration with the Family Social Assistance Program, the Children and Adolescents´ Advocacy Office (DNA) and the Integral Municipal Legal  Service (SLIM), all of them part of the Municipal Autonomous Government of Sucre, and neighborhood boards, 232 children were able to grow up in safe and protective environments. Personalized advice was provided to each family, helping them progressively overcome the crisis stage, become autonomous, and ultimately achieve self-reliance, allowing children to grow up free from violence. Over the four years, families were strengthened in care, protection, non-violent parenting, employability, and entrepreneurship skills through individualized support.

Florinda, a mother of two who participated in the project, shared, "During the pandemic I got sick, then my mother, and finally my children. I lost my job during that time, and we were in a very difficult situation. The project helped restore my health, I participated in gardening and knitting training, nurturing parenting, and now we are doing well."

2. Strengthening the Municipal Child Protection System

Through an interinstitutional cooperation agreement, SOS Children's Villages provided training on implementing the United Nations Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children to the different Programs of the Autonomous Municipal Government of Sucre, such us the Family Social Assistance Program.

Additionally, technical teams from the Children and Adolescents´ Advocacy Office and the Municipal Integral Legal Services received training on rights-based approaches, child protection, eco-systemic intervention, positive treatment to prevent abuse and sexual violence, among other topics.

Marisol Llanos Sifuentes, Secretary of Human and Social Development of the Autonomous Municipal Government of Sucre, commented, "For the Municipal Government of Sucre, it is a priority to promote and implement municipal public policies that establish actions aimed at family integration, to strengthen affective bonds and family cohesion as the fundamental basis of society. The work we undertook with SOS Children's Villages allowed us to achieve these results."

3. Six Active Neighborhood Boards to Prevent Violence Against Children

The project also developed skills in 119 leaders from six neighborhood boards in districts 3 and 4 of Sucre. These boards developed skills to prevent violence against children and formed support networks to assist the most vulnerable families, thus protecting the children in their communities.

This work was carried out jointly with the Municipal Government and the organization of the neighborhood boards, with a serious commitment to protecting children.

A Social Service with Digital Technology

The COVID-19 pandemic paralyzed thousands of families in quarantine and changed various social dynamics. Therefore, with an innovative perspective, SOS Children's Villages implemented a digital transformation nationwide, which was also applied to the project in the Municipality of Sucre.

Due to the health emergency, digitalization was crucial to supporting families during this period. SOS Children's Villages provided cell phones and tablets to 85% of the project's participants, improved the technological skills of 83% of families, and ensured 100% connectivity. This significant digital innovation allowed families to access telemedicine, formal or complementary education, e-commerce, and even psychological support to prevent violence during the most critical crisis moments.

Information on the Issue of Child Welfare

According to a 2017 study by the Bolivian Catholic University and SOS Children's Villages, titled "Every Child Counts," 900,000 children in Bolivia are at risk of losing parental care or have already lost it. In the department of Chuquisaca, the figure reached 87,333, with over 36,000 in Sucre, representing approximately 28% of the child population in the municipality.