SOS Social Centres in Haiti

In Haiti there are currently four Social Centres for children and the local community, in Santo and Cap Haitien.  Many SOS Social Centres operate via Family Strengthening Programmes, which aim to support the wider community.  Below is some information about some of the Social Centres that SOS Children runs in Haiti

SOS Social Centres around Haiti: In-Depth

Note:  This information was gathered before the earthquake.  See here from more details

Santo

Description of SOS Social Centre/FSP:

Since 2005, the SOS Children's Village has been running two SOS Social Centres. One of them houses a child day-care centre where up to 90 children from the local community are looked after while their parents are working. Apart from that, there are different workshops for women, family and community empowerment. Another SOS Social Centre organises childminding programmes in Santo, integrating several hundred families. These measures of family strengthening help to prevent poverty and child abandonment.

Work and Achievements:

The Social Centre works 6 days a week with modified schedules according to the day; it offers the children very varied activities which can help in their self-fulfilment. The children come in the morning at 7:00 AM and have 2 warm meals, plus a snack a day. The day at the Social Centre finishes at about 4pm.

The Social Centre is important in the Santo Community and its neighbourhood, it brings a big reassurance for families having serious economic difficulties; it’s a refuge for the children who haven’t the possibility to benefit from normal family conditions.

Cap Haitien

Description of SOS Social Centre/FSP:

Since 2005, the SOS Children's Village has been running two SOS Social Centres. One of them houses a child day-care centre where up to 160 children from the local community are looked after while their parents are working. Apart from that, there are different workshops for women, family and community empowerment. Another SOS Social Centre organises childminding programmes in different neighbourhoods of Cap Haïtien, integrating several hundred families. These measures of family strengthening and empowering help to prevent poverty and child abandonment.

Work and Achievements:

Meetings have been arranged with mothers, to raise awareness of how to care effectively for children.  A literacy campaign has been running through the centre, to improve the reading skills of children about to start school.  Training sessions have been organized for parents, with regards to health and safety concerns, sexual education, literacy sessions, and skills sessions