Furnish a family house

Problem statement

The economy in Guatemala strongly depends on the export of primary goods such as coffee, sugar and bananas. Half of the people with a paid job work in the agricultural sector. Due to the declining coffee prices on the international market a lot of people have lost their jobs. The lack of schooled employees, the unsafe environment, the unstable political climate and the bad infrastructure make Guatemala unappealing to foreign investors. The economical differences between classes and ethnic groups cause an enormous gap between the rich and the poor. Due to Guatemala’s poor social-economic situation the country struggles with poverty, illiteracy,alcoholism and drug related crime. The civil war between 1960 and 1996 caused a big migration to the big cities and spawned a generation of people with a traumatic past. The Quiché region, where 90% of the people are Mayan, was struck hardest. A lot of people lost their life’s. The children who grew up during this war, are the parents of today. The problems that are facing Guatemala today have dramatic consequences for the children especially in the Santa Cruz del Quiché region. The unemployment rate is extremely high and 40% of the people can’t read or write. 81% of the people live in poverty and 32% suffer from extreme poverty. Most of the people have less than $2 a day to spend. In these house holds the daily menu of children consists of one tortilla and a cup of coffee a day. This causes malnutrition and diseases among children. Due to the lack of money, 36% of all children only attend nursery school after which they have to contribute to the household income. They start working as a shoe shiner or find work in the cleaning industry. These jobs often force them to leave their hometowns at a very young age. They have to survive without the protection or care of their families. In other cases parents abandon their children in desperation, because they aren’t able to take care of them. At the moment there aren’t enough shelter facilities for orphaned and abandoned children in Santa Cruz del Quiché. Apart from a limited amount of foster families where children can stay for a specific period of time, there is a shelter located in the local hospital. However, children can stay here only for two days, after which they are sent back to the streets. To face these problems, SOS Children Village is going to build a new SOS children’s village in Santa Cruz del Quiché. The facility will provide a loving home for 108 children. From the social centre which will be a part of the SOS children’s village, social workers aim to reach 600 children in the community who live in vulnerable families, to prevent child abandonment and provide a safe family environment.

Goal

With the construction of a new SOS children’s village in Santa Cruz del Quiché, we want to provide a loving home for 108 orphaned and abandoned children and further generations. In the new SOS children’s village these children will grow up in a healthy environment, with access to schooling and with the love and attention they deserve. The SOS children’s village includes a social centre from which vulnerable families in the community will be supported. In this social centre day-care, food and medication will be provided for the children. Social workers from SOS Children’s Villages will educate the community on respecting the rights of children and heads of the family will be supported to become economically self-sustaining by offering workshops and training on income generating activities.

Main activities

Q3 2011 Preparations for the built of the SOS children’s village Q1 2012 Start with the built of the SOS children’s village Q3 2012 Opening of the new SOS children’s village After the land has been attained, where the SOS Children's Village will be built, the tendering process will start. This will lead to the start of construction in the third quarter of 2012. The new children's village will open it doors in 2013.

External risks

In all construction projects the timeliness of the project depends on e.g.: - the timely delivery of materials - weather conditions - the political situation To cover these risks we calculated 5% extra costs on the total budget. And we will report as soon as a delay in the project occurs.

Budget breakdown