SOS Children’s Orphanage in Panama

The SOS Children’s Orphanage is a non-profit, non-governmental organization active in caring for orphan and neglected children. They have no political affiliations, are not based on religious beliefs, and no one individual or group is profiting from this organization. The children at the orphanage come from many different backgrounds, no differentiation is made due to personal beliefs, religion or race. At the SOS Orphanage the children are provided with a place to live, education, and a surrogate family to care for them.

For nearly sixty years, SOS Children’s Organization has developed an approach based on building a community for children who have nobody to turn to. Traditionally, we provide children with a home, a family and a new mother in a purpose-built local Village, where they can stay until they are ready for independent life. We currently run 490 of these unique SOS Children’s Villages, and 396 Youth Homes, caring directly for more than 78,000 children in 124 countries worldwide.

In a nutshell, SOS Children

• Works in 124 countries around the world
• Runs 490 SOS Children’s Villages and 396 Youth Homes
• Cares for more than 78,000 children
• Provides over 100,000 children with an education in its nurseries, primary and secondary schools
• Supports more than 1 million vulnerable children and their families through medical centers, social centers, vocational training schemes and emergency relief efforts

SOS Children’s Villages have been working in Panama City since 1982 when the first community was built on the north-western edge of Panama City in the former Canal Zone, on one of the first pieces of land returned to Panama by the Torrijos-Carter Agreement between the USA and Panama.

A second community opened in 1990 in Penonomè, 150 km west of Panama City, and now has 121 boys and girls in 14 SOS family houses, this year they received a baby girl of only 5 months old, the youngest of this SOS village.

A third community opened in 1999 in David in the Chiriqui province in north Panama, one of the country's largest and most important cattle breeding centers. It is also an area of extreme poverty and severe social problems where there is little or no institutional care for destitute children. The village has twelve family houses and an SOS social centre providing day care for children from local families.

For more information click on the following web links:

http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/sos-childrens-charity/Nutshell%20booklet.pdf

http://www.soschildrensvillages.org/

http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/sponsor-a-child/americas-child-sponsorship/panama.htm

http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/charity-news/penonome-2008-update.htm