Understanding the social demands of children and youths

Interview with José Pereyra, Director of SOS Children's Village Mallasa, La Paz

In order to understand really an SOS Children's Village, it is necessary to experience its life from its inside. In the case of Mallasa, the village of which I am director, we work hard to center the life of the village in the best interest of the child. The purpose of the village is associated with the children, the youths, and the community, through a renewed family model.

The new family model is an attempt to understand the new social and economical problems of the community. It is a way to understand this global context giving importance to several social factors. For long we have though, for example, that our model was perfect; however, from the perspective of the child, and particularly the youths, we have realized that there are certain gaps in, especially, the youths' levels of satisfaction. For example, a factor that appears to have been fairly neglected is the child's relationship with the biological family. We know it has always been considered important in our manuals and guidelines; but it seems that we did not give it the necessary attention and space for its integration in the life of the child and youth.

Therefore, recently, we have made important efforts to understand what the youths had to say, to listen to their voices, and so think that it is quite possible for us to improve our services in order to help them meet their expectations.

Also I think that the new social trends, such as the influence of the Child's Rights Convention, are interesting ways that can surely help us land in a more practical and child life-oriented context, which can be incorporated in the day to day life in the village. For sure, we have developed ourselves greatly in many of those social trends throughout the years; but, I think, mostly in the theoretical level. Then I think there is plenty of space to bring this knowledge into a set of practical life actions, say, to integrate it directly into the life of the children and youths of the village.

 

 
José Pereyra CV Director