Tiquipaya

Country information

The first SOS Children's Village was established in Cochabamba, Bolivia's second largest city. In 1995, the SOS Children's Village Tiquipaya was opened on the outskirts of Cochabamba. The site had already been used for an SOS Social Centre offering basic health care for low-income families since 1988, a project which has been of considerable importance to the local community. In addition to the services of qualified paediatricians, dentists and gynaecologists, the centre offers emergency aid and counselling for mothers. The SOS mothers are trained here, and there is also an agricultural training centre and an SOS Youth Village. A wide variety of SOS facilities have been established in Cochabamba. On the outskirts of the city, there is an SOS Kindergarten and since 1985 there has also been an SOS Day Care Centre. There are seven shared flats for young people, where these can stay during their vocational training. Furthermore, there is a knitting workshop, a ceramics workshop, a locksmith's, a bakery, and even a small farm. These workshops serve the vocational training of the young people and, at the same time, are used as production centres. The SOS Children's Village Tiquipaya consists of 10 family houses, the Village Director's house, offices, workshops, an assembly hall, a playground and a large sports field.