Europe

SOS Children has been working hard to improve the lot of orphaned children in Eastern Europe since the Seventies although it was only in the eighties that our first Village offered Family based care in the Czech Republic. Since then a large number have spread across Eastern Europe offering hope for... … more about our charity work in Europe

Child Sponsorship Background from Ladimirevci, Croatia

Feb 23, 2010 11:00 AM

A look at the projects run by SOS Children for orphaned and abandoned children in Ladimirevci, Croatia, and an overview of the surrounding area.

Child from Ladimirevci, CroatiaSOS Children's Village Ladimirevci

The five hectares plot of land was given to SOS Children's Villages by the municipality of Valpovo, one of the two bigger towns in the region; the second one is Osijek. The main source of income of the local population is agriculture, as well as the food and paper industry.

he official opening ceremony of SOS Children's Village Ladimirevci took place in May 1997.

The sixteen family houses of the SOS Children's Village Ladimirevci were built in the typical style of Slavonia, they are lined up along a "main street". A community building, a workshop, a sports ground and a play ground and an administrative area, as well as houses for the village director and the SOS aunts (who support the SOS mothers and take care of the children when the mothers are on leave) are also part of the SOS Children's Village.

Up to 104 children find a new home in the family houses, where they are looked after by their SOS mothers, with additional help by SOS aunts, village director, educational assistant and a village caretaker.

In 2000, an SOS Youth Home was set up in Osijek, which can take in up to 32 youths.

The children of SOS Children's Village Ladimirevci attend the local primary school, while secondary schools and a small clinic are located in Valpovo.

The nearest hospital is in the provincial capital of Osijek. SOS Children's Village Ladimirevci was especially built for those children who have been exposed to the horrors of war at a very young age.

Background to Ladimirevci

Ladimirevci is a small town with approximately 2,000 inhabitants. It is situated in Slavonia, in the eastern part of Croatia.