Sol Kids exists to support children and families in the shanty community of Bella Vista, near Ensenada , Mexico. We provide an all day creche for babies and infants to help parents go to work and an after school day care for kids from 5 to 12 again enabling parents to work safe in the knowledge their children are being looked after. Our support is a leg up not a hand out! The local area is rife wi
th drug and alcohol abuse and we offer a safe place for kids while parents are at work. We also give them lunch and a snack before they go home.
…but we need your help…
One of the main reasons for our latest trip was for the team to learn more about the changes in the way the Mexican government is regulating organisations working with vulnerable persons, like the children in Bella Vista. There will be so much more protection and education for the children in Bella Vista and throughout Mexico. Various government departments need to visit the centre to carry out checks and recommend any changes to bring it up to the new code. For the centre each year:
Health and first aid certificate
Fire regulation check
Food and Hygiene certificate
Building and land code certificate
For all volunteers each year:
Criminal record check
Psychologist assessment
The child protection department will then provide an overall certificate to allow the centre to operate. Now for the bad news…unlike in England there are no concessions for charity organisations! All of these extra checks add an extra £2,000 a year to our annual operational costs, bringing the annual total to £12,000, still not bad for feeding and giving classes to an around 60-80 children everyday. To meet this new target we need more monthly donors
10 people giving £17 a month
or, 20 people giving £8.50 a month
or, 30 people giving £5.50 a month
or, 45 people giving £3.70 a month
Do you know anyone that can give us ‘a costa a month’? it really is the smallest things that can make the biggest difference.
