My name is not important at this moment, nor my age; but my story does, at least for those who can remember the day when SOS Children's Villages opened the doors of an "SOS family" for us to believe in something and someone.

By then, I was living with my uncles in the city. Actually I don't remember much of those days. I was too small. I do remember clearly though that, one day, I just happened to be living in a beautiful place: my house [at an SOS Children's Village] is a great place surrounded by lots of trees. The village, as most people call it, was big; at least for me, because I was very young. Later in my life I visited other villages in Bolivia and then I learned that my village was not the largest. But for me, my village is still the most beautiful and most fascinating. It has always been green: full of trees and large lawns.

Another thing I remember is that there was a lady who used to come to visit me often: it was my aunt. I was about five by then and she used to bring me fruit and some other things… Sometimes she used to take me to her house for a couple of days. She was very nice to me. I think she thought I missed her, but actually I was fine in the village, my memory was too fragile at that age and I don't remember much about the time I lived with my dear aunt.

As I said, she was lovely with me, but something I didn't like from her was her insistent telling me: "You will be fine in the village" and "You don't have to worry or feel sad here." That was something I really hated, because, instead of helping me, she made me feel bad. Probably she thought that the village was like most orphanages of the city, where children were not treated well. You know… every time she said good-bye to me, she was very sad. I could notice in her eyes telling me: "Sorry for leaving you here". At that time, I was too small to tell her that she was wrong and that I was well in the village.

Suddenly, she stopped coming and, since then, I didn't ask about my family; well, at least until I was twelve. That day I asked my mother about my biological family. She was surprised, but, anyway, she told me the whole story of my biological family. It was then that I knew I had four brothers and one sister, and that I am the only one living in an "SOS family".

My [SOS] mother also told me that my mother had died when she delivered my younger sister and that I was too little by that time. My father couldn't take care of all of us and my aunt and uncle took me to live with them, but because they were also poor at that time, they couldn't care for all of us, so they decided to take me to the village.

After a year or so I felt sure enough that I asked my [SOS] mother to take me to know my brothers. They live in different regions of the country, so it was nothing easy to contact them. After I met them, I kept contact with them for only a couple of times. I know they are doing fine now, though. All of them are married except my sister who is studying at an institute.

Above all, though, I think that the only family I have is in the village: my [SOS] mother, who took care of me with patience and brought me up, and my brothers and sisters with whom I grew up as a family… Ah! My dear aunt who brought me to the village is, I think, part of my family as well, at least in my heart.

SOS Children's Villages is convinced that maintaining ties to family members is crucial when it comes to a child's well being and promoting his/her further development if the SOS child still has natural parents and/or close relatives and if there are positive emotional connections between the SOS child and his/her relatives. This is why we support SOS children in keeping in touch with their relatives.