SOS Children's Villages follows the evolving situation in Italy

Sunday 15 March 2020 - As of Tuesday 12 March 2020, 60 million Italians have been asked to stay at home and all commercial activities have been closed except for pharmacies and supermarkets. 

In less than a month, Italy has gone from having only three coronavirus cases to having the most infections and deaths after China. 

Support for Italy comes from the associations of SOS Children's Villages throughout Europe. 

A cordon of solidarity that is tightening and supporting - through concrete actions, messages of solidarity and drawings - the SOS Villages and Programs in which about 500 children and young people are currently living. The SOS Villages are located in Trento, Vicenza, Saronno, Ostuni, Mantua, Rome and two Programs in Turin and in Calabria. 

As a matter of fact, the Coronavirus emergency has inevitably led SOS Children's Villages to the immediate adoption of all the necessary measures to protect the health of children and young people staying at SOS Villages and Programs, that of the operators who work and live next to them, that of all the staff of the National Association. The health of all operators and caregivers who live or work at SOS Villages and Programs in Italy, around 230 people, is constantly monitored and the indications and recommendations provided by the competent Authorities are scrupulously applied and followed. 

With the attention due specifically to children and young people, we continue to protect the family atmosphere that surrounds the guests of SOS Villages and Programs. Educators and operators are constantly engaged in raising awareness and educating them on the rules to be put into practice to protect their own health and that of other members of the community. Particular attention is paid to the psychological aspects of the emergency: children and young people are made aware and informed in ways suitable for their age, however, always comforted and reassured. 

MAIN MEASURES AND PRECAUTIONS ADOPTED 

In particular, operators / volunteers / collaborators who show flu symptoms or may have come into contact with people at risk or from areas at risk, cannot access the premises of the SOS Programs and Villages (office included). 

In line with the Prime Minister's decree of 9 March, the activity of volunteers and trainees has been suspended. 

Children and young people who experience flu symptoms are subjected to timely medical checks by the paediatrician or reference doctor and their indications are followed. With the decree of 9 March, their exits were excluded as long as they do not fall within the concessions provided for by the ordinances or in medical emergencies. 

The meetings between minors and their family members, on indication of the Institutions and with the authorization of the Social Services, have been suspended and are managed only by video call. 

From an organizational point of view, external sports, laboratory, recreational and aggregative activities in general have been suspended and in each service adequate information has been carried out to operators and children and young people on the precautionary measures to be adopted, as provided by the indications contained in the ordinances. Each room, including the office reception, was equipped with hands and rooms sanitizing solution and with a thermometer, where possible a laser one. 

With regard to the suspension of school activities, attention is guaranteed to what is provided by the school in terms of e-learning through IT equipment. 

WHAT IS NEEDED TO FACE THE EMERGENCY AND SUPPORT CHILDREN AND YOUTH 

In this moment of emergency we must guarantee exceptional protection compared to the normal shift of the staff involved in the alternative care of children and young people, therefore we are bearing the cost of the extra working hours of the educators and operators. 

There is a need to purchase medical supplies. Sanitizing materials such as hand gel and products to disinfect all surfaces are continuously needed. Prices have skyrocketed and it is often difficult to even find them. 

PCs and devices are needed to guarantee everyone the opportunity to follow lessons remotely. Almost all schools have equipped themselves with e-Learning and when all 6 children have a frontal lesson, just one PC per home is not enough. 

In order to organize the days of children and teenagers, you need useful material to make workshops and carry out the recreational-creative activities dedicated to them. 

To guarantee all this to the children and young people living in our SOS Villages and Programs, we need the support of each of you. Even a small donation can make a difference.

IBAN IT95J0306909606100000018291 

Swift / BIC: BCITITMM 

Bank account 100000018291 

headed to SOS Children's Villages Association Onlus 

at Intesa Sanpaolo 55000 Piazza Paolo Ferrari 10, 20121 Milan. 

reason "Coronavirus emergency"