SOS Village La Paz

THE EL ALTO SOS CHILDRENS VILLAGE NEAR LA PAZ, BOLIVIA

George doing one of many laps of the El Alto Village with passenger.

On Monday the 29th of September, we visited one of the SOS childrens villages in El Alto outside La Paz. The charity operates in 123 countries worldwide and the villages are based on a family structure with a number of houses within a private compound. The children from the ages of 2 to 18 years live in mixed groups of 9 in each house. Each house is run by a full time "Mother" whom the children treat and regard as their own mother and so the structure is as close to a normal family setting as is possible. The SOS village in El Alto is presently home to over 100 children who would otherwise be making it on their own on the steets of La Paz... an unthinkable but horribly real situation that many other orphaned kids find themselves in.

We can fit a few more... Bene`s new friend is keen to try out the bike

We were really impressed with the organisation. The kids seemed to be very happy, well looked after and confident in themselves. The houses were modern and well designed with facilities far better than most of the tourist hotels that we stay in on our trip. The kids all go to local schools and some of the teenagers were learning English and could tell us a little about their lives in the village.

Andre gets stuck in with the boys on the pitch

We stayed for about 4 hours playing with the kids and giving them bike rides. We were all very moved and sad to have to leave...the kids constantly vied for our attention and it was clear that they just craved love and affection, particularly the little ones.

This little one was a little camera shy... and opposite, the uber confident Maria De Los Angeles poses with my shades

The SOS Villages charity is giving these kids a real chance in life and I sincerely thank you all for your support. I would particularly like to thank my sister Rachel`s company Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals www.lundbeck.com who very kindly donated Euro1,000 to the 2 Bike Dreams Andes Trail charities "SOS Villages" www.sos-childrensvillages.org and "Right To Play" www.righttoplay.com . This and the money raised at the table quiz will be donated 50:50 to the 2 charities along with other participants donations through the Bike Dreams organisation www.bike-dreams.com