Raising Funds for the Establishment of a Music Therapy Room and a Nature Aesthetics Studio: Help SOS Children’s Village Valmiera to Transform the Lives of Children Without Parental Care and in Crisis

The Fenix Charity Fund, in collaboration with the Ieklausies – Sadzirdi – Atbalsti program (Listen – Hear – Support), announces the launch of a new project to help transform the lives of children in crisis at SOS Children’s Village Valmiera, in Latvia. This initiative is part of a broader effort to provide essential support to vulnerable children and their foster families.

Together with the Ieklausies – Sadzirdi – Atbalsti program, Fenix Charity Fund is raising funds to create two crucial spaces that will provide therapeutic and emotional support to children without parental care and in crisis: a Music Therapy Room and a Nature Aesthetics Studio. These spaces are designed to help children recover emotionally, offer them a safe environment to heal and develop. You can also support the children in SOS Villages by donating your musical instruments. If you have any well-maintained and working musical instruments that you no longer use, please consider giving them a new life in the hands of a child. 

In their daily work, SOS Children’s Villages not only care for children who have been left without the care of their biological parents but also provide several types of assistance to families with children who have found themselves in difficult circumstances. One such form of support is the SOS Family Support Centers, which also offer social rehabilitation services for children. 

The creation of the Nature Aesthetics Studio and Music Therapy Studio at SOS Family Support Center in Valmiera will enable them to provide more diverse support for children in need. Under the guidance of experienced specialists, children will have the opportunity to engage in creative activities in an engaging way, thereby improving their concentration and communication skills, fostering creativity, and strengthening their mental health. 

“Without the involvement of donors, the establishment of such studios would not be possible. We sincerely thank Fenix Charity Fund for their initiative and efforts in raising funds specifically for this purpose”, says Ilze Paleja, Director of the SOS Children’s Villages Association.

Santa Laizane, Director of the Fenix Charity Fund, says: “We are grateful to everyone who has shown interest and support so far. These two new spaces will provide invaluable tools for the development of children’s emotional, social, and cognitive skills. We warmly invite those who feel moved by this cause to join us in making this vision a reality. We are deeply thankful to ISA for their involvement, care, and active support, which will help bring this project to life and continue to impact many lives”.

Music Therapy Room

Music therapy is the use for therapeutic purposes, utilizing sound, rhythm, melody, and harmony in an individual or group process between the therapist and the client. Its purpose is to promote communication, learning, mobilization, and expression, to improve physical, mental, and social health, and to develop an individual’s potential for a better quality of life. It is a highly beneficial practice for children, helping them build self-esteem, release built-up emotions, as well as fostering connections through shared experiences with peers and therapists.

Nature Aesthetics Studio

The Nature Aesthetics Studio promotes children’s emotional and creative development, and helps improve sensory and social skills. It provides children with the opportunity to explore nature, reduce stress, and promote well-being by offering a harmonious and peaceful environment that stimulates imagination and creative thinking. The studio also facilitates children’s connection with the surrounding world, improving their emotional balance and self-expression. Spending time in nature-inspired spaces has been shown to help children process difficult emotions and develop a stronger sense of calmness.

The Latvian SOS Children’s Villages Association is a non-governmental charitable organization that provides long-term family care for children left without parental care, maintains family support centers and the out-of-family care support center in several Latvian municipalities, and implements various social prevention programs. In the foster families of two SOS Children’s Villages (Īslīce and Valmiera), in several integrated SOS families, as well as in the SOS Youth House in Jelgava – 130 children and young people from all over Latvia have found support, safety and new homes. In total, more than 1,500 children receive assistance in all support programs implemented by SOS Children’s Villages during the year.

The SOS Children’s Village in Valmiera, established in 2007, also hosts a Family Support Center, which offers various rehabilitation services like music therapy, speech therapy, and Montessori sessions for both village children and families in need within the community. Each year, dozens of children receive emotional and developmental support, helping them build resilience and prepare for independent life.