Meet RIE
The Beginning of RIE
The RIE - Residencia Infantil Emmanuel (Emmanuel Residence for Children) came into existence in 1967 as an "innitiative" approved by a group of Evangelical Christian women in Catalonia and Spain, and became a "reality" in January of 1969. Since then and to this day, many people have worked in this service of care for the children. Many children have benefitted of this care.
The Objectives
The purpose of the center is to provide a space for the development of the children we care for as a whole person. This process helps their families in an indirect way to deal with some of their situations opening the door for the child to return home. The educational project is always run based on the christian values that define the center.
The Methodology
The Residence takes in children between the ages of four and twelve at the time of their registration. They live in the center during the week praciticing a normal daily life: going to school either in the local grade school or middle school, participating in entertaining
extracurricular activities, receiving a complete education from the center imparted by a specialized multi-disciplined team.
Along with the general dynamics of the center, each child receives an individualized education that meets the special and specific characteristics of each one, and that includes all the aspects of their daily lives.
Photo: May 2004
Volunteers
The Center's educational work is supported and complemented by a team of volunteers who support the project in a specialised and disinterested way. With coordination provided by the educators, they undertake private reinforcement tuition with the children, in addition to undertaking play school, games and leisure time activities, sports and cultural activites outside normal school hours, psychological back-up activity etc. A large volunteer group supports the Centre in the following areas: the kitchen, house maintenance, cleaning, computer inputs, legal and juridical assistance, special collections of food and other products etc.
There are two kinds of volunteers who deserve special mention: on the one hand, the board of management of the Asociación Residencia Infantil Emmanuel and on the other, the involvement of the host families.
Foster families
Although some of the children can be looked after by their own families at weekends, on feast days and during holiday periods, others are welcomed into their home by selected host families who do a great job integrating some of our children into their own home atmosphere with a commitment in time terms of at least one year.
The Board of Directors
The board of management of the RIE is made up of a President, vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and several board members. As indicated in the statutes of the organisation, the board has responsibility for convening and chairing meetings of the Association and for running the home. The Residencia figures as Association nº 27087 in the Register of the Generalitat de Cataluña.
Photo: December 2003
The financial support of the center
The Residencia Emmanuel relies solely on donations from private and public bodies. Partners in the Residencia pay a small annual quota. Some evangelical churches in Catalonia and Spain sponsor the Centre with monthly donations that help towards estimating the Home's annual budget.
Other companies, societies, firms and collective bodies are involved indirectly by donating products and services that help to make economies when it comes to meeting different needs. One example of this is the kindness of Sant Just Desvern's local people and firms who, after close contact with the Residencia over the years, are usually of great assistance to the children and the educators by donating clothes, toys and different products and services.
The children's parents or family circle, although they are not normally in a financial position to do so, are encouraged to give a small voluntary sum monthly according to their means as a mark of involvement and responsibility towards their children while they cannot be with them.
Thanks to everyone's help we can make reality our desire to provide good service to our children.
EMMANUEL CHILDREN'S HOME
Sant Just Desvern (Barcelona)
Tel. 933 722 054
info@resi-rie.org
A home for children where
they can feel like family
Sant Just Desvern (Barcelona)
Tel. 933 722 054
info@resi-rie.org
A home for children where
they can feel like family
RIE's web
A big thank you to the voluntary translators!
A big thank you to the voluntary translators!
Photo display authorized
by the legal guardians