SOS National Olympic Games in Bolivia

The games are based on the Olympic spirit of promoting peace and friendship among participants, and give children from SOS Children's Villages throughout Bolivia the opportunity to compete over a number of days in various sporting disciplines.

As with last year, the children from SOS Children's Village Sucre will spend six months preparing for the games and will be aiming to improve on their performance in the 2003 games; only one competitor from Sucre came first and expectations had been high. As well as giving the children a taste of sporting competition, the discipline of training will give them some idea of just how hard athletes at the Olympics have to work to achieve their goals.

This and the lesson that it's often the taking part that is more important than the winning is something which the little Olympians will all take home with them, regardless whether accompanied by a medal.

Their experiences will help them come to terms with success and failure in life as well, and instil in them the importance of preparing for and working towards your goals. Although the spirit of competition prevails, it's not all toil and sweat; the SOS Olympic Games always provide a good opportunity for SOS children from different regions to make friends, have a laugh and talk to each other about their expectations and their dreams.

Good luck to all the competitors, and let's hope that all that preparation pays off!