We, at SOS Children’s Villages, take action for children as an independent non-governmental social development organisation. We respect varying religions and cultures, and we work in countries and communities where our mission can contribute to development. We work in the spirit of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and we promote these rights around the world.

The first SOS Children’s Village was founded by Hermann Gmeiner in 1949 in Imst, Austria. He was committed to helping children in need – children who had lost their homes, their security and their families as a result of the Second World War. With the support of many donors and co-workers, our organisation has grown to help children all over the world.

In South Africa we built our first village in Ennerdale in 1982 and then during the past 27 years, we started 7 more villages across the country: Mamelodi, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Mthatha, Pietermaritzburg, Nelspruit and Rustenburg. We also have three Social Centres: Qwa-Qwa, Sekhekhune and Mathanjane.

Currently we have about 950 children in our permanent care programme, and in our Family Strengthening Programme (FSP) we have about 5 000 people (children, parents and grand parents) which is short term care. The latter is where we have to concentrate all our efforts now to reach as many children and families as possible, to prevent further deterioration of family structures and care givers.

Our Vision is that every child belongs to a family and grows with love, respect and security.

And our Mission reads as follows: We build families for children in need, we help them shape their own futures and we share in the development of their communities.

Our original concept is based on a family approach to the long-term care of orphaned and abandoned children. This concept is based on four principals:
The Mother – each child has a caring parent
Brothers and Sisters – the family ties grow naturally
The House – each family crates its own home
The Village – The SOS Family is a part of the community

Operates in: All of South Africa
Established in: 1949

Non-Profit Organisation Number: 001-255
Public Benefit Organisation Number: 130001880
Section 21 Company Number:
Trust Number:

Contact person: Siphiwe Maphanga
Phone: 011 234 8708
Fax: 011 234 4844
Email:

Website: www.sos.org.za

Physical address: Woodmead Willows, 19B Morris Street East, Woodmead
Postal address: P O Box 22, Randburg, 2125