SOS Children's Village Of Liberia

SOS Children established its first community in Liberia in a district of the capital Monrovia known as Matadi in 1981. One hundred and fifty children live in the fifteen family houses that comprise the community. There is also a youth house for the older boys.

A second charity Village opened in 2000 in Juah Town in Bassah county in northern Liberia. The village has six family houses, a kindergarten and a primary and secondary school but had to be evacuated in May 2003 because of the fighting and the children and staff moved to the village in Monrovia. Both the school and the kindergarten remain closed.

In 1984, a primary and secondary school was established next to the children's community in Matadi because of the shortage of schools in the area. Local children as well as the members of the SOS community attend this school. In addition to the school, local children can also attend kindergarten that was established at the SOS village. The kindergarten has a capacity for over 100 children.

In Monrovia a short term emergency relief program was established by SOS at its at its Children's site in Monrovia in June 2003 for over 7000 refugees who had fled the fighting. This program provided food and temporary shelter for the refugees. SOS also set up an emergency medical center, which provides supplementary feeding programs for undernourished children as well as medical care.

SOS Children Villages looks after children worldwide who have lost their parents: through war, famine, disease or poverty. It also cares for street children, AIDS orphans, child soldiers and other children in dire circumstances.

They build their children's communities in the poorest and most vulnerable areas where the orphaned children are, and that often makes them best placed to sort out emergency help with other problems when they strike.

Defining itself as a "long term" charity, SOS Children is the world's largest "orphan and abandoned children" charity. It supports over 50,000 children in four hundred and thirty one villages around the world. They also help nearly half a million children by working with almost a thousand schools, skills training centers, social support programs and medical centers.

SOS Children's Home Office is in the UK and its web site is found at:
http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/children-charity.htm

SOS Children's Village Of Liberia's web page can be found at:
http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/sos-children-charity/liberia.htm