SOS Children's Village Bukavu is on a hill above the town of Bukavu on Lake Kivu, in the Karhale district, which is one kilometre south west of town. Political instability, which for decades has affected the country and above all its people, led to the construction of the SOS Children's Village. Thousands of families are no longer in a position to take care of their children financially and the number of neglected children in need, who have been left to fend for themselves, is constantly on the rise.
Up to 150 children can live at SOS Children's Village Bukavu, which has twelve family houses, a village director's house, an administration building and a house for the SOS aunts. On the grounds of the SOS Children's Village, there is also an SOS Kindergarten and an SOS Herman Gmeiner School which were opened at the same time as the village and are also open to children from the surrounding areas. Almost 550 children currently attend the school. The primary school has a library, an administration area, a multi-purpose hall and twelve classrooms. The kindergarten has five classrooms, a kitchen and a dining room, so that the children can also get a meal at lunchtime. Within the programme to integrate the children into society and the working world, a youth facility was also built so as to encourage them to become independent.
In June 1997 an SOS Medical Centre was built to provide efficient medical care for the people and to implement preventive measures at a local level. The centre has a surgery with beds, three consultation rooms, a diagnostic laboratory, a waiting room and a dispensary. Since it opened, it has provided care for up to 880 patients a month.