SOS Children's Village Nairobi lies in the so-called Eastlands, which are part of the peripheral districts of Nairobi. The capital experienced rapid growth, and has some 1.5 million inhabitants today. On 16 October 1975, SOS Children's Village Nairobi was opened in the presence of both the Kenyan Vice-President, and the SOS-Kinderdorf founder Hermann Gmeiner. It comprises 16 family houses, a village director's house, a house for the SOS aunts (SOS aunts take care of the children in case of an SOS mother's absence), a guest house, a sports ground, a multi-purpose hall, an administrative and service unit, coops for the chickens, beehives, vegetable beds, and a water preparation plant.