Maputo, a port on the Indian Ocean, is the capital of Mozambique. It is located on the west side of Maputo Bay, at the mouth of the Tembe River, and has approximately one million inhabitants. The city was founded in late 18th century and named Lourenço Marques; the name was changed to Maputo in 1975 when the country finally gained independence. The SOS Children's Village Maputo is located in Laulane, one of the city's suburbs, in a hilly region dominated by sand dunes with poor vegetation. The city centre lies at a distance of about seven kilometres. The SOS Children's Village has been operational since 1992 and the official opening ceremony took place on 25 February 1995, in the presence of the State President of Mozambique and Helmut Kutin, president of SOS-Kinderdorf International.
The SOS Children's Village Maputo comprises fifteen family houses, a house for the village director, an administrative building, a workshop and a plant nursery.