SOS Children's Village Amazonas is located in Manaus, the capital of the province of Amazonas. The city has a population of about 850,000. Amazonas province is situated in the north of the country. Most of it is covered in rainforest, with many rivers running through it. Up to the early 19th century, the area was almost exclusively inhabited by descendents of Brazilian aborigines. From around 1840 onwards, descendents of Europeans attracted by the booming rubber industry started settling in the province. Since the region was the sole trader in natural rubber back then, Manaus became a rich and prosperous city. Its decline began several decades later when rubber trees were first planted in Asia, and Asian countries started producing rubber, too.
SOS Children's Village Amazonas is about six kilometres from the airport and seven kilometres from the city centre of Manaus. It was constructed on a 16-acre site and consists of twelve family houses, where up to 120 children can find a new home. In addition, there is the village director's house, a house for the so-called SOS aunts (SOS mother trainees or family helpers who support the SOS mothers during their daily work and fill in for them when they are ill or on leave), a small theatre, a library, a volleyball field, and a service and administration area.
The SOS Children's Village also includes an SOS Vocational Training Centre for SOS mothers. The children from SOS Children's Village Amazonas attend the state-run schools nearby. Several supermarkets and hospitals can easily be reached by public means of transport.
An SOS Youth Facility in the city centre accommodates up to 13 youths from the SOS Children's Village while they are doing vocational training or higher education. The SOS Social Centre on the village site provides full day care for up to 680 pre-school children.