Madreselvas, the first SOS Children's Village in Santiago, was built in 1967 on the outskirts of the city. In 1979, a second SOS Children's Village (Los Aromos) was built just two kilometres from Madreselvas. Both SOS Children's Villages have a wonderful view of the Andes. SOS Children's Village Madreselvas consists of twelve family houses, providing a new, loving home for up to 100 children. It also has as a village director's house, a community centre with an administrative unit and function rooms for special events and celebrations, a library, a sports ground and an SOS aunts' house (SOS Children’s Village mothers in training, who assist current SOS mothers in their everyday work, and stand in for them if they are ill or on holiday). The children attend local state schools and kindergartens.
Four SOS Youth Facilities were built in urban Santiago for young people from SOS Children's Villages Madreselvas and Los Aromos. Up to 36 adolescents can be housed in the facilities for the period of their secondary or vocational education, where a youth educator supervises them as they gradually get used to leading an independent life.