It was thanks the personal initiative of the former Austrian Honorary Consul, Juan Ostreicher, that Hermann Gmeiner's idea found its way to the Dominican Republic. The national SOS Children's Village association was founded in September 1979. The location for the first SOS Children's Village in the Dominican Republic was chosen in Los Jardines del Norte, a district of the capital, Santo Domingo. The first families were already able to move into their new homes in January 1981.
There was an economic crisis in the early 1980s. Strikes and unrest came as a result of the high cost of living and ensuing poverty. Because more than half the country's population lived in the cities and the poor economic and social situation called for more SOS Children's Village facilities, it was decided to construct a second SOS Children's Village in Santo Domingo in 1985. This time the location was chosen in the Los Mina district. The SOS Kindergarten attached to the SOS Children's Village is also open to children from the neighbourhood. Due to the lack of state schools in Los Mina, SOS-Kinderdorf International decided to build an SOS Hermann Gmeiner School there in 1988. Furthermore, an SOS Medical Centre was also set up in Los Mina and is there for the local population. Since 1988, the youths who have outgrown the SOS Children's Villages are accommodated in the SOS Youth Facilities in the centre of Santo Domingo. Here they are looked after until they are able to stand on their own feet.
Though the North of the island is very famous for its tobacco and rum industries, it still has to cope with poverty, destitution and all related social problems. Because of the great number of orphaned and abandoned children in this region, SOS Children's Villages decided to provide children with a permanent and secure home in the industrial city of Santiago de los Caballeros. Construction of the country’s third SOS Children's Village and an SOS Hermann Gmeiner School commenced in mid-2002, with these facilities becoming operational in September 2003.
In 2006, SOS Children’s Villages started to operate SOS Family Strengthening Programmes, which enable children who are at risk of losing the care of their family to grow within a caring family environment. To achieve this, SOS Children’s Villages works directly with families and communities to empower them to effectively protect and care for their children, in cooperation with local authorities and other service providers.
At present there are three SOS Children's Villages in the Dominican Republic, two SOS Youth Facilities, two SOS Hermann Gmeiner Schools, two SOS Social Centres, and one SOS Medical Centre.
Website of SOS Children's Villages Dominican Republic
(available in Spanish, English and German)