Capital: Caracas
Area: 912,050 km²
Population: 25.7 million (July 2006)
Ethnic groups: mestizos or mulattos, European descent, African descent, indigenous descent
Official language(s): Spanish
Religion(s): Roman Catholicism
Currency: 1 Bolívar = 100 centavos
SOS Children's Villages' activities in the country
In 1976, Hermann Gmeiner's idea reached Venezuela and SOS Children's Village La Cañada was built in Maracaíbo. The first children were able to move into SOS Children's Village La Cañada, which is in the northwest of the country, in 1978. There is an SOS Kindergarten, an SOS Social Centre and a primary school attached to the SOS Children's Village.
More than half the population of Venezuela live below the poverty line. The suffering of the children was immense and neither has it improved. Therefore, more SOS Children's Villages were built in the north of the country, where the majority of the population lives. In 1996, the first SOS Youth Facilities were built in Maracaíbo and Maracay. These are open to youths from all the country's SOS Children's Villages and help prepare them to be able to live on their own. Since 1990, SOS Children's Villages Venezuela has been supporting enterprising, creative and trained youths from the SOS Children's Villages who want to set up their own small business with interest-free loans. Numerous youths have already used this scheme to become successful business people.
In 2002, SOS Children’s Villages started to operate 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. The SOS Family Strengthening Programmes help to improve living conditions for the poorest people by offering children with dietary deficiencies full day-care facilities, medical care and a balanced diet. This alleviates the children’s conditions and gives the mothers, who are often single-parents, the chance to go to work.
In December 1999, Venezuela was hit by torrential rain. Many people lost their homes in the floods. As a result, SOS Children’s Villages set up an SOS Emergency Relief Programme, which lasted for four months. People were given medical supplies, tools and household implements and were also helped in their search for missing relatives.
At present there are three SOS Children’s Villages, SOS Youth Facilities at three locations, two SOS Kindergartens, one SOS Hermann Gmeiner School, one SOS Vocational Training Centre and SOS Social Centres at four locations.