Capital: Beijing
Area: 9,596,960 km²
Population: 1,306 million (July 2005)
Ethnic groups: Han Chinese and national minorities
Official language(s): Mandarin
Religion(s): Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, and Christianity
Currency: 1 renminbi-yuan = 10 jiao = 100 fen
SOS Children's Villages' activities in the country
It was upon the initiative of a Chinese official, who had noticed the work of SOS Children's Villages during his stay in America, that Hermann Gmeiner's idea became known in the Socialist People's Republic of China in 1984. During the subsequent visit of Herman Gmeiner and Helmut Kutin, SOS-Kinderdorf International's representative of for Asia at that time, to Beijing, a collaboration agreement was signed with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the foundation of the first SOS Children's Villages in Tainjin and Yantai was laid. In 1985 the national SOS Children's Village Association was founded and two years later the two SOS Children's Villages Tianjin and Yantai were officially opened.
In 1991 China signed the UNO Convention on the Rights of Children. Subsequently the Chinese government launched several programs to improve the living conditions of children. This included their support given during the realization of additional SOS Children's Village facilities, particularly in the remote and/or underdeveloped regions of the country. In 1992 the first SOS Youth Facilities came into being and these were gradually established in all SOS Children's Villages.
The SOS Hermann Gmeiner School in Yantai, which was opened in 1993, has over 3,000 pupils and thus is the biggest school built by SOS Children's Villages worldwide. It enjoys the status of a model school and belongs to the best schools of the country. The SOS Vocational Training Centre in Qiqihar became operational in October 1996. Here 500 students attend practical courses, which prepare them for their professional life. A special event was the opening of the SOS Children's Village Lhasa in 2001, the first SOS Children's Village in the autonomous region of Tibet. At the time over 3,000 orphans were registered in Tibet. According to official sources the project was regarded as an important step towards a future orientated accommodation of children without parents.
At present there are ten SOS Children's Villages, nine SOS Youth Facilities, nine SOS Kindergartens, one SOS Hermann Gmeiner School, two Social Centers, and three SOS Vocational Training Centres in China.
Contact:
SOS Children's Village China
Beiheyan St.
Yin Zha-Hutong 20#, Room 1101
Beijing-100006
China
Tel:+86-10-85110145
fax +86-10-65 259002