Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, is located in the east of the country and has about 1.2 million inhabitants. The SOS Children's Village Tbilisi is situated in the western part of the capital, on the Nuzubidse high plateau, about eight kilometres from the city centre and about 30 kilometres from the airport. The plot of land covers about five hectares and is well integrated into the public supply system. The SOS Children's Village is located next to a residential area, where some small food stores and secondary schools can be found. Other facilities, such as hospitals, markets, music schools, etc., are located a little closer to the city centre. The official opening ceremony was held on 22 April 1998 in the presence of Eduard Shevardnaze, at that time state president of Georgia, and of Helmut Kutin, president of SOS-Kinderdorf International.
SOS Children's Village Tbilisi comprises twelve family houses with a capacity for up to 84 children, an administration and service area, and houses for the village director and the SOS aunts (who support the SOS mothers and take care of the children when the mothers are on leave).
The adjoining SOS Kindergarten is open to the children from the neighbourhood and consists of five group rooms, a kitchen and a gym; it can cater to up to 100 children. A computer room was set up in one of the local schools as an SOS Social Centre, where various computer courses are offered to up to 260 students per year. The SOS Youth Facility in the centre of Tbilisi can accommodate up to 29 youths, who live there during their vocational training or higher education and prepare themselves for an independent life. The family strengthening programme offers access to essential services for children’s development (eg. educational, nutritional, health support, social skills) and supports families to protect and care for their children. The programme also aims at linking families with income generating activities and offers help to improve the parents’ parenting skills.