Our Facilities
Austria is the cradle of the SOS Children's Villages. Aware of the post-war misery and want of so many children in need of care, Hermann Gmeiner, born in the province of Vorarlberg, founded the first SOS Children's Village at Imst in Tyrol in 1949. Ten years later, as many as twenty SOS Children's Villages existed in Austria, Germany, France and Italy. Thus, the first steps were completed towards the worldwide largest private charity which helps orphans and abandoned children. The concept of bringing up children in a SOS Children's Village in their own culture and religious traditions is one of the principles in a process of re-thinking in social welfare terms.
Today, more than 850 orphans or abandoned children live in nine Austrian SOS Children's Villages and in ancillary facilities. In addition, 14 SOS Youth Facilities and SOS Girls' Residences have been set up, so far. Here, young people who are attending further studies or undergoing vocational training can prepare for an independent life under the supervision of experienced pedagogues. A psycho-therapeutic centre was set up for children who have been exposed to such severe psychological strain, that they cannot be integrated straight away into a normal family-unit of the SOS Children's Village without special care.
Website of SOS Children's Villages Austria (available in German)