Portrait of a little boy with his mother - CV…

Portrait of a little boy with his mother - CV Bo, siera leone

At the beginning of the '70s, the idea was born to start SOS Children's Village activities also in Africa. Sierra Leone was one of the first countries that the then project leader, Werner Handl, made contact with. After talks with the local authorities, SOS Children's Villages received a plot of land in Lumley, outside the city centre of Freetown, for the establishment of the first SOS Children's Village in Sierra Leone. Consequently, a village with an adjoining kindergarten was established in 1973/74. The first 45 children moved into the SOS Children's Village Freetown in August 1974. In the same year, a national SOS Children's Village Association of Sierra Leone was founded as legal entity for the work in this country.

Due to the very poor educational facilities for children and youths in Sierra Leone, SOS Children's Villages decided later on to build a primary and secondary school and a Printing Press in Freetown. Over the years various youth housing facilities and programmes for assisting youth independence were also established. In February 1983, a second SOS Children's Village together with a kindergarten and youth village became operational in Bo in the interior of Sierra Leone. Because of the huge number of children that had been affected by polio, SOS Children's Villages established a facility for the physically challenged in Freetown in 1988. Between 1995 and 1999, the situation in Sierra Leone was extremely unstable with periods of raging civil war. Being in serious danger the SOS Children's Village Bo had to be temporarily evacuated for several times. Other SOS Children's Village facilities in Bo and Freetown had to be closed down during the war. The SOS Children's Village Freetown also served as a temporary refuge for as many as 2,000 refugees. In 1999, SOS Children's Villages organised an emergency relief programme for some of the 30,000 people that had fled from the street fights and had taken refuge in the Freetown sports stadium: medicine, food, clothing, blankets and tents were distributed. After the peaceful re-election of President Ahmed Kabbah in May 2002, life in Sierra Leone has slowly been returning to normal. In spite of the difficult situation during the war years, the work of SOS Children's Villages in Sierra Leone has always been highly appreciated. The renaming of the "Lumley Beach Road" in Freetown to "Hermann Gmeiner Avenue" in January 1997 is a token of this appreciation. The SOS Children's Village Association of Sierra Leone which had been founded in 1974, had also no more possibilities of activities during the war years starting with 1992. Therefore between the years 2000 and 2002 this association was re-activated and in September 2002 a new trust was founded. In order to address the bad situation of the many orphans and vulnerable children in the central part of Sierra Leone plans for a third SOS Children’s Village were developed in the following years. During 2006 a third SOS Children’s Village has been be constructed in the city of Makeni. The facility also comprises a Kindergarten and primary school which both started their first school term in the school year 2007/08.

At present there are three SOS Children's Villages in Sierra Leone, two SOS Youth Facilities, three SOS Kindergartens, three SOS Hermann Gmeiner Schools, one SOS Vocational Training Centre and four SOS Social Centres.

Bo SOS Children's Village Bo In operation since: February 1983 Capacity: 100 children Official opening: March 1983 by Hermann Gmeiner, founder of the SOS Children's Villages Facility includes: 10 family houses, village director's house, 3 staff houses, multi-purpose hall, open rondavel, administration and service area including a small clinic, 2 workshops, playground SOS Youth Facility (youth accommodation) In operation since: February 1983 Capacity: 18 youths Facility includes: youth village with 3 houses (for boys, girls and youth leader) SOS-Kindergarten In operation since: February 1983 Capacity: 100 children Facility includes: 5 classrooms, classroom for Montessori education, toddlers' class, multi-purpose hall SOS Hermann Gmeiner School (primary and secondary school) In operation since: 30 September 1985 Capacity: 300 pupils Facility includes: 9 classrooms (6 primary school classes, 3 secondary school classes), 7 special classes for dressmaking/textile work, physics/chemistry lessons, library, typewriting, home economics/catering, special education lessons and school canteen room; administration and service area, open rondavel, 3 staff houses, playground SOS Social Centre (community support) In operation since: Beginning 1995 Capacity: 300 beneficiaries Facility includes: School canteen with food programme for all pupils of the SOS Primary and Secondary School, partially also for their parents