Who We Are

More Than Seventy Years of History

 

SOS Children’s Villages International is the umbrella organization for the global federation of national SOS Children’s Villages associations. We work together with a single mission: to ensure that every child grows with love, security and respect.
The organization was the brainchild of its foundry Mr. Herman Gmeiner who envisioned an innovative concept for child care that resembles a real family, after many children lost their parents in World War II. Soon SOS principles spread across Europe and later on to Asia and Africa to become a model for children in alternative care with its core principles, the mother, the siblings, the home and the village. SOS works as a non-governmental, independent organization that aims to provide children in need with loving stable home.

For more than 70 years:

We have worked with partners in each community to help families who are struggling to care for their children or to provide alternative care when there is no other option.
Uniquely, we provide long-term practical support, so that each child or young person can develop resilient relationships and face life’s challenges. In turn, this strengthens communities and the whole of society.

SOS Children’s Villages Today

Today SOS Children’s Villages supports over 553,600 people in 135 countries.
Our mission continues to be to build families for children in need, while helping them to shape their own futures and sharing in the development of their communities. Our vision for the world’s children is that every child should belong to a family and grow with love, respect, and security.
These tenets of our organization, developed by Hermann Gmeiner over sixty years ago, continue to define who we are and how we approach quality care for children.

Gulf Area Office

The Gulf Area Office is a branch office of SOS Children’s Villages International and is located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It covers six countries: the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The objective of the Gulf Area Office is to build long-term strategic partnerships for the benefit of children and to raise awareness of SOS Children’s Villages programmes and impact across the globe and in particular, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The Gulf Area Office works closely with programmes in MENA countries and in areas where SOS Children’s Villages runs emergency programmes to support operational efforts on the ground. The Gulf Area Office also works with local NGOs, government and humanitarian organizations to improve the situation of children around the world.

The Gulf Area Office is registered with Dubai International Humanitarian City, Licence No:  150020.

Learn more about SOS Children's Villages: