Hermann Gmeiner, a native Austrian, founded the first Austrian SOS Children's Villages association in 1949. For Hermann Gmeiner, the original goal was, after the devastation of the Second World War, to provide orphans and abandoned children with a family, a house, and a village in which to feel at home. The first SOS Children's Village was built in Imst in the Austrian province of Tyrol the same year.

The very first house in the village was named "House of Peace". Imst has become the model for SOS Children's Villages all over the world; an adaptable, internationally practicable and all-embracing child-care concept.

Every SOS Children's Village offers a permanent home in a family-style environment to children who have lost their parents or can no longer live with them. Ten to twelve boys and girls of different ages live together with their SOS mother in a family house, and eight to fifteen SOS Children's Village families form a village community.

The so-called "four principles" - the SOS mother, the sisters and brothers, the family house and the SOS Children's Village - form the basis and the framework of the concept of our work at the SOS Children's Villages. The foremost of these principles is the mother, or mother-centered care.

The supporting facilities are all the facilities that are based around the SOS Children's Village itself. These can be kindergartens, SOS Hermann Gmeiner Schools, vocational training centres, social centres, medical centres etc. Supporting facilities are not only open to SOS Children's Village children and youths, but also to the local community.

"SOS Children's Villages" is the English name of the entire organisation, active in 132 countries and territories through national associations.

"SOS-Kinderdorf International" is the official name of the umbrella organisation of all SOS Children's Villages associations. As the umbrella organisation has been registered as an association with the Austrian authorities, the legal name used is a German language term. All SOS Children's Villages associations have their own local boards and are responsible for the organisation's activities in the respective countries.

Each SOS Children's Villages association establishes a National Office to coordinate the activities of all SOS Children's Villages facilities in the respective country. The National Offices are there to carry out necessary tasks (e.g. accounting, liaison with other organisations and government authorities, sponsorship services etc.) in the most efficient and economical way.

The first initiative may come from a government, embassy, or individual with a special connection to the country in question and in-depth knowledge of the social situation, particularly when it comes to children. In some cases, an SOS Children's Villages co-worker might bring the special plight in a particular country to the organisation's attention.

A sudden emergency, such as war, natural disaster, or famine might also lead to SOS-Kinderdorf International offering help, usually by way of an SOS Emergency Relief Programme. Such temporary programmes might, in many cases, lead to SOS Children's Villages and/or other permanent facilities being established in the country.

Before starting any activities in a new country several studies are carried out into feasibility and necessity. Additional checks have to be made to see whether SOS Children's Villages will be able to offer a valid supplementary contribution to help children in need.

Finally, an agreement must be signed with the government in which the foundations for cooperation are laid out (child care model, child admission, the legal position regarding taxation, questions about plots of land, etc.).

The financial and logistical feasibility also has to be examined. Only then can the actual construction of an SOS Children's Village go under way, as long as there is a suitable plot of land, suitably located in an area established as having the greatest need.

Every effort is made to ensure that the children placed in an SOS family are those who are going to benefit most from its care. Only those children who are in need of a new home in a permanent family environment and for whom a more suitable care placement cannot be found are considered for admission into an SOS family. Generally speaking, children up to the age of ten can be admitted. When a group of siblings is admitted, group members' ages may, however, vary.

The SOS Children's Villages association of the respective country defines the criteria of admittance within the scope of the guidelines set up by SOS-Kinderdorf International and according to the economic and social, and legal requirements within the country.

The decision whether to admit a child is then made by a committee consisting of the village director, an SOS mother, social workers, and sometimes the national director, in co-operation with the authorities. This committee decides whether a child is physically and mentally fit to be admitted to one of our villages and whether the child is in need of a permanent home. Should there be any of the child's siblings in need of care, these children would also be admitted to the village.

The families in industrialised nations are usually smaller than the ones in developing countries. A typical SOS Children's Village family in an industrialised country consists of four to six children while families in developing countries usually have seven to ten children.

Contrary to many child care models promoted by other organisations, SOS Children's Villages does not separate siblings. That is why some families might temporarily have more children.

The SOS Children's Villages association of the respective country defines the criteria of admittance within the scope of the guidelines set up by SOS-Kinderdorf International and according to the economic and social, and legal requirements within the country.

The decision whether to admit a child is then made by a committee consisting of the village director, an SOS mother, social workers, and sometimes the national director, in co-operation with the authorities. This committee decides whether a child is physically and mentally fit to be admitted to one of our villages and whether the child is in need of a permanent home. Should there be any of the child's siblings in need of care, these children would also be admitted to the village.

There is no specific age at which children have to leave the SOS Children's Village. Usually, they stay in the care of SOS Children's Villages until they are capable of looking after themselves; until they have completed their education or vocational training and can make a living on their own.

There is one general educational concept applied at SOS Children's Village facilities all over the world: the SOS family child care model, with a minimum level of educational goals. These goals depend on the child's age when admitted to the village.

The so-called "four principles" - the SOS mother, the sisters and brothers, the family house and the SOS Children's Village - form the basis and the framework of the concept of our work at the SOS Children's Villages. The foremost of these principles is the mother, or mother-centred care.

Apart from all that, the children's upbringing depends on their cultural and ethical context and on the people involved in their education, SOS mother, teachers etc.

Each child is brought up according to the belief (s)he has taken over from her/his parents. If the parents' faith is not known, the child is brought up according to the religion which is most common in the particular culture. In many SOS Children's Villages, different faiths are represented.

The teaching methods employed, and the games and toys used, are based on the educational theories of Friedrich Fröbel and Maria Montessori, taking due account of the cultural requirements of the country concerned.

The Montessori approach offers a broad vision of education as an aid to life. It is designed to help children with the task of inner construction as they grow from childhood to maturity. It succeeds because it draws its principles from the child's natural development.

If the infrastructure is sufficient, SOS children generally go to local schools. If there are no suitable schools near the SOS Children's Village, SOS Hermann Gmeiner Schools (primary and secondary schools) and/or SOS Vocational Training Centres are set up. These facilities are also open to children and youngsters from the neighbourhood. However, we are always ready to help upgrade existing local schools as a means of saving cost and to promote local integration.

The SOS Hermann Gmeiner Schools offer primary, secondary school education, or both for children from the SOS Children's Village and the neighbourhood. The syllabus is devised in line with the local culture and the country's educational laws. Secondary schooling is completed with a leaving exam.

Each SOS child or youth receives the education or training best suited to her/his personal abilities and orientated towards the job market in their country. This may incorporate vocational training, home economics, agricultural training or any other sort of additional training and education. Academically gifted SOS youth may even be eligible for higher schooling followed by university studies.

Personal development programmes are provided for youths to help them learn life skills. Training programmes include the development of relationships, education on growing up and social awareness. Community service programmes are organised to give youths the opportunity to participate constructively in community life. The village director also encourages reunions of young adults who are living independently; this serves to maintain links between them as well as with their SOS family.

Examples of such personal development programmes are:

Education on growing up, HIV/AIDS awareness, the prevention of alcohol and drug abuse.

Communication skills, building sustainable relationships, and conflict management.

Community service activities, such as working in local schools, clinics and hospitals, whether through local community or other social organisations

The core activity of our organisation is the construction and running of SOS Children's Villages, but we also run a whole array of supporting facilities and programmes. Target groups with these facilities and programmes are both children and youths from the SOS Children's Villages and the local population - an essential contribution to community development and the prevention of child abandonment.

The SOS Hermann Gmeiner Schools offer primary, secondary school education, or both for children from the SOS Children's Village and the neighbourhood. The syllabus is devised in line with the local culture and the country's educational laws. Secondary schooling is completed with a leaving exam.

An SOS Emergency Relief Programme is our way of offering swift and un-bureaucratic aid to areas hit by war, crisis or natural disasters. SOS Children's Villages sets up food supply centres in famine- and drought-stricken areas, in many cases guaranteeing basic nourishment of children and their families until the local supply infrastructure has been restored. In the aftermath of natural disasters, emergency accommodation or building material for reconstruction may be provided. Although emergency relief programmes are set up as temporary initiatives, facilities for long-term help for the stricken community are often established.

SOS-Kinderdorf International, the umbrella organisation of SOS Children's Villages, was set up to provide children in need with long-term help and as such is not an emergency relief organisation. It offers a new and permanent home in a family-like environment to children who have lost or are, for a variety of reasons, no longer able to live with their natural family. In addition to SOS Children's Villages the organisation runs other long-term facilities such as kindergartens, schools, medical- and social centres to help the local population and the SOS children and youth.

In crisis situations caused by war or natural disasters, SOS Children's Villages is able to respond swiftly through its network of facilities to help victims, running its own relief programmes or collaborating with the state, UN or other NGOs. Emergency relief, however, forms only a subsidiary part of SOS Children's Villages' work, and our SOS Emergency Relief Programmes are small scale in comparison to those of other NGOs in the field.

Our programmes for people affected by HIV/AIDS concentrate on the education of children and youngsters in preventing the spread of the disease and on giving support and help to child- or grandparent-headed families, where the parents have been killed by the disease. It is imperative to inform our children, youngsters and employees about how to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. When children living in an SOS Children's Village develop AIDS, we aim to look after them in the village for as long as possible, provided that the necessary medical means are available.

The SOS Medical Centres play a crucial role in HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention programmes, testing, counselling and being a support venue for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Our community support programmes for people affected by HIV/AIDS concentrate on the assistance and support for child- or grandparent-headed families: material support, education, links with social security/welfare provision, HIV/AIDS prevention/awareness campaigns, counselling and income generating activities.