The first SOS Children’s Village was foundede by Hermann Gmeiner in 1949 in Imst Austria. He was committed to helping children in need – children who had lost their homes, their security and their families as a result of the Second World War.

In 1985 after Hermann Gmeiner had retired, Helmut Kutin was chosen as the President of SOS Kinderdorf International. Gmeiner remained his teacher and friend until his death, April 26, 1986.

Helmut Kutin grew up in the SOS Children's Village Imst, where he found a family after his mother died. SOS Children's Village helped him to graduate from university and to become a friend and colleague of Hermann Gmeiner.

With the support of many donors and co-workers, our organisation has grown to help children in 132 countries of the world.

SOS Children’s Villages’ 1715 facilities worldwide can be divided into eight groups:

Brief History:

1949    First SOS Children's Village association founded in Austria and first SOS Children's Village built in Imst, Austria, by Hermann Gmeiner.

1955    First SOS Youth House built in Innsbruck, Austria. SOS Children's Village associations already established in France, Germany and Italy.

1963    SOS activities spread beyond Europe with its first projects in South Korea and Ecuador.

1970    First African SOS Children's Village built in Côte d'Ivoire. Further SOS Children's Village projects in Ghana, Kenya and Sierra Leone.

1982    Opening of the Hermann Gmeiner Academy in Innsbruck as a training centre for SOS staff from all over the world.

1991    First SOS Children's Villages in Poland and the Soviet Union, new projects in Bulgaria and Romania. Foundation of the first SOS Children's Village in the USA.

1999    Golden jubilee: 400 SOS Children's Villages, 375 youth facilities and around 750 supporting facilities throughout the world.

2005    Following the tsunami disaster in Asia, SOS Children's Villages provided emergency assistance (food, medicine and temporary shelter) as well as long-term support (reconstruction of entire villages, rebuilding of community centres, schools, construction of SOS Children's Villages) in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand.

2003    Additional programmes established for HIV/AIDS sufferers and their families, and support intensified for disadvantaged families and their children.