SOS Children's Village Gikongoro is situated in the town of the same name in the south of Rwanda, about 160 km from the capital Kigali and can be accessed easily by the Butare-Gikongoro-Cyangugu main road. Although the first SOS families moved into it in 1992, it didn't open officially until 3 May 1999 as a result of the war disturbances. SOS Children's Village Gikongoro has 12 family houses, which can each house up to ten children. In addition to the administration buildings (village director's house, aunt's house, service area), SOS Children's Village Gikongoro also has a sports ground, an SOS Kindergarten and an SOS Hermann Gmeiner School.
The SOS Kindergarten opened its gates on 4 January 1993 and from then onwards was attended by 150 children (also those from neighbouring areas), who are supervised in three group rooms. The playground is at the heart of the facility, which allows small children to play on swings, slides, climbing frames and to run around.
The SOS Hermann Gmeiner School (Primary School) opened in September 1992. There, just over 200 children are currently taught in six classrooms. Due to the great need for teaching facilities, there are plans to build six more classes and a science and technology room, an office for the head of the school, a sick ward and sanitary areas are also to be added to the existing school in the foreseeable future.