Western Honduras is more severely affected by poverty than the rest of the country. There are many young single mothers and many illiterate people; more than half of the population live in severe poverty. As a consequence, 50% of the children are malnourished and about 35% of them do not attend school. In the region, there are no public child-care institutions for orphaned and abandoned children. SOS Children's Village San Pedro Sula often took in children from the Western provinces, but it is not big enough to accept all children in need. That is why SOS Children's Villages decided to set up a new SOS Children's Village in Santa Rosa de Copán, where children from the provinces of Santa Bárbara, Ocotepeque, Copán and Lempira will be taken care of.
SOS Children's Village Santa Rosa de Copán is situated on the outskirts of the city. The neighbourhood is inhabited mainly by lower middle class families. The SOS Children's Village was constructed according to a new concept seeking better integration of the SOS families into their environment. The 14 family houses of the SOS Children's Village were built at the same time as the rest of the surrounding housing project; they are only a little larger than the others. Apart from the family houses, there is a village director's house and an administration and service centre. Markets, public schools and kindergartens are within easy reach of the SOS Children's Village.