Construction of SOS Children's Village Tela started one year after Hurricane Fifi's inundations had caused tremendous damage in the north of the country. This natural desaster brought about 5000 casualties; over 60.000 people lost their homes. The region around Tela had been severely hit by the hurricane. Many children had lost their parents. As early as 1976, SOS Children's Villages provided homeless children and families with provisional shelter. In 1977, SOS Children's Village Tela opened its gates.
SOS Children's Village Tela is situated in the district of Venecia, about 4 km from Tela's city center. It consists of twelve family houses, the village director's house, staff accommodation and an administration and service area. Up to 108 orphaned and abandoned children can find a new home at the SOS Children's Village. The 8 hectare area also houses a little farm, which serves mainly to provide the families with vegetables and meat.
Since its beginnings, SOS Children's Village Tela has grown, and numerous additional facilities have been added. In 1984, Tela's SOS Kindergarten opened its doors. It has quite a good reputation and there is a big demand for its places. In 2005, this facility was transformed into an SOS Social Centre including a day-care centre. Furthermore, the social centre organizes child-minding programmes together with mothers and families of the local community.
When boys and girls grow up and start a vocational training course or go on to higher education, they move to the SOS Youth Facility in order to prepare for independent living. The SOS Youth Facility in Tela consists of twelve houses where SOS youths live together in a semi-independent way. With the support of qualified youth workers, the young people develop realistic perspectives for their future.