SOS Children's Villages' activities in the country

The Republic of Cameroon, situated in the Gulf of Guinea in the Western part of Central Africa, has with its 140 different ethnic groups an enormous cultural variety. The main settlement areas of the approximately 16 million inhabitants are the big cities in the South of the country, where SOS Children's Villages first noticed the big demand for child care facilities.

Four years after the initial negotiations about the collaboration between SOS-Kinderdorf International and the government of Cameroon in 1986, a relevant agreement was signed. The first concrete step to be taken was the opening in 1995 of an SOS Kindergarten in rented facilities in Mbalmayo, next to the capital Yaounde.

Two years later, in response to the high rate of illiteracy, an SOS Hermann Gmeiner Primary School, situated on the property of the SOS Children's Village that was already under construction, opened its doors to children from the neighbourhood. In 1998, the first children moved into the newly built SOS Children's Village Mbalmayo near the capital of Yaoundé.The SOS Medical Centre attached to the SOS Children's Village provides the population with general medical care as well as preventative health counselling.

In 2004, SOS Children’s Villages started to operate a Family Strengthening Programme, which enables children who are at risk of losing the care of their family to grow within a caring family environment. To achieve this, SOS Children’s Villages works directly with families and communities to empower them to effectively protect and care for their children, in cooperation with local authorities and other service providers. 

The economic capital of Cameroon and port city, Douala, was chosen to become the location of the second SOS Children’s Village Cameroon. A high population rate due to a strong rural exodus, as a consequence of the lasting economical crisis, a high percentage of street children and the increasing phenomenon of aids lead to this choice.  The SOS Children’s Village and its additional facilities: Kindergarten, School and Medical Centre started to operate in August 2007. The Medical Centre brings an important contribution to the health situation of the population, especially vulnerable to lung and airway diseases, malaria and epidemics due to the hot and humid climate in Douala as well as the strong pollution.

At present there are in Cameroon two SOS Children's Villages, two SOS Kindergartens, one SOS Youth Facility, two SOS Hermann Gmeiner Schools, two SOS Medical Centres and one SOS Social Centre.