Capital: Bangui
Area: 622,980 km²
Population: around 3.8 million (July 2005)
Ethnic groups: Baya, Banda, Sara, Mandjia, Mboum, M'Baka
Official language(s): French
Religion(s): Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, indigenous beliefs
Currency: 1 CFA franc = 100 centimes
Our Facilities
The Central African Republic lies in the heart of Africa and is today, one of the least developed countries in Africa. It is marred by high infant mortality, a low life expectancy and a high rate of illiteracy. Most of the population lives in the southwest of the country, whereby a fifth of the people live in the capital, Bangui, making it the largest settlement in the country. In 1981 a German lawyer, named Kneiper, who was then in the planning committee, asked SOS-Kinderdorf International to carry out a field study to see whether an SOS Children's Village were needed. This was because of the great poverty in the country following the collapse of the Central African Empire.
Finally, at the end of the 1980's, a co-operation agreement was signed with the government. In 1990, the cornerstone was laid for the first SOS Children's Village in the country, in the capital, Bangui, on the border to the Congo. The families were able to move in two years later. Attached to the SOS Children's Village are an SOS Kindergarten and an SOS Hermann Gmeiner School. Both these facilities are open to children from the neighbourhood. An SOS Medical Centre was set up in 1995 in order to improve the medical facilities in the vicinity. Youth work was started in SOS Children's Village Bangui in 1996 so that the young adults could be given proper care and advice and helped on their way to living on their own.
Political unrest continued from 1997 to 2001. This also had an affect on the SOS Children's Village work. SOS Children's Village Bangui had to be evacuated following an attempted putsch in the summer of 2001. However, one month later, it was able to open its doors once more.
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.
At present there are two SOS Children’s Villages in the Central African Republic, one SOS Youth Facility, two SOS Kindergarten, two SOS Hermann Gmeiner School, two SOS Medical Centre and two SOS Social Centres.
Contact:
Village d'Enfants SOS de République Centrafricaine
B.P. 1745
Bangui
Central Afr.Rep
tel. +871-76 2849878
fax +871-76 2849880