Capital: Harare
Area: 390,580 km²
Population: 12.8 million (July 2005)
Ethnic groups: Shona, Ndebele, Asians, Europeans and others
Official language(s): English,Shona, Ndebele
Religion(s): Anglican or Roman Catholic, indigenous Animist beliefs, Hindu, Muslim and Jewish minorities.
Currency: 1 Zimbabwe dollar = 100 cents

SOS Children's Villages' activities in the country

In 1980 the Austrian ambassador in Zimbabwe contacted SOS-Kinderdorf International requesting aid for the country's orphans. In the same year a local SOS Children's Village Association was registered and construction work began on the first SOS Children's Village and its auxiliary facilities in Bindura.

In 1983, 600 hectares of agricultural land were purchased about 15 kilometres from the SOS Children's Village, and the Maizelands farm began operating. After purchasing additional land in 1988, a total area of 1400 hectares is now being used for farming. Besides its food production, the farm also serves as an agricultural and technical training centre for youths on their way to independence. In 1988 and 1994 two additional SOS Children's Villages were built, one in Waterfalls, a suburb of the capital city Harare and another one in Bulawayo, the second largest city of Zimbabwe, situated close to the border of Botswana. During the unrests in connection with the dispossession of the white farmers' land, on 6 July 2001 part of the SOS Maizelands Farm was also placed on a public list of enterprises to be nationalized in the near future. Since then SOS Children's Villages Zimbabwe, together with international help, has been trying to refute the threatened dispossession of its land.

At the beginning of 2002, SOS Zimbabwe reacted to the growing Aids pandemic by means of family strengthening programmes, which are coordinated by the SOS Social Centres. The programmes enable 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 three SOS Children's Villages in Zimbabwe, three SOS Youth Facilities, three SOS Kindergartens, five SOS Hermann Gmeiner Schools, four SOS Vocational Training Centres and six SOS Social Centres.

Contact:
SOS Children's Village Association of Zimbabwe
P.O.Box HG 766
Highlands/Harare
Zimbabwe
tel. +263-4-746 451
fax +263-4-746 454