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Country information

Cap Haïtien Santo Capital: Port-au-Prince Area: 27,750 km² Population: 8.1 million (December 2000 est.) Ethnic groups: 95% African or African-European descent Official language(s): French Religion(s): Roman Catholic 80%, Protestant 16% Currency: 1 gourde = 100 centimes SOS Children's Villages activities in the country The start of the SOS Children's Village work in Haiti goes back to 1978. It was then that Rodriguez Ben Bichtotte, the director of an orphanage in Petite Place Cazeau, first contacted SOS-Kinderdorf International. Just one year later they made the joint decision to turn the orphanage into an SOS Children's Village. That same year, the National SOS Children's Village Association was founded. The first SOS Children's Village in Haiti, in Petite Place Cazeau, eight kilometres from Port-au-Prince, was ready in 1982. The SOS Children's Village has an SOS Kindergarten and an SOS Medical Centre attached. Construction of a second SOS Children's Village in the Port-au-Prince area was started one year later. This time the location was Santo. In 1986 the dictator, Jean Claude Duvalier, was forced from power. Many foreign companies left the country and the economy collapsed. High unemployment meant that many families became very poor and this led to the children, especially, suffering from malnutrition and dietary deficiencies as well as living in poverty. Therefore, SOS-Kinderdorf International decided to build more SOS Children's Village Facilities in Haiti. SOS Schools were built so that the children and youths would receive a good education. These schools, as well as the SOS Kindergartens attached to the SOS Children's Villages, are also open to children from the neighbourhood. The youths today are put under great pressure by the difficult conditions and the high demands made by the job market. The SOS Vocational Training Centres have helped them in this respect. The SOS youths live in SOS Youth Facilities, where they are helped towards being able to live on their own. A holiday camp has been set up in St. Ard, which is open to SOS children from Haiti and the neighbouring countries and gives them a place to relax. At present there are two SOS Children's Villages in Haiti, two SOS Youth Facilities, two SOS Kindergartens, two SOS Schools, one SOS Vocational Training Centre, one SOS Social Centre (holiday camp). Contact: Village d'Enfants SOS d'Haiti Bureau National Boites Postales 966, 1691 13, Rue José Marti Turgeau Port-au-Prince Haiti tel. +509-245-2217 fax +509-245-2217