Juah Town

Country information

Owing to the growing demand for facilities taking care of abandoned and orphaned children, the board of directors of SOS Children's Village International decided to build a second SOS Children's Village in the up-country of Liberia. Precisely at the moment when the first children were ready to move into the newly built SOS Children's Village the civil war broke out. At its beginning, fighting was particularly fierce in the surrounding area of the SOS Children's Village. Therefore, it was necessary to postpone the opening of this SOS facility for an indefinite time. During Liberia's civil war, which lasted about 6 years, the SOS facilities had to be closed time and again in order to guarantee the security of children and staff. Marauding soldiers dwelled in the buildings of the SOS Children's Village Juah Town which is why they had to be completely renovated after the war. In April 1996, heavy fighting broke out in Monrovia in the course of which the capital of Liberia was also devastated. About 7.000 refugees who tried to escape from the pillaging killer gangs roaming the streets of Monrovia sought refuge in the safe SOS Children's Village Matadi/Monrovia. They were provided with food and received medical treatment until they could return to their houses after three months. By the end of the year, the situation had become less tense and all SOS facilities started to operate normally. In the year 2000, the SOS Children's Village Juah Town finally was put into operation and the first orphans moved in. The SOS Children's Village is located in the "Grand Bassa County" and consists of 6 family houses, a Village Director's house, a SOS Kindergarten, a SOS Primary School, a SOS Clinic, an administrative block, a workshop and a hut for the generator.