Pietermaritzburg

Country information

The SOS Children's Village in Pietermaritzburg is a lovely Village with a fantastic view of the rolling hills of KwaZulu-Natal. It is located within 8 km of the city of Pietermaritzburg, but still it has easy access to local schools, shopping centres and cultural and sporting activities. The SOS Children's Village consists of 15 family houses, staff quarters, an administrative building and a SOS kindergarten, which is also open to the children from the neighbourhood. The people of the neighbourhood are also eagerly using the sports facilities and the community hall of the SOS Children's Village. The Village itself has beautifully landscaped gardens with indigenous trees. At the bottom end of the Village an area has been set aside for a vegetable garden for the SOS families and each family has its own little garden immediately outside each family house. The inhabitants of the Village are very concerned about preserving traditions. They collect African folk stories and encourage the children to story telling. In 2001 two SOS Youth Houses were put into operation, where youths live during the time of their vocational training or education and prepare themselves for an independent life under the guidance of their youth leaders. In January 2002 a SOS Social Centre, giving support to HIV/AIDS affected families, was opened.