SOS Children in Ivory Coast
The republic of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) is in west Africa on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, east of Liberia. With tropical forests on the coast and central grasslands rising to mountains in the west, the main natural resources are fertile soil and valuable timber. More than sixty different tribes make up the population of over 15 million people, over a third of whom live in urban and industrial areas, although agriculture is still the basis of the economy, accounting for 80 per cent of exports. Ivory Coast is one of the world's leading producers of coffee and cocoa, other important exports being palm oil, bananas and timber.
Compared with many African countries, Ivory Coast's health and education systems are relatively well developed, but the rapid increase in population and migration to cities and industrial centres have created many social problems such as unemployment, housing shortages and poverty.
The charity began working in Ivory Coast in 1969 when a community was established at Abobo Gare, close to the city of Abidjan. In 1995 the village was closed for restructuring and renovation, the mothers and children moving temporarily to the SOS Children's Village in Aboisso. It re-opened in 1998 with ten new family houses and a nursery school which, like the primary school built in 1992, also takes in children from the neighbourhood as well as the SOS children.
The charity built its second community in Aboisso, in 1993, 150 kms from Abidjan. The ten pastel coloured family houses built on a hilltop on the edge of the city, are arranged in a large oval around five straw huts and a small open air theatre. Other facilities are a nursery school, primary school and a youth counselling centre for young people leaving the village.
Aids Orphan Projects
See also more information on our Charity's African Aids Orphan projects in the Ivory Coast.
Local Contacts
SOS Children in Côte d’Ivoire
Association des Villages d’Enfants SOS de Côte d’Ivoire, BP 6180, 01 Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Tel: +225/22/40 97 20 or +225/22 40 97 21
Fax: +225/22 41 65 41
e-mail: dncvesos-ci@afnet.net
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