SOS Children in Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti. It is one of the poorest countries in the Caribbean, and suffers from a huge gap between the rich and the poor, with the richest being the white descendants of Spanish settlers, who own most of the land, and the poorest comprising people of African descent.
Around 27 percent of the population live below the poverty line and many children under the age of five still die from malnutrition, gastrointestinal disease and pneumonia, despite improvements by the government in primary health care.
Although education is free, many children are not able to attend school because they have to contribute to the family income.
The charity began its work in the Dominican Republic in the 1980s when the first SOS Children's Village was built in Santo Domingo in the suburb of Los Jardines del Norte. The village has fifteen family houses and an SOS kindergarten which is also open to children from families in the neighbourhood.
The charity opened its second community in the Dominican Republic in 1984, also in Santo Domingo, in the densely populated district of Los Mina, close to a large slum area. The village has seventeen family houses and a kindergarten. Because of the lack of state schools in Los Mina, a secondary School was built in 1988. This was extended in 1996 and can now accommodate over 400 pupils. An SOS medical centre provides medical, particularly maternity, and dental care for over 20,000 patients a year.
In their teens, SOS Children often move into youth houses where they take their first guided steps towards independence, with the security of the family support. In Santo Domingo there are four SOS youth houses, two for boys and two for girls, many of whom are completing their education or undertaking vocational training.
The third SOS Children’s village opened in Santiago de los Caballeros, the provincial capital in the north of the country, in 2003. The village has 15 family houses which are home for 145 orphaned and abandoned children. There is also an SOS Nursery School for 70 children and an SOS Primary and Secondary School for 370 children. Like all SOS schools these are for the children of the local community as well as children from the SOS Children’s Village.
Local Contacts
SOS Children in Dominican Republic:
Oficina Nacional de Coordinacion SOS,
Calle Fountainblue, Esq. Hermann Gmeiner,
Los Jardines del Norte,
Santo Domingo,
D.N.,
Dominican Republic
Tel: +1/809/56 58 902 (56 78 986)
Fax: +1/809/56 35 991
e-mail: aldeas.inf@codetel.net.do
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