SOS Childen in Guinea
Guinea in south-west Africa is among the poorest countries on the African continent, with very weak human resources and low social development. School enrolment rates are low for both boys and girls and adult illiteracy remains high. Moreover, maternal mortality (1,600 per 100,000 live births) is among the highest in the world and HIV infection is increasing. While under-five mortality is declining, it remains high (201 per 1,000) and diarrhoea, malaria and acute respiratory infections persist as major causes. In rural areas, only 65 per cent of households have access to safe water, as opposed to 72 per cent in urban areas. These problems have been aggravated by conflicts in neighbouring countries which have resulted in an influx of thousands of refugees.
In 1985, our charity was given a plot of land in the village of Sinfonia, about 25 km east of the capital Conakry, to build a community, a kindergarten and a primary school. The SOS Children's Village Conakry opened in 1989 with eleven family houses and the school and the kindergarten became operational a year later, taking in children from the neighbourhood as well as the SOS children. In 1995, a youth house was established in Conakry for the older children on the verge of leaving the village.
The charity built its second community in Guinea in N’Zérékoré in the south-eastern corner of the country in 2001. About 5 km outside the town, it has ten family houses as well as a kindergarten and a primary school, both of which are attended by local children.
Over the years, SOS Children has carried out various community outreach programmes, including the provision of shelter and food for children and staff evacuated from our community in neighbouring Guinea-Bissau.
A third village, together with a kindergarten and a primary school, opened in Kankan, the country's second biggest city, approximately 520 km east of Conakry in 2005. It has twelve family houses which are home to 120 children.
Local Contacts
SOS Children in Guinea
Association du Villages d’Enfants SOS de Guinée, Commune de Matoto Enta Nord, BP 3527, Conakry
Tel: +224/43 27 67 or +224/11 21 24 51 or + 224/11 25 38 62
Fax: +224/43 27 66 or 001/360/32 33 984
e-mail: sos-no@sosguinea.org
www.sosguinea.org
Next Country: Guinea-Bissau