SOS Children’s Villages also known as Save Our Soul is an independent, non-governmental, nonprofit international development organization headquartered in Innsbruck, Austria. The organization provides humanitarian and developmental assistance to children in need and protects their interests and rights around the world. The first SOS Children’s Village was founded in 1949 in Tyrol, Austria by an Austrian philanthropist Hermann Gmeiner after the realization that the world war had left many children orphaned and neglected. Today, SOS Children’s Villages is active in 135 countries and territories worldwide. SOS Children’s Villages provide alternative families to children without adequate parental care. Children of different ages and background live together in a house with a full-time parent, usually a woman who serves as the children’s parent. There are usually 6 to 15 houses in a typical SOS Village. In addition to the Villages, the organization also runs a whole range of programs and facilities to support socially disadvantaged and impoverished families through its subsidized kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, youth facilities, social and medical centers, and emergency response relief operations. In 2017, over 85,000 children and youths are raised in 572 SOS Children’s Villages and over 700 SOS Youth Facilities. Another 3.8 million children and adults received services from their other programs.