Child Sponsorship background from Kankan, Guinea

SOS Children's Village Kankan

The idea to build another SOS Children's Village in Guinea's second largest city Kankan was born in the shadow of the poor socio-economic conditions which were further aggravated through the civil war in the neighbouring countries (Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau).

Fortunately the Swiss Friends of SOS Children's Villages were prepared to take over all the construction costs of the SOS Children's Village project in Kankan. Ceremonial opening through Guinean President S.E. Gen. Lansana Conte's representative, the environmental minister and the general secretary of SOS Children International took place on 8 March 2005.

The SOS Children's Village Kankan is located in the city of the same name, about 520 km from Conakry. It consists of twelve family houses in which about 120 children can be accommodated. Furthermore, it consists of a house for the Village Director, a guest house, an administrative and service block, and a house for the so-called SOS Aunts (which supervise the children in case of an SOS mother's absence).

Other SOS Projects in Kankan

The SOS Nursery which is also part of the Children's Village has sufficient space for about 100 children from the SOS Children's Village and the local neighbourhood. As education facilities are scarce in the surrounding area, an SOS Primary School and an SOS Secondary School for about 420 pupils were constructed next to the SOS Children's Village in January 2004. Both schools comprise twelve classrooms, a multi-purpose hall, two administrative blocks and a service block.

Background to Kankan

Kankan was founded by the Mandinka people in the seventeenth century and became capital of the Baté Empire and an important trading centre, particularly for kola nuts. It was conquered by Samory Touré in 1881 and occupied by the French in 1891. The population of the city is predominantly from the Mandinka ethnic group and their language is widely spoken throughout the city.

The town is known for its university (Université de Kankan), for its religious scholars and its mango trees.