Child Sponsorship Background from Nanchang, China

SOS Children's Village Nanchang

The preparations for the construction of the SOS Children's Village Nanchang began in 1992. The corner-stone was laid in 1993 and the first families were able to move in a year later. The official inauguration of this SOS Children's Village took place in March 1995.

Nanchang is the largest city of the southern Chinese province of Jiangxi. The SOS Children's Village is situated in the north of the city, not far from a large national park called Nanchang Forest Park. It consists of 12 family houses, the village director's house, a house for the so-called SOS aunts (family helpers who support the SOS mothers and fill in for them when they are on leave), apartments for retired SOS mothers and an SOS Nursery, which is open to children from both the SOS Children's Village and the neighbourhood.

The village site has extensive green areas with many flowers and trees so that it provides a very attractive environment for the children to grow up in. The relations with the population of the neighbourhood are particularly friendly. The village children attend nearby Nanchang Forest Park School.

Youths from the SOS Children's Village move to the SOS Youth Home, which consists of a house inside the village and some flats outside. With the support of qualified youth workers, the young people develop realistic perspectives for their future, learn to shoulder responsibility and increasingly make their own decisions.

Background to Nanchang

Nanchang is the capital of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China. It is located in the north-central portion of the province. As it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east by Poyang Lake, it is famous for its scenery, rich history and cultural sites. Owing to its central location relative to the Yangtze and Pearl River Delta regions, it is a major railroad hub in Southern China.