SOS Children's Villages is an international non-government organization that provides alternative family-based care for children who are orphaned, abandoned, neglected and in extreme difficult circumstances. It was founded in 1949 by Dr. Hermann Gmeiner, an Austrian, whose vision is that children need the love of a family so that they can reach their fullest potential.

Each village has an average of 8 to 14 family houses, with each house run by an SOS Mother who cares for about 10 children. They live together forming the bond of brothers and sisters. SOS Mothers are unique. They remain single and devote their lives, until they retire at age 60, to care for the children as their own. SOS Children's Villages are now home to over 65,000 children and youths in 132 countries worldwide.

In the Philippines, SOS Children's Villages began in 1967 and now has eight (8) children's villages--Manila (Alabang), Lipa, Tacloban, Calbayog, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo and Bataan. SOS CHILDREN'S VILLAGES PHILIPPINES aims to have a total of twelve Villages by 2016.