SOS Children's Village Baku

SOS Children's Villages has been working in the capital of Azerbaijan since 2000. Baku is a city of contrasts - in spite of the city's visible development, one quarter of its population lives in poverty. Our organisation is providing support to families so that they can stay together, as well as loving homes for children who have lost parental care.

The official rate of unemployment is high

Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. The city has been growing in recent years, and it is now home to around two million people.

Baku is the economic, political and cultural centre of the country. The production, processing and transportation of oil are the biggest economic activities, employing many people.

The situation regardingpoverty and access to services is better in Baku than in other areas of the country. However, the cost of living is high and around one quarter of the population of the city exists below the poverty line. Most of these people live in the run down concrete tower blocks that were built during the communist regime prior to 1992. Among those living in the worst housing conditions, and with little hope for a brighter future, are the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people who have arrived in Baku as a result of conflicts in their home areas.

Due to the high unemployment rates outside of Baku, many people come to the city in search of work. Their dream jobs often fail to materialise, and they end up