In Europe，many people were killed during the Second World War，so at the end of the war，there were many orphans. A man called Hermann Gmeiner wanted to help these children. His idea was simple. He wanted the orphans to have a home. And he wanted them to have the care and kindness of parents. Gmeiner asked people to give money. With the money，he built the first SOS Children's Village in Australia. It opened in 1949. This is how the SOS Children's Village started. The letters SOS are short for"Save Our Souls"，which means"Please help us. "An SOS Children's Village gives help to orphans.

Hermann Gmeiner's idea for helping orphans soon spread all over the world. By 1983，there had been seventeen SOS Children's Villages in the world. China has also built SOS Children's Villages. Now，more and more people like to work in the SOS Children's Villages.