Born to a big family of farmers in Vorarlberg (present-day Austria), Gmeiner was a talented child and won a scholarship to attend grammar school. His mother died while he was still a young boy, and his eldest sister Elsa took on the task of caring for the smallest of the children.
Having experienced the horrors of war himself as a soldier in the USSR, he was then confronted with the isolation and suffering of the many war orphans and homeless children as a child welfare worker after the end of the Second World War. In his conviction that help can never be effective as long as the children have to grow up without a home of their own, he set about implementing his idea for SOS Children's Villages.
With just 600 Austrian schillings (approx. 40 US dollars) in his pocket Hermann Gmeiner established the SOS Children's Village Association in 1949, and in the same year the foundation stone was laid for the first SOS Children's Village in Imst, in the Austrian state of Tyrol. His work with the children and development of the SOS Children's Village organization kept Hermann Gmeiner so busy that he finally decided to discontinue his medical degree course.
In the following decades his life was inseparably linked with his commitment to a family-centred child-care concept based on the four pillars of a mother, a house, brothers and sisters, and a village. Given his exclusive focus on the need to help abandoned children, the rest of his biography reads like the history of SOS Children's Villages themselves. He served as Village Director in Imst, organized the construction of further SOS Children's Villages in Austria, and helped to set up SOS Children's Villages in many other countries of Europe.
In 1960 SOS-Kinderdorf International was established in Strasbourg as the umbrella organization for SOS Children's Villages with Hermann Gmeiner as the first president. In the following years the activities of SOS Children's Villages spread beyond Europe. The sensational "grain of rice" campaign raised enough funds to permit the first non-European SOS Children's Village to be built in Daegu, Korea in 1963, and SOS Children's Villages on the American and African continents followed.
By 1985 the result of Hermann Gmeiner's work was a total of 233 SOS Children's Villages in 85 countries. In recognition of his services to orphaned and abandoned children he received numerous awards and was nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize. However, he was always at pains to stress that it was only thanks to the support of millions of people that it had been possible to achieve the goal of providing abandoned children with a permanent home, and that still applies today.
Hermann Gmeiner died in Innsbruck in 1986. He is buried at SOS Children's Village Imst.
SOS Children's Villages is currently active in 132 countries and territories. 438 SOS Children's Villages and 346 SOS Youth Facilities provide more than 60,000 children and youths in need with a new home. More than 131,000 children/youths attend SOS Kindergartens, SOS Hermann Gmeiner Schools and SOS Vocational Training Centres. Around 397,000 people benefit from the services provided by SOS Medical Centres, 115,000 people from services provided by SOS Social Centres. SOS Children's Villages also helps in situations of crisis and disaster through emergency relief programmes. The emergency clinic in Mogadishu (provides app. 260,000 check-ups and treatments a year) is one example of a huge long-term relief project.
Quotation by Hermann Gmeiner
"Every big thing in the world only comes true, when somebody does more than he has to do."[1]
"All the children of the world are our children."
Works
Impressions, Thoughts, Confessions – SOS Children's Villages In Many Countries [Eindrücke, Gedanken, Bekenntnisse], 1979.
^Fisher, Claudia; Christine, Vallaster (Apr 1, 2010). Connective Branding: Building Brand Equity in a Demanding World. John Wiley & Sons. p. 329. ISBN9780470740873. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
Sources
Hermann Gmeiner. The father of SOS Children's Villages (Der Vater der SOS-Kinderdörfer) from Hansheinz Reinprecht-Molden, Verlag Taschenbuch, Munich, 1984.
H. Schreiber/W. Vyslozil: SOS Children's Villages - Tracing the Roots, SOS-Kinderdorf International, Innsbruck, Austria, 2003.
The first SOS Children's Villages in Vietnam was established in 1987
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hermann Gmeiner.
SOS Children's Villages
February 15, 2023
hermann, gmeiner, june, 1919, april, 1986, austrian, philanthropist, founder, children, villages, statue, santa, cruz, bolivia, born, 1919, june, 1919alberschwende, vorarlberg, republic, german, austriadied26, april, 1986, 1986, aged, innsbruck, austria, conte. Hermann Gmeiner 23 June 1919 26 April 1986 was an Austrian philanthropist and the founder of SOS Children s Villages Hermann GmeinerStatue of Hermann Gmeiner in Santa Cruz Bolivia Born 1919 06 23 23 June 1919Alberschwende Vorarlberg Republic of German AustriaDied26 April 1986 1986 04 26 aged 66 Innsbruck Austria Contents 1 Life 2 Quotation by Hermann Gmeiner 3 Works 4 See also 5 References 6 Sources 7 External linksLife EditBorn to a big family of farmers in Vorarlberg present day Austria Gmeiner was a talented child and won a scholarship to attend grammar school His mother died while he was still a young boy and his eldest sister Elsa took on the task of caring for the smallest of the children Having experienced the horrors of war himself as a soldier in the USSR he was then confronted with the isolation and suffering of the many war orphans and homeless children as a child welfare worker after the end of the Second World War In his conviction that help can never be effective as long as the children have to grow up without a home of their own he set about implementing his idea for SOS Children s Villages With just 600 Austrian schillings approx 40 US dollars in his pocket Hermann Gmeiner established the SOS Children s Village Association in 1949 and in the same year the foundation stone was laid for the first SOS Children s Village in Imst in the Austrian state of Tyrol His work with the children and development of the SOS Children s Village organization kept Hermann Gmeiner so busy that he finally decided to discontinue his medical degree course In the following decades his life was inseparably linked with his commitment to a family centred child care concept based on the four pillars of a mother a house brothers and sisters and a village Given his exclusive focus on the need to help abandoned children the rest of his biography reads like the history of SOS Children s Villages themselves He served as Village Director in Imst organized the construction of further SOS Children s Villages in Austria and helped to set up SOS Children s Villages in many other countries of Europe In 1960 SOS Kinderdorf International was established in Strasbourg as the umbrella organization for SOS Children s Villages with Hermann Gmeiner as the first president In the following years the activities of SOS Children s Villages spread beyond Europe The sensational grain of rice campaign raised enough funds to permit the first non European SOS Children s Village to be built in Daegu Korea in 1963 and SOS Children s Villages on the American and African continents followed By 1985 the result of Hermann Gmeiner s work was a total of 233 SOS Children s Villages in 85 countries In recognition of his services to orphaned and abandoned children he received numerous awards and was nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize However he was always at pains to stress that it was only thanks to the support of millions of people that it had been possible to achieve the goal of providing abandoned children with a permanent home and that still applies today Hermann Gmeiner died in Innsbruck in 1986 He is buried at SOS Children s Village Imst SOS Children s Villages is currently active in 132 countries and territories 438 SOS Children s Villages and 346 SOS Youth Facilities provide more than 60 000 children and youths in need with a new home More than 131 000 children youths attend SOS Kindergartens SOS Hermann Gmeiner Schools and SOS Vocational Training Centres Around 397 000 people benefit from the services provided by SOS Medical Centres 115 000 people from services provided by SOS Social Centres SOS Children s Villages also helps in situations of crisis and disaster through emergency relief programmes The emergency clinic in Mogadishu provides app 260 000 check ups and treatments a year is one example of a huge long term relief project Quotation by Hermann Gmeiner Edit Every big thing in the world only comes true when somebody does more than he has to do 1 All the children of the world are our children Works EditImpressions Thoughts Confessions SOS Children s Villages In Many Countries Eindrucke Gedanken Bekenntnisse 1979 See also EditSOS Children s VillagesReferences Edit Fisher Claudia Christine Vallaster Apr 1 2010 Connective Branding Building Brand Equity in a Demanding World John Wiley amp Sons p 329 ISBN 9780470740873 Retrieved 2 December 2016 Sources EditHermann Gmeiner The father of SOS Children s Villages Der Vater der SOS Kinderdorfer from Hansheinz Reinprecht Molden Verlag Taschenbuch Munich 1984 H Schreiber W Vyslozil SOS Children s Villages Tracing the Roots SOS Kinderdorf International Innsbruck Austria 2003 The first SOS Children s Villages in Vietnam was established in 1987External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hermann Gmeiner SOS Children s Villages Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hermann Gmeiner amp oldid 1130664524, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
