ABOUT US

Maryam, 19, is Save the Children’s Girl’s Champion in Nigeria. She is passionate about supporting girls to get an education and prevent child marriage. She wrote a poem “A Girl with a Book” about girl’s rights and the power of education.

Janet*, 40, Francisco*, 4, and Nina*, 12, reading a school book together. Miguel Angel Arreategui Rodriguez / Save the Children

“Since we joined the programme,” says 18-year-old Sandi, “all our dreams that we held in our heart have come true. Now the water is here. Right in the back of our house.” The programme he’s talking about is called i2Change, and the stories of change that come from it are incredible. Save the Children supports communities involved to uncover problems and develop in-novative solutions by igniting the imaginations of young people, nurturing their talents and building their self-belief. In 2023, in West Sumba, Indonesia, Sandy joined i2Change and formed a team with two other 18-year-olds: Soleman and Anjar. Through workshops, they considered the challenges people in their community faced and decided to tackle the lack of water in Sandi’s village. Children and adults, in-cluding pregnant women, were getting up at 3am to walk 3km down a steep and dangerous verge to reach a water source, carrying two five litre containers each. Not only was it incredibly risky, it was impacting children’s education and physical development; growing nutritious food was off the table, and children were missing school because of exhaustion or embarrassment at not being able to wash. The plan: to build a borehole and taps right there in the village. Over the next few months, Sandi and his crew received specialist training and support – not only in how to design and implement their plan, but also in public speaking, influencing and the kinds of things that grow your confidence and make people others listen to your ideas. The consulted with the community and worked on a blueprint for the water system with support from Save the Chil-dren. By the time Sandi and his friends chose the team-name Golden Scorpio, they had really started to be-lieve they could make a difference to their community: gold symbolises courage, and a scorpion is a small and unassuming creature that delivers a powerful sting – and can have a big impact. In West Sumba, that impact is being felt in so many ways. Following the boys’ plan, Save the Children and its partners dug the borehole, installed nine taps, and covered the costs. The community now has regular access to water – but so much more too. Children have more time to study and play. It’s easier for families to irrigate their vegetable gardens. Children can wash twice a day and go to school as a result. They have time and energy to play like children should. No-one is making the difficult journey anymore. Given what they’ve accomplished and the changemaker Sandy has become, it’s hard to believe he used to keep to himself. Now, he’s an outspoken advocate for issues affecting children and young people and has more big plans for his community. “We can make Indonesia much better,” he says, proud and full of confidence. Ulet Ifansasti / Save the Children

Children and families in Lebanon have endured multiple crises in recent years, including an economic collapse and severe depression, political deadlock and rising instability, a massive explosion in Beirut’s port, the COVID-19 pandemic, and most recently a food security crisis compounded by the conflict in Ukraine: all of which have endangered children’s basic rights. Ghinwa*, and her family fled the war in Syria when she was just five-years-old and settled in a Palestinian camp in Beirut. Since then, life has been extremely hard for all of them. With her father unable to work due to a stroke, and her older brother needing regular medical treatment, Ghinwa* has to try to help bring in money - so she sells water and tissues to drivers at a busy crossroads outside the camp. Aware of the negative impact of this on her wellbeing, she adds: "Working makes me feel that I am very poor and always in need... like I am so different to other people (kids) who don’t work." She wasn't able to start school until aged 10, and so naturally struggled to keep up with her peers - and when the economic crisis hit bringing electricity cuts and teachers’ strikes, she stopped attending school altogether. Ghinwa* felt her life had no possibilities: "I couldn't read or write, I had no hope for my future, I had no dreams" she says. But now, not only is she literate, but has self-believe: "If I study and focus hard, I can achieve anything I want." Ghinwa* attends a Save the Children supported education centre near her home. There, she has learnt to read and write, grown in confidence, made friends, and become informed about her rights, eager to speak up on behalf of all child refugees. Life is still challenging for this young activist but the difference is she now has education, and therefore a dream: to be a lawyer, defending children's rights. The impact of the education centre on Ghinwa* cannot be underestimated - "It has changed my whole life" she says. Save the Children places a great importance on encouraging children and young people to speak up about their rights, delivering a message to those who have the power to make change. Through the Child’s Rights Governance programme, Save the Children aims to amplify children’s voices and make them heard on the national, regional and global level. The programme helps build the capacity of children to become child rights advocates and agents of change. Jonathan Hyams / Save the Children

Anai* is a mother of six children living in a village in South Sudan. In this area, people are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, facing severe floods. In 2022, the flood water came up to a metre high, destroying the huts made of reeds and mud that Anai* and her community live in. All the crops were also destroyed because the water makes the roots rot. As a result, there is very little to eat, causing immense suffering to the Anai* and families like hers. Children are particularly at risk, as many were already malnourished, leaving them more vulnerable to diseases. During the times where the villages are flooded, they are inaccessible to humanitarian organisations, and this situation can last for weeks. Families, babies, elderly and disabled people wait on higher ground until the water finally subsides. Save the Children has supported Anai* with cash assistance, so she can provide food, medicine and other essentials for her family. Achuoth Deng/Save the Children

SCI CEO Inger Ashing holds a ball and plays with children in a Child Friendly Space in Kyiv region, on February 9, 2023. This CFS was established by Your Way organization, with support from Save the Children. Inger Ashing visited Ukraine on the 8th and 9th of February 2023, to see the support that Save the Children provides for children in the country. OLEKSANDR KHOMENKO/ Save the Children

Fatima* and Faiza* are eight-year-old twin sisters. They were displaced from their countryside in Deir Ezzor seven years ago. Their father passed away six years ago due to a heart attack. They live with their mother and their six siblings, ranging in age from 16 to 6, in a dilapidated and abandoned building on the outskirts of Raqqa, within one of the random camps for displaced people in Northeast Syria. Their dwelling consists of a half-destroyed room with no windows or doors. Before 2022, the twins had never attended school and did not know how to read or write. After Save the Children built a temporary educational center near the camp, they were registered by the support team. They attended Save the Children's school and completed grade one; currently, they are in grade two. They have acquired skills in reading, writing, and mathematics. In addition to their studies, they participate in child protection activities at the center, including psychological support sessions. Both twins now aspire to complete their education: Fatima* dreams of becoming a doctor, while Faiza* aims to become a hairdresser. They are dedicated to achieving these goals and fulfilling their ambitions. Deeply attached to their mother, Fatima* and Faiza* are determined to make her proud by becoming educated and independent. They aspire to support her in the future and repay her care by excelling in their studies and helping her with household responsibilities and homework. Delil Souleiman / Save the Children

Save the Children teams distributed 2055 boxes of hygiene kit and 428 boxes of baby kit for infant children in ( Bardarash camp ) and ( Gawilan camp ) for refugees in Duhok governor; also, the field teams distribute raising awareness magazines about the protection from COVID - 19. Save the Children Iraq