Our goal is to see children who were previously disadvantaged grow up to succeed in life. We work with 1,100 children in Ukraine and 200 children in Malawi every year to help them improve their education and develop their potential. Our impact can be seen through the services we offer and most importantly through the lives that are changed for the better.
Through the Covid-19 pandemic we are focusing on giving individuals the tools they need for education, like laptops, study books and online tutoring. This has made a massive difference to the daily lives of large foster families and families in poverty who were not able to leave their houses, and improved the children’s ability to learn and gain IT skills. The World Bank reports that improved grades can increase lifetime earnings by 8%, so we know that our help can have a lasting, positive impact for every child involved.
Sadly, the pandemic left many families without food on the table. People lost jobs, couldn’t travel abroad for manual labour, and public transport was suspended. We distributed food supplies to 150 of the poorest families in Ukraine, and 224 families in Malawi, working in partnership and raising local support to help as many people as possible.
Highlights from our services for children in 2020:
The real impact is best seen in the lives of children like Diana who is now a nurse, Promise who is studying Child Heath Nursing, or Vasilyna who is dealing with the trauma of her childhood and following her ambition to be a choreographer. You can read some of these inspiring examples on our page Children’s lives changed.
People like you are helping us to better the lives and opportunities of children in care. Find out more about how this helps children thrive...
A positive outcome of the Covid-19 pandemic is that we could support an increased number of foster families than in previous years. We did this by providing online therapist-led support groups, live webinars, and distributing our Parenting in Action expert journal to 6,000 carers in 22 of the 24 regions of Ukraine. 144 carers in 7 regions completed our Providing a Secure Base training course in 2020 so they now have the skills to provide therapeutic care to children.
We are proud that children from two families could be reunited with their siblings and return from institutions to their mother’s care. A lot of time went into counselling, assessing and organising home repairs but we know it is worthwhile when we see the children having the love and security of a family.
Highlights from our services for carers in 2020:
The examples of children’s lives that are better as a result tell of the real impact of our work with carers. Foster parents have told us of a girl who no longer runs away from home, a teenage boy who has learned to fit in with the family, and many other wonderful results of learning the skills of therapeutic parenting. Some of these stories are included in the page Carers supported.
We train and support carers, foster parents and social workers, so the children they open their homes and hearts to are provided the supportive relationships and environment they need to flourish. Here we show the difference we can make when carers have expert advice and support for stronger families.
The problems are we are addressing have their roots in poverty, disadvantage and children who don’t have parental support.
“There is alarming evidence that the child protection system in Ukraine is failing to provide children with adequate care. As of 1 September 2017, a total of 104,000 children were dispersed throughout Ukraine’s 759 institutions, with some of them accommodating 300-400 children per setting.” –Opening Doors for Europe’s Child
“Emerging evidence indicates that the pandemic is giving rise to learning losses and increases in inequality. These outcomes are likely to be even more acute in middle- and lower-income countries like Ukraine, where there is much less technological capability and a larger share of families live below the poverty line. In the absence of any intervention, the learning losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to have a long-term compounding negative effect on many children’s future well-being. These learning losses could translate into less access to higher education, lower labor market participation, and lower future earnings.” (World Bank, 2019)
Despite these challenges, with the right social development, preparation and enough support, children in care can beat the odds. People like you help us to see previously disadvantaged young people grow up to have quality education, find decent work, and connect with a positive circle of friends and family. If you want to help, you can contact us or donate today. Thank you!
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