Overview & Impact

A Local Philosophy

At the very core of War Child’s overseas programming is the belief that for a community to experience a robust recovery following conflict, the community itself must drive the process. War Child’s role is as a facilitator and capacity builder. We can help individuals improve their skills to better access opportunities for personal growth. This is not only for those young people who attend our programs but also our staff overseas, over 90% of whom are recruited from the community.

War Child works with, and often through, local partners, including local NGO’s, government ministries and community groups. We ensure that these local groups are full participants in the design and implementation of the programs, because the end goal of all the programming is that these organizations take full ownership, growing to the point where War Child is no longer necessary. In other words, we measure our success by how close we are to being able to leave the continuation of a program to our local partners.

Core Programming Areas

War Child’s programming is based on three core goals – to improve access to education, to improve access to justice and to reduce poverty through increased employment opportunities.

Across all its programming, War Child ensures that important issues like conflict sensitivity, gender equality and the protection of children are incorporated in to all projects, activities and public engagement programs. 

Education

Education is every child’s right. It can also be a matter of life and death. The children of uneducated mothers are more likely to die in infancy than those whose mothers can read. An uneducated population is less able to participate in the democratic process and has fewer opportunities to have a say in decision making about their community’s development. War Child’s educational programming provides children and youth with opportunities for learning in a protected space, free from exploitation and abuse. In areas where formal education is not available, War Child works to re-build schools, run “catch up” education programs and provide training in basic life skills.

Access to Justice

Women and children are frequently the victims of severe human rights violations – especially sexual violence – in conflict and post conflict communities.  Legal structures breakdown quickly when a country is at war and rebuilding them can be a prolonged process. The atrocities and abuses of war can become ingrained, creating a culture of impunity in which sexual violence goes unpunished. War Child is dedicated to overcoming this and ensuring that women’s and children’s rights are both understood and respected by communities and the law enforcement officials who oversee them. War Child’s programming is unique in that it provides direct legal representation to children and women in need of protection as well as comprehensive community sensitization and training of legal and justice officials. 

Reducing Poverty and Fostering Self-Reliance

In conflict and post conflict areas, families often end up destitute and unable to provide the basics of life for their children. Young people are particularly vulnerable, because without a means of earning a living, the range of positive options narrows considerably. This is why the third cornerstone of War Child’s programming is vocational training. The program’s livelihoods component aims to create opportunities for young people to gain the skills that they need to secure dignified economic employment and income for themselves and their families. War Child also operates microfinance programs to help set up small businesses.

A stable family income improves children’s prospects for healthy mental and physical development by providing them with easier access to food, shelter, health services and education.