Unequal Access: Not All Children can Get to School

September often brings newness to children (in the northern hemisphere, anyway). It is the start of a new term and a new school year. This often comes with new school items, and new uniforms. And how will children get to school on the first day of the new term, and throughout the year? They may be able to walk or cycle, or if they live further away, use public transport, or get a lift from a parent or carer. They may have a school bus. In all honesty, this was not a topic I gave much thought to until recently. A South African organisation, that I do legal research for, asked me to look into transport as part of the child's right to education.

New things for school: Last month, my charity, Children's Helpers Worldwide supported a local organisation, Refugiu, 

so it could provide school items for some Roma children, living in a poor village. 

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a legally binding international treaty, ratified by nearly all the countries in the world, states that all children have a right to primary education and that this should be free. One of the Millennium Development Goals is to achieve universal primary education. How are we going to achieve this if there are children who are unable to safely go to and from school, due to a lack of transport? This seriously interferes with their right to an education.

Some courts have recognised transport as being being a necessary part of realising a child's right to education. The Right to Education Project reported that a Brazilian court decided that free and compulsory education as an individual public right has been interpreted to include free transport if children cannot otherwise attend school.

In a Colombian case, a girl of five had been placed in a school in another neighbourhood, due to a school quota system. The Court ordered the Government to relocate the girl to a closer school and said that, in acknowledging the transport costs in getting the child to school, the system had not taken into account the mother's lack of income and the time required to bring her daughter to the assigned school.

Image courtesy of Rawich at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Sometimes schools or charitable organisations will try to help with transport. My charity, Children's Helpers Worldwide, works with an organisation in Ghana, called New Life. New Life runs a children's home and school. Children from the surrounding villages attend the school, alongside the children who live in the home. The director of New Life wants to fundraise to buy a minibus. New Life could then provide safe transport for children who live far away. This would help children who currently have to walk a very long way to attend the school and would also reach children who do not go to school at all, as the distance to travel is too far.

School Assembly at New Life, Ghana.

It may be that children and teenagers take it upon themselves to find ways to get to and from school, or to get money for transport, as shown by this disturbing article from South Africa, entitled "Dressing "sexy" to get a lift to school". Ground Up News spoke with schoolgirls in the township of Khayelitsha, in Cape Town, who were trying to get back to their homes in Mfuleni. They explained that, by dressing sexily, they can either get a lift, or get money for transport, from passing drivers. One explained that this was better than the alternative:

"When we [hitchhike] and the driver talks about sex or touches you and you get uncomfortable, you have a choice to react in a certain way. But when you are walking and someone strangles you, there is little you can do, especially when you are in an open field like the one near Mfuleni."

It is unbelievably sad that adults would take advantage of children who are just trying to get to and from school.

Children's access to education is  greatly affected by their access to transport. Children should not be prevented from getting an education because the nearest school is too far away. They should not be harassed and abused whilst simply trying to travel to and from school. If we want to achieve the Millennium Development Goal, to ensure all children have access to primary education (at least!), then we must ensure that children can actually get to school, and obtain an education. This is their right.


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This post is my contribution to Blog Action Day, taking place on 16 October 2014. The theme is inequality. Use the twitter hashtags #BAD2014 and #BlogAction14 to follow all the action and to find more bloggers posting about inequality!

Grateful to CHW's Supporters

The past month has been very difficult personally, and I had to travel abroad for a family funeral. During this time, the volunteers and supporters of my charity, CHW, have continued to be amazing, and have done a lot for the children we support. A couple of weeks ago, CHW turned seven! I am so happy that we reached this point and so grateful to everyone who made this possible! 

Long Break and Sad News

Since December, I have mostly been working abroad and it was not easy to get online, so I took a long (and unintended!) break from this blog. Now I am back home in London, I will be able to post regularly again.

I was so sad to see that the last post I was able to write from Argentina was about "a baby from Bolivia". Tragically, she passed away earlier this week. She had complicated health conditions and the staff at the home where she was living gave her the best care possible. They all loved this little girl very much. They made her short life a happy one. I hope they will draw strength from this as they come to terms with what has happened, and continue to provide care to the others in the home. They were in touch with me the day the baby passed away, and we stayed in contact whilst she was being taken to the chapel. A teenager who is also under the care of that organisation, wrote to me and said that the home seemed empty without the baby.

Running a children's charity can be so difficult, because you get to know about so much pain and it can really  make your heart ache - both for the children and for those who work with them too. 

I once wrote a post about some of the challenges of running a children's charity, and I have great admiration for people who have dedicated their lives to working with children in need, sharing their pain, whilst trying to make the world a better place for them.

I saw a beautiful quote on the facebook page "Angel Baby" which I find so fitting whenever I think about the "baby from Bolivia", who was so well-loved by all in the home:

"There is no foot too small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world."

A Baby from Bolivia...

I am in Argentina right now, and will be working on projects here for the next few weeks. I have visited an organisation my charity, CHW, supports, called Bethel. Bethel has eighteen houses for orphaned and abandoned children. Three of the houses are for people with disabilities. Some of the people in these houses are adults. They were children when they arrived at Bethel, and could not live independently once they grew up.

Entrance of House 5

During my first visit to Argentina, I volunteered in House 5, one of the houses for people with disabilities. There are now some new people who have come to live in House 5, including a baby of one year and one month. She can only be fed through a tube. Her mother was from Bolivia and was working in Argentina. She abandoned this baby in a hospital when she was a few months old. Now this child will stay in Argentina for the rest of her life. The mother may even had left by now. It is a very sad story, but, to be honest, this baby has ended up in a very good place. The staff at Bethel care so much for the children, and House 5 always feels like it is full of warmth and love. Despite how this baby's life began, Bethel will give her the best life possible.

With Alicia, one of the physiotherapists.
Last time I was there, my charity paid for a donation of nappies.

Travel theme: Sky

I recently found Ailsa's weekly travel themes. Last week, the response I posted to her travel theme, about a day I spent in Cape Town, on a trip with the children from the three creches run by Seawind Educare. This week, the theme is "sky" and it reminded me of Seawind Educare and Cape Town again!

When I read the theme, I thought of this photo, of children at one of Seawind Educare's creches playing outside, with a beautiful, bright blue sky in the background!

I find Cape Town very beautiful. The people I work with there are also trying to make life more beautiful for the children at their projects. Yesterday, I posted an appeal from Seawind Educare for clothes and toys for the children, on my charity's website. If anyone from Cape Town happens to read this and wants to donate items, or arrange a collection for these children, that would be amazing! If you are interested in helping, please get in touch by leaving a comment below, or you can contact me using the details on the "about" page.

Here are some more photos of the sky from my last trip to Cape Town in February/March 2013:

Grateful to those who help children

I am not from the USA, but I could not fail to notice all the posts for Thanksgiving! It just happened that the facebook status for my charity, CHW, was based on thankfulness and being grateful today. This was a nice coincidence! Here is the status:

We are grateful to all of our supporters and volunteers! This photo is from New Life in Ghana, the first organisation we started working with. The children are siblings and came to live at the orphanage earlier this year. They are sponsored by two of CHW's supporters. CHW raised the money to build the playground that they are in. Thank you so much to each of you who make it possible for us to support different children's projects around the world!

Children from a Home in Romania Singing about Pies!

I just found a great video of children at one of the children's homes my charity supports in Romania, singing at a Pie Festival! This was two winters ago, so the children have grown a lot since then! They are singing about how pies can have fruit and vegetables in them!

My charity is trying to fundraise to help sponsor a carer's salary at this home, so that there are enough people to work with these children. It seems that people prefer to donate items, like clothes and toys, but if there are not enough staff to work with the children, then the home will not be able to continue. The children have faced a lot of difficulties in their short lives, but the home they are living in now is very nice. They get food, medical care and go to school each day. Our stall on Sunday will help to fundraise towards this appeal for the home.

It was nice to find this video again! Apparently the children had only known that they were going to have to sing at the Pie Festival a few days beforehand, so they were not able to practice too much, but they did so well!

Travel Theme: Fragrant

I have been reminded of a day in Muizenberg, Cape Town, back in March, thanks to finding Ailsa's weekly travel themes! These week's theme is "fragrant". (Follow that last link, if you want to take part too!)

One early morning, I joined the founder of Seawind Educare, Rita, for a surf walk, along with children (and their parents) from the Educare's three creches. The salty fragrance of the sea air was nice and refreshing!

Surf Walk along the beach at Muizenberg

I like the fragrance of the sea and the beach. It reminds me of my early student days, as I did my undergrad degree at Aberystwyth, by the sea. However, I can honestly say that I never walked along the beach at around eight in the morning, when I was a student, like I did for Rita's surf walk in South Africa!

The beach at Aberystwyth

After the surf walk, Rita had arranged to take the children to a nearby resort, with a playground, bouncy castles, face painting and other activities.

Bouncy castle, near Muizenberg

It could hardly be described as "fragrant",  but the "plasticy" smell of the bouncy castle did remind me of when I was little and played on bouncy castles. So whilst not a particularly nice scent in itself, it did bring back memories! It was great to see the children enjoying themselves.

I am really glad I could join Rita for the surf walk. She does amazing work with  disadvantaged children in Cape Town, and has continued with it all, despite the fact that it has been quite a challenging year (more about that here). I admire all that Rita does to help children!

I found Ailsa's travel themes though Lucid Gypsy's blog. I am grateful for this, as it was nice to think back to that day at Muizenberg beach.

The Value of Volunteers

Volunteering can involve doing random things! Today, I found myself at a train station at 7.00 am, whilst it was still dark, ready to hand out leaflets about Wrap Up London, which is a scheme where people can donate their unused or unwanted coats, for those in need.

Early (and rainy!) start this morning - on my way to volunteer at Baker Street station!

The Wrap Up London stand at Baker Street

 

Afterwards, I tweeted about this, and got a really nice response from Hands On London, the charity running this scheme.

 

I am always looking for ways to show appreciation to those who volunteer for my organisation, CHW, and tweeting a quote like this is a really nice idea! Everyone at CHW is a volunteer, and I am so grateful for the time they give to support the children's projects. Volunteers are indeed priceless, like the quote says!

International Volunteer Day (IVD) is celebrated on 5 December each year. It can be a great opportunity to arrange or participate in voluntary event. If you are a volunteer manager or coordinator, IVD could also be used as an opportunity to highlight the work of the volunteers you work with and to thank them.

Here is an album on facebook from last year's IVD, showing some of CHW's volunteers in action!

I mostly volunteer for causes to do with children, but do other voluntary work too, whenever I can (like today!). Do you volunteer? If you do, what causes do you support? And if you are someone who works with volunteers, how do you thank them for their invaluable input?

News from Children's Hospital, Cape Town

Social media can take up lots of time! I am trying to learn how to use it in an effective way for my charity, CHW. It is more challenging than it sounds! Today I saw some good updates on the facebook page of the Sarah Fox Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. It is the only children's convalescent hospital serving the Western Cape. I have visited the hospital and seen the great work they do there! I am also hoping to fundraise for them in the future, if they send appeals to CHW.

Babies' ward

Their facebook page was updated from time to time, but today a post appeared from someone new, saying that they would now be responsible for adding to the page. The following was their second post today, which really shows what amazing work Sarah Fox does:

"We now have an aromatherapy programme at Sarah Fox, and I am the lucky person to be the aromatherapist (Fiona M...). I am so enjoying this. It is so rewarding to see a child smile - a child who cannot speak or move- but who feels his feet being massaged and a smile stretches his face. Or the quiet little boy who never speaks and looks VERY serious.. .and then one day he's a little chatterbox.. and you realise the lovely caring staff and the treatment he has had at Sarah Fox, have created a miracle."

The first update asked for more people to like their facebook page, so if you want to do that, you can go to their page here.

Nurses I met during my last visit to Sarah Fox, earlier this year.

(I don't have permission to share photos of the children here on my blog, but there should be more photos on the hospital's facebook page.)

Ideas for a good lucky dip needed!

Have you run a stall for children before, at a fete or a fair? Some volunteers for CHW are going to run a stall with a lucky dip to fundraise on 1 December in London. For those who are unfamiliar with what a lucky dip is, it is a game where small prizes are wrapped up and children select one. They don't know what they have won until they open it! The lucky dips I have seen usually have a large container, with something like shredded newspaper, etc, so that children have to dig through it to find a present. The volunteers did have a stall last year, but want to make it even better this year!

Volunteers at the stall, with the lucky dip, in 2012

If you have any tips for running a lucky dip, or a stall in general, it would be great to hear from you! Maybe you did a lucky dip with a twist? Then it would be great to hear how you made it even more fun for the children! The volunteers will be allowed to run other games too, alongside the lucky dip, so all ideas are welcome and would be very much appreciated!

Also, if  you are in London and know anyone, or any shops, that may be able to help with donating prizes, that would be wonderful too. Below is a photo of some of the prizes that were donated last year. They were very popular with the children.

We want to make it a really fun stall for the children! It will be raising funds for children who don't have very much, so it will all be for a good cause.

Some of the donated prizes in 2012.

Getting the prizes all wrapped and ready for last year's lucky dip!

Chatting with a Charity in Romania

Like a lot of people, I dread going to the dentist! I am scared about the pain and I hate hearing the sound of drills as I sit in the waiting room. Actually, I need to remind myself that I am very lucky to have access to dental care. I just finished a skype meeting with Oana, who runs an Association helping underprivileged children, in Romania. My charity, CHW, fundraises for this Association. We talked about the Association's educational programmes and the children's progress. Then Oana said that she has seen that some of the children's teeth are in bad condition. She told me that the cost of having a cavity filled can be equal to the cost of food for a family for a month! She said I could let CHW's supporters know that any donations towards toiletries, such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, and also soap, would all be very welcome. I will pass this message on for her.

It is amazing to know people like Oana, who put so much energy into improving the lives of children who so desperately need help. I will always try my best to support their efforts, as they are really making a positive impact - improving things in the present for the children, and also giving them hope for their future.

Helping Oana (right) at a fundraiser she had arranged at a university in Brasov, Romania, last year. Oana had made jewellery and art work to sell , to support the Association's programmes.

What matters at Christmas

I am thinking of Christmas today... and not just because there are already Christmas displays in some of the shop windows here in London! Today, I came across a great blogger, who is also doing the NaBloPoMo challenge (to write a blog post each day during November), called  Glorius Mettle. It made me reflect and want to write a post on Christmas too (although, yes, I do realise it is still quite a few weeks away!)

As well as this, I create an update for a child rights advocacy organisation each week, so they can pick up on all the latest news. Yesterday, I saw that according to the charity, Shelter, 80,000 children will be facing homelessness in the UK, this Christmas. I am so shocked by this figure.  Shelter’s chief executive, Campbell Robb said that such things should not be happening in twenty-first century Britain and that:

"No child should be homeless, let alone 80,000. But tragically, with more people struggling to make ends meet and homelessness on the rise, we’re bracing ourselves for an increase in demand from families who desperately need our help."

I have spent Christmas in some very different places, and each time I had the opportunity to be working with people who truly cared about children, and gave them the help they desperately needed. Without those inspirational people, those children would not have had a very happy Christmas. Staff running children's homes in Ghana and Romania made sure the children had a great day, with food, music, a party, and of course, a Christmas tree! An organisation in South Africa made sure the children who came to its creche each had a gift to take home for Christmas.

Last Christmas, I was in London, and I volunteered for Crisis, a charity for single homeless people, and helped at one of its shelters. Whilst homelessness is a huge issue all year round, there is something extra poignant about Christmas. It is not an issue of material items and presents. It is the fact Christmas is often a time that people spend together, and that is why it felt so important to be able to create a space where people could do just that, at one of Crisis's shelters. The guests could eat a Christmas meal and do various activities, like art, watching films, and playing games. Crisis also looks to the future - there were services at the shelter, from hairdressing, to help with putting CVs together, and getting free legal advice. People have been able to turn their lives around using these services. (Some of my fellow volunteers were once guests at a Crisis at Christmas shelter.)

I have seen that some people seem to truly believe in the 'spirit of Christmas' and want to help others in need, and I am so lucky to know people like that. It has also been such a positive experience to volunteer over Christmas, and I would definitely recommend it. For anyone who might want to make a donation instead, Crisis and Shelter both do great work!


Some of my Christmas photos!

Romania:

Christmas party and a visit from Santa arranged for the children at the home, Casa Mea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helping to take some of the younger children at Casa Mea to see the big Christmas tree in the nearest city!

Ghana:

With the tree, and then dancing on Christmas Day, at New Life

South Africa:

Christmas play, by children at Seawind Educare

All of these organisations are supported by my charity, CHW.

Why Children Need the Internet!

Given that you are reading this post, I can safely assume that you have a computer, laptop, tablet, smart phone, or some other device for accessing the internet. This means you are one of the 2.7 billion people who are online. Just under 60% of the world's population, however, does not have access to the internet!

I actually got the idea for this post because I am taking part in the NaBloPoMo challenge, to write a blog post each day in November. I read this post, on the yeah write site, about computers and technology, by another blogger Cynk, who is also taking part in NaBloPoMo. It made me think about how accustomed I am to using the internet. It is a part of my everyday life. For many others around the world, this is not so. Children who are not taught how to use computers, and the internet, will find it harder to get decent jobs as adults, in an increasingly interconnected, digital world. They cannot experience the benefits of having access to the internet.

Computers for the Children!

Yesterday, I blogged about a Homework Centre in the Eastern Cape in South Africa. They have a couple of computers there, and really want to teach the children how to use them, because they can see how useful such skills and knowledge will be for the children's future. They would like more computers. I am hoping that my charity, CHW, will be able to help with this in the future, or that I might be able to find someone else (either an individual or an organisation) who can help with donating computers to the Centre. This would not be the first time we, at CHW, have helped children's projects with computers. We raised funds to repair the computers at an education centre, run by the Atelier Sacelean Association, in Romania, and also raised the funds for a new classroom to be built for a school run by New Life Orphanage in Ghana. The new classroom became a computer lab. (The computers were donated by another organisation, but the room had to be built for the new lab!)

Computer Lab at New Life, in Ghana

The 'Digital Divide' and Children
 
The 'digital divide', ie the gap between those who have access to the internet and those who do not, is  a huge issue and one that will greatly impact a child's future opportunities in life. Often the 'digital divide' is looked at in international terms. Of all the people in the world who are not connected to the internet, 90% are in developing countries. Expense is a big problem. The founder of the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has said:

"...the majority of the world's people are still not online, usually because they can't afford to be... In Mozambique, for example, a recent study showed that using just one gigabyte of data can cost well over two months' wages for the average citizen. The result of high prices is a widening digital divide that slows progress in vital areas such as health, education and science..."

The problem is not just an international one though. Access to computers and the internet varies within parts of the same country, meaning some children will have access and some will not. The quality of their resources will vary too.

This article by Laura Dimon, brings up the point that New York's digital divide is holding young New Yorkers back. She shares a quote from Manhattan's Borough President, which states that over 75% of school facilities have a maximum download speed which is 100 times slower than the target speed in the National Broadband Plan. These students will not have a fast enough connection speed to have access to all the educational resources they need.

Crowding around the computers at the Atelier Sacelean Association, Romania

What can be done?

Whilst organisations such as A4AI and Internet.org are looking to get more people connected to the internet, there are things which everyone can do to help. If you have any computers or laptops that you no longer use, or if your office or college will be getting new equipment, it is possible to donate the old computers to certain charities.  These charities can refurbish the old computers, if necessary, and will then distribute them to schools, education centres or other children's projects. It would be best to try to look this up, to find a charity close to you where you could donate electronic equipment (see how useful the internet is!). As well as helping children, this is also an environmentally-friendly way to get rid of old equipment.

Here is a useful list of ten tips of things to do before donating an old computer.

Also, if anyone has any ideas on getting some computers or laptops to the Homework Centre in South Africa,  please let me know. I would really appreciate it!

Children at the Homework Centre, South Africa

Thank you for taking the time to read this post... I am grateful that I have a laptop and access to the internet and can do things like take part in NaBloPoMo! I just hope I can use all the resources I am lucky enough to have, to help children around the world to get online too, and to open up more opportunities for their futures.

How to make a difference on South Africa's National Children's Day

Today is National Children's Day in South Africa! It is celebrated on the first Saturday of November. Earlier this year, my charity, CHW, linked with a new project - a Homework Centre in the Eastern Cape. It is the first South African organisation CHW linked with outside Cape Town (which is in the Western Cape). The Eastern Cape is one of the poorest provinces in South Africa.

Most of the children helped by the Centre are brought up by their grandparents, or are in single parent families. The Centre runs after-school programmes from Monday to Thursday, and gives children educational and extra-curricular support. More and more children want to attend the Centre. While this is good, it means the Centre itself needs more support, to maintain the high standard of assistance it gives the children. Those running the centre asked CHW for the funds for ten new tables. We raised the money quite quickly. The Centre has purchased the wood and the tables are in the process of being made right now! 

 

Children at the Homework Centre

Education is so important for children. Everyone at the Homework Centre believes this, and puts their greatest effort into supporting children with their schooling. There are ways that everyone can help though. In keeping with the South African theme, here are some ideas from the Nelson Mandela Day website:

• Find out from your local library if it has a story hour and offer to read during it.
• Mentor a school leaver or student in your field of expertise.
• Donate your old textbooks, or any other good books, to a school library.
• Offer to provide tutoring in a school subject you are good at.
• Paint classrooms and school buildings.
•  Donate a bag of art supplies.
• Mentor someone. Make time to listen to what the kids have to say and give them good advice.

There are more suggestions of simple good deeds to do here (and not just to do with children and education). Although the idea is to take action to help others on the official Nelson Mandela Day, which is 18 July, it would be great to take action to help children on any day of the year! As the slogan says, 'Make everyday a Mandela Day.'

Please feel free to add any more ideas on how to help support children with their education in the comments section below.

From the Nelson Mandela Day website

I admire the passion the founders of the Homework Centre have, for supporting the children's education and for aiming to give them a brighter future. The Homework Centre will keep me updated with the progress of the tables and I look forward to fundraising for them again in the future! If you want to keep up with news from the Homework Centre, see their page on CHW's website.

Remembering "Little Rock" and the other children, three years on

Today it is three years since a tragic accident where a minibus, full of schoolchildren, collided with a train in Cape Town. Ten children died, including Lisle (known as "Little Rock" in the media). One organisation that my charity, CHW, works with in South Africa, The Future Factory, had been supporting Lisle in previous years. 

Lisle had already been through so much in her short life, and had suffered a terrible, abusive incident at just seven years old. I had met her a few times and she was always so bright and lively, despite what had happened to her. I wrote more about her story here, this time last year. 

Lisle

Lisle, and all the children who were in the accident, are in my heart, and my thoughts and prayers are with their families, especially today. 

Back from Ghana!

I have spent part of the summer in Ghana, and am now back in London.

With some of the school children at New Life

It was really good to visit CHW's projects in Ghana. This was the first country where I set up links for the charity and started to fundraise. The projects CHW supports there are close to Cape Coast. The children had all grown so much and it was just so great to see them again! However, it was also a very difficult trip for me, as the founder of New Life, Madam Ruby, had passed away in June. She was someone who had truly inspired me. I met her when I was eighteen and I think I would have taken a different path in life if it wasn't for her. I was able to spend time with her family, which I am grateful for, as I stayed with them during my trip. Madam Ruby's vision and inspiration live on, as the children she was so determined to help continue to have shelter and an education due to her work.

As well as spending time in Cape Coast, I also went to Accra, and caught up with some former colleagues. I did some legal research there, and in the past, I have also worked in a law firm and at an advocacy centre. I visited the Human Rights Advocacy Centre. If you have studied, or worked in, human rights, it is possible to do internships there. They do very interesting work. 

A lot of my colleagues were talking about issues raised from the Care Reform Initiative (CRI). Currently, children's homes usually accept abandoned children, as well as orphans. As a result of the implementation of the CRI, more children living in homes are being reunified with their families, if possible. This may be with parents, or with other family members. Some people who work with the children say that the children's families often want them to stay in homes (or orphanages), as the children live in better conditions and are guaranteed to get regular meals and have access to an education. This is a very big issue - globally, not just in Ghana - as ideally every child should have a family, and there are serious problems regarding institutionalisation, which will have lifelong effects. At the same time, struggling families may see children's homes as a way to give their children more opportunities in life. Further problems are raised as some homes may have different standards, and if not registered, may not be regulated. It seems that the policy-makers, those working on the ground, and parents have very different views. Ultimately any action must be in the best interests of the child. I would like to explore these issues further and I invite anyone to get in touch with me if they would like share their views on issues of children's homes and reunification (not just in the Ghanaian context, but in general. I am interested in hearing about all regions and countries, and how people are working to solve these problems for children.).

I now hope to post more regularly as I am back home! Wishing you all a nice weekend!

Thank You Message from CHW at Six Years Old!

My organisation, CHW, is six today! I want to thank everyone who has supported CHW, and the children we have been working with, over the past six years. Below is a thank you note from me! I look forward to many more years of supporting amazing children's projects all over the world!

By the way, I recently returned to London from my research work in South Africa and will now be able to blog again more frequently! 

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays everyone! Below is CHW's Christmas message.

I have been at the projects in Romania this month, and so haven't been able to blog much - but I have a lot of things to write about from my time there, so there will be more updates soon!

In the meantime, I want to wish you all a happy Christmas (what is left of it!) and a happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous New Year!

A Short Message from CHW on Universal Children's Day

Here is the facebook message from Children's Helpers Worldwide, marking Universal Children's Day 2012:

"Today is Universal Children's Day! Our hope is that all the children in the world will have food, water, shelter, healthcare, an education and everything else they need. We wish all the very best to people, around the world, who are working to achieve this. Keep up with your good work! Thank you to those of you who support projects through CHW to help the children."

Picture from a creche we help in South Africa

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To get more updates, you can "like" CHW's facebook page: facebook.com/ChildrensHelpersWorldwide or follow CHW on twitter: @CHWchildren