A family in Iraq standing outside their temporay home.
What we do

Supporting communities

When a crisis hits, we provide emergency assistance, as well as long-term solutions to help communities remain resilient for the future and thrive again.

In conflict-affected areas, children and young people are the most vulnerable to hunger and trauma.  

Children and young people are disproportionately affected by war, and the abject poverty that comes with it. When children lose access to essentials like food and water, they face devastating psychological impacts. The lack of opportunities for growth and development often last a lifetime.

When conflicts break out, we intervene quickly to provide emergency cash relief so that families access food, water, and shelter, and other basic necessities to address their immediate needs. This also protects children, by ensuring that their families don’t resort to negative coping strategies like child labour, pulling kids out of school, or even early marriage, that can rob children of a childhood.

We provide long-term solutions to mitigate the impact of chronic conflict to help young people, families and communities remain resilient for the future, like equipping young people with the skills to find apprenticeships or employment, or supporting parents and caregivers to start their own business.
 

Scale of the challenge

  • 60 %

    Of the world’s hungry live in conflict-affected zones.

  • 84 M

    People are currently forcibly displaced by conflict, violence and insecurity.

  • 27 M

    People are acutely food insecure in the Democratic Republic of Congo - the highest number worldwide.

What we do 

Supporting young people and caregivers to have a dignified income 

War turns people's lives upside down. Local economies can collapse virtually overnight, and the stability people rely on in terms of markets, trade routes and jobs can disappear or become severely disrupted, making it harder for people to meet even their most basic needs. To support youth in finding apprenticeships, a job, or start their own business to build a better future, we provide young people and caregivers with technical, business and life skills, as well as grants and saving schemes. 

 

Setting up tech hubs 

In many of the countries War Child operates in, unemployment is extremely high, and youth are disproportionately affected. Tech hubs provide a one-stop-shop for linking youth to the global digital market, by providing them with training in IT and a vocational skill which allows them to earn money online. For women and girls who shoulder domestic responsibilities, tech hubs are a lifeline by allowing them to earn a salary whilst at home. 

Tech hubs helps women’s self-esteem and mental health because the impact is so measurable in the short term. You don’t need to wait three to five years to find a job opportunity afterwards. Within two months you find that you are able to master a ‘high tech’ skill.
Director of a Moldovan university that hosted a War Child tech hub

Providing cash relief 

War can leave families in urgent need of food, water, hygiene items, shelter and medical care. In emergency situations, we provide families with cash relief to support their basic needs and prevent families from having to make desperate, agonising choices just to survive, like marrying off young girls in the family, or keeping children out of school to do dangerous work to earn a living. In the short-term, providing the poorest and most vulnerable families with the money they need to access vital essentials such as food, water and warmth can save lives. Giving families cash, rather than items, means they can make quick decisions on what to buy based on their own needs and priorities, enabling them to regain control and independence over their lives.

 

Protecting children from climate crisis

War Child works in lots of rural settings affected by conflict, where traditional livelihoods are failing due to changes in the climate. To help families grow nutritious food for their children and help young people to learn agricultural skills for the future, War Child is conducting research on livelihoods activities that are safeguarded from how climate change will rock these communities.  

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Child drawing on a chalk board in DRC.

Educating children

When children’s lives are turned upside down by conflict, we know that safe spaces to continue learning are critical for a child's wellbeing and future opportunities to earn a living.

War Child staff and child.

Protecting children

We work with children, families, communities, and governments in conflict zones to protect children from danger.

UN Security Council.

Campaigning

We work to ensure that challenges faced by children are widely understood and addressed by those in power. We boldly campaign to influence global leaders and empower young people to raise issues and campaign for change themselves.