Our History

Anita Roddick founded Children on the Edge in 1990, in response to the Romanian Orphanage Crisis. After witnessing the appalling conditions in Romanian orphanages first hand, Anita mobilised her company, The Body Shop International, to help these children. Initially, this involved helping three orphanages in the small village of Halaucesti in the Iasi district of Romania.

By 1992, Children on the Edge had developed considerable expertise in working with institutionalized children. This prompted the organisation to expand its work into Albania. By 1994, it developed into Bosnia to help a school for Blind Children in Sarajevo. At this time, it became clear that Children on the Edge was working primarily with vulnerable children, in particular those without parental care.

In 1999, thousands of Kosovan Refugees arrived in the town of Korce, Southern Albania where Children on the Edge was working. The organisation became involved in the relief effort, developing the skills necessary to work with refugees. The same year, Children on the Edge expanded into Kosovo to help rebuild the schools and communities devastated by conflict.

Working with the children of Kosovo developed the organisation’s expertise to include children in post conflict situations. In 2000 Children on the Edge was invited by UNICEF to work with traumatised children and youth in Timor-Leste and in 2004 when an earthquake and tsunami hit Indonesia, Children on the Edge utilized their skills in the area most devastated by the disaster.

Since then, Children on the Edge has expanded its reach to include working with children who have escaped ethnic cleansing in Burma as: migrants, refugees and IDPs (internally displaced people).  Most recently, the organisation has started work in a new continent, Africa, where the majority of children without parental care live.

Originally part of The Body Shop Foundation, Children on the Edge became an independently registered charity in 2004. Growing up in a corporate environment has enabled Children on the Edge to develop lasting relationships with other businesses and corporations, including: Esprit, Jobsite, Luminar Leisure Ltd, and Montezuma’s.

The charity is in the process of registering independently in countries with active programmes. This will allow Children on the Edge to develop fundraising and expand operations in the countries where the charity works.