ABOUT US OVERVIEW

Children on the Edge is a child rights organisation created to support the world’s most marginalised children, living in some of the toughest situations. We currently work with more than 16,000 children in Bangladesh, India, Uganda, Myanmar, and Lebanon.

Young Rohingya boy in his classroom in Kutupalong refugee camp. He is sat at a yellow desk working in an A4 workbook.

By working alongside communities, we design programs tailored to their specific needs and circumstances using our 30 years of experience.

This has enabled us to transform the lives of children facing some of the most challenging circumstances, by co-creating protective, nurturing environments in which they can safely live, play, learn, and grow.

Anita Roddick, co-founder of Children on the Edge sat with two young girls either side of her in Romania. All three are smiling and holding their hands forward in a V peace sign.

When we began, in 1990, the children on the edge we served were those incarcerated and forgotten in Romanian orphanages.

Today, the “edge” takes us into refugee camps, slums, and warzones where we support Rohingya, Congolese, and Syrian refugee children, and those facing internal displacement, caste discrimination, poverty, and exploitation.

A group of Rohingya children standing in front of their camp classroom in Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh

The geography and circumstances may be different tomorrow, but we’re always ready to go — by invitation only— into marginalised communities where children are affected by poverty, displacement, conflict, and persecution.

By creating protective environments that generate hope, life, colour and fun, we enable children to realise their rights.

OUR VISION

We envision a world in which every child thrives regardless of their geography, ethnicity, gender, or caste.

OUR MISSION

We work to create conditions in which every marginalised child can flourish and thrive no
matterwhere they live and irrespective of the challenging circumstances they face.

We place children at the heart of everything we do by working hand-in-hand with local communities
to restore hope, dignity, and justice; and to actively involve everyone in creating transformation.

OUR APPROACH

Our approach is holistic, multi-layered, and guided by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
We place children centre stage by encouraging them to know their worth, to understand their rights, and to be active agents in shaping their own futures.
It is essential to build protection into a child’s surroundings. That’s why we work closely with those who impact children the most: the family, teachers, local community leaders, and the greater society. Building this protective environment throughout each interconnected layer —from the family and classroom, to community and national level—ensures that children are not only physically safer, but have the freedom to develop and thrive. We engage with and actively involve the entire community to jointly create safe spaces full of hope, life, colour, and fun.
Most importantly, our decades of experience have taught us that no one size fits all. We tailor solutions based on the specific needs of each community we work with. This includes nurturing positive parenting and early childhood development, creating play and educational opportunities, and presenting an array of community transformation initiatives.
Finally, we stay as long as it takes; until the community feels empowered and equipped enough to go it alone.