World Children’s Day is recognised each year on 20th November. It is an opportunity to advocate, promote and celebrate children's rights and marks the day when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

This is a promise made 30 years ago by governments across the world to do everything in their power to protect and promote children’s rights to survive and thrive, to learn and grow, to make their voices heard and to reach their full potential. 

30 years ago, along with Anita Roddick, our co-founder and CEO Rachel Bentley visited Romania to help institutionalised children left in orphanages from the brutal Ceausescu regime. This trip marked the very beginning of Children on the Edge. 

Over the years in all of our work, we have gone to places far from the media spotlight and worked with some of the most marginalised children in the world. We have partnered with local organisations, supported communities to realise their rights and ensured that children's voices are heard. 

Take 10 minutes, grab a cuppa and watch our interview with Rachel to find out how Children on the Edge started, what she regards as one of her 'stand out moments', and what the edge looks like today. 

Programme staff report that the initiative is enjoying an overwhelmingly positive response from children and teachers alike. Interviews with students have already shown how digital learning and digital video production is inspiring children and giving them fresh confidence that they will be able to compete in the job market of a globalised world. 

Henderson goes on to say “Learning about the transformative work of Children on the Edge was uplifting, especially given the current tech and education divide. The organisation’s efforts should propel all other individuals and organisations in the tech space to follow suit by putting digital tech to good use”.

Rohingya refugee children have also gone on to use the technology to have their voices heard and to interact outside the camps and slums. Through their own online platform named Moja kids, they have recorded dozens of ‘green screen’ and outdoor news videos, which have been shared back and forth between camp and community schools.

Updated 24/09/2020 

Covid-19 lockdown procedures are having a devastating effect on the slum dwelling, refugee and internally displaced communities we support around the world. Through 30 years of working with some of the most marginalised groups, we know they are always the hardest hit in times such as these.

Together with our local partners we have been pursuing sensible solutions to contain the outbreak and provided 12,500 essential supply parcels to households who are most affected. This is thanks to the support of many generous donors including The Angus Lawson Memorial Trust, Partners Asia, DAK Foundation, The Body Shop at Home™, Alex and Will De Winton, Jeff Lucas and Postcode Global Trust. 

We are now working to find creative solutions to enable children's learning to continue and to ensure they are safe whilst they are cut off from regular protection services. 

The current global pandemic has created universal challenges to accessing education that millions have never faced before. This summer, children all round the world are getting ready to return to a very different school environment. 

This summer also marks 30 years since the beginning of Children on the Edge. We’ve been overcoming barriers to education for the most marginalised since 1990, so for us, lockdown has been just one more hurdle to jump. The children we work with have been amongst the hardest hit, so we’ve been providing regular support and finding creative ways to get them back to school. 

In Kyaka II refugee settlement, Uganda we have been piloting the use of radio lessons to ensure the youngest Congolese refugee children can still have access to their early years education.  Near the start of the Ugandan lockdown, all education services in the camp were shut. We started a home-learning  programme for teachers so they can continue their full training and take their university exams in January. 

The children have been working with our resource officers and teachers to work through the Ugandan Early Childhood Development (ECD) home learning curriculum.  Activity packs are delivered once a month with pencils and crayons to keep the children learning. It has also been translated into suitable languages and is accompanied by a parents guide. Follow up visits from the teachers will also serve as a means to check on children’s safety and wellbeing while they are unable to attend the centres.