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​LATEST STORIES

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Meet Jemima

23/4/2020

 
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This is Jemima's class which she loved to attend.
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Jemima is four years old and attends one of our baby classes in Kyaka II refugee settlement. She started school in 2019 and was very happy with everything in her class. She was a regular attender, along with her little brother and performed very well with her learning. 

Tragically her little brother died and this was a turning point for Jemima and her entire family. 

She started coming to the centre less often and when she was there she couldn’t concentrate. This led to a fast deterioration in her learning, and she failed her end of year exams.
“The loss of her little brother left Jemima and her parents shaken and demoralised. They stopped seeing education as something valuable and were considering stopping her from coming to school” - Ibrahim Bagwiire (resource person for Kaborogota Zone)
During school break, the head caregiver, a team of teachers from her centre, and Ibrahim made numerous visits to the family where they comforted them and gently persuaded them to bring Jemima back to school. They also encouraged Jemima and talked to her parents about how being back in a safe and welcoming environment on a regular basis would be the best place for her at this time. 

Jemima returned when school term began in February 2020 and her teachers decided it would be best for her to repeat baby class so she could fill in the gaps she had missed and have another chance to take the exam. They gave her extra time and attention right up until the time the coronavirus pandemic struck.

​By then Jemima was attending regularly and doing very well in both classroom and outdoor activities. The head caregiver attributed this turnaround to the expertise of Jemima’s teachers and himself, adding that training from Children on the Edge Africa developed the skills they needed to help Jemima when she needed it most.
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Meet Elijah

6/3/2020

 
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Elijah is 4 years old and he started baby class at Loco ECD Centre a few terms ago. During the first parent -teacher meeting, Elijah’s father mentioned that he can be mischievous at home and needed close supervision. Doreen is Elijah’s teacher, and she noticed within the first few weeks that he often snatched snacks from other children, would always disappear outside the class and didn’t seem to trust anyone apart from his mum and dad.  ​

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A strong start and a great opportunity for Congolese early years refugee programme

30/7/2019

 
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Refugee communities have hit the ground running in impressive style, preparing for the strengthening of early years education in Kyaka II settlement, Uganda. Since the launch announcement of the programme in May, new staff have been engaging in high quality training and creating colourful learning resources for centres. 

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World Refugee Day 2019 - Hearing from the children we work with

20/6/2019

 
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On the 20th June each year, the world commemorates the strength, courage, and resilience of millions of refugees. Around the world more than 50 million people have fled their homes, and over half of these are children.

The refugee children we work with in Lebanon, Bangladesh and Myanmar all show great strength, courage and resilience every day, surviving in some of the toughest places around the world. On World Refugee Day 2019, we wanted to take the time to share some of their thoughts and experiences. 

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Kyaka II - Uganda: Resourcing refugee communities to provide early years education

9/5/2019

 
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​Kyaka II refugee settlement, close to the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has approximately 700  new arrivals each week over 65% of which are children. Having fled armed conflict, ebola, and horrific human rights abuses, many suffer extreme trauma as a result of witnessing the brutality of war and displacement. They face serious child protection risks and have nowhere safe to go during the day.

The youngest refugee children need support


A number of NGOs are providing primary education in Kyaka II, but early years education provision is limited for the youngest children, at a vital time in their development. Our assessment showed a need for up to 30 Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centres across 30 communities within the settlement.
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In these communities, local people are doing the best they can to provide early years learning, but provision and resources are variable at best. While some communities are doing well, with Centres in a relatively good state of repair, others have non-existent provision and broken down venues that are not fit for purpose. Many Centres lack consistent quality teacher training, or well established community ownership. Without this, trained teachers have no incentive to use their training locally, and leave to find jobs in other areas of Uganda, and communities have no support or resources to maintain provision.

Resourcing communities to provide early years education

Through training and targeted resourcing, we aim to support 30 refugee communities in Kyaka II camp, to replicate our model of best practice, ensuring high quality, cost effective ECD for their children.

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The Edge: DRC Refugees in Uganda

9/5/2019

 
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With multiple conflicts stretching across vast areas of the country, The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the world’s most complex and long-standing humanitarian situations.
A protracted civil war ending in 2003 gave way to sporadic bursts of fighting, mainly in the Eastern areas of the country. A new surge of violence then broke out from 2016 in the Kasai region, which covers huge areas in the south and centre of the DRC.

Armed political and ethnic conflicts continue in many areas and in 2019, OCHA estimate that 12.8 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection. This figure represents 10% of the total worldwide humanitarian caseload.
4.5 million people have been internally displaced, with an additional 825,002 seeking refuge in other countries.
Civilians here are exposed to gross human rights violations, sexual and gender-based violence, chronic malnutrition, and various health epidemics including the serious spread of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). ​

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Why is Early Childhood Development vital for young refugee children?

9/5/2019

 
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Children on the Edge has been investing in early years education for marginalised children in different areas of the world since 2000 [ii].

​The UN 2019 Global Education Monitoring report states that best practices for refugee children under the age of five should focus on families and caregivers, which is exactly what we do. 

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Communities are supported to offer their children quality early learning opportunities, through a child friendly and play focused curriculum in a safe and loving environment
"Providing a solid start in life for every child is increasingly urgent in a fractured world where many millions of children spend their formative early years in emergency settings”.
​
​(Anthony Lake 
[i])

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A flying start with training and preparations in Kyaka II

1/4/2019

 
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No sooner have we announced the launch of our new project in Kyaka II refugee camp, Uganda, and the videos and photos of training and preparation are already flooding in from our partners. ​

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The Edge in Kachin State, Myanmar

1/4/2019

 
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Kachin State is the northernmost state of Myanmar (also known as Burma) and is bordered by China to the north and east. The Kachin people are an ethnic minority in Myanmar, a highland indigenous people with rich traditions.

​Historical tensions between the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and the Myanmar government have intensified over the last seven years, placing civilians at huge risk.
A 17-year ceasefire was broken by Burmese troops in June 2011, heavy shelling near civilian populations was commonplace and women reported many incidents of systematic rape by the Burmese Army. ​

Human Rights Watch reported government soldiers blocking needed humanitarian aid, torching villages and firing on innocent civilians and Fortify Rights have extensive evidence of systematic torture being used as an attack on civilians.

​Conflict intensified again at the start of 2018 and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimate that around 97,000 people remain displaced in Kachin State, spread across 140 camps. Our partners estimate the numbers on the border to be more in the region of 120,000.

​More than 46% of those displaced are living in areas beyond government control where international actors have very limited humanitarian access. Those living in the crowded Internally Displaced People's (IDP) camps are terrified, cut off from vital aid and still subject to regular military attack.
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As central government appears determined to crush the last remaining pocket of armed resistance in Myanmar, their recent tactics have been increasingly harsh. With significant natural resources and political influence at stake, the human tragedy is worsening, and largely ignored by the international community.
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Thousands of Kachin children are forced to cope in very difficult circumstances with little support for their healthy development. Many children here under the age of 6, have known little else but war.

​Daily life offers few chances of respite from the effects of violence and they have no access to early years education, creative play and psychosocial support.

what we're doing to help

Displaced Kachin communities still fighting to give their children the best possible start

18/2/2019

 
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Around a year ago, we reported how the Kachin communities we work with in the remote displacement camps of Kachin State Myanmar, were beginning to lose hope. Having faced over seven years of being trapped in high altitude camps, cut off from basic services and humanitarian aid, the motivation that carried them through the first season was waning.

Living through what they describe as a ‘slow genocide’, while international attention remains on other crises around the world, 100,000 Kachin civilians endure terrible conditions, and remain ignored. Throughout 2018 these people have faced the threat of continued forced displacement, spontaneous return, land grabbing, and a continuing decrease of humanitarian aid. This has all increased the difficulty of providing for their families, facilitating transportation and facing weather conditions of less than minus ten degrees during winter.

Not only are children aged 3-6 cut off from early learning facilities, but our local partners (KDG) report that most camps have limited opportunities for playing, with terrain being unsuitable to build playgrounds, and little access to play materials. Consequently many older children disappear to the forests and find dangerous places to play.


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​Children on the Edge, 5 The Victoria, 25 St Pancras, Chichester,  West Sussex, PO19 7LT, UK.
  • DONATE
  • WHO WE ARE
    • A Child Rights Approach
    • Meet the team
    • Contact Us
    • Media
  • WHAT WE DO
    • Bangladesh: Education for Rohingya refugee children
    • India: Education for 'untouchable' Dalit children
    • Uganda: Transforming slum communities
    • Uganda: Early Years Education for Congolese refugee children
    • Kachin State Myanmar: Support for displaced children
    • Bangladesh: Community Schools for slum dwelling children
    • Lebanon: Education for Syrian refugee children
    • India-Nepal border: Education for children in brothel communities
  • SUPPORT US
    • Receive our news updates
    • Trusts & Foundations
    • Fundraise for us
    • Take on a challenge >
      • 12,000 Steps Virtual Event
      • London Marathon
      • Brighton Marathon
      • Ride London >
        • Ride London Application Form
      • Chichester Half Marathon Event
      • Great South Run
    • Organise an Event
    • Fundraise at Work
    • Clubs & Faith Groups
    • Schools
    • Volunteer
    • Shop
  • Latest stories