A Chichester charity that makes a big difference

30/11/2022

Children on the Edge is a Chichester based charity that works to support some of the worlds' most marginalised children, living in some of the toughest situations.

The charity was co-founded in 1990 by Bishop Luffa graduate and Chichester resident, Rachel Bentley and the late Dame Anita Roddick.

After witnessing the appalling conditions in Romanian orphanages first hand, Dame Anita Roddick mobilised her company, The Body Shop International, based in Littlehampton, to help.

The Body Shop, sent supplies and a small group of volunteers, to help three orphanages in the remote village of Halaucesti. Rachel Bentley, a 23-year-old law graduate from Chichester, was one of these volunteers, and together, they sparked the response that created Children on the Edge, which exists to this day to support some of the most marginalised children around the world.

Anita Roddick in Romania in 1990

Anita and Rachel in Indonesia

By 1992, Rachel Bentley and Anita Roddick started the charity, Children on the Edge in an official capacity, together with The Body Shop. By this time, they had developed considerable expertise in working with institutionalised children in Eastern Europe, working through local partners, and coordinating all their work from offices in Chichester.

Over 30 years later, Children on the Edge has worked in more than 18 countries, and currently support over 20,000 children in Bangladesh, India, Lebanon, Myanmar and Uganda. In 2022, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we began supporting Ukrainian refugees in Romania and Moldova.

We are staffed by a small, dedicated team from our offices in The Victoria, Chichester, and work together with local partners based on the ground in the countries we work in.

Chichester Cathedral

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The charity is grateful for the incredible generosity and long term support of The Body Shop and other local Chichester businesses, including Montezuma's, Store Property, Wiley and many others over the years, who have made an incredible difference and made much of our work possible.

Children on the Edge is also supported by a faithful community of supporters in West Sussex and beyond. Local schools, churches, individuals and organisations as well as consultants from The Body Shop At Home, have raised thousands of pounds to support our work with marginalised children around the world.

Our historic flagship fundraising event, the Chichester Half Marathon was brilliantly supported by the Chichester community during the years that we were involved (up to 2019), and the event raised tens of thousands of pounds for our vital work around the world. The event is now run by Everyone Active.

The Children on the Edge Chichester Half Marathon Event was a popular local event

What do Children on the Edge do?

We work to create conditions in which every marginalised child can flourish and thrive no matter where 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.

By working alongside communities, we design award winning 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.

Cluster group learning in Uganda supports over 2000 of the youngest refugees to learn and play

Learning centres in India offer Dalit children the chance to learn in a safe space

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As Children on the Edge grows, we continue to apply what Anita had taught us: to trust your gut and always listen to people on the ground, who know the culture and understand the needs of their own people best.

Rachel Bentley, who was awarded an OBE in 2022, still leads Children on the Edge with the same spark that she and Anita began it with, and The Body Shop has been a faithful pillar of support ever since.

Today, we continue to adapt and respond, always working on the “edge” for a world where every child can thrive, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, caste or geography.

The 'edge' in 1990 was the institutionalisation of children in Romania, and today, the 'edge' takes us to Uganda, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Lebanon, where refugee children are stripped of their rights to education, and denied their chances of a brighter future. Children on the Edge provide education for over 17,000 refugee children who have fled persecution, conflict or violence.

Our award-winning programmes use innovative ways to enable access to education, working alongside local communities to find the best possible solutions. We train refugee teachers so that children can learn in their own dialect, from familiar, trusted adults that understand them and our classrooms are fun and colourful environments where children are safe and can learn to express themselves.

'The Edge' also takes us to India, where Dalit children are denied their rights and are unable to access education, and to the slums of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, where working children face huge barriers to education.

Education breaks ongoing cycles of displacement and poverty, and the classroom creates a place where hope can begin, and children can start to flourish.

How can you support Children on the Edge?

Our wonderful community play a vital role in transforming the lives of marginalised children around the world. Your support really does make a difference. If you'd like to keep up to date with all our latest news and find out how you can support our work, please join our mailing list.

1. Become a Regular Donor

Regular, reliable income ensures that we can continue to support marginalised children living on the edge, as we have been doing for over 30 years.

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2. Join Our Latest Virtual Challenge

Whether it be walking, yoga or a fitness challenge and no matter where you are, you can get involved with our virtual challenges.

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3. Fundraise in your Workplace

Perfect for team-building, strengthening relationships and making a difference, why not fundraise at work?

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4. Become a Corporate Partner

With transforming benefits for your business, your staff and your customers, and the chance to be at the heart of bringing hope to children around the world, there are so many reasons to start a partnership with us.

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5. Hold your own Event

We love hearing and supporting your ideas, there are unlimited options! Have a think, be creative, either on your own, or as part of a club, school or faith group.

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6. Fundraise at School

Support us with a one-off fundraising event or activity, get involved for a term or become a long-term partner. Or invite us in for an assembly if you're thinking about supporting Children on the Edge at school.

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What Makes Us Different?

Being a small charity based in Chichester gives us some great advantages in how we work and what impact we have.....

We can work under the radar: Being small often enables us to work in areas where larger organisations cannot, due to their size and the limitations and bureaucracy that come with that.

We’re agile: Our size gives us the flexibility to meet the needs of the people we work with quickly and effectively. For example, if our partners are faced with a sudden flood, increased air raids or arrests, then we can respond immediately, building support or adapting the programme accordingly to continue to meet the needs of the children we work with.

We’re streamlined: We don’t rely on large and costly international staff offices in the countries we work in. Instead, we focus on building strong relationships with our local partners who have a thorough understanding of the situation on the ground and a depth of relationships with their communities. Our office in Chichester, West Sussex, has 13 staff members and we also employ a regional manager in Asia.

We’re focused: Having a small number of projects means we can focus on delivering work of the highest quality. We fine tune our projects and ensure that each child is valued as an individual.

We keep you connected: Our size means that our donors and supporters can have a real connection and ownership with the work they are investing in. Your money doesn’t go into a huge machine, but to a small (but perfectly formed!) group of projects from which you are updated on regularly. This means you can see the changes that you are making possible.

In the kind of work we do of supporting children in some of the toughest situations across the world there are so many benefits to being a small organisation like us. You can rest assured that your money is always being spent wisely and where the need is greatest.

On average, for every pound spent by Children on the Edge, 86p goes towards our work with marginalised children around the world. This money helps to support local communities in creating safe, child friendly spaces, where children are able to realise their rights and look to a better future.

The rest covers our fundraising costs to bring in a sustainable, steady stream of income to keep our projects running smoothly, along with all our UK office overheads.

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