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Rohingya Humanitarian Response - November situation update

29/11/2017

 
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In the last few months we have begun our initial response to the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh.

Children on the Edge are uniquely placed to respond to the crisis with seven years of experience working within the Rohingya refugee community.

A few of our staff have just returned from visiting our work in the Kutupalong camp and have reported that the camp’s population is currently estimated at 325,000. With Kutupalong likely to merge soon with neighbouring Balukhali camp, the numbers are set to rise to 400,000. The population density is 66,000 per km sq, creating appalling conditions.

Our Asia Regional Manager, John Littleton says “As is common in situations of crisis, the primary issue facing relief efforts amongst the many agencies in the camps is one of coordination. This, coupled with the pressure to demonstrate results to donors, has led to a wealth of rash decisions and poorly delivered services across multiple sectors”.

We are working to avoid these pitfalls in each area of provision in the following ways:


Food distribution is being handled in a fairly consistent manner across the camps, but the white rice that is most widely distributed lacks some essential nutrients. Children on the Edge are providing lentils to supplement the rice, along with salt, sugar, soybean oil and oral rehydration sachets. So far we’ve been able to support 5,800 newly arrived families with these food parcels in the areas with the least resources.

Solar Light provision has replaced our plans for cash transfers, which have now been banned by the Bangladeshi government. Many families are without a source of light for the evening. This is problematic for cooking and other tasks, and makes travel around the camp dangerous at night. We have ordered strong, waterproof and portable units which are expected to arrive in the first week of December for approximately 5,333 families.
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To complement the World Food Programme's provision of rice, our food parcels currently contain lentils, salt, sugar, soybean oil and oral rehydration sachets.
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Clean water is mainly provided through the digging of tube wells. Currently, the camps are littered with hastily constructed wells, many of which have not been dug to the correct depth and have dried up. Many are not certified as clean or are placed too close to latrines, causing contamination. 

We are working with ACF and training local staff to install 20 high quality tube wells with a depth of 600ft or greater, and two concrete chambers: one for washing clothes and dishes and one for pure water for cooking and drinking. The chambers are separate, so the two don’t mix and contaminate.

Latrines are also widely installed throughout the camps, with a similar degree of poor workmanship. ACF estimate that 70% of the newly dug latrines are dug at a far too shallow level and 1 in 3 are already at, or near capacity, with no indication of follow-on maintenance. Our provision will either take the form of biogas latrine facilities (which utilise waste to provide clean cooking fuel), biofil latrines or permanent latrines dug to the proper level and well maintained. Both latrines and tube well will al be completed by the end of January 2018.

In terms of education and safe spaces for children, while there are scores of prominently-signed ‘Child Friendly Spaces’ throughout the camp, the activities in each venue vary greatly. During a five-day period, we checked 22 spaces. Only nine had an adult presence there. A further six at least had some play materials and supplies, with the remaining seven appearing to labeled but empty and unused.

Children on the Edge are ‘doubling up’ our 45 refugee schools in between classes, as safe spaces for new arrivals (see video below). We are also in the process of identifying areas with the greatest concentration of newly arrived children, without access to schooling. In blocks of the camp that we have already surveyed, there is approximately 31,000 school-aged children who have had no contact with a Child Friendly Space or a non-religious school. 

We have already gained agreement to build up to 100 new semi-permanent learning centres, with the aim of beginning to provide education for 10,000 children by February 2018 in a two shift system. 

Ben Wilkes, Executive Director says “These new centres will draw on our experience, providing colourful and innovative schools which stand out for their excellence. Our main concern is that these children have consistent support, long after the current flurry of attention subsides.”
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Syrian Feast at Tuppenny Barn raises £2245 for refugee education programme in Lebanon

3/11/2017

 
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​On Friday 27th October, local chef, Juliet Graham organised a 'Syrian Feast' at Tuppenny Barn in Southbourne, to raise funds for our tented schools for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The event raised an incredible £2245.

Juliet, who owns Green and Graham catering in Hambrook wanted to do something to support Children on the Edge and in particular, our education programme for Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. She organised the Syrian themed feast, creating her own menu of delicious food which was freshly prepared at Tuppenny Barn with help from a team of volunteers.

Juliet Graham said:

"In 2016, I visited the refugee camps in Calais. Having seen how people were living, I knew I wanted to do something to help. Soon after, I heard Nuna Matar speak in Chichester and I thought it would be fantastic to join up with Children on the Edge and do something locally to raise funds, build awareness, and have some fun at the same time!".

Nuna Matar runs the education programme we support in Lebanon, and visited Chichester in April 2016. She met with a number of local supporters to talk more about the programme, inspiring many local people to get involved in supporting this work.

The meal for 67 hungry guests included lentil, chard and freekeh soup, flat breads, falafel and moutabal, along with lamb, marinated chicken kebabs and roasted quail, with an array of side dishes - Mujadara, Fattoush salad, Muhammara and honey roasted figs with halloumi. All the dishes went down extremely well with guests, who dined with the delightful tunes of some traditional Syrian music in the background, performed by members of the Sussex Syrian Community Group.

After dinner, Director of Children on the Edge, Rachel Bentley spoke about our work in Lebanon. She explained how we have been working with Syrian refugees in Bekaa Valley for over three years, in partnership with Lebanese NGO - Mercy Foundation.

Our programme provides quality, child friendly education for 500 refugee children, aged 6-12, who are unable to access government or UN school provision. 
The schools are safe places with a trusted adult presence. Where other projects of this kind bring in teachers from the outside, our model raises up teachers from within the Syrian refugee community. It costs just £194 a year to educate one Syrian refugee child in one of our tent schools, so the total of £2245 raised from the banquet is enough to educate 11 children for a whole year.

Juliet added:

"I'm delighted that the evening was such a huge success and raised vital funds for a very worthwhile cause. I'm grateful to all the volunteers that helped to make the event possible, and to Tuppenny Barn, who very kindly provided the venue for free". 

Rachel Bentley, Director of Children on the Edge said:

"We'd like to say an enormous thank you to Juliet and her team for not only providing such a lovely evening of fine dining and entertainment, but raising so much for our work with Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. As a small charity, funds like this really do make a huge difference, so we are grateful to everyone who was involved for making the event such a success".

Find out more about how you can organise a fundraising event for Children on the Edge.
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#ThrowbackThursday - Indonesia

2/11/2017

 
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We're taking a look back to our history, and will be sharing memories from our early work in the 1990's and early 2000's as part of a #ThrowbackThursday series. 

​In 2005 we established a Child and Community Centre in Aceh, Indonesia helping children and their community rebuild their lives after the traumas of the Asian Tsunami. The aim of the project was to start to rebuild a sense of normalcy for the children of the community. We worked with them to find local recognition and support and the project is now running independently.

Our UK Director Ben Wilkes talks about one of his best memories of working here:

“On my last day living in Aceh, Indonesia, after living and working there for 8 months on our Tsunami project, I leant against one of the buildings at the Child Friendly Space and just watched about 200 children of all ages playing and having fun; just being children.
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When we arrived to work on the project, there were no children. The locals were very suspicious of us and closed to the idea of what we were trying to do. 

In that moment, before leaving to fly home, I knew that undeniably Children on the Edge had made a difference. To the community, its elders and most importantly, the children who were overcoming their trauma and discovering how to be children”.

Children on the Edge continue to make a difference to the lives of thousands of vulnerable children around the world. Read more about our work and how you can support us.
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​Children on the Edge, 5 The Victoria, 25 St Pancras, Chichester,  West Sussex, PO19 7LT, UK | 01243 538530 | communications@childrenontheedge.org 
  • DONATE
    • The Big Give 2022
  • COUNTRIES
    • Country Overview
    • BANGLADESH >
      • Kutupalong
      • Cox's Bazar & Doharazi
    • INDIA
    • LEBANON
    • MYANMAR
    • UGANDA >
      • Jinja
      • Kyaka II
    • UKRAINE
  • ABOUT US
    • WHO WE ARE
    • Contact Us
    • 2022 Highlights
    • Annual Report
    • Awards
    • Meet the team
    • Our Story
    • Our Values
    • Our Partners
  • OUR WORK
    • OUR WORK Overview
    • Working on 'the Edge'
    • Safe Spaces
    • Child Rights
    • Refugee Education
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Cluster Learning In Uganda
    • Supporting Slum Communities
    • Tackling Caste Discrimination
    • Ending Child Sacrifice
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Get Our Email Updates
    • Autumn Raffle
    • Fundraise For Us
    • Challenge Events >
      • Virtual Challenge
      • Run The London Marathon
    • Schools
    • Trusts & Foundations
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • The Body Shop at Home
    • Volunteer
    • Shop
  • LATEST STORIES