We have over 30 years experience in supporting children and communities living 'on the edge' and have built up expertise in a number of areas. Our award winning work with Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh has become a model for best practice and our newest programme offering early childhood education for the youngest Congolese refugee children in Uganda has just won a Theirworld Education Innovation Award.
Our Spokespeople are able to bring valuable perspectives on a myriad of children's rights issues from refugee education and the importance early childhood development, to the nurturing of community ownership and the creation of safe places, especially in conflict or refugee settings.
Our Communications Team is ready to provide case studies, quotes, interview materials, imagery and footage from the areas where we work, or facilitate direct interview or filming opportunities where appropriate.
CONTACT US
Contact our Communications Team for interview requests, stories, case studies, images or video, and all other press enquiries:
Email: communications@childrenontheedge.org or call +44 (0) 1243 538530
Tweet us: @cote_uk or @gin_ger76
For out of hours contact, please e-mail or send a direct message on Twitter and we'll call you right back.
SPOKESPEOPLE
Rachel Bentley
CEO and co-founder of Children on the Edge
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Rachel co-founded Children on the Edge in 1990 with the late Dame Anita Roddick. She has been leading the organisation ever since, supporting thousands of children to realise their rights thanks to her expertise in Development and Child Rights. Rachel leads, and is personally involved in every programme we support and is able to speak in depth on what we do and why we do it, for each of the countries we work in; Bangladesh, India, Lebanon, Myanmar and Uganda.
Rachel has an MSc in Development Management and a Masters of Advanced Studies (MCR) in Children's Rights. |
Ben Wilkes
Chief Operating Officer
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Ben leads the team in the UK that supports and resources the work of our international partners. He has lived and worked on the projects we support overseas and as a result can speak first hand about our programmes and how they create a positive impact.
Ben is no stranger to the camera and features on many of our videos. He has also appeared on BBC South Today to speak about our digital education programme in Bangladesh. |
Esther Smitheram
Communications Manager
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Esther leads our Communications Team and liaises daily with project partners on the ground to obtain the latest information, images and videos for us to share with the media, our donors and supporters.
A decade of working with Children on the Edge means Esther has an in depth understanding of our work and all our programmes, past and present. With an MSc in International Political Communication, Advocacy and Campaigning, Esther focuses on ensuring that the children and communities we work with have their voices heard and are able to tell their own stories. |
ABOUT CHILDREN ON THE EDGE
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. Our work takes us into refugee camps, slums, and warzones, where children are cut off from essential services and denied the protection they need.
When we began in 1990, the children 'on the edge' we served were those incarcerated and forgotten in Romanian orphanages. Today, we currently support Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, Congolese refugee children in Uganda, and Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. We also work with children facing internal displacement in Kachin State, Myanmar, caste discrimination in India and poverty, and exploitation in Uganda and Bangladesh.
When we began in 1990, the children 'on the edge' we served were those incarcerated and forgotten in Romanian orphanages. Today, we currently support Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, Congolese refugee children in Uganda, and Syrian refugee children in Lebanon. We also work with children facing internal displacement in Kachin State, Myanmar, caste discrimination in India and poverty, and exploitation in Uganda and Bangladesh.
Download a Brief Introduction to Children on the Edge (568Kb) - A short summary of who we are and what we do
We exist to support the world’s most marginalised children. Working hand-in-hand with communities in some of the toughest situations, we transform the lives of these children by creating safe spaces in which they can live, play, learn, and grow.
We are proud of our child rights approach and our ability to tailor solutions based on the specific needs of each community we work with, using over 30 years of experience. This includes nurturing positive parenting and early childhood development, creating play and educational opportunities, and presenting an array of community transformation initiatives.
By creating protective environments that generate hope, life, colour and fun, we enable children to realise their rights.
We are proud of our child rights approach and our ability to tailor solutions based on the specific needs of each community we work with, using over 30 years of experience. This includes nurturing positive parenting and early childhood development, creating play and educational opportunities, and presenting an array of community transformation initiatives.
By creating protective environments that generate hope, life, colour and fun, we enable children to realise their rights.
LATEST NEWS |
OUR WORK |
CORONAVIRUS |
VIDEOS |
ANNUAL REPORTS
Download our Annual Reports and Accounts as submitted to the Charity Commission
- Hope, Dignity & Justice Children on the Edge Annual Report 2021/2022
- Hardest Hit Children on the Edge Annual Report 2020/2021
- Seen and Heard Children on the Edge Annual Report 2019/2020 (5MB)
- Business as Usual Children on the Edge Annual Report 2018/2019 (4MB)
- The Edge in Focus Children on the Edge Annual Report 2017/2018 (4.5MB)
- Standing in the Gap Children on the Edge Annual Report 2016/2017 (6.2MB)
EXPERTS IN REFUGEE EDUCATION
Promising Practices in Refugee Education (PPIRE) is a joint initiative of Save the Children, UNHCR, and Pearson. The initiative sets out to identify, document and promote 20 innovative ways to effectively reach refugee children with quality educational opportunities.
Our work with Rohingya refugee children was selected as one of these Promising Practices.
Download the full case study to read more.
Our work with Rohingya refugee children was selected as one of these Promising Practices.
Download the full case study to read more.
