Our Values

We believe in Hope, Dignity, Justice, and Freedom of Expression.

We reflect these values in everything we do and with everyone we work with. From the children we serve to our partners, staff, volunteers, and donors, we are consistent in our approach.

CHILDREN ON THE EDGE VALUES

1. HOPE

We believe in cultivating hope as a catalyst for change; a gritty, determined, can-do kind of hope.

When marginalised communities actively identify their problems and take charge of solutions, a renewed sense of hope and self-belief restores their motivation and ability to transform their own lives.

Rohingya boy looks out of the window of a mud shelter in Kutupalong camp and smiles at the camera. He is wearing a red and blue checked shirt.

2. DIGNITY

We treat everyone with the dignity they deserve. We have witnessed that people who are pushed to the edge of society, overlooked, or told they are worthless often start to believe it.

We’re a trusted ally working to restore each individual’s sense of self-worth by recognising and realising their inherent value, freedom, and equality.

A Ugandan woman in a bright yellow T shirt sits behind her vegetable stall with her child on her knee. She is smiling at the camera and he is eating a piece of fruit

3. JUSTICE

Every child has rights according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Yet these are rarely realised for children living on the edge.

We ensure everyone in the child’s environment is aware of and committed to respecting these universal rights.

A group of Ugandan children are in a group listening to a speaker but putting their hands up to contribute. Their backs are to the camera and they are wearing white T shirts that say on the back 'Ask me about child rights'.

4. PARTICIPATION

All children should feel free to express themselves and have opportunities to safely chatter, play, dance, paint, and create.

They should have the opportunity to discover who they are, decide who they want to be, and to grow into vibrant, animated, unhindered individuals able to speak for themselves and be heard.

A large group of children in India are staging a demonstration about having a clean environment. They are all holding up signs.

A CHILD RIGHTS BASED APPROACH

Children on the Edge has a rights based approach in all the work we do. Our work is guided by the United Nations Convention for the Rights of the Child (CRC).

This convention is a promise, made in 1989, 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.