Our Work

We envision a world in which every child thrives
regardless of their geography, ethnicity, gender, or caste.

We currently work with more than 20,000 children in
Bangladesh, India, Uganda, Myanmar, and Lebanon.

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.

When our work began, in 1990, the children on the edge we served were those incarcerated and forgotten in Romanian orphanages. Today, the “edge” takes us into refugee camps, slums, and warzones where we support Rohingya, Congolese, and Syrian refugee children, and those facing internal displacement, caste discrimination, poverty, and exploitation.

A large group of Bangladeshi children outside their community school in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. They are crowded around the camera, looking at it and smiling. Most of the children are wearing red school uniforms.

CHILD RIGHTS

Children on the Edge has a rights based approach in all our work. We ensure that where we work, everyone in the child’s environment is aware of and committed to respecting the universal rights enshrined in the CRC.

Our work is guided by a UN Treaty called The Convention for the Rights of the Child.

The back of four teenage children in Uganda who are sat at a table looking out to a group Ugandan school children, all wearing purple uniforms. On the backs of their white tshirts is the text: 'Ask me about child rights'. You can click on the image to find out more about our child rights approach.

CREATING SAFE SPACES

It is essential to build protection into a child’s surroundings. That’s why we work closely with those who impact children the most: the family, teachers, local community leaders, and the greater society - to create safe spaces for children.

Building this ‘protective environment’ ensures that children are not only physically safer, but have the freedom to develop and thrive.

A classroom full of Bangladeshi children all wearing red and white school uniform. They are excited to be in their classroom, some children are standing up with their hands in the air. The classroom is bright and colourful. You can click on the image to read more about how we create safe spaces for children.

EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

By the time a child reaches five years old, 90% of their brain has developed; meaning their experiences from birth to this age are the most important of their lives.

For many disadvantaged children around the world, the ingredients for healthy development are missing. The impact of poor care, nutrition and cognitive stimulation as a result of poverty, conflict, trauma, neglect or abuse, during their early months and years can last a lifetime.

This is why Children on the Edge has invested in early years education and development for marginalised children around the world since 2000.

A group of young Ugandan children are having a nursery lesson outside. The teacher is standing up in front of them holding some multi coloured stacking pots and they are listening to him. Attached button image invites you to click to read more.

REFUGEE EDUCATION

Every child has the right to an education, but refugee children who are forced to flee their homes, often can’t access schools.

We ensure that over 17,000 refugee children around the world have access to high quality education, taught in their own language and dialect, with trained, trusted teachers.

Education helps all children learn the skills they need, builds their confidence, their ability to think critically and to express themselves. It improves their chances of earning an income when they grow up, meaning they are more likely to get and move out of the cycle of poverty.

Young Rohingya refugee girl sat at a colourful desk doing her classwork. You can click on the image to read more about how we educate refugee children.

SUPPORTING SLUM COMMUNITIES

Children on the Edge work with slum communities in Uganda, Bangladesh and India. Here children live in unsafe environments and face extreme poverty and exploitation. They are often denied their rights and struggle to access basic education.

We work alongside communities and partner with local organisations to build protective environments for children. We ensure they have access to education and we work together with families, teachers and the local community to create safe spaces where children can thrive.

Slum community in Jinja, Uganda - makeshift shelters line a muddy path with children playing outside. You can click on the image to read more about our work with slum communities.

TACKLING CASTE DISCRIMINATION

In India, illegal, but culturally ingrained caste discrimination is trapping Dalit communities in a cycle of poverty and exclusion. Dalit children are denied their rights and struggle to access education.

We focus on providing education for the most marginalised Dalit children, informing them about about their rights and supporting entire Dalit communities to realise them.

We work with Women’s Groups to help them develop essential skills and knowledge so they can advocate for change and break the cycle of discrimination for themselves and their children.

A group of Dalit children sat cross legged on the floor outside their classroom. They are all smiling and holding one arm in the air, making fists. You can click on the image to read more about how we tackle caste discrimination.

ENDING CHILD SACRIFICE

Child sacrifice emerged as a horrifying form of child abuse in Uganda and is startlingly common, with more abductions, mutilations and killings than the authorities acknowledge.

We have been working with slum communities in and around Jinja, Uganda since 2012 to protect children from this practice using our Child Protection Team model. This has been successful in eradicating cases locally, but to ensure children are protected at the national level, we have been campaigning for a change in the law.

After years of hard work and successful campaigning, The Prevention and Prohibition of Human Sacrifice Act 2021 was officially signed into law by the President on the 14th July 2021. The new Act specifically addresses the crime of child sacrifice and all associated acts, effectively targeting and eliminating the practice.

Group of Uganda children wearing purple school uniforms gathered together outside their school playing. You can click on the image to read more about the campaign to end child sacrifice in Uganda.

WORKING ON 'THE EDGE'

Over the years in all of our work, we have gone to places far from the media spotlight and worked with some of the most marginalised children in the world, living in some of the toughest situations. We have partnered with local organisations, supported communities to realise their rights and ensured that children's voices are heard.

You will mainly find us in the places where the cameras do not click, where many aid agencies do not venture and where children facing hardship and discrimination are simply overlooked.

Finding these places, getting into these fragmented communities, is not always easy. We can often meet resistance and sometimes we have to go against the flow.