Latin America and South Asia
Afghanistan
Child participants: 650 (only WCH funding)
Adult participants: 225 (only WCH funding)
War Child Holland supports the work of War Child UK in Afghanistan to provide increased access to educational opportunities for vulnerable children in urban and rural areas. The majority of our interventions in the country focus on early childhood development (ECD).
The humanitarian situation inside Afghanistan deteriorated over the course of 2018 - a year which saw the closure of more than 1,000 schools. Yet we were successful in widening access to early education - we were able to enrol 450 children in 15 ECD centres and provide accelerated learning support to more than 200 street children.
Sri Lanka
Child participants: 15,441
Adult participants: 10,980
War Child staff: 12
Local partner organisations: Two
War Child works in Sri Lanka to support children living with the legacy of the country’s civil war. We provide vital psychosocial support and work to strengthen child protection systems. Our activities are predominantly based in the north and east of the country.
Our programming expanded over the course of 2018 to encompass new interventions to address sexual violence. The year also saw us make great strides - in partnership with government agencies - towards formulating standard child protection procedures in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. We were also very happy to see a year-on-year increase in the number of children we reached.
Colombia
Child participants: 5,743
Adult participants: 1,544
War Child staff: 28
Local partner organisations: Four
War Child’s programme in Colombia is designed to improve children’s wellbeing and promote their resilience. Our activities combine psychosocial support, education and child protection activities for enhanced effect. Children are at the heart of all our interventions - they take the lead to identify the main risks to their safety and provide feedback on the actions needed to address those risks.
Our pilot activities to address urban violence had a focus on boosting livelihoods opportunities and increasing the participation of children and youth in the processes that shape their lives. Youth taking part in our Peace Bicycles project were able to establish three income-generating activities - bike tours, bike mechanics and retail operations.
Our Peace Circus initiative in Putumayo - a region affected by high levels of violence - expanded to see War Child's peace education methodology adopted in two new schools. The year also saw an agreement reached to implement TeamUp in support of Venezuelan refugees - activities will begin in early 2019.
We are confident that all these interventions will have positive enduring effects - long after our formal involvement comes to an end.