History of War Child

Getting your head around why wars happen and what can be done about the terrible impact that it has is no easy task. But whatever the reasons for a conflict, it is the children living through it that get hit the hardest. We at War Child believe that there is no excuse for this and we are doing something about it. So I guess the big questions are what and how.

What We Do 

War Child works with children affected by war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. We work with children who have to struggle with living in a conflict zone. Our focus has always been on the children who are suffering the most, whether that’s because of poverty or because they have been socially excluded.  Our groundbreaking work with former child soldiers, street children and children in prison has supported and helped thousands of children. We have helped many who had been rejected by their communities to get an education or a safe way of making a living.

How We Work

Here at War Child we believe that children are strong and that they should be in control of their own lives. Because of this belief we make sure that the children we work with have a say in the decisions we make and the projects we carry out.  This way we can make sure that the work we do meets their needs and not ours.

However we don’t do all this by ourselves, we work with local partner organizations such as other charities and governments. This helps us to involve local communities directly and pass on skills and knowledge which means that we are able to benefit the lives of even more children than the ones we meet face-to-face. We aim to alter attitudes and beliefs towards the protection of children in the countries where we work through local, national and international campaigning.

War Child wants to make sure that all children affected by war can get their rights secured as set out in the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child. But we aren’t about quick fixes. We want to run projects that will have a lasting impact on the children and the countries where we work.

How We Began

War Child was set up by a couple of British filmmakers in 1993. We, as a charity, exist because we were outraged by what was happening to children during the war in former Yugoslavia. Through the support of the music industry we grew quickly and we helped set up a music therapy centre for children in Mostar, Bosnia who were struggling to cope with what had happened to them during the war.  After 10 years in Bosnia, we have handed the project over to a local organization that will carry on helping traumatized children.

More recently other people have recognised our work. In 2006 The United Nations awarded us the Grand Award for "outstanding achievement in public relations campaigns which best exemplify the ideals and goals of the United Nations". We also received the International Public Relations Association's Campaigning on a Shoestring for effective campaigning on a limited budget. Nice one!

To find out about what we've been up to recently, check out our news page.