Thanks to your generous support of our Big Give Christmas Challenge in December 2020, we beat our target of £12,500 and raised an incredible £20,500, plus £2,721 in Gift Aid. This is helping to:
- Keep street children stay safe from Covid-19 and deal with the impact of the pandemic on their lives through online learning and educational activities, in language they can understand.
- Further develop an interactive digital platform where street children can connect with one another in a safe environment, helping to combat their isolation and share experiences of how they are overcoming the obstacles they face.
With new variants of Covid-19 impacting countries around the world, street-connected children are continuing to be among the worst affected by the pandemic and measures taken to control the spread of the virus.
Many are unable to work and earn money for food and survival. The outreach services they rely on are closed or oversubscribed, and shelters are overcrowded. Law enforcement may use unnecessary force to detain street children and they face unfair treatment from the justice system in the name of keeping Covid-19 at bay.
By providing e-learning and opportunities for street-connected children to interact with other children in a similar situation in a safe, digital environment, we are able to help them understand what the pandemic is, and ways to protect themselves from the virus, as well as reducing their isolation at a time when close contact is discouraged.
Achievements since December:
- We have developed a child-friendly guide to the pandemic that has been translated into 10 languages. The guide features advice on recognising symptoms of Covid-19 and simple, practical advice that street children can follow to keep themselves and others safe.
- Our platform ‘Digitally Connecting Street Children’ is being further developed to make it a safe, fun and interactive space for children to learn about their rights and connect with one another, even if COVID restrictions are in place. The site will also soon allow for more confidential resources to be shared in secure groups. This will allow children who have previously been very isolated to interact with one another; increase our reach; and provide a place to share the child-friendly e-learning materials we are developing.
- With the money we raised over and above our £12,500 target, we have been able to support our network to speak up for street children when they face violence and discrimination in their communities and by local and national law enforcement, ensuring that street-connected children’s views and experiences are included at the highest level.
- We have submitted two reports to the UN alongside several of our network members. The first, submitted to the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing, draws attention to how housing discrimination impacts upon the rights of street children, especially in light of measures taken by governments around the world to control the spread of Covid-19. The second, submitted to the Special Rapporteur on the Sale and Sexual Exploitation of Children, outlined the role of gender norms and expectations in the sale and sexual exploitation of children in street situations, to be presented to the 76th sessions of the UN General Assembly in October 2021.
We look forward to further updating you on our progress and thank you to everyone who supported the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2020: your generosity is helping to ensure street-connected children around the world are kept safe from Covid-19.