All children deserve education, healthcare, protection and other essential services, no matter where they call home. That’s why we have launched our Safe, Healthy and Educated appeal, running until 31st July, where all donations will be doubled until we exceed our target of £10,000.
We are doing this with the incredible support of Andy Kenney, who is using his employee match funding scheme at Google to provide match funding of up to £5,000 for this appeal.
All of this this is for a very important cause. Covid-19 has magnified the hardship street children face, denying them access to essential services. They often do not have a safe place to shelter and face the risk of increased violence from authorities enforcing ‘stay at home’ measures. During lockdowns, they cannot earn income. As many do not have identity documents, they cannot reach emergency relief services. They are even less likely to access health or education services where these have been disrupted due to pandemic measures.
To help street children survive the pandemic, we are already working with our partners to provide vital emergency response including shelter, healthcare, and street outreach. However, we know that more needs to be done.
With support from this appeal, we can help street children access the long-term support they need to survive and recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, and be resilient to future waves.
We can amplify the creativity of our network members in adapting to the pandemic, by sharing learning through webinars, working groups, and our annual street child forum; train our network members to advocate for better services for the children they work with and ensure they are safe and included; bringing an impact report to decision-makers in national governments and the UN to ensure continuity of support for street children; and bring street children’s voices directly to the highest-level decision makers to advocate for access to essential services.
If you would like to support the appeal, every donation you make to Safe, Healthy and Educated before midday on 31 July will be doubled – so you can have twice the impact.
Andy says, ‘I have been supporting CSC for some time now, and have continued to be impressed with how a tiny team can have a mighty impact. Supporting their summer appeal gives me a unique opportunity to be at the front of real, lasting change for some of the world’s most vulnerable children.’
If you’d like to join Andy and ensure street children are placed at the heart of coronavirus protection and recovery plans, please donate to our Big Give appeal between before midday 31 July to have your donation doubled at no extra cost to you.