THIS CHILD HAS A FUTURE BIG ISSUE INVEST Young victims of conflict are being given life-changing opportunities thanks to War Child. Words: Lucy Sweet C hris Martin from Coldplay reckons they’re one the most important charities in the world. Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden once risked his life when he was smuggled over the Bosnian border in 1994 to play a benefit gig for them. In June this year, Professor Green staged a John and Yoko style bed-in in their honour. In fact, it seems that people will do anything for War Child, which protects young and vulnerable victims of global conflict. Now, 20 years since it began, War Child is still constantly name checked, and with their seemingly unbreakable connection to British music they’re as high profile as ever. “Two weeks ago Kasabian put on a gig for War Child,” says the charity’s director of programmes, Dan Collison. “We’ve still got strong associations with the music industry.” As well as their rock and roll supporters, War Child has also benefitted from donations and funding from various sources, including Big Issue Invest, which offered them a loan for £120,000 enabling them to grow their team and operations. There’s no shortage of wellwishers for this charity whose empowering approach and grassroots support are helping children across the globe. “We’ve got an interesting mix of donors. We have grants from what you might call ‘traditional’ funding agencies: the government, Comic Relief, the European Union,” says Collison. “Then we have quite a lot of private funding from individuals and the private sector. We’ve got partnerships with the Body Shop and River Island… it’s quite diverse. Although we’re a small agency, we have a good balance.” But away from the trendy partnerships and glitzy benefit gigs, much of War Child’s work is dangerous and deeply traumatising. This tenacious, tiny charity works tirelessly to protect children from the atrocities of war. War Child works in war zones across six countries – Afghanistan, Iraq, Uganda, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and, most recently, the unstable Central African Republic, which has been in a state of ethnic and religious war since 2013 when rebels overthrew the president, Francois Bozize. “It’s one of the less publicised conflicts,” says Collison. “It’s a neglected country at the best of times and a lot of people wouldn’t be able to find it on a map. Now there’s an upsurge in conflict there, and there’s been an international response. We work with a small number of local partner agencies who are obviously best placed to respond to what’s happening.” There, War Child runs a child protection service and has set up child-friendly spaces where children can feel safe and get the support they desperately need. It’s vital for kids like Louis*, whose father was executed in front of him and became separated from his mother and brother as they ran away from gunshots. Although his experience is heartbreaking, he is being given psycho-social care at one of the War Child camps in the Central African Republic, and manages to go to school while attempts are made to locate his family. These places of safety also help to keep children safe during the daytime – because even in conflict, parents have to leave their children alone to make a living to survive. “When children are left alone during the day – in this very dangerous setting – they can be subjected to sexual violence and recruitment, and they can also witness the most indescribable levels of violence,” Collison explains. “We’ve found that a community-based protection programme is a very effective response.” However, War Child’s approach is different to other charities in that they don’t see simply offering aid as a solution – instead they give children the long-term support and care to pursue education and work on advocacy and children’s rights. This focus on education not only leads to a form of healing but it can also create personal empowerment. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, where unrest is rife, 20-year-old Kavadi* worked for four years as a prostitute before becoming pregnant and losing her child. After going to their drop-in centre, she completed a sewing course and literacy classes. Now she works with War Child’s night ambulance service, offering advice and medical care to children on the street. As well as helping individuals, War Child is also contributing towards shaping social policy. In Afghanistan they have been working to improve the child protection system and training social workers. And they recently helped organise the recent global summit on THE BIG ISSUE / pXX / August 11-17, 2014 sexual violence, headed by William Hague and endorsed by Angelina Jolie in her role as a Unicef ambassador. The scope of their work is incredible considering War Child UK is such a small operation. They work from offices in London with a staff of only 29. But there are also Warchild offices in Holland and Ireland. “We’re growing,” says Collison. “Our current operating budget is around £6m. We hope to increase that to £10m, so it’s a period of rapid growth as we expand to reach more children.” So what’s next for War Child? The charity is working in Iraq where the recent insurgency has had disastrous effects on families. It’s also launched emergency numbers for children – the warzone equivalent of Child Line – in Afghanistan and the DRC. “It’s very challenging in that setting,” Collison admits. “The communications are bad in conflict-affected areas and there are fewer resources. But it’s worked very well in Kenya where the child helpline has raised awareness. If we can approach some of the countries we work in with the helpline, we’ll be doing a very good job.” And there’s no doubt that this fiercely committed charity will continue to do a good job – protecting children’s lives no matter how far flung or obscure the conflict. Rock stars might like to make big gestures but War Child proves that small is powerful. l *names have been changed INVEST FOR YOU Big Issue Invest is the social investment arm of The Big Issue. ‘The capital for these investments has been raised from mainly private sources and not from sales of The Big Issue’ l We help scale up social enterprises and charities by providing finance, not grants, from £50,000 to £1,500,000. l To discover if Big Issue Invest is the right partner for you, contact [email protected] or 0207 526 3448. bigissueinvest.com l l