Children in need of care
What happens to children who’ve been abandoned, who live on the streets, or whose parents have died? How can we help them?
Keeping children out of harmful institutions
“One of the punishments was rolling along the ground until you threw up – you’re not allowed to stop,” said Ali, 17, about the seven years he spent in a children’s home in Maluku, Indonesia. “I was hit in the stomach as well. I had to hold my breath so as not to be sick.”
Our experience shows that it’s nearly always better for children to live in a family set-up, rather than in an institution like an orphanage. Institutional care can cause real damage to children's physical, cognitive and emotional development, and may inflict further abuse and neglect.
Read more in our report on children in institutional care.
Where it’s not possible for children to live with their parents or relatives, our experience shows the best alternatives are for them to be fostered or adopted.
At the moment these options don’t always exist. In Indonesia, for example, up to half a million children are growing up in residential care. We’re working with the Ministry of Social Affairs to raise standards while better alternatives are developed.
Helping communities to care
It’s vital that communities get involved in protecting vulnerable children. We support community groups that help to look after vulnerable children, such as those whose parents have died or who are at risk of being trafficked. These groups can pick up on cases of abuse and exploitation, and spread the word about the dangers children in their community face.
Read our latest report on protecting children in the community.
In India, in the state of West Bengal, we’ve helped to set up child protection committees in hundreds of villages. The committees are made up of children, parents, teachers, health workers and other community members. They raise awareness in their town or village about issues like trafficking, child abuse in workplaces, early marriage and use of corporal punishment. Over 4 years, the committees helped more than 1,200 children leave work and return to school, and helped bring about the arrest of 100 traffickers.
Supporting parents
We support parents and families so they can care for their children. We make sure families get services like healthcare and education and help them increase their incomes through cash transfers and livelihood support.
For example, Rebecca, who lives in Bauchi state in Nigeria, looks after her five children on her own since her husband died. “It was difficult to afford to feed my children and send them to school, despite the support I got from relatives and neighbours,” she says. Rebecca got a small grant from a Save the Children Child Protection Committee to help her start a business selling sugar cane. Now she is able to afford health, education and food for her five children. “It doesn’t make a big profit, but it helps me afford the basics,” she says.