“We were hoping, after war and bombardment, to live in peace.
Then all of a sudden, darkness fell upon us.
Corona came and outweighed all [other] afflictions.
Along with it, pain and suffering appeared.”
Collinson
Together with Save the Children, we can help children stay safe, healthy and to continue learning during the coronavirus pandemic.
These are the words of 12-year-old Dana*, originally from Dair Ezzor in Syria. Three years ago, Dana and her family of ten had to flee their home to Al Hol displacement camp. She wrote and recorded a poem as part of a Save the Children project getting children around the world to share their experience of COVID-19 and lockdown.
The COVID-19 crisis is hitting vulnerable children hardest. We can stop its impact lasting a lifetime and help change the future for good. But we need to act now.
Life was already tough for children growing up in fragile places – those living through conflict, in crowded refugee camps and places with poor healthcare.
Coronavirus is making it even harder. The strain of the pandemic alongside other crises has left millions of children without enough food and without the healthcare they need – like in Yemen, where 27,500 children are missing out every month on vital malnutrition treatment needed to keep them alive. Millions of children have missed out on school and many don’t have a safe place to call home.
Please donate now
By making a donation to Save the Children’s appeal, you will help the most vulnerable children in the most dangerous places to be a child.
Together, we can change the future.
On 14th July 2020, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) announced their launch of a global coronavirus appeal. Bringing together 14 leading UK aid charities, this enables us to join forces to help families in some of the most vulnerable places on earth. Save the Children is a key player in the global response to COVID-19 and is proud to be a member of the DEC. The DEC’s decision to respond reflects the urgency and severity of the current situation.
Save the Children has 100 years’ experience of helping children through crises, and are already on the ground in the most fragile places across the globe, including Syria, Yemen, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Save the Children's response to COVID-19 is geared towards:
- giving communities food supplies, as well as soap and running water to help prevent the spread of the virus and protect families. This is especially urgent in places like refugee camps, such as Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh – where over 850,000 people living in cramped conditions makes social distancing impossible.
- working hard to keep other services running to help children fighting other diseases like pneumonia and malnutrition, and to keep children safe from physical and emotional harm.
- Crucially, making sure children can keep learning – this will be their best chance at a better future once this crisis is over. Around the world we help children to learn no matter where they’re growing up – children just like Dana.
Dana only managed to complete the first year of her schooling before her family were forced to move. But since arriving at the camp three years ago, she’s been going to Save the Children’s temporary learning space. It’s made a huge difference to Dana’s life and the life of her family. And when social distancing guidelines meant we had to close our learning spaces, we carried on running lessons for Syrian children remotely.
The impact of this pandemic threatens to ruin children’s life chances. That’s why we must act now.
Find out more about our partnership with Collinson on their website here.
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