On the front lines of a conflict. In the aftermath of an environmental disaster. Amid a mass of hastily pitched tarpaulins. Wherever and whatever the crisis, the voices of children all too often go unheard.
A vital part of Save the Children’s work is simply to ask children in crisis what they need. We reviewed data from rapid field surveys stretching back more than a decade, capturing the hopes and fears of more than 8,000 children in the toughest places on earth.
Time and time again, their answers are clear, unambiguous – and surprising. Even when food is scarce, water is dirty and medical care non-existent, children tell us they want one thing above all else: the chance to go to school. Faced with extreme adversity, children of all ages see education as the key to their safety, their health, their happiness and their future.
