Welcome to The Leap! Your monthly round-up of incredible stories of progress from around the world, made possible by you.
Being a kid should be all about laughing and learning, but for too many it’s about escaping violence and living in fear.
For children who are forced to flee their homes to find safety, supporters like you make all the difference.
Scroll down to meet Toleen*, Sara* and Eipril - just a few of the children who people like you help support.
Save the Children’s Child Friendly Space has been a lifeline for 12-year-old Toleen*, who was forced to leave her home in Gaza and move to Cairo to escape the ongoing war.
To help process what happened, Toleen attended a photography workshop at the space, run by renowned photographer and Save the Children ambassador Misan Harriman.
The Child Friendly Space gives Toleen somewhere safe to go, where she can get psychological support and just be a kid again.
This is the kind of support people like you help fund.
See some of her snaps and learn more about the workshop below.
The photography workshop was designed to help children who fled Gaza share their personal stories, give them new skills and start to heal.
Toleen says the best thing she owns is a camera: "By having it with me I am able to document the happy and beautiful seconds in every moment.”
Capturing this photo of a family Iftar - the evening meal which breaks fast during Ramadan - Toleen said: “I feel safe when I am next to my family because they are the source of my happiness. I always love being with them because they make me feel safe.
"They hug me when I feel afraid."
Toleen's photo of a family Iftar - the evening meal to break fast during Ramadan.
Toleen's photo of a high-rise building in Cairo with Ramadan bunting.
Toleen's photo of one of her favourite hobbies: “I love making handicrafts, including making bead bags and reading books. I love it because its a nice way to spend my free time, it’s entertaining and gives me energy.”
How else your support is helping
Photo credit: Anna Gordon
Asma* arrived at Save the Children's mobile health unit in Sudan after violence escalated near their home in Sinja, also in Sudan, and she was forced to make the two-month journey there on foot.
She was heavily pregnant, and soon gave birth to baby Sara - the very first baby born at the clinic. Asma named her after the Save the Children doctor who helped her give birth.
She said: “When I met with the Save the Children doctor, she helped me a lot, so I named my newborn daughter after her, and I hope she will become a doctor like her.
Thanks to supporters like you, Save the Children was also able to give post-natal healthcare support, providing Asma and Sara with a heater, a bed, a mosquito net, a pillow, and food.
"My child is now four days old, and her health is good, she does not suffer from any illnesses."
Photo credit: Anna Gordon
When they fled Ukraine in 2022, eight-year-old Eipril and her mum Oleksa left everything behind, including their beloved cat Nisa.
The pair stayed in temporary accommodation for several months, until they were offered a flat near Margate to make their new home.
Our charity partner Beyond the Page supported Oleksa, and introduced her to the Save the Children-funded group, United Mothers.
From the moment she joined, Oleksa said the warmth and kindness of the women there brought her back to some ‘normality'.
It was there that she found out about the Early Years Grant that your support helps fund. With this, Oleksa was able to buy all the essentials they needed.
When asked to describe her mum, Eipril says: "You mean to me, this whole place! Probably bigger, you mean to me like Russia, America and Canada combined!"
Did you know?
Children voted kindness as Oxford University Press' word of the year for 2024.
One child said: “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle we know nothing about. We should treat everyone with kindness. You never truly know how much it could help someone.”
Artificial intelligence came in second place, with conflict coming third.
Does that surprise you?
Scroll down to meet Maclean, 3, and his dad Rhodrick who's doing his utmost to spread kindness in his village in Malawi.
Photo credit: Sam Vox
If Father’s Day is about celebrating all the amazing dads out there, proud husband and father, Rhodrick, is definitely one of them!
Pictured here making a toy with his son Maclean, Rhodrick became a ‘male champion’ for his community in Malawi as part of the innovative Save the Children Maziko project.
He runs a group that empowers fellow dads to be more involved in their children’s lives, as well as tackle gender inequality and gender-based violence.
These precious moments of love and laughter are what every child deserves to experience growing up.
Together, we’re making moments like these count – for Maclean, Toleen, Sara, Eipril and so many more.
Thank you for standing with them.
1‘Kindness’ is named Oxford Children’s Word of the Year for 2024 - Positive News
*Names changed to keep children and their families safe.
