The Leap is back! Your monthly round-up of incredible stories of progress from around the world, made possible by you.
We paused emails for a few months to update our systems - but our work for and with children never stops.
So, we’re serving up your next dose of positive news, featuring 7-year-old Daniela from Vanuatu who you can meet in the video below.
Scroll down to watch now...
Shelter from the storm
Daniela lives with her family on a beautiful island in Vanuatu. She loves school, her brother JoJo and riding her BMX.
But there is a dark side to life here – the increasingly intense cyclones that Daniela has seen flatten houses in her village and wipe out a whole season worth of crops in a matter of hours.
Now, with support from people like you, everyone has proper food stored away when hard times hit.
Save the Children is funding a community-led initiative to preserve the food they harvest. Local people grow vegetables in a shared garden. The veg is then solar-dried, vacuum packed and stored at the village church – with Daniela’s parents Kaltang and Janet responsible for key stages of the solar-drying process.
This stops children and their families going hungry when the storms come.
“If a cyclone comes, we already have food in the storeroom,” explains Daniela. “I eat things that grow around our village. We eat it, like it and it gives us power.”
How else your support is helping
Photo credit: Fabeha Monir / Save The Children
The empanada entrepreneur
Photo credit: Adriana Loureiro Fernandez / Save The Children
11-year-old Jhon lives in the Potosì region of Bolivia. His father works in construction, but the family still struggles to afford the basics they need.
To provide for Jhon and his siblings, Nimia, Jhon’s mum (and entrepreneur extraordinaire) set up her own baking business.
“My mum makes cakes when she gets orders, and she makes empanadas on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays”.
With a little support from Save the Children, Nimia attended workshops and got a new clay oven, and now her business is thriving.
With the money Nimia makes, the family no longer goes hungry and she was able to buy wool to knit Jhon and his sister Leydy these brand-new jumpers.
Jhon says his jumper keeps him warm and comfortable when it gets cold at the high altitudes where they live.
This is the kind of change we love to see. Thank you for being part of it.
'Suchana' for Rohima
Photo credit: Fabeha Monir / Save The Children
This is mum-of-three, Rohima, with her children Nafiz, 14 months, and Taiyeba, 10, outside their home in Bangladesh.
Rohima took part in our Suchana** programme which gave her tools and advice on how to give her children the healthiest start in life.
She uses what she learnt to grow fruit and vegetables, rear ducks and give her children balanced meals all through the day.
With the extra money she makes from her produce, Rohima pays for her children’s school fees and buys them the books and materials they need to study.
This will have a lasting impact on the whole family and ensure that Rohima's children have bright futures ahead.
Scroll down to find out about our work in Rwanda, and how we're turning the tide on access to local literature - just one more example of how your support is having a huge impact on children around the world.
Not in the news
Did you know that before 2013, there were no books available in Rwanda for 0-6-year-olds written in their own language - Kinyarwanda?
With your support, Save the Children collaborated with education and culture ministries, publishers, schools, book sellers and libraries to make more quality, local language children’s books available.
Now, 0-9-year-olds have access to over 800 books, with over 200 available for 0-6-year-olds.
With more than 650,000 children reading these books across the country,1 that really is the kind of good news we like to hear.
Time to spring into action!
Photo credit: Leonard Meehan / Save the Children
Meet Lenny - a dedicated marathon-runner and one of our wonderful fundraising champions. He started raising money for Save the Children after he became a dad and has raised over £11,000 since.
You can get involved this Spring too - from hosting a bake sale, to taking on a skydive, or exploring the UK on a group trek. It doesn’t have to be a marathon (phew)!
Access to healthy food and regular meals is a basic right for every child – no matter what circumstance they find themselves in.
Whether it’s through empowering projects or challenging fundraisers, your support is fuelling a brighter future for and with children.
Thank you.
*Names have been changed to keep children and their families safe.
** 'Suchana' means new beginnings in Bangla.
