ChildHope UK

ChildHope UK was an international development charity established in 1989 with support from UNICEF, Save the Children Sweden and other non-governmental organisations. It was created in response to the growing number of children living and working on the streets, initially concentrating on Eastern Europe and South Africa. Rather than operating primarily as a direct service provider, ChildHope developed partnerships with local organisations and helped them create programmes addressing children’s immediate needs, including food, shelter, healthcare, education and counselling. The organisation’s work was directed at children regarded as particularly difficult to reach or exposed to overlapping forms of vulnerability. These included children living or working on the streets, children at risk of trafficking or child marriage, survivors of abuse and sexual exploitation, children working on rubbish dumps, children in contact with the law, and children with disabilities facing stigma, neglect, abuse or exploitation. ChildHope’s approach recognised that these risks were often interconnected: poverty, exclusion, unsafe work, family instability and limited access to education could reinforce one another. During its early period, ChildHope focused heavily on Eastern Europe and South Africa. By 2003, civil-society organisations in Eastern Europe had gained greater access to direct European Union funding, reducing the need for ChildHope’s support in that region. The charity subsequently broadened its international network and developed partnerships in Asia, East Africa and South America, including work connected with India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Brazil, Mexico and Peru. Its programmes increasingly aimed not only to respond to the immediate conditions faced by children on the streets, but also to address the structural and household-level causes that pushed children into unsafe environments. Education was a consistent component of ChildHope’s programmes. Depending on local circumstances, this could involve formal school-based learning, vocational training for young people, life-skills education, or small-business training for parents intended to reduce the economic pressure that caused children to work. The organisation also supported counselling and other forms of protection and reintegration assistance through partner organisations. ChildHope later reported work with vulnerable children in Bangladesh, India, Uganda, Kenya, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Tanzania and Ethiopia. In July 2023, it announced that it would close in December 2023. Its partner organisations were expected to continue working with vulnerable and marginalised children and young people in their respective countries. As a result, ChildHope UK is best understood as a defunct international charity brand whose principal legacy lies in partnership-based child-protection and education programmes rather than consumer products or commercial services.

ChildHope UK was formed in 1989 with the support of UNICEF, Save the Children Sweden and other non-governmental organisations. Its founding purpose was to respond to the increasing number of children living on the streets around the world. The charity initially concentrated on Eastern Europe and South Africa, where it worked through local organisations to establish projects providing basic assistance such as food, shelter, healthcare and education. The organisation’s partnership model was central to its operating identity. Instead of treating street-connected children only as recipients of emergency aid, ChildHope worked with civil-society organisations that understood local conditions and could provide continuing support. Early projects addressed immediate survival and welfare needs while also seeking to improve children’s access to schooling, counselling and longer-term opportunities. By 2003, civil organisations and charities in Eastern Europe were able to obtain more direct funding from the European Union. This reduced the need for ChildHope to maintain the same level of support in that region and contributed to a strategic expansion into other parts of the world. The charity developed partnerships in Asia, East Africa and South America, including projects associated with India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Brazil, Mexico and Peru. As its geographic scope expanded, ChildHope increasingly focused on the underlying conditions that led children to live or work on the streets. Its work continued to include immediate support and counselling, but programmes also addressed education, family livelihoods and the social and economic factors that exposed children to exploitation or unsafe work. Education was incorporated into all of its programmes in some form. This included conventional school participation, vocational-skills training for young people, life-skills education and small-business training for parents, with the aim of reducing the number of children who needed to work. The charity’s target groups included children at risk of trafficking or child marriage, survivors of abuse or sexual exploitation, children working on rubbish dumps, children in contact with the law and children with disabilities. ChildHope’s stated understanding was that these vulnerabilities could overlap, making isolated interventions insufficient. Protection, education, counselling and household support were therefore combined where appropriate through partner-led programmes. In its later reported activity, ChildHope worked with vulnerable children in Bangladesh, India, Uganda, Kenya, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Tanzania and Ethiopia. In July 2023, it announced that the organisation would close in December 2023. The announcement also stated that partner organisations would continue supporting vulnerable and marginalised children and young people in their respective countries. ChildHope UK consequently became a defunct charity, while elements of its programme legacy continued through the local organisations with which it had worked.

• 2023

  Closure announced

  [1]ChildHope UKen.wikipedia.org

  ChildHope announced in July that it would close in December 2023, while partner organisations continued work with vulnerable children and young people.

• 2003

  Geographic focus expands beyond Eastern Europe

  [1]ChildHope UKen.wikipedia.org

  As organisations in Eastern Europe gained improved access to direct European Union funding, ChildHope redirected more of its partnership and programme activity toward Asia, East Africa and South America.

• 1989

  ChildHope UK is established

  [1]ChildHope UKen.wikipedia.org

  ChildHope UK was formed with support from UNICEF, Save the Children Sweden and other non-governmental organisations to address the growing number of children living on the streets.

A partnership-led international child-rights charity focused on children facing severe social exclusion, unsafe work, exploitation and barriers to education. Its programmes combined immediate protection and support with longer-term education, livelihoods and prevention measures.

• Child protection · 1989

  Street-connected children support

  Partnership programmes for children living or working on the streets, combining immediate assistance such as food, shelter, healthcare and counselling with pathways into education, training and safer living conditions.

• Education

  Education and vocational training

  Education formed part of all ChildHope programmes. Depending on the local setting, support included school-based learning, vocational skills for young people and life-skills education intended to improve safety, independence and future employment prospects.

• Economic empowerment

  Family livelihoods support

  Some programmes provided small-business or livelihood training for parents. The objective was to reduce household economic pressure and lessen the likelihood that children would need to undertake hazardous or exploitative work.

• 2023

  Decision to close the organisationOther

  Background

  ChildHope announced in July 2023 that it would cease operating as an organisation later that year.

  Action taken

  The charity announced a planned closure in December 2023 and indicated that its partner organisations would continue work with vulnerable and marginalised children and young people.

  Aftermath

  ChildHope UK became defunct, while programme-related work continued through partner organisations in their respective countries.

  Source

• 2003

  Shift from an Eastern European focus to a wider international networkStrategy

  Background

  Civil-society organisations in Eastern Europe had gained improved access to direct European Union funding, reducing their need for the type of support ChildHope had provided there.

  Action taken

  ChildHope expanded partnership and programme development in Asia, East Africa and South America while retaining its focus on vulnerable children and the causes of street involvement.

  Aftermath

  The charity subsequently reported work across countries including India, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and The Gambia.

  Source

• 2023

  ChildHope UK announces planned closure[1]ChildHope UKen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  In July 2023, ChildHope UK announced that it would close in December 2023. The announcement indicated that partner organisations would continue their work with vulnerable and marginalised children and young people in their countries.

1. 1ChildHope UKen.wikipedia.org
2. 2ChildHope UK, registered charity no. 328434register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk
3. 3ChildHope UK official websitechildhope.org.uk