REPORT 2009 AND PLAN FOR 2010 War Child looks forward to a world in which the lives of children are not torn apart by war. THIS REPORT DESCRIBES OUR CONTRIBUTION TO ACHIEVING THIS VISION. 2 WWW.WARCHILD.ORG.UK Contents Foreword 4 Introduction 6 Part 1: Programmes 7 Introduction 7 Security 7 Child Protection 8 Gender 8 Afghanistan 10 The Democratic Republic of Congo 16 Iraq 22 Uganda 27 Part 2: Campaigning in the UK 32 Awareness Raising 33 Schools Programme 34 Online 36 Advocacy 38 Part 3: Fundraising 41 Corporate and Donor 41 Music, Events and Entertainment 44 Institutional and Trust 47 Part 4: War Child International Family 49 Part 5: War Child Staff 52 Part 6: Thanks 53 Part 7: Accounts 54 WWW.WARCHILD.ORG.UK 3 Foreword 2009 was a very good year for War Child. 11,000, and our email newsletter distribution Amongst many other achievements, we: from 15,000 to 30,000. • Increased the number of children we benefited • Increased the number of schools we work with directly1 by more than 400% vs. 2008. from 110 in 2008 to 250 and reached a total of 5,200 students with global citizenship education. • Provided access to legal representation and other services such as health care and education for 191 • Won the Third Sector Excellence Award for Charity children in Afghanistan. 91 of these children were Trading and the MOBO Award for Social re-united with their families as a result of War Achievement. We were also shortlisted for the Child’s family liaison work. Third Sector Excellence Award for Fundraising Events as well as the Hilton International • Began a child protection project in four Humanitarian Award for the third year in a row. communities in Iraq, focusing on life-skills training for 250 children aged 12-18, including training • Released a top ten album, a top ten single and women facilitators in home-based skills to work put on the “best charity gig of all time” according with 51 girls who are unable to attend school. to The Guardian. • Built three youth centres in the Democratic • Legally established War Child International Republic of Congo and set up structures to better with War Child Canada and Holland. protect children in a forgotten camp for internally displaced persons serving up to 1,000 children. We were able to do this by growing our overall income by 92% - even in a recession year. • Opened a new office in Northern Uganda in partnership with the Ugandan government to We achieved this by investing in our capability to promote access to education for 8,515 orphans raise more funding through large grants as well as and vulnerable children, and livelihoods for 450 through initiatives with the music industry. The of their families in this most marginalised region projects we delivered with the help of the music of Uganda. industry enabled us to raise funds to cover our running costs. This meant that all other sources • Influenced a variety of government departments of income were used to deliver benefits to children. to put children in conflict states higher up the UK With this in mind, it was for our work with the music political agenda, including the Department for industry that War Child was honoured with the Third International Development, Ministry of Defence, Sector Excellence Award for Charity Trading in 2009. Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and National Audit Office. Our focus on raising funding for our programmes during the year has, however, resulted in a decrease • Achieved over 1.6m views on War Child’s official of £56,377 in our unrestricted reserves during YouTube channel, making it the fourth most the year, to £37,022 at the year end. The trustees viewed non-profit channel in YouTube history. have mapped out a clear plan of gradually rebuilding the War Child unrestricted reserves by 2012 as • Grew our monthly web visitors from 13,000 to part of the five year strategic plan, and additional over 30,000, our Facebook fans from 1,000 to investment will be made in the fundraising team ‘OUR ACHIEVEMENTS WERE MADE POSSIBLE BY GROWING OUR OVERALL INCOME BY 92% - EVEN IN A RECESSION YEAR’ 1 See page 7 for definition of direct beneficiary 4 WWW.WARCHILD.ORG.UK WE INCREASED THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN BENEFITED DIRECTLY BY MORE THAN 400% VS. 2008 to build upon our work initiated in 2009. This - Peace building can be undertaken between positive outcome of our focus on programmes has children of opposing factions nevertheless resulted in a very significant increase in the restricted reserves to £600,804 at the end Beyond this, the dividends of ensuring children of the year (2008: £103,726), living in conflict affected countries get to go to school can be huge. As a result of this success, in 2009 we expanded the reach of our programmes in Iraq, Uganda and the For each year of primary education a child enjoys, Democratic Republic of Congo, with an emphasis on the wages they can earn as an adult increase by getting children affected by conflict back into school. 5% to 15% - that’s a potential increase in wages of We continued our work in Afghanistan with children between 30% and 90% (and up to 120% for girls) in prisons, and took our first steps toward setting up if they attend 6 full years of primary school. For a new programme in the Central African Republic each year of secondary education a child enjoys, where only 8% of secondary school aged girls the wages they can earn as an adult increase by actually go to school. 15% to 25% - that’s a potential increase in wages of between 75% and 125%. But education is not just about the development of children and investment in the future. It can also be Children are the majority demographic in nearly life saving by providing: all conflict affected fragile states and so getting children into education now not only benefits the - Safe spaces for children with care and largest proportion of the population in the present supervision by teachers but also increases the chances of their children having a higher standard of living. This establishes - Positive alternatives to military recruitment, a powerful economic value for money and gangs or drugs sustainability argument for investment in education. - Knowledge, for example about landmines No country has ever achieved continuous and rapid growth without first having at least 40% of its - Life skills such as problem solving, conflict adults able to read and write. We know that slow resolution or literacy economic growth, stagnation or decline make a country prone to war. Consequently, it is not a stretch - Psychological protection by providing a daily to suggest that the indirect benefit of providing routine and sense of the future beyond the education in conflict affected countries can actually immediacy of conflict reduce the likelihood of war restarting. - Protection from child labour or sexual exploitation During 2010, War Child will continue to increase its efforts in getting children who live with the effects - Childcare and protection skills for children who of war back into school. Our work will prioritise have to look after younger siblings, or in some addressing the education, protection and livelihoods cases their own children issues children have a right to. This would not be possible without your continuing help. So on behalf And education responds to the survival interests of of the children we exist to serve, thank you. children by providing the institutional arrangements through which: - Food can be distributed - Health checks can be undertaken and mass vaccinations administered Tom Davis, Chair of Trustees - Vulnerable children can be identified and referred to social service providers WWW.WARCHILD.ORG.UK 5 Introduction Humanitarian and development assistance have been traditionally framed by need. Populations of the needy have been identified, their needs determined and the response to them imposed. Yes, people need food, yes, they need shelter, water, education and protection. But framing our response by need alone has a serious drawback: it addresses the symptoms rather than the root causes of the problems. One of the most significant causes of the problem is the inability and lack of willingness of the international community, state and local communities to provide for their children. Responding to the symptoms only can lead some a cause of the protection problem in the first place. charities and humanitarian agencies to define the It is for this work that War Child was presented problem in their own image; that is, shaping the with the prestigious BeMOBO Award for social analysis of the problem to fit the gap-filling services achievement during 2009. Something we’re that they are able to provide. Consequently, the very proud of. limitations of the response are defined by the limitations of the charities themselves. Not only For example, during 2009 in northern Uganda it cost does this limit the influence of local people and War Child less than 27p per day per child to provide their organisations to influence change, but most them with a full day’s schooling. We were also able alarmingly, we as charities are making the lack to train teachers as well as members of local child of response to need OUR problem and shifting protection committees that we set up with this the spotlight off the state, local authorities, and money. But at the same time we have been working communities to deliver on their duty to provide closely with like-minded organisations to influence in the first instance. the UK Government’s Department for International Development – a major funder of development work Over the past few years, human rights based in Uganda.