Our work

As a child, you need someone who truly sees you – who stands by you no matter what. Someone who holds you close when you are small and believes in you when you are ready to grow into your own and step into the world.

But today, 1 in 10 children and young people are separated from their families, abandoned, neglected or forced to live in an abusive environment, growing up without the support they need to prepare themselves for their future.

The effects of this often last a lifetime, creating a harmful cycle that repeats from one generation to the next. It happens every day, in every country, city and neighborhood, although we don’t always see it. Children are remarkably resilient in the face of such challenges – because they have to be.

By “children and young people without parental care,” we mean those who are temporarily or permanently growing up without the care of their families: children in residential care, in foster care, children who are living on the street. By “those at risk of losing parental care,” we mean children and young people in families that are struggling to stay together and where parents are having difficulty providing the care, stability and connection their children need.

Our approach

Each child is unique – they have their own needs, come from different circumstances, and possess an individual potential for impacting the world. This understanding is at the heart of everything we do – to offer care and support that is appropriate to the needs of each child, young person and family we work with, that takes into account their experiences, culture and wishes. To accomplish this, we work with each child so their voice is heard and they have a say in the care and support they receive.

What we do

PREVENTION

Keeping families together and preventing child-family separation

If possible, the best place for children to grow up is within their family. Our activities range from working directly with families and communities, to research on the reasons for family breakdown, to developing and sharing training materials related to parenting and mental health.

PROTECTION

Ensuring care and protection when there is no family or it is not in a child or young person’s best interest to stay in the family

Our activities include directly caring for children and young people, also in emergencies; working with partners to train foster parents and with governments to implement care standards; supporting young people to become self-reliant, and much more.

ADVOCACY

Changing policy and practice to improve the situation of children and young people without parental care or at risk of losing it

This pillar of action focuses on systemic change. Among other activities, we work with partners to create platforms for children and young people to bring the issues they face into discussions at the local, national and global level.