War Child works in conflict and post-conflict zones in Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East to help rebuild communities through programs in education, economic opportunity, and justice. Their education programs provide early childhood education, catch-up learning for youth who missed school due to conflict, and literacy programs for women and girls. Their economic opportunity programs provide vocational and agricultural training as well as microloans to help people start businesses. Their justice programs provide legal aid and representation, train legal officials, and create safe spaces for women and children who have faced rights violations. Over the past 15 years they have reached over 2 million children and families across their programs.

1.
War Child FAQs
What does War Child Do?
We work in conflict and post‐conflict zones, principally with women, youth and children, and through
our programs in education, economic opportunity and justice, we help rebuild communities moving
them from recovery to sustainability. Our focus is on child protection, and we realize that the entire
community needs to thrive in order for children to grow, learn and play in safety, so our programs
address the needs of the family with the goal of lifting them out of the cycles of poverty and violence
that are a result of war.
Where do we work?
Africa: Darfur, Sudan; South Sudan; Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); Uganda
South Asia: Afghanistan
Middle East: Jordan/Syrian border
We plan to launch in five more countries in the next 5 years and are currently assessing Lebanon. We
have 200+ people in the field and 95% are nationals of the countries in which they work. We believe in
working with the people who know their country, fellow countrymen and the culture best. It is also the
best route to sustainability.
In Africa, the majority of our beneficiaries are displaced, living either in refugee or IDP (Internally
Displaced Persons) camps, are in remote rural communities, or are newly returning to their devastated
villages to rebuild. In Jordan we are in over‐whelmed host communities, and in Afghanistan, we work in
urban centers and their surrounding areas. All have been irrevocably impacted by conflict
How do we do it?
Education: War Child offers a range of programs:
 early childhood education
 catch‐up learning for youth who have missed years of school because of conflict – i.e. in armed
groups, in IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) or refugee camps without access to formal education;
displaced because their villages are destroyed
 radio‐based learning for girls for whom it is too dangerous to walk to school – program unique to
WCUSA/WC Canada
 Literacy and numeracy for women/mothers
 For youth ‐ life skills and peace building projects between tribes and villages
We also build child friendly safe spaces, classrooms, train teachers, distribute supplies and textbooks,
and train and engage PTAs.

2.
War Child FAQs
Why this matters:
When women can read and count, they can better care for their children – they can read medicine
bottles and understand safety instructions; they can go to a market confident that they are getting the
right change; they can run a market stall, selling the produce they grow; they can help their children in
school. For children, a future without education is a future without hope. Our youth programs promote
understanding, resolve grievances and teach leadership & collaborative skills that lead to peaceful co‐
existence.
Economic Opportunity: War Child partners with local communities to provide literacy and numeracy
classes to women and youth to prepare them for our vocational and agricultural training programs. We
also offer micro‐loans and/or business‐specific starter kits or seed and tool allotments to help our
graduates launch their own enterprises, and we provide on‐going business and agricultural support
 Some of the skills learned: farming, running market stalls, tailoring, carpentry, hairdressing,
cooking/food preparation for sale, auto mechanics & driving, animal husbandry, fisheries, etc.
Why this matters:
When a woman can earn a living, she has power in the household over how money is spent and studies
show that when women make money it goes toward food, clothing and education for their children.
When young men have a viable economic alternative, they are less likely to join an armed group, will
support their families and will take pride in restoring the health of their communities. Creating economic
opportunity is essential for moving communities from recovery to economic stability and sustainability
Justice: War Child rebuilds and improves ravaged justice systems by providing
 legal representation to children and women whose rights have been violated – generally sexual and
gender based violence (SGBV)
 training for legal and justice officials like lawyers, judges and police
 extensive outreach via community meetings, radio panel discussions with listener call‐in, mobile
legal units and distribution of printed materials to ensure that people are aware of their rights
 psycho‐social support and safe spaces for women and children who have been violated or are in
unsafe home situations (including women who have been forced into marriage as children or
children who are being forced into marriage)
Why this matters:
Justice systems are one of the first things to break down as a result of war, and women and children are
left most vulnerable. Our programs rebuild these systems and bring perpetrators to justice, which frees
victims from the terror of further attack and eliminates sexual violence and emotional abuse as
commonplace. Our safe spaces help women and children recover and build new lives for themselves.
How many people do we impact?
 Over the last 15 years, more than 2 million children and their families
 In 2014 in 5 countries we reached
o 181,900 with our education programs
o 71,500 with our opportunity programs
o 136,400 with our justice programs.
o 389,800 across all programs
 At the completion of our 5‐year strategic growth plan at the end of 2018, our planned total reach
will be more than 670,000 people annually across 10 countries.