Playing outside with friends, reading stories until bedtime and the excitement of a new school bag are all the simple joys childhood should be made of. For many children you support, that kind of childhood is something to dream about. Until you help make it real.
Playing by the books
“I like reading because I learn hard words,” says seven-year-old Evans, “Reading teaches me how to be kind to people.”
Evans is bright, inquisitive and full of high hopes – he wants to be an island chief one day, like his grandad. His mum, Leah, tells us Evans is so inquisitive he asks questions all day until he goes to bed, “I just have to tell him, ‘Look, leave some for tomorrow, it's bedtime now!’”
Reading fuels that curiosity, letting Evans’ imagination fly far from his home in Vanuatu to fictional worlds and into outer space. “I like the stories about space, because space is my favourite. One day, when I’m done being chief, I’ll choose something else, so I can go and discover space!”
Evans was born on the day a volcano erupted on another island – the island his family is from – and they had to evacuate the day after he was born. He nearly lost his life. His mum says it’s the very first thing Evans tells new people he meets. It's a story he is clearly proud to share, but it's also a reminder of how vulnerable Vanuatu is to natural disasters.
For children like Evans, the impacts of climate change and natural disasters are holding them back. Books are in short supply in Vanuatu, and the majority of its children struggle to read.
Conor Ashleigh/Save the Children
But your support is providing all 56,000 of Vanuatu’s primary schoolchildren with books born from a Save the Children workshop – tales set in Vanuatu, written by children, about the world they know.
Conor Ashleigh/Save the Children
Conor Ashleigh/Save the Children
How else your support is helping
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Learning new worlds
Sandi* and Suha* lost their mum and sister when a rocket hit their home. Now they live in a displacement camp with their three siblings. Worried for their safety, their grandad didn’t let them go to school. Every day they watched other children putting on school bags and dreamed of going, but their grandad said no. Thanks to you, we were there to change his mind and a new chapter started for the siblings.
Roni Ahmed / Save the Children
Sandi*, 9, holding out her hands on an outline drawing of her hands.
Roni Ahmed / Save the Children
Sandi playing at a learning space run by Save the Children
Friendship goals
After his dad taught him how to play, Ammar*, 11, dreamed of being a footballer like Lionel Messi. But when his home in Iraq was bombed and his family had to leave for safety, Ammar stepped on a landmine. In that moment, the explosion stole his leg.
Afterwards, he felt like it stole his dream too as the other children wouldn’t play football with him. But that all changed when his mum took him and his younger brother Samer* to a Save the Children space. Now he laughs and plays football with new friends.
“I made many new friends. We play, laugh and have a lot of fun together. I forget about my leg when I am there.” – Ammar.
Hafiza, Ammar’s mum told us, “I will never forget the smile on his face after he came back from his first day. He told me how the teacher and the students played with him. He has been attending the space and the school ever since. He is happy is all that I can say thanks to Save the Children.”
Roni Ahmed / Save the Children
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Not In The News
More young people are giving their time to help children. In 2021 the average age of a new Save the Children shop volunteer was 42. It’s now 28 years old. Last year, 42% of new Save the Children shop volunteers were aged between 18-24, a big increase compared to 28% in 2021.
National Volunteers Week takes place 1-7 June and if you’ve been thinking of giving your time for children, take a look at our volunteer opportunities.
*Names changed to keep children and their families safe.
