In 2021, children
inspired
our actions


Annual Report 2021

Children shared their opinions in the World Congress on Justice with Children

A Child and Youth Advisory Group was formed by ambitious girls, boys and adolescents under 25 years old with knowledge and experience in child justice systems. They advocated for non-discrimination and promoted impartial and child-friendly justice systems.

Discover their podcast:

Children advised social workers

80 children and young people in Albania, Moldova and Romania identified how social workers can best support them, approach them, learn skills and adopt the right attitudes. Their advice was brought together in an e-learning format.

One child said:
“My support worker makes me feel connected when she offers attention to me as she does with other children. She connects me to other children so I am not left behind.”

Children were active in creating positive change

%

of children and young people who participated in the #CovidUnder19 and the World Congress on Justice with Children international advocacy initiatives reported that their participation had allowed them to be more active in creating positive change.

Children were innovative to get out of exploitation in gold mines

In Burkina Faso, poverty has led to many children facing exploitation by working in mines. Tdh has built a Resilience Innovation Facility, for co-creation, manufacturing and digital learning that helps children and young people develop life skills such as IT, 3D printing and agriculture techniques that promote their employment opportunities.
Hamidou, 17 years old, a regular frequenter, said:
“I dream of one day owning my own repair shop for mobile phones, computers and other devices. I also dream of owning my own 3D printer and training other children so that they can leave the mines too.”

Watch the video of Hamidou’s story:

Children inspired local change

In times of crisis and during COVID-19, Tdh’s ability to access populations was restricted. Thanks to our local anchorage and partnerships we continued to reach the most affected children and families.

In Afghanistan, our midwives were able to adapt and provided essential antenatal home visits for 4,630 pregnant women and postnatal care for 4,280 mothers and their babies.

Noorkhanum Ahmadzai, head of Tdh’s mother and child health project in Afghanistan, said:
“Most of the doctors have left. There is no more medicine. Maternity wards only deal with emergency cases so home births are on the rise.”

Children in migration situations
improved their wellbeing

Many Syrian children have only known life as a refugee. In Egypt, our activities combine movement, sports, games and psychological support to create social bridges between local and refugee children. Children, such as 12-year-old Bakr, are encouraged to cooperate with others and express their feelings.

Bakr, 12 years old, who fled Syria with his family when he was four, explained:
“What I like most about the activities is that they highlight children’s rights, and also try to make them happy – there are children who do not have anyone to make them happy.”

Children inspired digital innovation

Designed to improve the quality of diagnosis, care and follow-up during pregnancy, delivery and after birth, leDA-maternity supports midwives in remote areas in Burkina Faso and Guinea. The digital tool gives them access to evidence-based checklists to make more timely and accurate clinical assessments of their patients.
The midwife Aicha in Biba, Burkina Faso’s north-west, said:
“The care of women and newborns has improved a lot. We have greater confidence in making a decision when faced with a health problem in a mother or a child, we evaluate their health status and the machine does the rest.”

Children fought for the environment

In Nepal, Tdh has set up Blue Schools with its local partner. Those were equipped with water and sanitation systems. Students such as Samjhana (in the middle) are trained and empowered to lead their own environmental activities.

Extract of Samjhana’s poem

We were hit by a drought in the month of May 2020
Land would have been moist had we been able to make environment clean
[…]
Farmers look at the sky with a generous heart
Water evaporates and clouds precipitate elsewhere
[…]
Pastureland has become dry, it burns with a strike of a match
Those poor plants have panicked and have started crying

18-year-old Ashoraj has built his own elevated garden.

“Usually, we don’t get vegetables during the rainy season but after learning about the keyhole garden in school, we now have vegetables throughout the year.”

For a family that depends on their own production, elevated gardening can prevent malnutrition during the wet season. Ashoraj shares his knowledge with other people from the village.

Discover the successes of 2021!

2 million

children and members of their communities directly supported

3.1 million

children and members of their communities supported by trained people

0-4 years old

were most of those directly and indirectly supported

81,000

children and young people took part in participatory and empowerment activities

36,000

people got capacity development

We would like to thank all of our supporters and staff for their strong commitment and loyalty throughout 2021. We can celebrate what we have collectively achieved for the children, their families and communities.