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Riversdale Fundraises for Save the Children

Riversdale Primary School is a supporter of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Our work regarding this resulted in our accreditation as a Gold standard Rights Respecting School, an award given to us by UNICEF. This Christmas, we have decided to raise money for Save the Children as a globally impactful charity. But why did we choose this charity?

A hundred years ago, Save the Children was founded by remarkable sisters Eglantyne Jebb and Dorothy Buxton. In 1924, Jebb wrote the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, the first inter-governmental human rights treaty, informing the UNCRC.

Almost every country in the world has signed up to the UNCRC - and real progress has been made in areas such as under‐5 child mortality, access to education and absolute poverty.

But many countries still fail to prioritise and promote children’s rights - especially the rights of children living in the worst forms of poverty and deprivation or affected by conflict.

Save the Children has been fighting for children's rights every day since their founding, inspired by the sisters' vision of a better future. 

Why is their work important?

• 1 IN 3 UNDER FIVES HAS NOT HAD THEIR BIRTH REGISTERED, MEANING THEY DON’T HAVE AN OFFICIAL NAME OR NATIONALITY
• IN HALF THE COUNTRIES WHERE RECORDS EXIST, OVER 80% OF CHILDREN AGED 2–14 HAVE EXPERIENCED VIOLENT DISCIPLINE
• CHILD LABOUR AFFECTS 150M 

What are they doing to address this?

They are calling on all governments to recommit to the UNCRC by focusing on three key areas:

• Ensuring all laws fully comply with the UNCRC;
  
• Increased government spending on children and ensuring that resources are being used effectively;
• Establishing an independent ombudsman for the protection and promotion of child rights in every country and setting up an international complaints procedure for the UNCRC. 

Where are some of the places they are currently working:

Save the Children’s reach is wide, and their support focuses on the specific needs of the children in the communities. Below are a few of the places where they are currently working and just some of the things that they are doing there. 

• Ethiopia: Improving healthcare for children; creating child-to-child support groups to discuss their rights & raise concerns on outside issues.
• Somalia: Supporting children following the aftermath of war; with partners TASS, teaching communities about children’s rights & protection for an FGM-prevention programme.
• Syria, Jordan & Lebanon: Educating young people & parents about children's reproductive rights.
• Yemen: Giving children living amid conflict in Yemen a safe place to play and learn.