In most unstable regions of the world, children are often the first to suffer from the consequences of war. They are affected not only by the lack of food, security or physical injuries, but by problems not always visible on the surface such as psycho-social disorders, lack of access to schools and limited opportunities for the future.

Children have projects individually catered for their needs whether it’s a medical clinic, a nursery, homeless shelters, counselling and therapy to even fitting prosthetic limbs and organising essential recreational days for children to have a sense of normality in difficult circumstances.

On the local, national and even global level- we’ve had full scale fundraising with innovative ideas from individuals, families, communities, sports clubs and schools and it is this energy which helps us reach children around the world.

Healing the scars of war

Psycho social care for Afghanistan’s children

Sometimes the consequences of war extend deeper than surface injuries. Trauma, mental illness and psycho-social problems now plague countless numbers of children throughout Afghanistan, a country left crippled after 30 years of war.

As hardly any psycho-social services exist in Afghanistan, the Muslim Hands psycho-social support project serves a vital role rehabilitating children through trained counsellors and psycho-social work group therapy schemes

These sessions are then followed up by individual counselling and cover topics from domestic violence, stress, life skills for children. Thanks to the money raised from GRW 2008, MH Kabul is running a pilot project arranging education sessions as well as extracurricular activities such as games tournaments, debate competitions, role plays, athletics, storytelling and recreational trips.

Work at the centre continues all year round.

Al Jana Children’s Centre

For the families of Baghdad, Iraq

It has all but eradicated the services to help children learn, play and develop. Where they do exist, they are often run down, understaffed, oversubscribed and lacking in basic resources.

As well as the existing projects dedicated to the women and orphans of Iraq, Muslim Hands set up a learning and recreation centre for Baghdad’s children during Summer 2008.

Open to 150 children at a time, the Al Jana Centre is equipped with staff specially trained to provide educational and psychological support as well as instructional training sessions to help children gain the basic IT and language skills they will need for the future.

Children benefit from a custom-made recreation area for sports and games, a reading room, regular classrooms and a new computer suite to learn and practice skills as well as trips to local parks, zoos and swimming pools

Rebuilding Sudan

Education for displaced children in Darfur

Darfur has been no stranger to instability; however the last decade has brought unprecedented levels of distress for children because of an increase in conflict, robbery and displacement.

Often the first casualty of such instability is education for children, where even if teachers and facilities did exist, children cannot afford even basic equipment and supplies to be able to learn and study in relative normality. Access to these most basic school supplies are invaluable for refugee children living in makeshift camps.

Money from this year’s GRW is providing over 5,500 children and families with primary school equipment and facilities. In Diraig camp, Nyalal - South Darfur one school has been used as a centre for distributing student textbooks, notebooks, school uniforms, school bags, sports equipment and playground equipment.

Children’s sports programmes have been initiated and for families living in refugee camps wheel barrows have been distributed for agricultural use.