£250,000 awarded to Chichester charity Children on the Edge to help refugees around the world

A Chichester charity has received £250,000 of funding thanks to players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.
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For a second year in a row the Postcode Global Trust will provide funding for Children on the Edge to support over 15,000 marginalised children around the world.

Throughout 2020, the charity provided education for over 500 Syrian refugee children in Lebanon thanks to funding from the trust, and this year that support will be extended to refugee children in Uganda as well.

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Sophie Poore, grants manager at Children on the Edge, said: “Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) suffer from two of the deadliest humanitarian crises in the world, which have forced millions of people to flee their homes.

Early learning for refugee children in Kyaka II refugee settlement, UgandaEarly learning for refugee children in Kyaka II refugee settlement, Uganda
Early learning for refugee children in Kyaka II refugee settlement, Uganda

“Unfortunately, after almost ten years of fighting in Syria, and 23 in Eastern DRC, donors and the media have tired of the refugees affected by these seemingly endless conflicts.

“This renewed grant will support safe spaces and quality education for 570 Syrian children throughout 2021 and give an incredible boost to our new early years programme for 5,000 of the youngest Congolese refugee children in Uganda.”

Having built relationships with 30 communities in the Kyaka II refugee settlement in western Uganda, Children on the Edge is working alongside them to rebuild and regenerate learning spaces, train refugee teachers, provide microloans and develop an early learning programme for thousands of displaced Congolese children that is completely owned by local refugees.

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The grant will also support safe spaces and quality education for 570 Syrian refugee children.

Children celebrate the opening of a new centreChildren celebrate the opening of a new centre
Children celebrate the opening of a new centre

Children and teachers are brought in safely from their camps in dedicated minibuses to use spacious classrooms, a computer room and a playground.

A variety of workshops provide refugee children with a haven away from the bleak camps where they can learn a bespoke curriculum in their own dialect.

Children on the Edge’s support was more important than ever last year, as the pandemic, economic and political crisis, as well as the explosion in the Port of Beirut, caused widespread poverty and hardship for the refugee community and hundreds of struggling Lebanese families.

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Eloise Armstrong, fundraising manager at Children on the Edge, said: “Thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, Chichester charities like ourselves and Chichester District Foodbank have received vital funding.

“Their support has sustained our work in Lebanon through an extremely volatile 2020 and we’re excited to see what can be achieved in this new year.”

For more information about the work of Children on the Edge visit www.childrenontheedge.org

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