War Child Holland

War Child’s origins go back to 1993 when Willemijn Verloop, a social entrepreneur from the Netherlands, travelled to the Balkans. That time she was working as a peace activist for the European Action council for Peace in the Balkan and met music professor Nigel Osborne. In the midst of the fighting, he ran musical workshops for children in the bomb shelters of Bosnia. From the very first visit, Willemijn was convinced of the benefits of this approach for young survivors of conflict. The Balkan Wars had disastrous effects on children. They were withdrawn, scared and distrustful. The musical workshops brought the child inside of them back. In order to support these activities, Willemijn started organising fundraising events in the Netherlands, with great success. War Child Holland was then, in 1995, officially founded; a small organisation with a handful of volunteers.

Mission

War Child believes no child should be part of war. Children have the right to grow up in peace, free from fear and violence, to develop their full potential and become the person they want to be. War Child makes a lasting impact by protecting children from violence and offering psychosocial support and education. They unleash the children’s inner strength with their creative and involving approach and inspire as many people as they can to participate in their cause.

Geographic Focus

Afghanistan, Burundi, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lebanon, Palestinian Territory, Sri Lanka, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Uganda.

Programme Areas

War Child uses three integrated programming themes:

1.Psychosocial support
2. Education
3. Child protection