This past month, we've had some incredible results from our largest education programme, Education for Every Child Today (EFECT) in West Africa, and saw 1,000 international and national athletes complete the hottest ever Sierra Leone Marathon & Cycle Challenge! Shortly after (exactly one day) we celebrated Street Child's 15th anniversary at Kensington Palace. We've also launched a new programme in Moldova supporting young Ukrainian refugees with early education programming, and were delighted to be awarded a Business Charity Award for our partnership with Allen & Overy. Read on for more! 

Paving the way for generations of learning: An update on Street Child’s largest education programme

It’s been almost a year and a half since we embarked on our ‘Education for Every Child Today (EFECT)’ project, implemented in partnership with the Education Above All Foundation’s Educate A Child programme. The project aims to help 96,000 vulnerable, primary school-aged children in Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Liberia realise their right to quality primary education.

And we’re already seeing results! A remarkable 97% of the 16,800 children we enrolled in year one across the three countries have been retained in primary education.

We’ve also been able to support over 3,700 caregivers with business training and grants, helping them cover the cost of school fees over the long-term.

Congratulations to all the Sierra Leone Marathon and Cycle Challenge Participants!

It's been nearly one month since more than 1,000 national and international participants completed the Sierra Leone Marathon & Cycle Challenge 2024! In what was thehottest marathon on record with temperatures of more than 30°C, we are blown away by everyone who completedthe full or half marathon, 5/10k, the cycling challenge, or the duathlon. So far our runners and riders have raised over £150,000!

We were excited to be joined by 15 members of the London running group called the Say Yes Club, hosted by Esmée Gummer. When she was 18 years old, Esmée was told she'd never walk again following a botched hernia operation. Now she's officially competed a race dubbed "the craziest and most worthwhile marathon" in Sierra Leone! You can read more about her reflections in an article published by the Mirror below.

We've also just launched registration for the marathon next year, with an early bird special discount running until 30th June. You can learn more and register online here. 

Street Child celebrates 15th anniversary at Kensington Palace

In our very first year, we set out to support 100 street-connected children in Sierra Leone. Since then, we have reached over one million children in more than 25 countries around the world.

This wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible generosity of our supporters. We were delighted to celebrate with many of these supporters at Kensington Palace on 9th May, including Chris Kamara, Ade Adepitan, Nick Hewer, Christina Lamb, and Hilary and Michael Whitehall.

Special thanks to our headline sponsor NTT DATA UK&I and gold sponsors Netcracker Technology and Tech Mahindra for making the event possible. We look forward to many more years of ensuring children are safe, in school and learning!

New early education programme for Ukrainian refugees in Moldova

Street Child has launched a new initiative aimed at providing early education for refugee learners, in partnership with the Moldovan Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, and  two local level organisations, the Centre for Early Intervention and Step by Step Moldova. So far, we have opened five nurseries to support young learners (ages 0-3), including refugee children who have fled the war in Ukraine. 

Street Child, through close collaboration and cooperation with stakeholders, secured support for furnishing three nurseries from United Nations Women - thus establishing a model for further interagency partnerships. 

Street Child and Allen & Overy partnership wins Business Charity Award

We are delighted to announce that Street Child has been selected as the winner of the Legal Charity Partnership category at the 2024 Business Charity Awards for our two-year partnership with Allen & Overy ahead of their merger with A&O Shearman. 
 
A massive thank you to everyone at A&O for all their support, and to Street Child's Senior Corporate Partnerships Manager Rebecca Oldham who brilliantly led the partnership from our end. The success of this partnership is a powerful testament to what can be accomplished when the public and private sector collaborate to create meaningful and lasting change for children around the world, keeping them safe, in school and learning.