The past month has been busy as ever! Six months after Cyclone Chido, your support is helping Mozambique’s communities rebuild. This October, the Sierra Leone Marathon heads to a new city for the first (and only!) time, offering a fresh challenge for past participants or anyone who's been considering the race over the years. Street Child featured on Ireland AM, and also joined calls at the Education World Forum for the UK Government to protect education funding. Read on for more!

Six months after Cyclone Chido devastated northern Mozambique, our Director of Africa Programmes, Megan Lees-McCowan, visited the region to see the impact of your support. So far Street Child has provided emergency relief for over 1,480 families, including 5,700 children, and have established 26 temporary learning centres to minimise disruption to schooling. 

“Everything is different now,” families told Megan and our team in-country. Children have been deeply affected by the loss of their homes and parents’ livelihoods. Restoring their education, health, and wellbeing will take time and care, as the path to recovery is both long and complex. Moving forward, we’re focusing on rebuilding permanent classrooms and strengthening disaster resilience ahead of the next cyclone season. 

For 2025 only, the Sierra Leone Marathon will take place twice, with a new permanent slot set for October. From 22–27 October 2025, join us as the marathon moves beyond Makeni for the first (and only!) time ever, bringing the event to the stunning city of Bo—the second largest city in Sierra Leone and capital of the Southern Province. If you’ve already completed the marathon in Makeni, this one-off edition provides an exciting new chapter in a different part of the country, delivering the same unforgettable experience. 

Don’t just take our word for it! Hear from recent participants on their experience running the Sierra Leone Marathon below. We're also delighted that for the first time in years, there's now a direct flight from the UK to Sierra Leone, drastically cutting down the journey time. 

Street Child’s Sierra Leone Programmes Officer, Ian Mooney, recently joined Tommy Bowe and Muireann O'Connell live in-studio on Ireland AM to highlight our work in Sierra Leone and promote the upcoming Big Ride event in Ireland. We’re thrilled to be bringing this annual corporate fundraiser to the stunning Wicklow Mountains, co-hosted by Liberty Global and Virgin Media Ireland. Last year’s ride saw over 800 participants raise enough money to support 18,000 children into education. Stay tuned for exciting updates from this year's event in a few weeks!

Earlier this month, the UK’s Minister for Development began to outline the likely impact of UK aid cuts announced in February, suggesting that education would be significantly deprioritised within the UK's overseas aid agenda. Just days after this announcement, ironically, the UK hosted the world’s largest gathering of education ministers in London at the Education World Forum. Street Child staff joined fellow global education organisations to deliver an urgent message to delegates of the event and the UK Government: aid cuts = empty classrooms. Education is not only a fundamental right—it is one of the most powerful tools for reducing inequality, driving economic growth and tackling climate change. We are calling on the UK Government to protect global education funding and uphold its commitment to the world’s most vulnerable children.