Humanitarian work

Every child has the right to survive.  

Nevertheless, in humanitarian crises such as armed conflicts or natural disasters, children are the most vulnerable. A child’s physical development may stop as a result of malnutrition, the child’s learning may be interrupted when he or she is no longer able to go to school, or the child’s mental state may deteriorate as he or she encounters violence and grief around. 

In the wake of a humanitarian crisis, it is important that the child can feel safe again. Save the Children is helping children immediately in the midst of a disaster, as well as supporting children’s development and survival after the situation. War can be an extremely traumatic experience for a child and it can take years to cope with. For this reason, creating a sense of security for children is an important priority for us.  

Save the Children is one of the world’s largest humanitarian NGOs. In 2021, Save the Children responded to the plight of children and their families directly reaching 18 million children. Save the Children Finland participated in this humanitarian work. 

Our goal is to ensure that every child survives a humanitarian crisis and has the opportunity to continue living safely with one`s family. 

What is done in our projects?  

Protecting the basic needs of families.  

We help families affected by a disaster to cope with a situation in which, for example, they have lost their homes or had to flee. We provide basic supplies, nutrition, shelter, clean water and health care for children and their families.  

Ensuring safe education.  

We ensure that children have the opportunity to continue their studies in the midst of a crisis. We organize schools for refugee and migrant camps and support distance learning and supportive education for children. By ensuring that learning continues, we prevent children from being at risk of child labor or early marriages.  

Supporting with psychological help.  

We provide professional help for children and refer them to psychological support. Once children have seen death and destruction, our main goal is to make them feel safe again. We provide safe spaces, as for example playgrounds for children. 

Supporting disaster preparedness.  

We work proactively by designing, together with local authorities and experts, disaster preparedness plans in areas where different natural disasters are geographically common. We train children to act properly when a disaster occurs.  

Read more about our humanitarian work and the effects of climate change, armed conflicts and COVID-19 on children’s lives in our latest news. 

Save the Children Finland is a partner of the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO). EU Humanitarian Partnership Certificate 2021 (pdf).