Save the Children got its start in 1919 when founders Eglantyne Jebb and Dorothy Buxton sought to relieve the starving children of the nations involved in World War I. In the early 1920s they dedicated much work to feeding and providing education for children affected by the Russian famine as a major contributor to the Russian Famine Relief Fund. This eared their recognition by the League of Nations and linked them with other international charities. Ultimately, Eglantyne would outline the five major points which were incorporated into the Geneva Declaration by League of Nations. These points became the basis for the UN's Declaration of the Rights of the Child They have retained a focus on benefiting the children and youths of regions in distress.1
The Charity Commission for England and Wales lists the organizations scope of activities to cover alleviation and prevention of poverty including health care, education, training as well as famine relief. These activities are undertaken in a number of ways. While Save the Children does offer and commission research and program grants, it performs a great deal of services itself. 2
Once recent example is the Numeracy Boost program to further mathematical literacy. This program is currently active in Bangladesh and Malawi and is targeted at giving children basic math skills needed for daily life and provide the required background for further education. Children in some communities were found to have difficulty with even basic arithmetic such as subtraction and division.These concepts are used constantly in trade, transportation and cooking yet generations went without clear comprehension of them or how they can be applied to their regular activities. While currently initially designing and running these programs, Save the Children intends for local education boards to adopt and take over allowing them to move to more communities. 4 This could also help communities incorporate math education into their regional culture, taking ownership of the projects and making the program even more targeted at their childrens regular encounters.
Another major focus of the organization is more direct studies on the health issues affecting children. A painful report form the Save the Children Fund brought forward an often neglected factor in juvenile suffering. Save the Children recently reported on the health effects and predominance of teenage pregnancy. This report found that a shocking 1 in 5 girls have at least one child before the age of 18, may of them having multiple children in under two years. Both early age birth and and repeat pregnancies have serious complications. Girls bodies are not sufficiently developed to carry children there is an increase in most birth related complications as well as fatality. There is a 60% increase in infant deaths when the mother is 18 or younger 5. It also found that there were many misconceptions about birth control in nations with the highest rates of teen pregnancy. This often coincided with early life marriage, more than 10 million girls were married before the age of 18. The report is formatted to highlight the problems and offers suggestions on where governments and NGOs can overcome these issues.
The activities and reports of this organization are too numerous to summarize here. I have highlighted two recent programs which show both the educational development side and direct health work of Save the Children. From what I can tell, and the United Nations seems to agree, Save the Children is another of the great organizations helping to improve the lives of the generations that will shape the future.
1. Wikipedia Page
2. Charity Commission UK
3. Charity Navigator
4. Voice of America: Numeracy Boost
5. Every Woman's Right: How family planning saves childrens lives
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