ChildHope has now closed having operated from 1989 to 2023. This section of the website serves as an archive.

What was ChildHope's Purpose Every child has the right to a safe and secure childhood

What was ChildHope's Purpose?

Every child has the right to a safe and secure childhood, but for many these rights are denied. Born into extreme poverty and violence, they are at high risk of exploitation and abuse. Our purpose was to draw out and build on the strengths of children and those around them to tackle injustice. Looking at root causes, such as poverty and inequality, we also focussed on influencing the policies and systems that can and must be changed to enable children to thrive.

What was ChildHope's Vision?

A world in which all children enjoy a life free from injustice and abuse.

What was ChildHope's Mission?

To build on the strengths within children, families, communities and institutions so that children can grow up to become confident citizens.

What were ChildHope's Values?

We aimed to be trusted, transparent and accountable to children and adults, our partners, our supporters and our donors. Mutual respect for all children and adults, regardless of their situation, lay at the heart of our approach.

Children we worked with

We worked with some of the world’s most marginalised children. While most children grow up with layers of support around them, we worked with children when these support structures have broken down.


Many children have been forced into these situations by extreme poverty, climate change and human impact on the physical and natural environment. While many countries become richer, there is growing inequality within and between states, and the children we worked with are facing the consequences.

Girls and children with disabilities can face even greater challenges - the chances that they will be abused, exploited or neglected are even higher. We were committed to increase the visibility, voice and potential of these often ‘hidden’ children throughout our work.


Children were at the heart of everything we did

All children should have layers of support around them that protect them and keep them safe. The children we worked with have often lost that support.


Adopting an ‘ecological model’, illustrated in the diagram, we examined each layer of the system that surrounds the child and built mechanisms that allow them access to support and protection and the means to grow and thrive.


This involved work with their families, if they had them, to strengthen their ability to care for their children. We worked with children’s friends and other support structures, especially if they no longer live with their parents. Our ecological approach included strengthening connections and creating programmes with individuals and agencies within the community, including schools, that have a significant influence in children’s lives.


We also looked at the policies, systems and structures that are meant to keep children safe. We worked to address problems of poor implementation - at local, national and international levels. This included urging donors and governments to provide sufficient resources to ensure the most marginalised children are not ignored.


Each priority and focus area within the strategy connected back to one or more layer of the ecological model. Our ecological model was based on Bronfrenbrenner’s Ecological Model of Child Development.


The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

Children everywhere should be free of fear from all forms of violence and abuse.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) underlined all our work. The overarching SDG of our programmatic work was Goal 16 - Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies. Under Goal 16, we supported access to justice, tackling human trafficking and modern slavery, promoting the right to documentation and birth registrations, preventing sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, encouraging participation in decision-making at all levels, and working towards ending violence against children.

Goal 16 targets most applicable to our work were:

  • 16.1 Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere
  • 16.2 End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children
  • 16.3 Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all
  • 16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
  • 16.9 By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration
  • 16.10 Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreement

Find out more about the past work of ChildHope