The charity has got Grace back into the classroom. Today Grace is living happily with family again, she has friends at school and she's studying hard.
Jane Garvey
Thanks to the generosity of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4 listeners, Child Soldiers International is thrilled to have raised £26,026 for our appeal helping girls formerly associated with armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Girls in armed groups can suffer unimaginable sexual and physical abuse by their captors and many are rejected by communities when they do return home. With the money raised from this appeal we will be able to support more girls returning from conflict through our education and community projects.
Our projects in the country help girls formerly associated with armed groups return to education and reintegrate into community life and put an end to the stigmatisation many suffer when going home.
The money raised will enable us to help even more return to school education or enrol in our specially-designed numeracy and literacy classes.
The new funds also allow us to further assist girls like Grace, whose story was featured in our appea, by supporting our local child protection officer, Nathalie, to visit them and ensure they have the continued support they need to rebuild their lives. The girls have told us that these visits are incredibly valuable to them.
The next phases of our work in the country are also underway. We recently published a which includes low cost local solutions and activities so communities can better support returning girls.
Alongside this, in February 2018 the work of our National Action Group – local government representatives, partner organisations and other civil society groups – began its outreach work with effected communities to share the new guides and help communities prevent future child recruitment.
You can find out more about the charity .