Children thrive through 2025 - Six Stories of Hope

As we approach the end of 2025 I want to celebrate how communities worked together in the toughest of situations, to enable their children to thrive. 

As Rebecca Solnitt says, “Hope means another world might be possible, not promised, not guaranteed. Hope calls for action; action is impossible without hope.” Here are six stories of hope and action from those we have worked alongside this year.

1. From Local Roots to National Change: Growing Early Years in Uganda

Our Cluster Learning Approach is gaining significant national momentum, with our local team recently invited to help shape the Ugandan government’s new national Early Years framework. This recognition follows our expansion this year to reach an additional 650 children across six new areas of the Kyaka refugee settlement, along with strengthening the sustainability of the programme and its and play-based learning objectives. 

Since 2019, we have partnered with Congolese refugee communities to provide play-based education in remote areas previously cut off from schooling. During a visit this November, Early Education consultant Debra Laxton described the programme as the "best free-flow play learning" she had ever seen in the settlement. See it for yourself!

2. Afghanistan Education Action spreads its wings

When the Taliban attacked women’s education in 2021, educator and activist Angela Ghayour launched a groundbreaking online school from exile. While her global volunteer network reached 3,000 students, they lacked the formal structure and funding required for long-term growth. Children on the Edge partnered with Angela to transition this grassroots activism into a registered charity - Afghanistan Education Action (AEA) and provided the operational framework needed to protect its future.

Our team provided direct support by securing a salary for Angela, allowing her to focus fully on the mission, and appointing an Education Manager to establish a school focused on formal qualifications. We also built the organisation's website and managed fundraising campaigns. A critical milestone was reached in March 2025, when after three years of navigating complex compliance and administrative hurdles, we secured a UK bank account for AEA. This allows this brand new charity to manage its own funds and move towards full independence.

3. Still Here, Still Innovating: Keeping the Rohingya Story Alive

Since 2009, we have stood with the Rohingya people, a community often described as the most forgotten in the world. While international attention has faded since the 2017 genocide and resulting exodus, we continue to innovate alongside them, using digital and mother-tongue programmes to spark a literacy revolution for children long denied their right to learn.

This year, the community had new opportunities to share their story with the world. Teachers Asmida and Senora contributed to NABU’s ‘Read for Resilience’ book series, weaving their culture and experiences of fleeing violence into stories that help displaced children find hope. Our students also reached UK airwaves through a BBC Radio 4 Appeal narrated by Susannah Fielding. By sharing eight-year-old Romaina’s story (she is pictured recording her interview above). The appeal highlighted the vital importance of mother-tongue education and raised over £50,000.

As 2025 draws to a close, Al Jazeera visited our classrooms in Kutupalong to document our impact. Their feature highlighted that while severe international funding cuts are forcing many schools to reduce timetables or close, our classrooms remain fully operational. We continue to provide 6,000 children with consistent, high-quality lessons, ensuring the Rohingya community is not only heard but supported as we move into 2026.

4. Supporting displaced Kachin communities rebuild at home

In Myanmar’s Kachin and Karenni States we continue to support conflict-displaced communities in remote jungle and mountain camps. We help communities here provide vital education, play, and care for children aged 3-6.

The main news this year was that 25% of the displaced families we support in Kachin State have been able to return to their homes for the first time in more than a decade. As they begin the momentous process of rebuilding their destroyed villages, we have focused on ensuring  learning can continue for returnee children.

5. A Year of Hope: Edrine’s Impact in Karamoja

At the age of seven, Edrine Nsenge was forced to live alone on the streets of Jinja city, enduring immense hardship and danger. Inspired by his own difficult past and determined to prevent other children from suffering, he trained with Children on the Edge, gaining the knowledge and confidence to become a child advocate. Edrine then moved back to his home district of Karamoja, where he is now leading the establishment of local Child Protection Teams to combat challenges like hunger, trafficking, and abuse, creating lasting, community-led change from the grassroots.

Throughout 2025, our support of Edrine’s leadership has sparked a remarkable shift. His network of sixty volunteers has challenged exploitation, managing over 600 protection cases in this year alone. This momentum is transforming the very fabric of the community, with successful campaigns seeing hundreds of parents choose education over child labour, while new youth teams are mentoring their peers in healthy relationships and mutual respect.

Beyond safety, this year has brought a new sense of resilience. Families have improved local health by building hundreds of latrines and planting nutritious gardens to combat malnutrition. As parents find purpose in these projects and gain stability through village savings groups, the community has even seen a significant reduction in alcoholism. In Karamoja, voices that were once excluded are finally being heard, marking a year where hope has taken root in a community that is historically disadvantaged and disregarded. 

Watch this transformation as Edrine talks to village members in Karamoja.

6. Our community steps up in 2025

Throughout this year, the global economic downturn and growing instability has continued to create huge challenges for international development and the charity sector. In the face of this, we’ve been overwhelmed by the support of our community, who have rallied with generosity, and helped us to hold our ground. 

We were thrilled to meet ambitious fundraising targets on both our BBC Radio 4 Appeal, and this year’s Christmas Big Give Challenge, between them raising over £95,000 for our work and bringing attention to communities that are out of the spotlight. 

We have had an array of fundraising events and initiatives from local schools, and some amazing challenges from individuals and groups. A special mention to eighteen local lads who set off to Henningsvaer, Norway this summer, to play football at the world’s most spectacular pitch, deep into the Arctic Circle. During their five day ‘Pink Pub Challenge’ they played five football matches in five countries, in memory of James Palmer-Bullock, raising more than £25,000.

To round off the year, we introduced our Christmas ‘Gifts of Hope’, a chance for people to surprise a loved one with a virtual gift that creates a brighter future for children living on the edge. We had a wonderful response to this initiative, and we hope that people enjoy giving and receiving these meaningful gifts over the festive season.