BackgroundChild Guardians is the leading NGO in Syria in the field of child protection. It was established in 2012 in response to the need to provide urgent and critical protection to Syrian children, being the most affected victims of the Syrian war.
ReachChild Guardians’ services include protecting children against military recruitment, abusive labour, and/or exploitation of any type; protection against early marriage; and empowering the communities to provide equal opportunities for boys and girls.
The organisation is headquartered in the Turkish city of Gaziantep and operates a number of branch offices in Syria, with some 115 employees, as well as a number of volunteers and trainees.
ImpactChild Guardians’ long commitment to child protection has helped them to build close relationships with the local community, and build strong ties with the institutions and organisational bodies in Syria, in particular through its capacity building programmes for institutions.
Child Guardians is the leading NGO in Syria in the field of child protection. It was established in 2012 in response to the need to provide urgent and critical protection to Syrian children, being the most affected victims of the Syrian war. The organisation has since become the loudest voice in advocating for the protection of Syrian children from the effects of the conflict and in providing them with the urgently needed socio-psychosocial support.
Since its establishment, Child Guardians has committed itself to working inside Syria during the worst stages of the conflict in order to deliver its services directly to children.
Its services include: the monitoring and documenting of grave violations against children; providing comprehensive case management systems that address each individual child’s needs; providing psychosocial support to children affected by conflict and displacement; providing mental health services on both structured and specialised levels to address severe cases among children facing challenging circumstances (their work with children includes programmes for families and caregivers); establishing and equipping child-friendly safe spaces; providing non-formal education, special education and early childhood development programmes; empowering adolescents and youth through the Youth Guardians programme; empowering local communities to understand children’s rights and implement essential protection measures; providing capacity building through a range of specialised trainings, coaching and consultations for field workers and organisations on the principles of safe intervention and safe programming; and advocating against abusive local policies pertaining to the rights of children.
Child Guardians’ services include protecting children against military recruitment, abusive labour, and/or exploitation of any type; protection against early marriage; and empowering the communities to provide equal opportunities for boys and girls.
The organisation is headquartered in the Turkish city of Gaziantep and operates a number of branch offices in Syria, with some 115 employees, as well as a number of volunteers and trainees.
Child Guardians’ long commitment to child protection has helped them to build close relationships with the local community, and build strong ties with the institutions and organisational bodies in Syria, in particular through its capacity building programmes for institutions. In addition, Child Guardians was elected to co-lead the Alliance for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action and started co-leading two technical groups in the Alliance while playing important leadership roles in a number of technical groups affiliated with the UN OCHA Protection Cluster in addition to its strategic partnerships with a number of international humanitarian organisations.
Here is a story from their work:
“We are Jawad and Iqbal, and we are very happy now at the kindergarten. We have many friends, and we love this place a lot. We want to come here every day.” – Jawad & Iqbaal, 9 years.
Jawad and Iqbal, both nine-year-old twins, tragically lost their father to shelling. They suffer from a congenital lung deformity, worsened by their father’s loss. Amidst constant displacement due to war, they found temporary refuge until the earthquake destroyed their home. Their fear and health conditions have prevented them from returning to school.
Our case management team met them after a call from the mum, where the assessment showed clear social and mental health challenges due to neglect and poor living conditions. A comprehensive intervention was delivered to meet their immediate and long-term needs, including solar energy tools to enable their mother to administer nebulisation sessions for the children at home and provide some lighting during night. In addition to new clothes, milk supply, and hygiene materials to improve their health, psychological support and integration activities enhanced the children’s well-being. The team facilitated relocation to a suitable house and referred the children to a local nursery, which soon promoted their positive interaction with peers.
