Annual Report 2017

Rising to the challenge

In 2017, Save the Children Australia supported 166 projects in 21 countries around the world, reaching millions of people. In Australia, through our 101 programs in education, health and protection, we directly reached 31,347 children and adults in 197 communities and locations.

As a global organisation, we worked in 117 countries directly reaching 49.6 million children. We also responded to
121 disasters in 61 countries – reaching over more than 15 million children and adults.

Thanks to you – our wonderful supporters, volunteers and partners – we have been able to generate positive
change for children.

Read the full 2017 Annual Report here.

Challenges faced by children in 2017

Every child deserves to feel safe and loved, to get an education, to be healthy and to live a life free from violence. But overseas and in Australia, some children face challenges from the outset. Here are some of the biggest challenges that children faced in 2017.

Missing out on education

Despite education being globally accepted as pivotal for both an individual’s potential and the development of a nation, there are still 264 million children and young people who aren’t going to school.

Dying from preventable causes

Globally, a child’s risk of dying is greatest in the first 28 days of life. Birth complications, disease and malnutrition – among many other leading causes – kill 15,000 children under five every day across the world. That’s more than 5 million every year.

Subjected to abuse and violence

Violence against children has long-lasting and devastating consequences for social, physical and mental health. Yet, horrifically, around 300 million children globally are regularly subjected to violent discipline.

Removal from the home

In Australia and overseas, children are being removed from their families and placed in inappropriate or institutional care. This can be due to poverty, exploitation, economic migration, war and conflict or substantiated concerns about child neglect or abuse.

Rising to the challenge: Our response

Keeping children engaged at school

Children and young people have different learning styles, and the educational journey for some students can be made more challenging through health and wellbeing complexities. Working closely with young people struggling with conventional educational methods, our Hands on Learning program tackles student disengagement. The purpose of the program is to equip the students with tools and life skills they can use to overcome their learning barriers.

Darren's story, 14 years old, Victoria

For Darren^*, a year-9 student at Springside College in Caroline Springs, a traditional classroom setting was always a challenge. Darren found it difficult to concentrate and settle in class, and his distracting behaviour led to school suspensions and a disrupted education.

“I used to be hyped to go to school on a Monday, but I’d lose excitement as the week went on,” he says, complaining there was always too much “listening” to do.

When Darren started Hands on Learning in 2017, things turned around. He relished the ‘hands-on’ approach to learning and the opportunity to build positive relationships with both students and staff.

“It’s the ‘doing’ that’s great in Hands on Learning. You have the opportunity to teach others in the group,” he says. “It’s really rewarding and feels great looking back at your work. The ‘we did it’ is a proud moment.”

Reducing child mortality from preventable diseases

Ethiopia has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world – in fact, one in 20 Ethiopian children will die before their first birthday. From 2013–2017 our Improving Maternal Newborn and Child Health project aimed to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates in Amhara region, Ethiopia. It achieved this by improving access to quality health services and encouraging girls and women to seek out professional healthcare, with support from their families.

Keshen's story, 35 years old, Ethiopia

Keshen has five children but the birth of her youngest son, Wondemnagn, was different to the others. This time she had the support and guidance of Zinet, a young woman who trained as a volunteer with Save the Children’s health volunteers.

“[Zinet] was good to me,” Keshen says. “During my pregnancy, she told me not to give birth at home. I listened to her advice and when I went into labour, I went to the health centre and gave birth in the clinic.

“After my son was born, she advised me to vaccinate my child within six months and she also told me to provide nutritious food. I took her advice and I am healthy, and so is my child.”

Now three years old, Wondemnagn is a robust little boy who keeps Keshen and his siblings on their toes.

“Compared to my other children, he is very healthy,” Keshen says. “My older children were vulnerable to diseases and they had stomach aches. But since Wondemnagn is getting regular check-ups, he is fine.”

Protecting children from abuse and violence

Two of the biggest factors preventing women from leaving an abusive relationship are fear of having nowhere to go and concerns about how it will impact their children. Yet nearly 60% of women experiencing intimate partner violence report their children have witnessed an incident.

We run five Domestic and Family Violence refuges in Queensland providing unit-style accommodation for women and their children. Each refuge is in a confidential location and staffed with skilled Parent Support Workers and a Child Support Worker. These workers ensure the individual needs and rights of children and women are supported.

Taliah's story, Queensland

Friends and co-workers would never have guessed Taliah lived in her car with her two children. A loving mother with a good, stable job, Taliah’s story reflects that of so many Australian women who are forced to leave their home after experiencing violence at the hand of their partner.

“It was a very volatile, life-or-death situation,” recalls Taliah. “The choice of potentially not being alive or one of my children being severely hurt… I could see my children’s pain and that was the catalyst [to leave].”

After making the brave decision to escape, Taliah faced the challenge of finding somewhere to go. Her eldest son was 16 and most refuges won’t take older boys.

“I was sleeping in the car with the kids,” she says. “I’d take the kids, especially my youngest, into public toilets to wash… [we’d] go to the laundromat first thing in the morning so we’d have clean clothes.”

At last, Taliah found safety at our Jebb Refuge on the outskirts of Brisbane. She spent 14 months there – the time needed to recover and rebuild her life, and her children’s lives, free from violence.

Keeping families together

In Indonesia, up to half a million children grow up in orphanages – the highest proportion of any country in the world. Yet almost 90% of these children have at least one living parent. Since 2005, Save the Children has been working alongside the Indonesian Government to shift focus away from institutional care. The goal of our Families First program is that all Indonesian children will be cared for in a safe family environment – either with their own family or with a community-based alternative.

Atikah and Rizki story, ages 32 and 8, Indonesia

When Atikah* and her husband fell on hard times, they felt they had no choice but to send their youngest son Rizki* to live in an orphanage.

“I didn’t have any option to care for him at home,” Atikah says. “So, I felt I had to put Rizki in an institution.” But the decision Atikah felt forced to make haunted her. “When Rizki first entered the orphanage, I felt I was in limbo,” she says. “I couldn’t sleep, I didn’t want to eat.”

Save the Children workers, aware of Atikah’s situation, spent time with the family and helped them understand that family was still the best place for Rizki to grow up.

Rizki has now returned home. “When I went to the orphanage to take Rizki home, I was so happy,” Atikah says. “He and I bonded immediately and we didn’t want to be apart from each other any longer. Family is the most valuable thing – families shouldn’t be parted.”

Your support drives our work

Save the Children is a worldwide community made up of thousands of caring, compassionate people who want to make a better future for our children. Here are just a few of the amazing people and groups who make our work possible.

Want to find out more?

Download our reports here:

- 2017 Annual Report PDF
- Financial statement PDF (summary version)
- Financial statement PDF (full version)
- Enviornment & Sustainability report card