Since 1992, Chance for Childhood has been at the forefront of fighting for the most vulnerable children in Africa and across the world. Here are some of the key dates in our history, all the way until now!
In the beginning
Chance for Childhood was established originally under the name ‘Jubilee Action’. Our mission was to advocate for awareness of child rights abuse, notably the Candelaria massacre in Brazil, where street children were killed by the police. We also campaigned against children being held illegally in prisons in horrendous conditions in the Philippines.
1992
Street Child Africa was established by Father Patrick Shanahan, who had lived and worked in Africa for the past 35 years. Its aim was to support African organisations working with street children.
1998
Over these years, we started working in D. R. Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
1999-2005
Our ground-breaking report “Kids Behind Bars: Why we must act” exposed the horrors facing children imprisoned in the Philippines.
It gained national news coverage on ITV news and led to the 2006 Juvenile Justice Bill that made it illegal for children under 15 to be imprisoned in the Philippines.
2005
We rebranded and Jubilee Action became Chance for Childhood as we needed a name more reflective of the work that we did. Since then we have become an award-winning charity, recognised for our expertise in justice for children, social protection and inclusive education.
2014
Street Child Africa merged with Chance for Childhood
As two organisations supporting vulnerable children across Africa, we saw a huge opportunity to maximise our impact, help more children whilst reducing our administrative costs. Each charity brought different strengths and expertise, but both shared the same approach of working extensively with local partners. The merger has made us more effective and efficient, saving us over £185,000 on staff and office costs.
2016
We were awarded the Collaboration award at the Bond International Development Awards (the ‘Oscars’ for charities working in overseas aid!) for our Right2Change project in Uganda.
2017
Today
We are still working harder than ever to support the most vulnerable children in Africa, such as street children, disabled children, children affected by conflict and kids behind bars. Read more about our impact.