COVID-19 Update: Ensuring No Child is Forgotten

Chance for Childhood is committed to ensuring that the safety and security of our staff, partners and the children we support is our priority. Where we can safely and responsibly work within national government guidelines around social distancing, movement and isolation we are continuing to deliver essential support and care to the extremely vulnerable children we support.

As a deepening of our commitment to our partners, Chance for Childhood has developed a plan of support to strengthen resilience during the Coronavirus Covid-19 crisis. We recognise the uncertainty that this crisis presents and this support will enable our partners to better adapt to the risks. Informed fully by the needs as expressed by our partners, the support plan will focus on three core areas: 

CV-19 Response Fund: We recognise that in times of crisis, organisations need financial support to respond tangibly to practical needs including but not limited to access to food, personal protective equipment, transportation and remote learning. Partners may also wish to request funding for the procurement or production of locally produced safety equipment such as protective cloth masks. To meet these needs, we have ring-fenced an initial amount of £50,000 to support activities which safeguard the children, parents and communities we have worked with, in addition to the safety of our colleagues in our partner organisations. We know this will only scratch the surface and so are actively working actively to increase this fund. We are incredibly grateful to our existing and future donors for their incredible support and flexibility, allowing us to respond to the greatest needs, as soon as they are identified.

Organisational Development (OD): The crisis has had a seismic impact that has left many organisations with significant gaps in their operations, caused either by changes in personnel or a reprioritisation of their strategy based on the ever-evolving nature of the crisis. Led by our partners, we will identify their key OD priorities, and develop a 3 months crisis-response plan so they are better able to adapt and respond to a post-Covid context. Areas of support could include (but not limited to) safeguarding, financial management, governance and risk management. Chance for Childhood will utilise its internal expertise as well as calling on its networks to provide bespoke capacity strengthening support to partners.  

Advocacy: Currently, millions of people globally living in highly vulnerable situations lack access to life-saving services. Extended lockdowns have had a significant impact socially and economically, further limiting access to food, health care and education. Within a context of conflicting priorities, many children find themselves lacking a safe space to live and access to basics. The situation is further exacerbated for girls and children with disabilities. Advocacy can be a powerful tool to influence key decision-makers to strengthen access to key services for the most vulnerable. We believe it is our duty to advocate for those with no voice and to ensure that no child is forgotten. Informed wholly by our partners and the local context, and anchored by our principle to do no harm, we will identify opportunities for local and global advocacy, where partners can directly influence change in their respective regions on issues pertinent to the local context, in addition to issues on which we can advocate on their behalf, and opportunities for joint advocacy.  

As part of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have taken the decision that all staff, across our offices in the UK, Rwanda and Ghana, should work from home. During this time we will be doing everything we can to continue our operations as normal. The office phones will be redirected to a staff member but if you cannot connect, please do call back. We will continue to process donations and deal with incoming post, albeit less frequently than usual. We will aim to respond to all enquiries as soon as possible but would appreciate your patience as it may take slightly longer than usual for a member of staff to get back to you.

If you have any questions regarding a fundraising event you were planning to take part in on our behalf or about a donation you have made, please get in touch by emailing .

We know that this is an unprecedented situation and the impact will be far-reaching, not just on our work but on many of you who share our passion and commitment to ensuring that no child is forgotten. During the COVID-19 outbreak, the most vulnerable in all societies across the world will be hit the hardest. We need your support now more than ever before to ensure our future support to those children already left behind.  We want to take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing friendship and generosity during this time, we truly appreciate it.

Our heartfelt thanks,

The Chance for Childhood family