WAR IN GAZA

“My name is Apollo and I’m six years old and I live in London and I’m very worried that it’s not fair that we have everything we need and that children in Yemen don’t have anything.”

Apollo wants to tell people about what’s happening in Yemen. He’s worried that children and families are in danger because of the war, missing out on school and don’t have food to eat.

Last year he sent a letter to a young girl in Yemen - Razan* - who was injured by the conflict, via Save the Children, after seeing her story in one of the charity's campaigns. They have since struck up an extraordinary pen-pal friendship, sharing letter with their thoughts and hobbies, favourite animals and family trips.

He's also raised money for Save the Children's Yemen appeal, by asking for donations instead of birthday presents and putting on concerts.

Apollo and his family kindly allowed Save the Children to spend a couple of days with them at home near London, to could record his story and his plea for peace and support for families in Yemen.

Hearing about the appalling situation in Yemen from a six-year-old is sobering and moving. Apollo is acutely aware of the difference between being a child in England and a child in a warzone. This story is proof that we can all do something to make the world a better place.

At 7 months old, Nadira* is the youngest of eight children living with her parents in a displacement camp in Syria. Her father suffered an injury while working away in Lebanon, and now her mother Maryam* is trying to support the large family by doing agricultural work.
Nadira* became malnourished due to the dire economic situation the family is facing. Save the Children is supporting partner organisation Hand in Hand to provide nutrition support to children in the displacement camp where the family live. Nutrition staff visited Nadira’s family and identified that she was malnourished – providing the family with therapeutic food (PlumpyNut) for the 7-month-old.

“Since we joined the programme,” says 18-year-old Sandi, “all our dreams that we held in our heart have come true. Now the water is here. Right in the back of our house.”

The programme he’s talking about is called i2Change, and the stories of change that come from it are incredible. Save the Children supports communities involved to uncover problems and develop in-novative solutions by igniting the imaginations of young people, nurturing their talents and building their self-belief.

In 2023, in West Sumba, Indonesia, Sandy joined i2Change and formed a team with two other 18-year-olds: Soleman and Anjar. Through workshops, they considered the challenges people in their community faced and decided to tackle the lack of water in Sandi’s village. Children and adults, in-cluding pregnant women, were getting up at 3am to walk 3km down a steep and dangerous verge to reach a water source, carrying two five litre containers each. Not only was it incredibly risky, it was impacting children’s education and physical development; growing nutritious food was off the table, and children were missing school because of exhaustion or embarrassment at not being able to wash.

The plan: to build a borehole and taps right there in the village.

Over the next few months, Sandi and his crew received specialist training and support – not only in how to design and implement their plan, but also in public speaking, influencing and the kinds of things that grow your confidence and make people others listen to your ideas. The consulted with the community and worked on a blueprint for the water system with support from Save the Chil-dren.

By the time Sandi and his friends chose the team-name Golden Scorpio, they had really started to be-lieve they could make a difference to their community: gold symbolises courage, and a scorpion is a small and unassuming creature that delivers a powerful sting – and can have a big impact. In West Sumba, that impact is being felt in so many ways.

Following the boys’ plan, Save the Children and its partners dug the borehole, installed nine taps, and covered the costs. The community now has regular access to water – but so much more too. Children have more time to study and play. It’s easier for families to irrigate their vegetable gardens. Children can wash twice a day and go to school as a result. They have time and energy to play like children should. No-one is making the difficult journey anymore.

Given what they’ve accomplished and the changemaker Sandy has become, it’s hard to believe he used to keep to himself. Now, he’s an outspoken advocate for issues affecting children and young people and has more big plans for his community. “We can make Indonesia much better,” he says, proud and full of confidence.