Promises made for refugees – and what you can do next

Global leaders met at the United Nations in New York last week –  a real opportunity to transform the lives of more than 65 million people forcibly displaced worldwide.

So, did world leaders stand up to the challenge?

They committed to getting all child refugees into quality education ‘within a few months of arrival’ in their new countries.

Although this falls short of our call for children to be back in school after a month, it does mean that, for the first time, leaders are giving a time frame for getting child refugees back into education.

This is a real break-through.

They also committed to improving access to education for one million refugee children globally.

It’s all thanks to you

Since the start of the year, our supporters have been calling on world leaders to agree to a New Deal for child refugees, ensuring children don’t miss out on education for longer than a month.

On top of this, you wrote your own messages about why child refugees should be in school. We delivered these directly to leaders at the World Humanitarian Summit.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, thousands of people took to the streets in London in support of refugees.

Supporters like you were there calling for a united, global effort to tackle the refugee crisis.

Our life-saving ship

But too many children continue to lose their lives in the Mediterranean, during the dangerous journeys that they are forced to take in search of safety .

That’s why we’ve recently launched a life-saving search-and-rescue operation.

On its first mission, our vessel, the Vos Hestia, rescued over 300 people, including 50 unaccompanied children.

What you can do

We’ll keep working hard to protect children regardless of where they’ve come from, and you can continue to do your bit too:

1. Donate to our Search and Rescue boat – saving the lives of children in the Mediterranean.
2. Hold a screening of the film This Is Exile – and help educate people in your area about the refugee crisis.
3. Help refugee children already in the UK – find out what you can do in your local area.