Children & Youth
-
Photo: Sean Sheridan for Mercy Corps
Teaching the next generation and keeping them healthy are essential to tomorrow's strong, vibrant societies. Mercy Corps works with communities to shelter and nurture children and youth through innovative education, sports and job training programmes.
Through the power of sports, community service and vocational training, we empower young people to make smart life choices and find a productive place in the changing global economy.
Our signature Comfort for Kids programme focuses on helping children process trauma after natural disasters and conflict. See our expert's recommendations for how parents and caregivers can help children through times of crisis ▸
All stories about Children & Youth
-
Colombia: Reclaiming the children of war May 22, 2012
As many as 14,000 children are fighting in Colombia's armed conflict. Each year, hundreds are rescued or escape — but it's too risky to return home. Mercy Corps is helping them start over.
-
Afghanistan: New graduates yield unexpected returns May 15, 2012
The latest group of students to graduate from our vocational training programme in southern Afghanistan — more than 3,600 of them — show that real success is giving young people hope.
-
Indonesia: Mothers connect in the field May 11, 2012
Portland, Seattle, Taipei, Jakarta, Brebes, Kutamendala. After 44 hours of travel my colleague and I wander into our final destination — a secluded village in the jungles of Java.
-
Colombia: Capture or surrender earns second chance May 8, 2012
Child soldiers in Colombia escape the front lines one of two ways: by turning themselves in, or being rescued in battle. Most come from the countryside, where schools and jobs are scarce, and join an armed group as a way to escape poverty.
-
Colombia: Picturing yesterday, today and tomorrow May 1, 2012
Former child soldiers in Colombia created these drawings as part of our programme that helps them reintegrate into society after fighting in illegal armed groups.
-
Kenya: Planting tea and cultivating positive change April 30, 2012
I’m crouched inside a tea nursery high up in the Central Rift Valley of Kenya, and George Ngethe is patiently explaining to me how tea is produced.
-
Yemen: A fresh coat of paint can make all the difference April 26, 2012
Yemen’s youth are demanding change across the country on a large scale, but I’ve also seen them bring it in their communities one improvement at a time.
-
Libya: Benghazi activists honor the price of war April 25, 2012
One of the great things about my job is that I get to meet people who contribute to social change from a million different angles. But of all the people I’ve met through my work at Mercy Corps, few have been as inspiring as a group of activists I met in Benghazi during a trip to Libya last week.
-
Kenya: Kids in Kenya April 17, 2012
Pictured are school children from the community of Kenyanjeri, which participates in our Yes Youth Can! programme.
-
Iraq: One hundred text messages she can read and write April 9, 2012
The noise was deafening. I had asked a simple question — “How has the WAI programme changed your life?” — and everyone had an answer. I didn’t know what to focus on. Spoons clinked in tea glasses and the women never stopped talking.