COVID-19 Emergency Appeal for Street Children in Pakistan

15-year-old Kiran, who once collected garbage off the streets of Lahore along with other children, is today living her dream of going to school.

Getting up every morning to sift through garbage was dangerous work for the young girl and she often used to injure herself, while the toxic fumes made her sick every now and then.

Fortunately, for Kiran and other children in her community, Global March's partner in Pakistan, Grassroots Organisation for Human Development in Lahore (GODH) started a non-formal education centre, where Kiran is now enrolled in Class III.

However, there are still thousands of forgotten children in Lahore (Pakistan) who are living in abject poverty on the streets, many of them facing the fight for their survival alone. With no one to care for them, no shelter to rely on and no access to protective gears in times of coronavirus; these children are vulnerable to grave exploitation; physical, mental and sexual abuse and are at great risk of falling victim to communicable diseases including the deadly COVID-19.

Education is the only way to protect street children from a life of poverty and exploitation but they have little or no access to schools. In such a situation, the non-formal schools run by GODH, are proving to be helpful for these children but with the pandemic reducing our institutional funding, we need your support now more than ever.

Through this fundraiser, Global March in collaboration with GODH are taking action to educate and protect 50 children of the marginalised Gypsy community and other children of the streets in Lahore. A donation of 25 Euros can help support a child in these non-formal schools for a month.

The following is the breakdown of what a €25 donation can achieve:

€10 - school supplies for children

€5 - a teacher’s salary

€5 - health check-ups for children

€5 - preventative awareness on COVID-19

For €300 you can sponsor a child for a whole year.

Any amount donated contributes in achieving our goal of an educated and free world for children.

In this global crisis like no other, we recognise that all of us – every single one of us – has a responsibility towards making the world a better place for children. Let’s do our bit to save a child today!

About GODH:

Grassroots Organisation for Human Development (GODH), is a Lahore based civil society organisation working on child rights since 1998. For the past 22 years, GODH has impacted over 17,000 children, including the children of the nomadic Gypsy community and those working on the streets of Lahore.

GODH is a long standing member and partner of Global March Against Child Labour. Global March has been working in Pakistan since 2014 and has impacted thousands of lives of children in child labour.

About Global March Against Child Labour:

Global March Against Child Labour (Global March) is a southern-led global network of organisations to end child labour and promote quality education for all. Global March works and supports its grassroot member organisations in Asia, Africa and Latin America, in their struggle to restore children’s rights. You can learn more about our work by visiting www.globalmarch.org

To know more visit:

https://globalmarch.org/september-giving/

https://www.facebook.com/GODH-Lahore-1501175918176...