Child-centred
Children help shape the services meant for them, and their voices guide our decisions.
Try: “WASH”, “women's empowerment”, “Sierra Leone”, “climate resilience”.
Children in low-resource and crisis-affected settings face heightened risks of violence, exploitation, child labour and family separation. Where protective services are thin, harmful situations can go unnoticed until they escalate.
SDI strengthens the whole protective environment around a child, from families and schools to community structures and local authorities, so that risks are prevented early and children who need help are identified and supported. We put the voice and participation of children at the centre.
Community child-protection committees, trained volunteers and clear links to local services give this work roots. Rather than substituting for the state, we build local capacity to safeguard children for the long term.
Practical, community-led activities that turn commitment into measurable change.
Establishing and training local committees that prevent harm and respond to concerns.
Spotting children at risk early and linking them to the right support and services.
Parenting support and household assistance that keep families together and safe.
Creating protected places where children can learn, play and be heard.
Helping communities understand and uphold the rights of every child.
Accompanying separated or vulnerable children back into family and school life.
Equipping teachers and service providers to recognise and respond to risk.
The same principles guide every SDI programme, shaping how we deliver this one.
Children help shape the services meant for them, and their voices guide our decisions.
We strengthen everyday protective structures so risks are addressed before they escalate.
We build clear referral links to local social services rather than working in isolation.
Rigorous safeguarding standards protect every child we work with, at every stage.
Foday · Bombali, Sierra Leone
Separated from his family and drifting between temporary homes, Foday had stopped believing school was for him. A community child-protection volunteer noticed him, listened, and worked patiently with local services to trace and prepare his extended family for his return. The reunification was not rushed. Over several months, a parenting support group helped his aunt build a stable home, a small household grant eased the pressure that had contributed to the separation, and Foday was enrolled in a nearby school with catch-up support. He is now settled, attending regularly and, in his words, planning again. What changed his path was not a single rescue but a community that had the structures, training and patience to keep one of its own from falling through the cracks.
Children at risk of violence, exploitation, neglect or separation, along with the families, schools and communities responsible for keeping them safe.
We apply strict safeguarding policies and training to everyone involved in the programme, and children's protection always comes before any other objective.
Confidentially and in the best interests of the child, working through trained volunteers and formal referral pathways to local services.
Across our countries of operation, focusing on communities where protective services are most stretched.
Partners can support prevention, safe spaces or full programmes. Please reach out through our contact page.
Schools, learning resources and skills training that keep children and youth in the classroom.
View ProgrammeClean water, sanitation and hygiene that turn preventable illness into healthy futures.
View ProgrammeSavings groups, enterprise and training that put economic power in women's hands.
View ProgrammeFund a specific activity, support the whole programme, or partner with SDI to reach more communities. Every contribution is invested in results we measure and share.