Public Relations Portfolio

For
War Child
 Table of Content

 The Backgrounder --------------------1,2,3

 Key Messages ---------------------- 4

 Press Release ------------------------5,6

 Pitch Email ------------------------7

 Contact List ------------------------- 8

 The Backgrounder

About: War Child is a non-governmental organization which was founded in

the UK in 1993 to provide assistance to children in conflict and post conflict
situations. Currently, War Child operates in 14 countries around the world and
dispenses children with protection during conflict and basic services that help
resettle children and their families in the aftermath of war. Basic services include;
continued protection, education and livelihood. War Child undertakes a sustained
advocacy program to bring attention to issues of children in war and to help
generate funding for its activities.
History: The idea of War Child was hatched in 1993 when three friends
travelled to Yugoslavia to make a film on the Bosnian war. Willemijin Verloop, a
social entrepreneur and film makers; David Wilson and Bill Leeson aimed to make
a film about the effect of war on children. The horrors they found in Bosnia
surpassed all their expectations. Under the umbrella of “ethnic cleansing”
thousands of children were forcibly relocated, hundreds killed and many were
permanently injured and maimed in the crossfire. In spite of what they witnessed
and in the midst of all these atrocities the 3 friends saw unexpected glimmers of
hope; like a musical workshop being held in a bomb shelter. It is these
unexpected activities that led them to believe that even in the middle of war,
there could and should be activities that protect children and stop them sinking
into despair. When they returned to their home countries Willemerijin and her
partners, concretized the idea of war child and began to fundraise for its
programs.

The first areas War Child operated in were Sudan, Ingushetia and
Pakistan. War Child gave children who had been emotionally
damaged by the war with psychological support.

Mission: Our mission is to assist war-affected children to

reclaim their childhood through access to food and water, education and justice .
 Our Impact: Protection
The first area of focus for War Child is protection. The structures necessary to
maintain the safety of children often break down in times of conflict therefore we
work to put these structures back together. War Child has set up child-protection
systems such as a child-helpline and developed child-friendly attitudes by working
with various stakeholders like local leaders in the various communities. The
helplines have proved effective as we received 21,706 calls in the past year.
Education: Our second area of focus is education which is an enormous priority as
it has been proven that when children are being educated whether formally or
non-formally during a crisis, the chances of their mental wellbeing recovering
after the war are higher. Thirty-two million children are not in school as a result of
war and that is why War Child has set up a program called “Education in
Emergencies” which is a series of safe temporary learning spaces. This program is
in an effort to deflect student’s attention from the horrendous realities of war but
rather have them focus on their studies and building a future for themselves.
Education in Emergencies has seen great results, a depiction is in Afghanistan
where 15,00 students are enrolled and 450 teachers are being specially trained to
teach children experienced trauma.
Livelihood is the third area of focus which has two aspects to it, the first one
being providing basic needs to families. Our program “Emergency Food
Assistance” has seen 10,387 families in Yemen receive cash to allow them to
purchase food essentials as food can be scarce after a conflict. The second aspect
of livelihoods is our “Youth entrepreneurship and employment” program. This
was designed because in many occasions after war youth find it difficult to find
employment or go forth with their business ideas. The program teaches young
people vocational skills or offers them with start-up capital for their innovative. In
northern Uganda the program KATI which began in 2013 has helped to launch 143
business ideas.
Advocacy and Campaigning: For War Child, advocacy means speaking up and
giving a louder voice to children who need it as we believe that children are their
best advocates. We do this by training children so that they can
be great spokespeople and articulate their own stories about the
impact war has had on them. Currently in the Central African
Republic we are helping Stephanie and Jean to promote the
stoppage of sex for grades which is happening in schools. We
cannot solve this issue on our own so we try to persuade people to help us in this
fight by fundraising as well as designing campaigns to like our latest one “How
would a robot react to war” to educate and start the conversation about the
psychological impacts of war on children.

Board of Trustees

1. Sasha Deshmukh - Chair of Trustees

2. Heather Francis - Trustee
3. Rod Maclead - Trustee
4. Nabila Jiwaji - Trustee
5. James Briggs - Trustee
6. Tom Scourfield - Trustee
7. Clea Blackman - Trustee
8. Sarah Dunn - Trustee
9. Siobhan King - Trustee
10. Shruti Mehrotra - Trsutee

*All information was extracted from www.warchild.org

 Key Messages
1. There are 30 million children every year who are at risk of being
conscripted as a child soldier when a war breaks out.
2. War Child aims to reach children as quickly as possible when a war starts
to harbor them.
3. War Child sets up safeholds in areas of conflict to protect, shelter,
educate and counsel children.
4. You can help us stop children becoming child soldiers.
5. We are not funded by governments and survive based upon your
goodwill and the funds you give us will continue impacting lives.
6. Team War Child, which you can be a part of, will be participating in
“RideLondon 100 Surrey” to fundraise for children whose lives have
been disrupted by war around the world.
7. It will be only be fifty pounds to register but this money can take an ex
child soldier in the Democratic Republic of Congo and their families for
weeks.
8. Our fundraising target is five hundred and ninety-five pounds per cyclist
however if we are able to raise more, the more lives well be able to
avail.
9. To make find out more or to make a donation visit
www.warchild.org.uk/donate
CONTACT: Karungi Kajura- PR Officer FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Telephone: +4495922345
Email: kkajura@warchild.org

WAR CHILD ENTERS RIDELONDON SURREY 100

Cycling to fundraise for war-affected children

On the 16th of August 2020, Team War Child will be participating in the
RideLondon Surrey 100. This is a cycling event which happens every year and each
participant who cycles on behalf of Team War Child will positively be impacting a
child who has been affected by war. The registration fee is less than what you
may spend on groceries for whole week but can shelter, feed, educate young
victims of war for two months.
One out of two people are displaced due to war for an average number of
seventeen years, that one person who is displaced is a child. War Child works in
fourteen different countries where conflict has become a norm including Sri
Lanka, South Sudan, Burundi and Colombia to ensure that children are not in a
feeble position where they can be recruited as child soldiers or wives of the
commanders. War Child has four core focus areas to ensure the protection of a
child during and after a war, these include; education, livelihoods, child-
protection and advocacy.
Robert Williams the CEO of War Child said “I believe RideLondon Surrey 100 will
be the perfect opportunity to carry out a sentimental gesture for someone who is
significantly less privileged than you as we often forget how fortunate we are. The
challenge of cycling will give one a slight insight into the challenges which children
who are in areas of conflict face such as running miles from their homes because
villages are being set on fire by rebels. By joining Team War Child for RideLondon
Surrey 100, you won’t just be carrying a great gesture but exercising your body
and having a good time as well. Thank you for all those who have already
registered and I look forward to seeing many of you there.”
RideLondon Surrey 100 will take place during perfect weather conditions as the
murderous summer heat won’t tire the cyclists but also the chilly winds of winter
won’t freeze their fingers either. The event will start early in the morning at 5:45
am and take place at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Those participating will
follow a 100-mile route in closed off roads so that the London traffic won’t act an
obstruction. The race will end in the scenic countryside of Surrey and as part of
Team War Child you’ll receive great perks such as a special training and ‘get to
know War Child’ evening, free technical War Child cycling jersey, motivation from
our cheerleading squad at the event, a celebratory post-race reception and one-
to-one fundraising support.
War Child is a non-governmental organization which was set up by three social
entrepreneurs who saw first-hand the atrocities children faced during the Bosnian
war and decided to do something about it. For twenty-seven years War child has
reached millions of children who have been affected by war through sundry
methods such as helping ex-child soldiers re-integrate into society, setting up
temporary education camps in Afghanistan where 15,000 students are enrolled
and launching businesses in Northern Uganda. If you would like to find out more
visit our website www.warchild.org or follow us on Twitter, Instagram and
Facebook using our handle War Child.
For more information about this event please contact our public relations officer
Karungi Kajura on +4495922345 or email her on kkajura@warchild.org.
 Pitch Email
Addressed to Jeffrey Gettleman, “The New York Times”

Dear Jeffery,
Not many journalists have first-hand accounts about child soldiers or are adept
with the topic of children experiencing war however after I read your last article
in The New York Times which is a part of series of many about how you
witnessed an ex child soldiers being re-integrated into his community in South
Sudan and your book “Love, Africa”, I discovered that you have great knowledge
with this issue. I thought you would be intrigued in War Child’s next fundraising
event at the RideLondon Surrey 100 as you have seen the traumatic aftermaths
which war can cause a child. As you may know there are approximately 250,000
child soldiers in twenty countries across the globe. When conflict breaks out in a
place some of the most impuissant members of society are children who are
either kidnapped or drugged into becoming child soldiers, wives, prostitutes and
other horrifying roles which no child should have to do as this is a massive breech
of their rights and the emotional scars will last for an eternity. We as the world
must cease this and this is why Team War Child will be taking part in the
RideLondon Surrey 100- a cycling event in order to raise funds to supply food,
education and other crucial services to children and their families such as offering
legal services to orphans whose parents have passed away as a result of war.
RideLondon will occur on Sunday 16th of August at the famous Queen Elizabeth
Olympic Park and we expect a great turnout considering how many registrations
forms we have received prior to the event. Peace Treaties and other methods to
try and implement peace in high conflict nations such as Yemen and Afghanistan
unfortunately have not been successful or lasted a long period of time and it is
children who are facing the repercussions. Being one of the senior writers in the
“New York Times”, War Child believes that their fundraising event may intrigue
you and you may be interested in writing about it. If you would like to welcome
the invitation or find out more about our work please email or call(
+4495922345) our Public Relations Officer Karungi Kajura on
kkajura@warchild.org or visit our website www.warchild.org.
Media Name Website Link Designatio Contact Information
House n
The New Jeffery www.nytimes.com Journalist nairobi@nytimes.com
York Times Gettleman

BBC Sally Nugent www.bbc.co.uk/programmes Radio Sally.nungent@bbc.co.uk

Breakfast Presenter

ITV News Charlene www.itv.com Night News Charlene.White@itn.co.uk

London White Presenter

The Garry www.theguardian.com Journalist www.garyyounge.com (his

Guardian Younge website where one can chat
with him)
Capital FM Roman www.capitalfm.com Radio Host Roman.kemp@capitalfm.com
Kemp for Capital
Breakfast
The Janet Street- www.independent.co.uk Journalist www.janetstreetporter.com
Independen Porter (her website where you can
t chat with her)
BBC Mishal www.bbc.co.uk/programmes News mishal.husain@bbc.co.uk
Weekend Husain presenter
News
Magic Emma B www.planetradio.co.uk Radio @EmmaB_Radio
Radio Presenter (Her Twitter account)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL5COs6Ds1fTb8ZFOCSQtvw
Freelance Nella Rose Influencer nellarose@wearvamp.co.uk
Freelance Kim https://www.instagram.com/kimkardashian/ Celebrity Kkwbeauty.com (Her
Kardashian Influencer website where one can
West chat with her)
Contact List