We want to continue to build on our vision of a world “where every child and young person realises their full potential in a safe and secure environment”.
February 2023 Visit to Recife. We visited Jefferson’s family in Sapo Nu. He attended the Mentoring and Training Skills Project which aims to help young people into work. We were so encouraged by the resilience and hope in the children and young people we came into contact with. Read more
We met with 20 young Mums who were being helped and supported by project Gathering which is working to lower the number of unwanted pregnancies among teenagers. The project is doing excellent campaign work in local schools to raise awareness about the risks of early pregnancy. We were humbled by this experience and by seeing some of the homes these young mums came from.
We visited Project Tamandaré which is working educationally with 500 children and young people directly from low income families. They serve 1,500 meals a day to the children and young people. We were inspired by what we saw.
2 of our Board Directors visited the Projects in Recife. Chairman John Doddrell and Board Director Cristina Cortez. Cristina commented “My first impression of Recife and of the beach front called Boa Viagem was of a modern and prosperous city, far more modern and richer than I had anticipated. But you don’t have to stray far from the promenade to discover pockets of deprivation and grinding poverty that are truly Dickensian Read more
April 2023 Together with the Consortium for Street Children (www.streetchildren.org) Happy Child International promoted the International Day for Street Children We wholeheartedly believe that each and every project Happy Child International is currently supporting in Recife, north east Brazil, helps prevent children and young people from ending up on the streets. Read more
Elsie Gilbert, our media coordinator in Brazil reflected on a visit to a low income community where Ammar Transforma project operates “Jamilly did not present herself as someone lacking in joy and the will to make the best of her limited circumstances. Even so, this family’s extreme poverty shocked me. I do desire more for them”. Read more
June & July 2023 We cannot support our partners in Recife without vital income and donations being generously given to us. One initiative which has been very successful for us is our annual fundraising walk. Every summer we host a group of walkers and take them on a guided walk organised by the charity. In 2023 our Kent and our Surrey walks raised almost £5,000 for our projects in Brazil. Thank you to all our fantastic supporters who joined us and to all those who are faithful in their giving to us throughout the year. Read More
August 2023 The first year of Project Gathering attended 20 young Mums Coordinator Amanda Verusk says “We know that ongoing support is extremely important for the socio-emotional, physical, cognitive and spiritual development of these young girls” We dream about a project that can support these mums for a longer period of time. We dream that we can provide them with income generation opportunities and adequate food supply”. Read more
October 2023 Happy Child International continues to build important partnerships in the north east of Brazil which will impact the lives of some of this regions most vulnerable children and young people. Project Tamandaré is reaching and supporting 400 vulnerable children and young people as well as their families, all of whom come from low income communities in the area. The work is spearheaded by Padre Arlindo, an exceptional individual who shared his personal testimony with us of what it was like to grow up in a household stricken by poverty and lack of food. Read more
December 2023 It is vital for Happy Child International to continue to raise the profile of its work and to continue to fund it in increasingly challenging times. The charity marked the beginning of its 30th year with a celebration fundraising dinner at the House of Commons which raised £12,500 towards supporting projects in Recife, northeast Brazil. Read More
In the Book of Proverbs it says “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” This is very much what I hope Happy Child International has been doing for the last 30 years and will continue to do so, for vulnerable children and young people long into the future.