"I lived in a nearby village with my family, but we fled here because of the war" - Beatrice Across the Central African Republic (CAR) there are displacement camps full of people who have fled the violence which has befallen this country. The camps pop-up in urban areas or dot the countryside. They are a monument to the constant uncertainty of life in a troubled land. Children in Conflict supports child-friendly spaces at many of these camps. These are places where children come to learn, play and hopefully forget about the often-distressing experiences which took them from their homes Beatrice* is one of those who regularly attend the space. She is a bright and welcoming 14-year-old who has seen more of the horrors of war than any child should. “I lived in a nearby village with my family, but we fled here because of the war,” she says. “A militia came and burned our village. They killed my elder brother. “While we were fleeing, my father was shot dead. I ran with my mother until we got here. We have been here ever since.”

"I am a mother, and every time I see a vulnerable child, I imagine that he or she could be my child." - Charlotte Charlotte, a mother of four small children, has opened her home to vulnerable children in Goma, eastern DRC. Working closely with the social workers of the Division of Social Affairs, Charlotte has been a foster mother to lost or abandoned children and children who have experienced violence or are at risk of abuse. “I found two children lost on the streets of Goma. They had been forced to flee their home due to intensified fighting in their village in Beni. I wanted to help them but did not know how”, Charlotte recalls. “I called the helpline and they advised me to keep them at home while they would seek for assistance and trace their families in North Kivu”. The outreach team managed to trace the parents and the family was reunited. Ever since, Charlotte’s home has been a recognised temporary foster care family in the district and she has hosted several children. “Even if I don’t have much to give, I am happy to help the children who need it as much as I can.”

"I was a child when I was separated from my mother and father. I had even forgotten what my parent’s clothes looked like. Daesh (ISIS) came. We were afraid." - Sami Sami was separated from his parents for 4 years after he was captured by ISIS. Sami was with his brother Mahir (aged 9) and their grandparents on a doctor's visit in Mosul when they were taken. He was only 6-years-old.

"It was about 10 a.m. and we were taking exams when the militia came to our school. They shut the door on secondary students. It was at that point the rest of us ran away." - Janet Janet was forced to flee her village in the Central African Republic. They killed all the students in the secondary class. Not one of them survived. Janet fled to the church. But the militia set the church on fire, killing many people and she had to flee again. "So we came to this place." Janet fled to a camp for internally displaced people with her mother.

"I was surrounded by my parent’s love..." - Sameer 10-year-old Sameer grew up near Sana’a with his parents, sister and 4 brothers. His early years were happy, he tells us how he grew up “surrounded by his parent’s love”. Sameer’s father always dreamed of education for his children. When Sameer turned 7 he started going to a school near his home. One morning, Sameer left for his first lesson of the day. His big brother Hussein was running late and planned to catch up with him. Sameer waited for Hussein to get to school. But he never showed up.

  Iraq "The house was completely destroyed by the bombs."  "My mother and aunt were in the kitchen, and my grandfather was with my brother in the hall and I was alone in the corridor."

Syria "She was always alone. She wouldn’t talk. She wouldn’t eat. She’d wake the neighbours with her nightmares. It was like the fear stopped her mind. She was too shocked to have a personality anymore" War Child's child friendly space has helped Nour to overcome her experiences.

Iraq "There are no words to name what we have been through."  Sumaya is 8 years old. She now lives with her family in a camp for people displaced by the fighting in Mosul.

Uganda "Without education I have no option but to stay as a farmer. I feel education could brighten my future and I could support my mother fully. But right now it’s not possible."   Whilst Lawrence desperately wanted to get into school, it was poverty that kept him out. Poverty and conflict. And the horrific events that took place one afternoon six years ago.

Syria “ We were inside the car waiting for my Dad when the rocket fell. ”   "I went out with my mother to look for him. There was a lot of dust, I couldn’t breathe. My Mum was screaming… people were crying and there was lots of blood.”.

Syria “The night before we fled, a plane attacked our neighborhood. It was very dark. We were all hiding. The noise was very loud so I stayed awake. We all stayed flat on the floor for hours.” The next morning Abdulmajid’s parents and their 10 children fled their family home. His school was destroyed on the same day. “We didn’t take anything. There was no time. On the road I saw houses in rubble and burned out cars. I saw massacres, people and children, killed without any reason.” He pauses, thinks and then whispers:

Afghanistan "Since going to the lessons Delaram has learnt so much and I can see that education is very important for her future." - Deleram's Mum.   Before she went to school, Delaram had wanted to be ‘a wife’ when she grew up. In this part of western Afghanistan, early (and arranged) marriages are common, and girls often become wives whilst they’re still in their early teens.

Syria "My dream is that Syria will be beautiful again." The conflict in Syria is old news now. But there’s a human story underneath each of these airstrikes and at the end of each sniper’s barrel. Eleven year old Maryam’s is just one of them.

"This job is extremely hard and backbreaking. I need help to carry the equipment and materials. The factory prefers that its workers bring their families as additional labor." - Vania's father At the age of 12, Vania had never been to school. She was unable to read or write, though she’d always hoped to get a proper education. When War Child began literacy classes in her hometown, Vania eagerly joined. She was an engaging and determined student – eager to catch up on all those years of learning she’d missed.   When Vania suddenly stopped coming to the classes, War Child staff were concerned and tried to get in touch with her family. After several attempts, they discovered that Vania had been forced to move with her family to a remote area. Her father had found a job in a brick-making factory, and his family moved with him so they all could work there too. When they found Vania she was very sick from the hard physical work and upset that her father had forced her to give up her education. War Child contacted the local network of Child Protection Committees, and after several negotiating attempts they convinced her father to allow Vania to go back to the lessons.   Vania moved in with her aunt and is attending literacy sessions on a regular basis. War Child is still in contact with her and her family, and they are pleased to report that Vania is proudly able to read and write. So much so that she’s now helping War Child staff in the literacy sessions.    Help children like Vania give back, please DONATE to The Story Campaign below.

D.R. Congo "They had thought she was dead." Hannah’s parents were overjoyed to be reunited with her. It had been two years since she had been abducted from her small village in eastern Congo by a group of rebels. The 14 year old girl was dragged back to their base and given to one of the officers as a ‘wife’.

Bosnia Seven year old Jasmin Elezovic stands beside the remains of Mostar’s iconic Ottoman bridge. It had proudly stood for 427 years, but in November 1993 it was destroyed by Croatian artillery fire in a matter of minutes.   This is where our story began. Jasmin was to become one of the original ‘War Children’.

Afghanistan "Did you ever meet someone that changed your life?" What did you collect when you were 12? Cabbage Patch Dolls, Transformers, Beany Babies, Panini stickers? Faheema collects garbage.

Syria "I really enjoy learning maths and Arabic”, Salma said. “I made two friends, and I want to continue coming here. I love my teacher, and I want to become one myself in the future." 12-year-old Salma grew up in a village in southern Syria, living a peaceful, tranquil life with her friends and family until tragedy struck. She had barely finished second grade when the events of the Syrian crisis began to unravel, changing her life forever.

Uganda “ No one knows how long the landmine had been there... ” But there it lay waiting silently for its victim. He wasn't a soldier or a rebel fighter, he was a schoolboy called Charles. He became a statistic — one of the ten thousand or so children killed or maimed worldwide by landmines every year.

D.R. Congo “ For a girl arriving on the streets of Kinshasa, her ‘initiation’ is only a matter of time. ” It usually involves being gang-raped by a group of street boys. It’s a brutal and violent introduction to the life of abuse and prostitution that most girls are forced into. Selling sex is the only way they can survive, and many end up having babies as a result.

D.R. Congo "One day I was out collecting water with my aunty. We met a group of soldiers and one of them told me to go with him"… ;  Anne Therese's name has been altered to protect her identity  I was afraid he was going to kill me. 

Central African Republic “I used to have a good life. But since the conflict started, things changed.” Andrew pauses as he remembers happier times. His life is very different now. “I’ve seen people beheaded. I’ve seen people have their hands and noses cut off. I’ve seen their bodies cut into pieces. My parents were killed. Some other family and friends too.” He is asked if he misses anything about his former life. There is another pause before he answers quietly: “There are lots of things that I miss.”

Uganda "They told me if I do not kill that person, they will kill me."… ;  It's almost impossible for us to understand what she has been through  Agnes' childhood may have been taken from her but her future is a different story.  

Uganda "Children like us are just left. People think that there is no hope for us and that we are useless because there is no help we can give to the community." The nearest school is 10km away. There's no proper roads, and no bus to take you there. And you're blind. Which way would you start walking? Okello's future looked pretty dark.

"Before my training, I had only dreamt of learning the skills that could give me hope for my future. Being like this (disabled) means there wasn't much for me to do in the village that could contribute to my family. I couldn't even afford a bar of soap." - William Until a few years ago, William had never used a computer. Now he's teaching IT skills to other people in his community. Like most young people in Pader, Northern Uganda, William had his education completely disrupted by the decade-long conflict. Millions of people were forced to flee their homes and spent years living in displacement camps that didn't have proper school facilities. For William it was particularly tough as he has Polio. He couldn't find work and had spent his whole life having to rely on other people. But with your help War Child has been giving people like William a second chance at getting an education. It gives him and young adults like him the power to change their own lives. War Child helped some children in William's community go back to school, and for the older ones they've provided an accelerated learning programme to help them get their Secondary School certificate, and then vocational training courses with business start-up grants. William and his friends, Betty and Samson enrolled on the IT course. Then they set up their own company that does printing & scanning for local businesses and teaches people how to use a computer. It earns William an income, and it’s helping the whole community to get connected. My father can't believe that his son is teaching others how to use computers!” - William It’s amazing how his life has turned around, and how a simple training course can give someone the sense of pride and self-respect that transforms the way everybody thinks of them - and how they see themselves. War Child is not here for a quick fix or a handout. They are passionate about sustainable, long-term development that helps whole communities get back on their feet. So if you’re reading this on a computer then do something brilliant – hit the big red button below that says ‘CONTRIBUTE’.