Today marks four years since the fall of Kabul and the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. Since then, Afghan girls have seen a devastating rollback of their rights. They remain banned from secondary education – an unprecedented restriction which doesn’t exist in any other country in the world. The continued ban on girls’ education drives forced marriage, violence, poverty, poor health and entrenched inequality, stealing futures before they start. Today and every day, Street Child stands against a world where this is the norm. Thank you for standing with us.

The UK government has revealed details of its plans to cut foreign aid, with support for children's education and women's health in Africa facing the biggest reductions. Street Child's Country Director in Sierra Leone, Kelfa Kargbo, appeared on BBC Inside Africa to share how the cuts will impact the communities Street Child supports, namely the loss of funding to train teachers and build schools for children living in remote areas of the country. 

Street Child’s CEO and Founder Tom Dannatt also spoke to BBC News about the impact this will have: "Children who used to go to school will not go to school, and so, more children will be found roaming the streets and ploughing fields and not developing their critical faculties," he said.

Given the above story, it’s slightly with mixed emotions that we report on the significant progress of our last standing UK Government-supported programme in Sierra Leone. Thanks to the generosity of the British public and through the government’s UK Aid Match programme – arising from our 2023 Christmas appeal, highlighted in The Times and Sunday Times – Street Child has made significant progress in a new education programme in Sierra Leone, delivering vital education opportunities to the most marginalised children and reaching over 6,700 people.

In July, we were delighted to welcome Street Child’s global programme leads to London for a week of energising strategy meetings and collaboration. Team members from across our country programmes — including Mozambique, Cameroon, Nepal, and Ukraine — came together to share learning, reflect on impact, and shape the next phase of our work reaching children in the toughest circumstances.

The week culminated in a special evening where our programme leaders met with supporters at our Summer Drinks event hosted by Accenture. They spoke powerfully about the challenges facing their communities, and the bold, locally-led solutions Street Child is delivering to help children access education against the odds.

Huge thanks to everyone who joined us. Moments like these remind us of the strength of our global community, and the shared commitment to ensure all children can go to school. 

June saw another fantastic edition of The Big Ride this year in Ireland with Liberty Global and 600 corporate riders. Rugby legends Will Greenwood and Rob Kearney appeared live on Ireland AM, Ireland’s biggest morning show, to launch the event and help send off the first group of cyclists. Will also reflected on his 2023 visit to Street Child-supported schools in Sierra Leone, sharing how our work gives the most marginalised children the tools and opportunities they need to change their lives. A massive thank you to our co-hosts Liberty Global and Virgin Media Ireland, as well as lead sponsor Infosys and all the other companies who got behind the event to raise vital funds so children can be safe, in school and learning. 

This year the Sierra Leone Marathon comes with an exciting twist, taking place twice, with a brand-new permanent date in October. From 22–27 October 2025, the marathon will move beyond Makeni for the very first and only time, landing in the beautiful city of Bo, the country’s second largest city and capital of the Southern Province.

If you have run the Makeni marathon before, this one-off edition offers a thrilling new chapter in a completely different setting while still delivering the same unforgettable experience. Plus, for the first time in years, a direct flight from the UK to Sierra Leone makes reaching the start line faster and easier than ever!