In 1994, Willemijn Verloop met two British filmmakers in war-stricken Bosnia Herzegovina. In the midst of the fear and hatred they were running musical workshops for children as part of the War Child UK programme.

Already on that first visit Willemijn was convinced of the benefits of this approach for young survivors of war.
The war had a disastrous effect on the children. They were withdrawn, scared and mistrustful. The musical workshops brought back the child inside them. Making music together created a bond between them, a bond that transcended ethnic barriers and led to mutual understanding, respect and of course a lot of fun. Willemijn was enthusiastic about the idea and decided to also devote herself to War Child. One year later War Child Holland became a reality.  

As of August 2007 Mark Vogt (39) is the General Director of War Child Holland.

War Child works actively in 10 countries. In 2007, War Child reached 850,000 children and 130,000 adults. Programmes in The Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia, Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Uganda were expanded. .

Our organization has ambitious plans to grow. Our focus of growth is a further deepening and broadening of our project portfolio. In the future years we would like to reach even more children, in more countries and further develop our methods of work. To reach these growth targets there is a need for growth of income. Read more about Important developments in our programmes.

War Child international
War Child is part of an international network of three independent organisations with the same name and logo which are all committed to improving the well-being of children affected by war (War Child Holland, War Child UK and War Child Canada). The organisations collaborate as equal partners with he same objective, but they are independent in legal, financial and administrative terms. In 2007 War Child International consisted of two independent foundations:
War Child Holland and War Child Canada.

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