History
War in the Balkans
Our story began in 1995. War Child was formed by social entrepreneur Willemijn Verloop. Willemijn, together with filmmakers David Wilson and Bill Leeson, visited the former Yugoslavia during the Bosnian war to call attention to the plight of children there - and were horrified by the violence and ethnic cleansing they witnessed.

Musical workshops for children in bomb shelters
Photo: War Child archive

The War Child team in 2000
Photo: War Child archive
Hope amid the bomb shelters
Yet the trio also saw some small signs of hope. In the midst of the fighting, they observed musical workshops for children being held in the bomb shelters of Bosnia - and were convinced of the benefits of this creative approach for young survivors of armed conflict across the world.
Providing psychosocial support
Willemijn returned to the Netherlands and resolved to take action. She began to organise fundraising events in support of children growing up in the midst of war. These small fundraising drives grew rapidly in scale and War Child was born. Within just three years we were present in Sudan, Ingushetia and in Pakistan, where we provided Afghan refugee children with vital psychosocial support.
Today we are active in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East - and reach hundreds of thousands of children every year.
Where we work
War Child works in areas affected by armed conflict. This may be during the conflict or after it has ended. Working in these areas presents a variety of challenges ranging from insecurity to political and logistic constraints.
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3 projects
16,000,000
Children affected by conflict
3,040
Total Participants
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Burundi
Go to country page4 projects
72,420
Total Participants
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Colombia
Go to country page7 projects
14,412
Total Participants
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DR Congo
Go to country page5 projects
40,651
Total Participants
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Germany
Go to country page3 projects
1,834
Total Participants
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Jordan
Go to country page7 projects
4,655
Total Participants
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Lebanon
Go to country page9 projects
43,850
Total Participants
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occupied Palestinian territory
Go to country page8 projects
21,903
Total Participants
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South Sudan
Go to country page8 projects
53,368
Total Participants
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Sri Lanka
Go to country page3 projects
8290
Total Participants
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Sweden
Go to country page5 projects
387
Total Participants
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Syria Response
Go to country page8 projects
143,921
Total Participants
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The Netherlands
Go to country page1 project
5,072
Total Participants
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Uganda
Go to country page10 projects
39,042
Total Participants