History
War in the Balkans
Our story began in 1993. War Child was formed by social entrepreneur Willemijn Verloop and filmmakers David Wilson and Bill Leeson. The trio 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 1998
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.
