Shornali is twelve years old and lives in the village of Pargobindopur Abashon in Rampal, southern Bangladesh. She lives with her parents and her sister, who is two years younger. Shornali has lived her entire life with limited mobility in her legs, which makes it difficult for her to walk. There are no roads in the village and few buildings adapted for accessibility, so for a long time her world was limited to two places: school and home.

But when the Shopner Chowa Children’s Center was renovated, everything changed. The center is a place where children can play, get help with their homework, and participate in workshops. When the building and its surroundings were adapted to improve accessibility, Shornali’s world became a bigger place.

A lonely everyday life

Before Shornali started going to the children’s center, she rarely joined in games with the neighborhood children. The games were often physically demanding, and the other children didn’t know how to include her.

“The kids in my village used to play different games after school. I’d watch them through the window or from the garden. Those games weren’t for me. I couldn’t run like them. I couldn’t jump like them,” says Shornali.

The evenings were the worst. When the sun went down and she could hear the laughter of other children outside, she felt especially lonely.

“It felt like the world was moving, but I was standing still. But my sister was always with me. She was my only friend. Without her, I don’t know what I would have done on all those lonely evenings,” saysShornali.

A ramp changed everything

Shornali says that the renovation of the children’s center gave her something she had long been missing—freedom.

– I have a hard time walking up stairs. When they built a ramp to the children’s center, it completely changed my life.

When the center installed a ramp, the entrance became accessible, and children with mobility difficulties were able to enter on their own for the first time. This simple change removed a major barrier and gave the children both independence and greater self-confidence. Now Shornali could visit the center regularly and meet other children, and her life began to change.

A place where all children can participate

Together with local partner organizations, Erikshjälpen works to promote accessibility and inclusion. At the children’s center, children learn more about inclusion through conversations and play. Many children also share what they’ve learned with their parents and neighbors, helping to spread the message further.

“We’ve learned about children’s rights. Now I know I’m not in the way. I’m just as important as everyone else. And I have dreams, too,” says Shornali.

Indoor games and adapted outdoor activities ensure that all children can participate.

“I love playing carrom and Ludo. I’ve even tried to learn chess,” Shornali says proudly.

“The best part is my new friends”

In the past, Shornali used to feel shy and uncomfortable when talking to her classmates at school because of her disability. She was afraid that the other children would think she was different. But now that she can participate in activities and games, she has made many new friends and her self-confidence has grown.

“The best thing about the center is my 36 friends. They understand me and support me. With them, I don’t feel different,” says Shornali.

For Timofy, everything changed when Russia invaded eastern Ukraine in 2014 and his family was forced to leave their home in Donetsk. He was young, but remembers the sudden upheaval when his family fled to Myrnohrad, a town further away from the fighting.

After the move, Timofy's father died in an accident. He was left behind with his mother, little brother, and a lot of responsibility.

"I didn't really understand what I was supposed to do. I just listened to my mother, listened to the news, and tried to follow all the rules that were in place because of the war," says Timofyj.

Forced into a new everyday life

When Russia launched its large-scale invasion in 2022, Myrnohrad, the family's new home, ended up close to the front line. A shell hit the house where they lived and they were forced to flee again. Timofyj had to quickly leave school and all his friends behind.

"The war has caused me to lose touch with my friends. I hardly talk to those I don't go to school with anymore. Some of them I don't even remember," says Timofyj.

Today, he lives with his mother and younger brother in the Kiev region and is trying to rebuild a secure everyday life.

Childhood was exchanged for responsibility

His father's death and the escape from Donetsk meant that Timofyj had to take on a greater role at home at an early age.

"I take care of my little brother and help out with whatever I can. I'm kind of my mom's right-hand man," says Timofyj.

In the midst of his new everyday life, he still tries to live like a normal teenager with school, friends, and free time.

A chance to think about something other than the war

Together with the local organization WCU, Erikshjälpen works to give children the opportunity to escape the war for a while and just be children.

In child-friendly family hubs, children can socialize with friends, engage in creative activities, and receive support from psychologists to process what they have experienced. All activities are organized in shelters so that they can continue even during air raid alerts.

Here, Timofyj can momentarily let go of all the responsibilities that war brings and just be himself: a teenager.

"My brother and I really like it. It's fun and exciting, and it's cool to get to do something interesting," says Timofyj.

Timofy's thoughts on the future

Even though Timofyj finds it difficult to imagine life after the war, he still has dreams.

– I want to understand more about IT, about different codes, and earn money from it. But I don't know yet what you have to do to achieve that.

Sabina breaks into a smile as she recounts the first time spinach was served at school.

When my classmates and I saw that vegetables were being grown in the school garden, we were completely amazed. I had never seen cabbage or onions growing in this area before, and it was the first time I had eaten spinach at school.

Climate change makes farming more difficult

Eating vegetables is not a given for children in the remote village of Korr in northern Kenya. Climate change is clearly noticeable here, and the annual dry seasons are becoming longer. It is becoming more difficult to grow crops, and the lack of water is also causing livestock to die of dehydration. The food shortage is serious. In some parts of the country, one in three children may never reach the age of five.

Against all odds, the school garden is growing

But in the middle of this arid landscape, a school garden is now thriving at Amalio Primary School in Korr. As part of Erikshjälpen's long-term work in northern Kenya, students are learning about nutrition. They are also learning about cultivation techniques that make it possible to grow crops despite the drought. The vegetables they grow are then used in school lunches, providing the children with important nutrients.

"At school, we've learned about vegetables that are full of vitamins. And now I can see them growing!" says Sabina.

The school garden gives hope for the future

For Sabina, the school garden has become more than just a school garden. It has become a place where vegetables are grown for school lunches and hope for the future is cultivated.

– Now I know that vegetables help us to be strong and healthy.

Now she dreams of one day working as a teacher and teaching sustainable farming to children and young people – and in many ways, that dream has already taken off.

"I want to start growing things at home, even though it's very dry. But I'm going to show my mom how to grow cabbage in a bag without using so much water," says Sabina.

Talking to children about issues that affect their lives and futures is a central part of Erikshjälpen's work. When we asked children and young people from Erikshjälpen Framtidsverkstad about lowering the age of criminal responsibility, they shared a variety of thoughts and experiences.

"If they lower the age to thirteen, they'll just send twelve-year-olds instead. A thirteen-year-old doesn't shoot someone because he wants to, but because he's forced to. He's thirteen years old—what else can he do?" says a seventeen-year-old.

The young people described the subject as uncertain and difficult to talk about. But despite differing opinions, there was one thing everyone agreed on: solutions must be put in place long before a crime is committed.

Young people's proposals to stop gang recruitment

During the discussions, the young people highlighted important measures to prevent children from becoming involved in crime:

• More preventive interventions recreation centers and meaningful activities that all children have the opportunity to participate in.
• Secure relationships with adults and the police – without trust, children do not dare to seek help or talk about threats and pressure.
• Support at school and at home – more adults who are present, attentive, and engaged in children's everyday lives.

The young people emphasized that harsh punishments should be directed at adults and older criminals who exploit children to commit crimes—not at the children themselves.

Erikshjälpen supports young people

Erikshjälpen rejects the government's proposal to lower the age of criminal responsibility. Like young people, we believe that the proposal does not address the underlying causes of child crime. Instead, it risks causing more children to reoffend and new children to be recruited.

"Real security for young people and society is created through early and long-term interventions, strong relationships, and contexts where children are supported in choosing paths other than crime," says Mattias Ingeson, Secretary-General Erikshjälpen.

The drought in northern Kenya is the worst in over 40 years. In Turkana district, one in three children is at risk of acute malnutrition. Epakan lives here with her parents and three siblings in the small village of Ngikwatex. Her family is used to droughts every year and has adapted their lives to the weather. But in recent years, climate change has made the dry spells longer and the consequences worse. Livestock die, crops fail and families go without food. Sometimes for days at a time.

Aloe vera cultivation was the solution

But amidst the cracked ground, something green has started to grow. For Epakan and her family, it was aloe vera that turned their lives around. When the family was at its worst, mother Aweet received support and training from Erikshjälpen that enabled her to start growing in the dry landscape. She learned which cultivation techniques work best, how to prepare the sap from the leaves and what it takes to sell successfully in the local market.

- I have been given many good tools to cope with all the challenges when the drought comes. Now I can feed my family two meals a day and the children can continue going to school," says Aweet.

Growing aloe vera may seem like a small change. But for Epakan it is actually life-changing. The money isn't just for food - now her mother Aweet can afford to send her children to school. And for the start of the school year, Epakan has been given a school uniform, shoes, socks and exercise books.

- We had to leave everything. Our village, our school and our home. It happened so fast and I didn't get any of my things. No clothes, no toys, not even my birth certificate," says Fatoumata.

In Mali, the security crisis since 2012 has affected the lives of thousands of children. Fatoumata is one of them. When her school closed after terrorist attacks, her family chose to leave their home village in the hope of finding a safer life.

Life in the refugee camp

Fatoumata lives with her family in Ségou, in a refugee camp located in western Mali. Growing up in a refugee camp is tough.

- The whole family sleeps together in a small room. There is no place to be alone," says Fatoumata.

The lack of food means that many people can never eat enough. People are crowded into small spaces and the lack of sanitation and clean water means that diseases spread easily. Many feel very unwell and the risk of abuse is high.

Difficult to start a new school

In the midst of the unrest, Fatoumata was able to go back to school, but the first years at her new school were also particularly tough. At school, Fatoumata was bullied by other children. This made it difficult to focus on her school work.

- They teased me about my looks and called me names. I was always alone and I had no friends," she says.

When Erikshjälpen started a children's rights club at Fatoumata's school, things changed. In the club, the children learned more about inclusion and the right to education, health and safety. And Fatoumata has finally found new friends and regained her motivation for school work.

- The school works well. My classmates are nice to me now, even though I was excluded at the beginning.

The dream of a better future

Fatoumata is one of many children in Mali growing up with fear, hunger and insecurity. But thanks to the opportunity to stay in school, she has hope for a better future.

- It was difficult at the beginning but school work is going well now, which makes me happy. At the same time, I'm still afraid of many things... Afraid of being attacked by armed men and of being assaulted.

Although Fatoumata still fears the violence around her, she has a dream: to return to her village when peace comes and work as a midwife.

For us in Sweden, it may not be seen as a big problem. But for girls and women in Kenya - especially in rural and poorer areas - access to sanitary protection is not a given. And even if it is available, it is not certain that everyone can afford it.

Nancy talks about girls her own age who have been forced to use rags or other textiles as sanitary pads because they can't afford to buy pads at the store. Sure, sometimes sanitary pads are distributed at school, but the distribution is often unfair and can end up in the wrong hands.

- We want politicians, especially those in Parliament, to pass a law that provides free access to sanitary protection across the country. If it's free, it's not worthwhile for teachers, for example, to get hold of pads and then resell them. It would also mean that no more girls would have to sell sex to afford sanitary pads and that the number of teenage pregnancies would decreasesays Nancy.

Writing opinion pieces to influence

When Nancy was in fourth grade, she came into contact with Erikshjälpens work in Kenya and was able to continue going to school thanks to ourcollaboration with the local organization Kakenya's Dream. Last year she graduated from high school and now she dreams of getting into university and studying to become a teacher. Another dream is that the view of menstruation in society to change.

- Free sanitary pads should be available in all health centers so women and girls can pick up pads whenever they want. This should be be as normal as having condom machines everywhere," she says.

Every month, Nancy meets girls of the same age who are struggling to get hold of sanitary towelsand she realizes that it's a topic that no one really wants to talk about. Something she wants to change. So she tries to talk about Menstrual health with her classmates and write op-eds in local newspapers to bring about change.

- We cannot cannot be silent. People are a natural part of of life and something that we must dare to talk openly about. It is our right to have access to menstrual protection andand should not depend on whether you can afford it or not.

Today, there are 250 million children around the world who cannot go to school. Jannatul Ferdus, 11, is one of the children at the Pakkhali Education Center, an education center supported by Erikshjälp's donors. We are in southern Bangladesh, out in the countryside where the landscape is constantly changing and children's access to education is limited.

In the area of the Pakkhali Education Center in southern Bangladesh, there are around 500 families. Many of the children come here to receive remedial education and participate in various activities. There is also a parent group attached to the center. Few children here continue their studies beyond grade 5, but at the center they are supported to cope with school and prepare for further studies. Last year, eight children were helped to progress to secondary school.

Currently, 33 students are enrolled at Pakkhali Education Center, of which 22 are girls, grades 2-5.

- We get extra lessons and help with homework. But we also get to dance and sing and have fun together," says Jannatul with a smile.

Poverty, poor roads, long distances to school, low levels of parental education and marriage are some of the reasons why many children do not attend school for many years. Families cannot afford to send their children to school. Instead, girls risk being married off and boys are forced to work. Many children have parents who did not go to school themselves and therefore do not receive much support with schoolwork from home. This is why the center is so important! Several children have been helped to apply for scholarships that enable them to continue studying despite their family's financial situation.

- Here we get the opportunity to prepare ourselves and we get help to pass school so that we can continue our studies," says Jannatul. She continues:

- We have different study circles and support each other. We also celebrate and recognize each other when things go well.

Inside the center, there are safe adults who support the children. Outside, the children grow vegetables, fruit and flowers. Together they have started a small fund, through which they help each other when someone in the group is having a particularly tough time financially.

Disaster preparedness, sustainability and equipping children to adapt to climate change is one of the objectives of the activity. Giving children a better understanding of their rights and being involved in influencing their local village is another. Giving children meaningful leisure time and the opportunity to succeed in their studies is a third. And the benefits are enormous. The children shine when they talk about what the center means to them, this is their context.

- We take care of each other and the center together, it's fun to be part of it, says Jannatul and her friends next to her nod eagerly.

Together with our local partner, Erikshjälpen supports several interventions in Bangladesh, to fulfill children's right to go to school, ensure that they feel good and feel safe.