DELIVERED TO No 10: 12,000 PLEAS TO HELP CHILDREN ESCAPE THE TRAUMA OF WAR
A PETITION calling on the Government to do more to help children left traumatised by war has been delivered to Downing Street as our Learn to Live campaign enters its final week.
The petition — part of our campaign — appeals to Theresa May and other world leaders to increase funding to support the mental health and emotional needs of children affected by conflict.
More than 12,000 people have signed the petition which highlights that the trauma of war can stay with children for years — even after they escaped the bombing raids.
Learn to Live, run with War Child, the Standard’s partner charity, has already inspired hundreds of schools in Britain to link with schools in war zones to understand and help heal the trauma suffered by young victims of conflict.
We have twinned school pupils with children affected by war, including Syrian child refugees living in camps after enduring life under so-called Islamic State. These children struggle to get a f u l l e d u c a t i o n o r re c e ive the mental health support they need following traumatic wartime experiences.
As part of the campaign, we have been calling on adults to sign our petition and for school children across the country to write letters to the Prime Minister demanding action.
Yesterday a group of pupils and their teachers from four London schools i nvolve d i n o u r c a mp a i g n h a n ddelivered more than 700 letters and our petition to Mrs May. Among the children was George Abbott, 14, from Carshalton Boys Sports College, who said: “I am worried about the children who are struggling.”
He added: “We should make a change and not just stand here and do nothing about it. We are one of the most powerful countries in the world and it is our responsibility.”
Harriet Webster, 13, from Hornsey School for Girls, wrote in her letter about how children affected by war struggle to go to school because of the trauma they face.
“There should be more money spent on their wellbeing,” she said. “I really hope it will make a difference because things really need to change.”
Speaking from Parliament Square, Benjy Bediako, a pupil from Betty Layward Primary in Stoke Newington, said he had called for funding for mental health support and more teachers in his letter.
“I think it is vital for somebody to be educated,” the 10-year-old said.
Jay, 13, from Francis Barber Pupil Referral Unit in Wandsworth, called on the Prime Minister to ensure children in war zones were given playgrounds and mentors to improve their lives.
He said: “It makes me realise that I can’t really moan about the world we are living right now because if you think about them they are living in a much worse situation.” Last month, actress Vanessa Kirby, who played Princess Margaret in The Crown, signed the petition alongside a class of London primary schoolchildren who wrote letters to Mrs May.
Other celebrities and companies including eBay, Dropbox, the People’s Postcode Lottery, and law firms Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy, are also