The following three e-learning modules are designed to help ChildFund staff to strengthen their programs using methods that promote child and youth protection through an approach that is consistent with ChildFund’s Strategy and programming approach

Today, thousands of people worldwide are beside themselves with excitement at the kickoff of the world’s foremost soccer tournament. Here at ChildFund International we have something else to celebrate: We have teamed up with Coca-Cola, Walmart International and One World Play Project to #PassTheHappiness. Through this worldwide campaign, we will receive a share of 100,000 unpoppable soccer balls for teenagers in our programs.

As the voice behind the Coca-Cola Anthem for the 2018 World Cup, artist Jason Derulo joined Coca-Cola as spokesperson of the #PassTheHappiness campaign to help bring the power of play to underprivileged youth globally.

“This is a great opportunity to give back, not only to my home country of Haiti, but to teenagers around the world,” Jason Derulo says, juggling a One World FutbolTM at his home outside Los Angeles. “This ball is amazing.”

Right now, as policies and procedures surrounding children separated from their families continue to evolve, a major concern has yet to be resolved: the plight of those thousands who remain removed from their parents. ChildFund International is deeply concerned about their wellbeing. We have been working with children and families on both sides of the border for decades, and will apply that unique expertise and insight to assist these children until they can be reunited.

“These kids are doubly traumatized, first in the dangerous journey from their home countries and then in being taken from the people who love them,” said Anne Lynam Goddard, ChildFund’s president and CEO. “They need much more than basic sustenance. They need emotional support and care. Children who are not in the care of their parents are also even more vulnerable to exploitation and neglect.”

Soccer is widely regarded as an excellent way for kids to stay physically fit, build social skills and develop self-confidence. In several small Indian communities where ChildFund works, the world’s most popular sport has another, more surprising benefit: empowering girls to resist early marriage.

Meet 16-year-old Raniya. Her home state of Jharkhand, India, is rich in natural resources, known for its waterfalls and ornate Jain temples, but nearly 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Here, the rate at which girls marry before age 18 — which hovers around 47 percent nationwide — jumps to 51.8 percent.

Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC) is leading a $15.2-million regional project in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua, designed to improve the well-being of children and youth who are at risk of irregular migration. The Government of Canada is contributing $12.6 million to the four-year project. The initiative addresses a number of the root causes that fuel irregular migration — from high levels of crime and violence, limited employment and educational opportunities, to social exclusion and a lack of information on the inherent dangers of migrating without following the normal immigration procedures. For this project, CCFC is partnering with two non-governmental organizations: ChildFund International (USA) and EDUCO (Spain).

Isam Ghanim returned to ChildFund as its ninth president and CEO in March 2022, most recently having served for three years as president of Search for Common Ground, a $60 million organization focused on transforming how the world deals with conflict. His career in international development began at CARE Sudan, just after he completed his master's degree at Sudan's University of Khartoum. In his 21 years with CARE, Ghanim held various roles in Sudan, Somalia, India and at the regional level before eventually becoming its vice president for Global Program Resources and Learning. He held that position from 2003 until 2007, when he joined ChildFund as vice president for the Africa region. Isam would later assume responsibility for the Asia and Americas regions as VP of Global Operations, and then, with his promotion to Executive Vice President for Programs in 2011, for program development, the role he held until his departure to SFCG in 2018.

Isam Ghanim returned to ChildFund as its ninth president and CEO in March 2022, most recently having served for three years as president of Search for Common Ground, a $60 million organization focused on transforming how the world deals with conflict. His career in international development began at CARE Sudan, just after he completed his master's degree at Sudan's University of Khartoum. In his 21 years with CARE, Ghanim held various roles in Sudan, Somalia, India and at the regional level before eventually becoming its vice president for Global Program Resources and Learning. He held that position from 2003 until 2007, when he joined ChildFund as vice president for the Africa region. Isam would later assume responsibility for the Asia and Americas regions as VP of Global Operations, and then, with his promotion to Executive Vice President for Programs in 2011, for program development, the role he held until his departure to SFCG in 2018.

As CEO and Director of ChildFund India, Neelam Makhijani is working to give excluded and vulnerable children the capacity to improve their lives and become adults who bring positive change in their communities.

As a journalist in New York, Neelam Makhijani worked for a leading Asian weekly, where she wrote and commented on South Asian political issues. Her job connected her to many humanitarian initiatives and she decided to take her job on-ground and “be the change she wished to see”.