Learn more about UNICEF’s work under the topic "Child Friendly Space".

To end the year with a note of gratitude, here are five stories of hope from around the world – showing us how one small intervention can impact the lives and futures of children.

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For fathers like Hazir, spending quality time with their children helps them grow and reach their full potential.

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James (name changed) was abducted by an armed group in South Sudan, to serve as a soldier, and eventually was left for dead by the same group. Reunited with his family by UNICEF, he is facing life with confidence and a dream for the future.

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UNICEF Canada ambassador and teacher Bayan Yammout visited Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan – the world’s largest camp for Syrian refugees – in October 2019, to provide training for facilitators (Syrian refugees who run the UNICEF designated programs) at the camp’s Makani Centres. In a two part series, she shares her reflections on life for children in the camps.

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UNICEF Canada President and CEO David Morley visited Honduras this spring, to learn more about the work that UNICEF is doing on the ground, to assist young families and migrants. This series will cover his reflections on the work, as well as some of the young people he met during his visit. Part 3 of 4.

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UNICEF Canada President and CEO David Morley visited Honduras this spring, to learn more about the work that UNICEF is doing on the ground, to assist young families and migrants. This series will cover his reflections on the work, as well as some of the young people he met during his visit. Part 2 of 4.

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Over 150,000 students in Sulawesi, Indonesia are out of school following an earthquake and tsunami in September. UNICEF is working hard to deliver emergency education materials to help children get back into the classroom.


The new school year in northeast Nigeria is bittersweet. Education has been one of the biggest causalities of the Boko Haram conflict, with over 3 million children now in need of emergency education support so that they can get back to school and get a decent education.


Helping children formerly associated with armed groups in the Greater Kasai region resume their lives.


One of my strongest memories from this seemingly endless war is of a young Syrian refugee girl I met in Duhok, Kurdistan, Iraq – 12 years old and three years out of school – who had forgotten how to read. What kind of hope could there be for a society that, in this day and age, could let children lose their education?