Vanessa Kirby’s plea to UK government to help children before it is too late

No-one has been untouched by the events of the past year. The ongoing effects of the global pandemic continue to be felt around the world, but for the children that War Child supports in Afghanistan, it is a daily struggle to survive. Going to school is not always an option – instead children have to undertake work which is often hazardous, and in some cases life-threatening, in order to help their family have something to eat.

COVID-19 has exacerbated the situation families in Afghanistan face – lack of employment opportunities means that livelihoods have been destroyed, and there is little work available. Many children are forced to make the treacherous journey to Iran in search of work, where they are at risk of trafficking, abuse and exploitation.

I was part of the War Child’s recent “Torn from Home” appeal. War Child was raising money to support children and their caregivers with the guarantee that the UK Government would match all eligible money raised. Over £500,000 was successfully raised, and the project for 3,430 children and their caregivers was due to start in July 2021.

War Child, with the support of UK Government Aid Match funding, had promised to intervene by providing lifesaving access to local employment and learning, equipping children with the skills to build sustainable livelihoods for the future in their own communities. By improving socio-economic conditions in this way, families can be lifted out of poverty, sparing thousands of children from migration and child labour.     

But then we learnt a few weeks ago that this urgent funding will be delayed until April 2022. I, alongside my fellow Global Ambassadors of War Child UK, and countless other incredible supporters of the charity, supported this Aid Match appeal.

We worked tirelessly to create a campaign using all our resources to salvage the money that would have come in from the many things we were planning to do in person. I asked friends, supporters, people in my industry - and most importantly, the UK public - to help get us to the amount required to be matched by the government.

The UK Government made a promise to both us and the public that these funds would be matched and work commence in July – a critical timeframe for these children who can’t wait.

We want to be transparent with War Child’s supporters, and with the wider public - the government has now broken its promise. What will happen to these children in the next 10 months? Left without education and training, they and their families will be forced into desperate choices in order to survive. I cannot tell you how let down I feel and by extension, how everyone I asked for help does too.

Even more than that, it literally means that the nearly 3,500 children we would have helped intercept being trafficked from Afghanistan to Iran, will quite simply slip through the net. I feel that there are grave repercussions to this decision. I know it will leave families shattered – with children who have been dealt the double blow of conflict and coronavirus left to bear the brunt.

The pain and anger I feel about the unimaginable suffering as mothers are separated from their children is very real. But beyond that, how can people trust their government, who are prepared to turn their backs on the world’s most vulnerable people at this critical time? We came together to solve this problem on a promise to help – a role Britain has always proudly played in global development. And until now, rightly so.

The UK public gave at a time of national crisis, and in often personal adversity, because this is a year when everyone has come to understand what it means to help those who need it more than them. But this is a promise that has now been broken, with the most profound consequences.

I cannot stand here and let this happen. I appeal to you, the UK government, in the strongest possible terms to reverse your decision and uphold the promise you made to us – and help these children right now. Thank you.

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