Refugee Children's Centres

Who we are

Our mission is to protect and promote refugee, displaced and disadvantaged children's right to play, as set out in Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

"That every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts." Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

We believe that every child should have access to a safe, happy, nurturing and stimulating place to play.

We aim to achieve our goal by:

• enabling children in crises situations to play in safety by creating and operating Child Friendly Spaces that provide an holistic service, meeting the complex needs of refugee and displaced children

• collaborating with partner organisations in a supportive role, and engaging in capacity building initiatives to promote and facilitate free and structured play; providing volunteers, resources, training and consultancy

• educating parents and care givers of refugee, displaced and disadvantaged children in the importance of play

• providing play equipment and play-based learning resources to organisations that support refugee, displaced and disadvantaged children.

Refugee Children's Centres is an independent non-governmental organisation founded in 2016. We are in the process of applying for registered charity status.

The organisation is run by a small Board of Trustees, a Director, a team of Coordinators, Advisers and in-field Volunteers - all of whom work as unpaid volunteers.