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(© 2003 CARE/Valenda Campbell)

Childhood should be a happy time spent playing with friends, enjoying a favorite toy — even planning for the first day of school. But children in the developing world spend most of their childhood struggling to survive, without much hope for a secure, productive life.

And they face incredible odds. Of the 57 million people worldwide who died last year, 10.5 million of them were children less than five years old. The majority of these children — some 98 percent — were in developing nations. Won't you please help today?

(© 2003 CARE/Valenda Campbell)

Treatable illnesses, such as pneumonia, malaria, diarrhea and malnutrition, become life-threatening when combined with poverty, war, poor sanitation, inadequate health care and insufficient preventive measures.

Take a closer look at how CARE is improving the lives of individual children.

For those who survive childhood, the path to a secure and happy future is still filled with obstacles. Children in developing nations have limited access to education, which limits opportunity and reduces potential.

(© 2001 CARE/Jason Sangster)

Economic, social and cultural factors keep some 121 million children, especially girls, from attending school. Faced with difficult choices, parents often take girls out of school to care for younger siblings, help with household chores or work outside the home to contribute to family income. In the world's least developed countries, only 14 percent of secondary school enrollment is female.

CARE's Response
Despite grim statistics, children represent one of the best opportunities for defeating poverty. CARE strives to attack the underlying causes of poverty through health and education projects.

CARE takes a well-rounded approach to improving children's health through:

• Water, sanitation and hygiene education projects that enable healthier households
• Farming innovations that result in better nutrition
• Family planning projects that promote healthier mothers and infants
• Emergency response programs that meet basic needs for food and health

In children's health specifically, CARE emphasizes disease prevention through immunization programs and health training.

(© 1996 CARE/Jeannette Romkema)

CARE works to break through the barriers of education by:

• Promoting and facilitating discussion between parents, teachers and other community members about the benefits of education
• Working to improve opportunities for education in the developing world — with a special focus on girls and women
• Helping parents cover the cost of keeping children in school

CARE's education programs emphasize equal access, especially for girls, and we focus on the quality of teaching and the learning environment.

You Can Help!
Over the past year, some 313,000 students in 28 countries received basic education while CARE reached nearly 9.5 million children in 31 countries through programs in child health. But there is still more to do, and you can help. To support CARE's efforts wherever the need is greatest, click here.

If you would like to support CARE's work with children, click here to become a monthly contributor to CARE For the Child.

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Related Pages: CARE Addresses Foreign Aid Cuts and Increases in President's Budget Proposal Tsunami Recovery in Somalia Restoring Livelihoods in Sri Lanka Related Projects: CARE Project :: Sudan Basic Education Program (SBEP) CARE Project :: EDUBASICO CARE Project :: Strengthening Communities Through Partnerships for Education (SCOPE )