Our Impact
Turning Support Into Opportunity and Change
At Children Relief Service (CRS), we measure our work not only by the activities we carry out, but by the difference those activities make in people’s lives.
Since CRS began in 2014, we have worked alongside vulnerable children, young people, girls, women, families, refugees, and host communities in Dzaleka and surrounding communities.
The challenges are often greater than the resources available to us. But every child supported, every young person trained, every girl given an opportunity, and every family reached matters.
Our impact is built one person, one family, and one community at a time.
Reaching People Who Need Support
Over the years, CRS programmes have reached thousands of people through child protection, education, food security, skills development, youth empowerment, girls’ empowerment, and community-based activities.
3,000+ Children Supported
Our work has supported vulnerable children through protection, education, awareness, participation, and other community-based interventions.
We have seen how creating a safer environment and helping children remain connected to learning can give them greater hope for the future.
2,000+ Young People Empowered
Young people make up a large part of the communities where we work, yet many face limited access to employment, skills, and meaningful opportunities.
Through vocational training, leadership, entrepreneurship, life skills, and other activities, CRS works to help young people turn their abilities into opportunities.
2,200+ Girls and Women Empowered
We have worked with girls and women to strengthen skills, confidence, leadership, protection, and economic opportunities.
Our goal is not simply to provide training. We want women and girls to have greater ability to make decisions, participate in their communities, and build more secure futures.
150+ Families Supported Through Feed the Hungry
Food insecurity remains a serious challenge for vulnerable families.
Through our Feed the Hungry and Food Security for Sustainable Livelihoods work, CRS has supported families experiencing food insecurity while also promoting longer-term approaches to food production, livelihoods, and resilience.
Skills That Can Become Livelihoods
One of the areas where we have seen encouraging change is vocational skills development.
From January to June 2026, CRS trained 43 young people—35 girls and 8 boys—in practical skills, including soap making, hairdressing and makeup, and tailoring.
After six months of learning, the participants completed their training and received CRS certificates.
A new cohort began training on 7 July 2026, continuing through December 2026.
For us, the value of vocational training is not simply the certificate.
It is what happens when someone can take a skill and begin using it to earn an income, support a family, or create an opportunity for someone else.
Creating Pathways Toward Self-Reliance
Our programmes are designed to go beyond immediate assistance wherever possible.
We encourage people to develop practical skills, strengthen livelihoods, participate in their communities, and build confidence in their own abilities.
This is particularly important for young people and families living with limited economic opportunities.
We have learned that sustainable change takes time.
A training session alone does not change someone’s life.
Opportunity, continued support, access to resources, and the ability to use new skills are what can turn training into lasting change.
Protecting Children and Strengthening Communities
Child protection remains at the heart of CRS.
Our work seeks to help children and communities understand children’s rights, recognize protection risks, and create safer environments for children.
We also recognize that children’s protection is connected to the wellbeing of their families and communities.
When families face hunger, poverty, displacement, unemployment, or violence, children can become more vulnerable.
That is why CRS works across several interconnected areas rather than treating child protection as an isolated issue.
Our Impact Is Also in the Small Changes
Not every change can be captured by a number.
Sometimes impact is seeing a young person gain confidence after learning a new skill.
It is seeing a girl participate in training who previously had few opportunities.
It is seeing a family receive food when they have nothing at home.
It is seeing a child become more aware of their rights and where to seek help.
It is seeing community members come together to discuss problems affecting their children.
These moments may seem small, but together they represent the reason CRS continues its work.
What We Are Learning
Our experience has also taught us that needs continue to grow.
In communities affected by displacement and poverty, many families continue to face food insecurity, unemployment, interrupted education, protection concerns, and limited livelihood opportunities.
The reduction of humanitarian support has made these challenges even more difficult for many vulnerable families.
This means our work is far from finished.
The numbers we have reached are important, but they also remind us of how many people still need support.
Looking Ahead
We want to build on what we have learned and reach more people with programmes that are practical, inclusive, and sustainable.
Our priorities include strengthening:
- Child protection and safeguarding;
- Access to education and learning opportunities;
- Food security and sustainable livelihoods;
- Vocational and entrepreneurship skills;
- Girls’ and women’s empowerment;
- Youth empowerment;
- GBV prevention and response;
- Community resilience; and
- Partnerships that can help communities access greater opportunities.
We know we cannot meet every need alone.
But with communities, partners, donors, volunteers, and supporters working together, we can do more.
Our Impact in Numbers
3,000+
Children supported
2,000+
Young people empowered
2,200+
Girls and women empowered
150+
Families supported through Feed the Hungry
43
Young people trained in vocational skills in the January–June 2026 cohort
2014
Year CRS began serving communities
Beyond the Numbers
For CRS, impact is ultimately about people.
Behind every number is a child, a young person, a woman, a family, or a community.
We want our impact to be measured not only by how many people we reach, but by whether people are safer, more empowered, more resilient, better able to access opportunities, and better equipped to shape their own future.
The work continues. The needs are real. And so is the potential for change.
Protecting Children. Fighting Hunger. Building Stronger Communities.