Our Achievements
What We Have Built Together
Since Children Relief Service (CRS) was founded on 11 May 2014, our journey has been shaped by the needs we see in our communities and by the determination of people who continue to believe that change is possible.
We have worked with limited resources, but we have continued to create opportunities for children, young people, girls, women, families, refugees, and host communities.
Our achievements are not only the activities we have completed. They are also the partnerships we have built, the skills we have helped people develop, the programmes we have sustained, and the organizational foundation we continue to strengthen.
Growing From Child Protection to Community Development
CRS began with a strong focus on child protection.
Over time, our experience showed us that protecting children also requires us to look at the conditions surrounding them.
Hunger, poverty, interrupted education, unemployment, lack of livelihood opportunities, gender-based violence, and displacement can all increase vulnerability.
In response, CRS expanded its work to include:
- Child Protection
- Education
- Feed the Hungry and Food Security
- Girls’ Empowerment
- Youth Empowerment
- GBV Prevention & Response
This development has allowed CRS to respond to interconnected challenges while keeping child protection at the heart of our work.
Building Opportunities Through Vocational Skills Training
Vocational skills development has become an important part of our work with young people.
From January to June 2026, CRS completed a six-month vocational training programme for 43 young people—35 girls and 8 boys.
Participants were trained in practical areas including:
- Soap making
- Hairdressing and makeup
- Tailoring
After completing the six-month training, participants received CRS certificates recognizing their learning and completion of the programme.
A new training cohort began on 7 July 2026, continuing through December 2026, creating another opportunity for young people to develop practical skills.
Supporting Girls and Young Women
One of our important achievements has been creating spaces where girls and young women can develop practical skills and confidence.
Through our girls’ empowerment activities, we have supported girls and women to participate in skills development, leadership, protection awareness, and economic empowerment opportunities.
We have seen that when girls are given opportunities to learn and participate, they can begin to see possibilities beyond the limitations around them.
Empowering Young People
Young people often tell us that one of their greatest challenges is not a lack of ambition, but a lack of opportunity.
CRS has responded by creating opportunities for young people through vocational skills, entrepreneurship, leadership, life skills, education, and community participation.
Our work has contributed to empowering more than 2,000 young people.
We consider every opportunity created for a young person an important step toward greater self-reliance.
Continuing the Fight Against Hunger
Food insecurity remains one of the realities affecting vulnerable families in and around the communities where we work.
Through our Feed the Hungry and Food Security for Sustainable Livelihoods programme, CRS has supported vulnerable families while also promoting longer-term approaches to food production, livelihoods, and resilience.
More than 150 families have been supported through Feed the Hungry activities.
This work continues because we believe that fighting hunger must include both responding to immediate needs and helping families develop pathways toward greater food security.
Strengthening Child Protection
Child protection remains one of the foundations on which CRS was built.
We have continued to raise awareness of children’s rights and protection, support safer environments, and work with communities to better understand the risks children face.
Our work has contributed to reaching more than 3,000 children through various CRS activities and interventions.
For us, this achievement is about more than the number.
It represents thousands of moments in which children and the people around them have been reached with support, information, protection, education, or opportunity.
Empowering Girls and Women
Across our programmes, more than 2,200 girls and women have been reached through empowerment-related activities and support.
Our work focuses on helping girls and women strengthen their skills, confidence, participation, protection, leadership, and economic opportunities.
We believe that empowering a woman or girl can have an impact far beyond the individual—it can strengthen families and communities as well.
Growing Community Participation
CRS has continued to encourage communities to participate in addressing the challenges affecting them.
Rather than seeing communities only as recipients of assistance, we work to involve people in identifying needs, implementing activities, sharing ideas, and finding solutions.
This community participation has become an important part of how CRS operates.
Building a Local Organization
Another achievement is the growth of CRS itself.
What began in 2014 as an initiative responding to concerns affecting vulnerable children has developed into a broader community-focused organization working across protection, education, food security, livelihoods, empowerment, and community resilience.
We have continued to develop our organizational systems, governance structures, policies, programme areas, partnerships, and technical capacity.
This foundation is important because sustainable programmes require a strong and accountable organization behind them.
Working Through Partnerships
We recognize that CRS cannot do this work alone.
Over the years, we have worked alongside community leaders, schools, volunteers, government structures, civil society organizations, humanitarian and development actors, faith institutions, technical professionals, and other partners.
These relationships have helped CRS learn, reach communities, strengthen programmes, and create opportunities that would not be possible through isolated efforts.
Our Journey Continues
We are proud of what has been achieved, but we do not see these achievements as the end of the journey.
The needs around us remain significant.
Children still need protection and education. Young people still need opportunities. Families still face hunger and economic hardship. Girls and women still face barriers to safety and empowerment.
Our achievements therefore give us encouragement, but they also remind us that there is still more to do.
We want to build on what we have already learned, strengthen our programmes, develop stronger partnerships, and reach more people with practical and sustainable opportunities.
Our Achievements at a Glance
| WHAT IT REPRESENTS |
|---|
| Founded on 11 May 2014 CRS began serving vulnerable children and communities in Dzaleka. |
| 3,000+ Children Supported Through child protection, education, awareness, and related activities. |
| 2,000+ Young People Empowered Through skills, leadership, entrepreneurship, education, and other opportunities. |
| 2,200+ Girls and Women Empowered Through skills development, empowerment, protection, and economic opportunities. |
| 1,700+ People Reached Through EFL Through English as a Foreign Language (EFL) programmes, helping learners strengthen their English communication skills and access education, information, and essential services that require English. |
| 150+ Families Supported Through Feed the Hungry activities and food-security-related support. |
| 50 Young People Trained in 2026 35 young women and 15 boys completed a six-month vocational training programme in tailoring, hairdressing, makeup, soap making, and glycerine production. |
| 45 Teen Mothers Supported Receiving free vocational training and guidance to continue learning, build practical skills, and create better opportunities for themselves and their children. |
| 70 Learners Enrolled in the New Vocational Cohort A new group of 70 learners began vocational training in July 2026, with training continuing through December 2026. |
More Than Achievements
Every Achievement Has People Behind It
- The young person who completed training.
- The teen mother who gained practical skills and a pathway toward greater independence.
- The girl who gained a new skill and renewed confidence.
- The family that received support during a difficult period.
- The child who learned about their rights.
- The woman who gained an opportunity to strengthen her livelihood.
- The volunteer who gave their time.
- The community member who helped identify a solution.
- The partner who believed in the work.
These are the people who make the CRS journey possible.
We remain grateful to everyone who has contributed to this journey and helped create opportunities for children, young people, teen mothers, women, families, and communities.
walked with us, supported our work, volunteered, partnered with us, or simply believed that vulnerable communities deserve opportunities to build a better future.
Our Journey So Far. Our Responsibility Ahead.
Children Relief Services (CRS)
Protecting Children. Fighting Hunger. Building Stronger Communities.