You might know of a child who
You do not have to know them personally. If you have seen or heard their story, that is enough to raise it.
The stories we look for
If a child's learning has stopped, it counts.
01 · Out of school
Schools bombed, closed, turned into shelters, or simply too far away to reach safely.
02 · Displaced
Children who fled their homes, inside their country or across a border, and lost their place in a classroom.
03 · Kept at home
Girls held back from school, and children made to work or care for younger siblings instead of learning.
04 · Hurt or unseen
Children injured, orphaned, or living somewhere no reporter has reached, whose story has never been told.
What happened
In your own words. What changed in their life, when it started, and what is stopping them from learning today.
Who they are
Their first name, their age, and roughly where they are now. Never a surname, and never an exact address.
Where you heard about them
You might be family, a neighbour or a teacher, or you might have seen their story online. Tell us where it came from so we can follow it up safely.
After you raise it
Every story is read by a person.
01 · We read it
An editor at the nearest regional desk reads every story that comes in. Nothing is sorted by a machine.
02 · We check it
We confirm what we can through people on the ground before a single word is written up.
03 · We ask first
Nothing is published without consent from the child's family or guardian, and you can withdraw the story at any time.
04 · We stay with it
If the child can be reached, we see whether the Relay can teach them. A story is where our work starts, not where it ends.
Never a full name
We only ever ask for a child's first name, and it is the most we will ever publish. Sometimes we use no name at all.
Never a place that finds them
We report the country or region, never a street, camp section or school that could put a child at risk.
Never a face without consent
No photograph of a child is published unless their guardian has agreed, and never where it could identify them to someone who means harm.
Why it matters
A child no one reports on is a child no one comes looking for.
Every story raised is a child who is counted, checked on and, where we can reach them, taught.
Questions people ask us.
Ready when you are
Someone is still waiting for them.
Write in your own words and take as long as you need. If a child is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services first. We are a newsroom and a classroom, not a rescue service.