We are a charity that works to empower vulnerable children and their communities through participatory built interventions.
We champion the co-production of dignified built environments where everyone can take part in the creation of equitable, inclusive and sustainable communities. Through this process of co-design we build local human capacity that ensures our work has a lasting impact.
Our work has a direct positive impact on:
– Children’s wellbeing: We aim to improve children’s wellbeing through the process of co-design, creating safe and nurturing places that address their needs, acknowledge their rights and materialise their desires.
– Social Cohesion: Our projects encourage collaboration between diverse groups of people as they come together throughout the project cycle. This fosters a sense of ownership and belonging amongst different community members.
– Local economy: We boost the local economy by hiring local labourers, adopting context-appropriate technologies and purchasing local materials.
– Local capacity: We enhance the skill-set of local labourers and small contractors by transferring knowledge around innovative design solutions. We train professionals in participatory design and just-decision making processes, including child protection officers, teachers and city council staff.
– Built environment: Our projects create and rehabilitate spaces, delivering good quality, sustainable and cost-effective built interventions that are dignified and inclusive to all community members.
We achieve this through strategic and collaborative partnerships for which we provide:
– Design services
– Participatory methodologies and processes
– Transdisciplinary research
Our partners include: UNICEF, Terre des Hommes, UN-Habitat, Save the Children, and universities such as University College London and the American University of Beirut.
To achieve impact, four key values are embedded in our approach:
– Valuing local knowledge
– Building local capacity
– Supporting local economy
– Promoting inclusion and equality
