Save the Children

US Office:
Save the Children-USA
54 Wilton Road
P.O. Box 950
Westport, CT 06881 USA
Phone: (203) 221-4000
Web site: http://www.savethechildren.org

Save the Children - History and Azerbaijan Program

"Help should not be a gift from above but rather help aimed at self-help between equals where, everyone contributes according to their ability from a feeling of human fellowship across racial, ethnic and national borders"

Eglantine Jebb

This quotation is taken from a book by the founder of Save the Children, Eglantine Jebb, which was published in 1906. This sentence summarizes the principles which still guide the work of Save the Children in the world today.

Eglantine Jebb's commitment to children in need began at the turn of the century when she helped her mother in her social work on the Jebb family estate. Later, after completing her studies at Cambridge, she worked as a teacher in schools for slum children.

After the First World War, Eglantine Jebb, as the founder of Save the Children, became one of the better-known women in the struggle for children's rights. Legend has that the first version of the Rights of the Child were drafted one Sunday afternoon on Mount Saleve, overlooking Geneva. On February 1923, the Rights of the Child were adopted by the International Save the Children Union and given the title " The Declaration of Geneva". On 27 September 1924, the Declaration was adopted by the League of Nations.

The adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in November 1989 marked the continuation of the process of safeguarding children's rights which had its roots in the pioneering work of Eglantine Jebb.

Many suffragette associations in the warring and neutral countries organized a major peace conference in the Hague in April 1915 which brought together something like 1 200 women from various political camps.

And so it was that on 19 May 1919, in the Royal Albert Hall, London, Save the Children was founded and received among its first donations 10 000 pounds from British miners to help the starving children in Vienna. In the same year, Save the Children associations were also founded in Sweden and Australia, followed by Canada in 1921. Eglantine Jebb and her sister started the organization with an initial contribution of 10 pounds. In the years following the First World War, the incredible sum of 72 million pounds was collected as aid to the child victims of the war in Europe.

European and American intellectuals and politicians such as John Galsworthy, Romain Rooland, Anatole France, Herbert Hoover, Pope Benedict XV, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Albert Einstein, Maxim Gorki, Sigmund Freud and Hjalmar Branting supported and encouraged the collection on solidarity work in petitions and appeals.

The International Save the Children Union (SCIU) was founded in January 1920 in Geneva with three major organizations: the International Red Cross Committee, the Save the Children Fund and the Committee International de Secours aux Enfants. E.Jebb became the active chairperson of the organization and remained so until her death in 1928 at the age of 52.

By 1924 the Union had 20 members including: UK, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Rumania, Yugoslavia, Turkey and Uruguay. The American Save the Children Fund (later Federation) was founded in 1932 in order to help the children in Appalachia during the Great Depression.

The first Save the Children Fund began its infant existence in January, 1932 in one small room in the Presbyterian Building at 156 Fifth Avenue, New York City. After a two month's study of the health and sanitary situation in Harlen Country, Kentucky a local Committee was established. Dr. Miller was placed in charge of the unit, having as her assistant a nurse and a sanitary engineer. These three performed a real and enduring public service for the country.

In the spring of 1932, under the leadership of John Voris, the founding executive director, two surveys were conducted concerning children's needs. At its summer meeting that year, the Board authorized the first Save the Children field project, a country health unit.

A new form of sponsorship emerged from Save the Children European experience: American "godparents" donated $30 a year to provide clothing and other needs to a particular child. This approach was the model for Save the Children's child sponsorship programs that continue today.

The International Save the Children Alliance (ISCA) was founded in 1988.

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Save the Children is a private, non-profit, non-sectarian international development and relief organization. SC operates interrelated programs in education, health, economic opportunities and emergency response in 41 nations including 14 US states. SC strives to improve children's lives by enabling the entire family and community to achieve a higher level of self-sufficiency. Under an agreement with USAID, Save the Children (SC) managed the Caucasus Emergency Humanitarian Assistance PVO Program. SC served as the management coordinator for PVOs executing sub-grants from USAID funding, In Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. Through management, training and technical assistance, SC facilitated the capacity and capabilities of indigenous and US PVOs to implement emergency and humanitarian assistance programs in response to systemic and natural emergency disasters.

Save the Children commenced operations in Azerbaijan (AzB) in December, 1993. Since its establishment, in Azerbaijan, SC has taken a lead role in the coordination of inter-agency PVO/NGO/IO activities. Through the monthly publication of the PVO/NGO/IO Directory, SC has developed a reputation for consistently providing reliable, up to date information. Working with US PVOs, the SC/USAID umbrella grant funded projects for International Rescue Committee (IRC), Relief International (RI), World Vision International (WVI), CARE International, ADRA, UMCOR and MCI.

LIST OF IMPLEMENTED PROGRAMS

#	Sub-grantee	Project Name	Grant amount $	Project Duration
1	ADRA	Distribution of Food Parcels Greenhouse Project	1,838,748 342,964	September 8, 1993 June 30, 1994 January 1, 1997 September 30, 1997
2	ARC	Food Distribution Project Assistance to Vulnerable Population	2,828,120 573,185	October 1, 1993 March 15, 1995 November 1 1995 August 31 1997
3	CARE	Logistic Support Food Distribution Distribution of Blankets (TWP) Food Supplements Distribution (TPP) Shelter Project	1, 838,748 689,159 145,778 640,148 2,032,509	September8, 1993 June 30, 1994 February 15, 1994 July 31, 1994 February 4, 1994 March 10, 1994 July 1, 1994 September 30, 1995 November 11, 1995 February 28, 1998
4	IRC	Emergency Assistance Project #020 Emergency Project #032 Winter Clothing Distribution #035 Mudbrick Shelter Project #051 Winter Shelter Program #066	1,492,349 960, 124 1,217,688 1,214,190 1,880,061	January 19, 1994 August 31, 1994 May 19, 1994 August 31, 1994 September 1, 1994 March 31, 1995 March 1, 1995 November 15, 1995 November 16, 1995 February 28, 1998
5	RI	Mobile Health Units #013 Distribution of Food & Nonfood Items #017 Emergency Procurement and Distribution #018 Distribution of Relief Items #037 MHU Project #036	390,801 204,202 404,258 331,367 3,059,626	November 1,1993 August 31, 1994 December 7, 1993 September 30, 1994 February 25, 1994 June 30, 1994 September 1, 1994 May 31, 1995 September 1, 1994 June 30, 1997
6	WVI	Poultry and Sanitation Project #038 Winter Clothing St to IDP s #041 Northwest Comprehensive Project #049 North central Food Project #050 Operational Support Grant #067 Public Building Rehabilitation	129,950 380,560 762,991 248,434 1,740,344 1,184,389	September 1, 1994 February 28, 1995 January 11, 1994 February 28, 1995 January 1, 1995 October 31, 1995 January 1, 1995 October 31, 1995 October 1, 1995 September 30, 1997 December 1, 1996 September 30, 1997
7	MCI	Shelter Rehabilitation Project	817,000	December 1, 1996 September 30, 1997
8	UMCOR	Primary Health Care Delivery & Public Health Education	443,677	January 1, 1997 September 30, 1997
9	ISAR	Training for Local NGO s	406,164	November 1, 1995 June 30, 1997

 

New Developments in Program Implementation

Since September 1, 1998 SC started a 20.5 month Participatory Micro-Project Program (PMPP) in the Republic of Azerbaijan.Under this program, SC will implement approximately 71 micro-project in the Berde Region. SC proposes to implement micro-project (less than or equal to US$6,000) that will address key sectoral needs, including: potable water and irrigation, sanitation, health, education, agriculture, income generation and building rehabilitation.

*information courtesy of Save the Children's AzerWeb

Last updated:    April 1999

A print version of much of the information contained in this NIS Third Sector Organizations section can be found in the The Post-Soviet Handbook (Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1999).

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