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Children’s charity Barnardo’s Northern Ireland has launched a campaign and report to demonstrate that even the most difficult problems faced by children can be overcome with determination, expertise, tolerance and compassion.
Children's charity Barnardo's Northern Ireland has launched a campaign and report to demonstrate that even the most difficult problems faced by children can be overcome with:
Barnardo’s Northern Ireland works with 11,000 children, young people and their families in over 45 services throughout Northern Ireland.
Announcing the charity’s new strapline ‘Believe in Children’, director Lynda Wilson said:
"It has been heartening that in the lead up to the restoration of devolution party leaders have made significant reference to securing the future for children. Barnardo’s has been working with children and young people here for over 108 years but we know that Governments are very important in helping children too.
"I am delighted that all 108 MLAs have signed our ‘Believe in Children’ pledge card. We still have far too many children living in poverty, educationally underachieving, and there is a need to improve children’s services, but this is also a time when, with vision and political will, I believe that we will be able to do something for all our children and make Northern Ireland a much better place for children to grow up in."
The campaign asks people to show they believe in children by texting 84862 or visiting the website.
The charity recently launched adverts in newspapers, radio slots (voiced by actor Daniel Craig) and posters.
They feature troubled youngsters who might have alienated everyone in their young lives.
They reflect our experience which is that sticking with children, not giving up on children and ultimately Believing in Children can turn their lives around both for them and their families.
He told his parents to f*** off. He told his foster parents to f*** off. He told fourteen social workers to f*** off. He told us to f*** off. But we didn't. And we still haven't.
There are thousands of disadvantaged children in the UK. Many of them have stories that would break your heart.
Some of them are capable of terrible things. But if, like us, you believe that no child is born bad, then you can't watch someone get dumped into the file marked 'problem'.
You can't let society play pass the parcel with a young person's life.
If a child is referred to Barnardo's:
And if we don't give up on the troubled, young boy, it's not because we enjoy being sworn at, it's because we believe in him.
He went to school.
He got expelled.
He went to school.
He got expelled.
He went to school.
He got expelled.
He came to us.
He didn't.
Sometimes the buck stopping has to stop. The troubled teenager will never get his life back on track if he keeps getting kicked out of school.
What he needs is stability and that's where we come in.
If children with educational difficulties are referred to Barnardo's:
And when we do part company with them, hopefully it's only to get them back into school.
Would you desert the drowning child or the infant trapped in a fire? How about the angry, inarticulate thief?
Time is running out for thousands of vulnerable children.
Society wants to punish them for their crimes, label them 'problems', without any understanding of their circumstances.
We at Barnardos, want to help them.
By listening. By offering advice and practical support.
And by sticking by them, until they get their troubled, young lives back on the rails.
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