This week Chris, Edukid CEO, visited Truro High School for Girls who generously support Brasat village in Cambodia. Some of the girls from the school interviewed Chris for their exciting new podcast which shares challenges that young girls face in these communities and the support that Truro high school are providing such as their latest colour run raising an incredible £900. Thank you so much for all of your support  

On 5th September Edukid hosted our very first Prison Break! 5 teams were locked up at Dartmoor Prison, dressed as prisoners and fed prison porridge! The challenge was to raise £500 bail money and escape!!

Once out, they had 24 hours to travel as far away from Dartmoor as possible, with no money. The teams used a mix of buses, trains, planes, bikes, hire cars and interrailing to make their escapes, with some reaching as far as Poland and the South of France.

The challenge was all about raising money for Edukid, helping children living in poverty access education. Together, the event raised over £6,000! 

A big thank you to everyone who donated, helped us along the way or got involved. Special thanks to Tarka Van Hire for providing a hire car and a full tank of petrol, and to Dartmoor Prison for helping make the event possible.

It was a pretty unusual 24 hours, but a great way to raise money for a very important cause! 

Bly Reeves, sixth form student at Bideford College

This week, I was given a fantastic opportunity to join Edukid for a week of work experience. Throughout my week, I learnt a great deal about the charity sector, gaining a much deeper understanding of the behind-the-scenes work and effort that\’s put into the daily running of Edukid. During my time, I developed a gender equality project based in Cambodia, whilst gaining a great deal of marketing experience and skills needed to find future volunteers and trustees.

My week at Edukid

The week started by getting to understand Edukid as a whole, by understanding their main goals and how they aim to solve deeply rooted issues in countries across the globe. I got to learn about their previous projects in Uganda, Cambodia, and Peru, where they have provided education to children living in chronic poverty, breaking down barriers that many children face while going through education. I was tasked throughout the week to create a project of my own, in which I decided to create one focused on gender inequality in Cambodia. I presented my project to the team on my final placement day, not only improving my public speaking skills, but also allowing me to express my passion for finding ways to help solve social inequalities. I was also tasked throughout the week to create a variety of flyers, posters, and fact sheets, where I got to learn my way around the editing software Canva and how to promote upcoming trips and projects. Additionally, I spent time researching and planning impact reports, a crucial document published by charities to promote their achievements and the positive impact of their work. 

A diverse learning experience

In conclusion, my work experience at Edukid was incredibly valuable and taught me a great deal about the charity sector and the skills needed to work in such an environment. The team were extremely welcoming and assisted me through the week with valuable information and skills to aid me with the development of my project. I have witnessed first-hand the effect Edukid has on hundreds of children\’s lives around the globe and the huge impact they have on helping society. 

Thank you Edukid 

To start with, I was struggling to find anything for my Duke of Edinburgh bronze award that was a suitable volunteering opportunity for a fourteen-year-old. Then I found out about Edukid, and I chose it straight away because it was easy to access and for a great cause. For my supported project I chose to raise money for children in Peru because it felt like the world had lost sight of the problem of hunger because of all the other many problems in recent years.

I raised money by doing a sponsored silence and lots of my friends and family sponsored me. I struggled to not speak, and I said four words which meant I needed to start over again, but I kept on going and in the end, I raised over £240. Half of this was enough to give one child in Peru food for a whole year, and the other half of the money went towards helping educate children in one of the countries Edukid supports.

I learnt many things about how children live in other countries while volunteering. I enjoyed all of my time volunteering with Edukid and I would strongly recommend it.

Thanks, Joel.

I’ve just finished my 6 month volunteering with Edukid for my Silver award, having completed my Bronze last year.

This year, I wanted to find a new way to complete the volunteering section with Edukid that would make a difference. Their mission to break the cycle of poverty through education stood out to me, and now, looking back, I realise that even the smallest actions can make a real difference.

Why I Chose Edukid

Education is something many of us take for granted, but learning about children who are denied this basic right made me want to do something to help. Edukid gave me the opportunity to support these children and help give them a better future.

To raise money, I had to speak to a lot of different people and organise events. I organised a bake sale at my mum’s work, a sponsored event at my taekwondo club where everyone could come dressed in blue and also a sponsored (virtual) row along the Nile.

In total, I managed to raise £320. Knowing that this will make a difference in children’s lives just shows that a bit of hard work here can completely change a life somewhere else.

Overcoming Challenges

It wasn’t always easy. At the beginning, my biggest worry was whether I would actually be able to hit my fundraising goals or if people would support my ideas. I was definitely nervous about asking people for donations and talking to people about my project.

Once people saw how much it meant to me, and how much it meant to the children Edukid supports, my friends, family and even strangers were keen to support me.

My Highlights and Lessons Learnt

The highlight of my time with Edukid has been seeing the impact of global citizenship. It’s incredibly rewarding to realise that you don’t have to be an adult or a massive organisation to create change.

Through this programme, I’ve developed my skills in organisation, public speaking, and even some creative skills. But more importantly, I’ve gained a much wider perspective on the world.

To anyone thinking of volunteering…

If you are considering volunteering with Edukid, my advice is: just do it. Don’t worry if you feel like you don’t know where to start or if you think your contribution will be too small. Every single book, uniform, and school fee matters.

I chose Edukid because it was quite straightforward to access. My original volunteering
placement fell through. Edukid interested me because I could find out more about young
people in different countries, who struggle to access education.

• 
  I raised money for the Uganda solar panel project, to help young people get access to light
  in the evenings so they can learn.
  
• I did a sponsored walk between Ely and Cambridge, which was 17 miles. I did it in one day.
• 
  I raised £280 which will make an impact upon these young people’s lives.
• 
  The actual walk was a challenge. Luckily my close friend and his mum met me on the last
  chunk and brought me refreshments to keep me and my mum going.
  Occasionally I couldn’t find what I needed online and asked for help from my mum.
• 
  It’s been interesting to learn about different places around the world, where the geographical
  / political / demographic situations affect lives. It overlapped a little bit into what I’m learning
  about in GCSE Geography and this made real connections to people affected.
• 
  It was the first time I had done a sponsored walk and a walk of that distance. I found it hard –
  especially near the end and I was tired for a couple of days afterwards. What was nice was
  that lots of people I know supported me and Edukid via the JustGiving website.
• 
  It’s a good volunteering option if you have difficulties finding a physical placement nearby. I
  also find it difficult to be with lots of other people and I enjoyed the independent nature of this
  project.
  

We are incredibly excited to officially launch a new partnership project with Rotary International, the Bideford Bridge Rotary Club, and the Rotary Club of Gulu City to create lasting change for the communities we support in Uganda.

Thanks to Rotary funding, we are now beginning a new two-year microfinance project designed to help people build sustainable livelihoods and reduce cycles of poverty.

The project officially began on 1st May, with funding now received and implementation underway.

This initiative will provide small loans to support income-generating activities such as farming, market trading, tailoring, and crafts. Alongside access to microcredit, beneficiaries will also receive structured financial literacy and business skills training to help them establish and grow sustainable businesses with confidence.

Importantly, the need for this project came directly from the community themselves. During regular evaluation work linked to our education programmes, families spoke about the challenges they faced in creating stable livelihoods and the barriers preventing them from accessing opportunities. We recognised a growing need to support families beyond education alone, creating pathways for parents and guardians to become more financially independent and reduce long-term reliance on charitable support.

We also wanted to create opportunities for our students after graduation, as well as for the Bonga girls who complete vocational and skills training programmes. Many young people leave training with valuable skills, but without access to finance they are unable to put those skills into practice or start small businesses of their own. A major challenge many people face is exclusion from traditional forms of credit. Because of vulnerable backgrounds, lack of collateral, or unstable incomes, many individuals are unable to access loans through conventional systems and can become trapped in cycles of poverty or reliant on high-risk informal lending.

This project takes a different approach.

Rather than focusing on profit, the model is designed around empowerment and long-term sustainability. Interest rates are kept low, beneficiaries receive significant training and mentoring to develop strong business plans, and community support networks are built to provide ongoing encouragement and guidance. By integrating microfinance with entrepreneurship and financial literacy training, we hope to give participants the tools they need not only to start businesses, but to sustain and grow them successfully.

The project will also actively tackle gender inequality. Women are often disproportionately excluded from traditional lending systems and are more likely to rely on insecure informal borrowing arrangements. To help address this imbalance, 70% of the project’s beneficiaries will be women.

Over the next two years, the project is expected to directly support 200 people through microfinance loans. However, the wider impact will extend far beyond this number — supporting families, creating employment opportunities, and strengthening local communities as businesses grow and livelihoods improve.

We are hugely grateful to Rotary for partnering with us to create real, lasting impact, and we are excited to see the difference this project will make in the months and years ahead.

It has been a pleasure to volunteer for edukid. I have learned so many things about the lifestyle of countries less fortunate and how 1,000s of people help them. I am proud to say that I am one of them. Helping them just by raising money has made me a better person. I would say that everybody should do it as it is the most amazing thing ever.