The International Save the Children Fund was founded in 1919 by a British humanitarian, Eglantyne Jebb. Eglantyne was moved by the plight of children in Austria and Eastern Europe immediately following World War 1 and, ignoring the many angry views in Britain that she was helping "children of the enemy", Eglantyne began Save the Children's first relief scheme in Austria, supplying food to starving children. Eglantyne's vision and clarity of thought were ahead of her time. She began Save the Children as a compassionate but highly professional international aid organisation with high ambitions and strict standards: "The new Charity... must have some clear conception of its job, and seek to compass them with the same care, the same intelligence as is to be found in the best enterprises."
The Fundamental Rights of Children
In 1923 in Geneva, Eglantyne penned five directives she believed were the fundamental rights of every child believing that,
"we should claim certain rights for the children and labour for their universal recognition, so that everybody - not merely the small number of people who are in a position to contribute to relief funds, but everybody who in any way comes into contact with children, that is to say the vast majority of mankind - may be in a position to help forward the movement."
Eglantyne then lobbied the fledgling League of Nations until they adopted these rights in 1924. These formed the basis of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959 and later inspired the present United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is now more than twenty years old and has become the world's most universally accepted and widely ratified human rights treaty. This is one of Eglantyne's lasting legacies which continue to benefit and protect millions of children around the world, long after her death.
You can read more about the life and legacy of Eglantyne Jebb in recently published The Woman Who Saved the Children by Claire Mulley.
Save the Children in Australia
Save the Children Australia was Save the Children's first international branch and was established in Melbourne in the same year that it began in Europe, 1919. Australian opera singer, feminist and peace activist Cecilia Annie John, established the branch office and together with a group of concerned Melbournians, organised to send consignments of milk powder from Victoria's dairy farming communities to the famine relief effort in Europe.
In 1951, Save the Children began programming within Australia, primarily focussing on health and education for Australia's indigenous children. Among the first projects were indigenous welfare centres and pre-school centres around Victoria. Find out more about Save the Children's history in Australia.
Save the Children Australia now has branches, programs and supporters in every Australian State and Territory. We also directly manage programs in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu and support specific projects in several more. Find out more about where Save the Children Australia work.
Where Are We Now?
Globally, Save the Children International is now the world's largest independent child rights development organisation. We have members and donors in 29 countries and programs in more than 120 countries. Eglantyne Jebb's original declaration of child rights and the formal United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child continue to underpin Save the Children's work and development philosophy worldwide. Our programs now include everything from emergency relief to long-term development, as we work to secure health, education and protection for millions of children worldwide.
The Fundamental Rights of Children
Save the Children Australia was Save the Children's first international branch and was established in Melbourne in the same year that it began in Europe, 1919. Australian opera singer, feminist and peace activist Cecilia Annie John, established the branch office and together with a group of concerned Melbournians, organised to send consignments of milk powder from Victoria's dairy farming communities to the famine relief effort in Europe. 
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