Our Partnership

Save the Children and the IKEA Group have been working together since 1994, in particular on issues related to children used in harmful labour. Save the Children supported the development of IKEA's child labour code of conduct "The IKEA Way on Preventing Child Labour", which is part of IKEA's overall code of conduct "The IKEA Way on Purchasing home furnishing products" (IWAY).

Save the Children and the IKEA Foundation (the philanthropic arm of IKEA and registered Dutch charity) work together to actualize children's rights to a healthy and secure childhood with access to quality education. By listening to and learning from children, we develop long-term projects that empower communities to create a better everyday life for the many children.

The IKEA Foundation estimates that 100 million children will benefit from their current programs commitments with over 10 partners, including Save the Children, by 2015.

A key aspect of our partnership is an annual campaign, where a donation is made to Save the Children and UNICEF for every soft toy sold by IKEA in the two months before Christmas. The Soft Toy Campaign aims to improve the education of the most disadvantaged children while recognizing that education is one of the best investments for them. Since 2003, the Soft Toy Campaign has raised a total of 35.2 million euros to support over 70 projects in nearly 40 countries. The result has increased steadily each year and the 2010 campaign resulted in a donation totaling 11.4 million euros.

For more information please also visit www.ikeafoundation.org

Cotton Initiative

As one of the leading child rights organisations globally, Save the Children fights for children's rights and deliver immediate and lasting improvements to children's lives. In South Asia, the collaboration with the IKEA Foundation is a ground-breaking example of what can be done if stakeholders collaborating between sectors join forces.

The IKEA Foundation has identified cotton and cotton-seed farming areas in India and Pakistan as areas where there is a great need to improve the rights and lives of children. This is why the IKEA Foundation supports long-term child rights and education programs managed by Save the Children and UNICEF in a number of cotton producing states in India and Pakistan.

Children in India and Pakistan often lose several months of schooling or drop out of school altogether because they are in the cotton fields weeding or picking. Raising local awareness through women's self-help groups, child protection committees, children's groups and adolescent girls' collectives, plays an important role in strengthening children's rights, including the prevention and elimination of child labour.

By addressing the root causes of child labour the programmes aim to bring long-lasting improvements of children's rights, and by raising awareness among parents and local communities, the aim is to secure children's access to quality education. By listening to and learning from children, children's rights are made a reality for many children in India and Pakistan.

Children who have dropped out or never had the chance to go to school get access to education, sometimes through informal "bridge schools" before being eased into the conventional school system. The quality of mainstream education is enhanced by training school teachers in child-friendly teaching techniques and by introducing various learning aids.

Since 2006, the IKEA Foundation (then known as the IKEA Social Initiative) has supported UNICEF and Save the Children in implementing child rights programmes to prevent child labour and promote quality education in cotton and cottonseed farming areas. The aim is to create a protective and healthy environment for children in at least 15,000 villages in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan in India and in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan in Pakistan.

Emergencies

Save the Children supports children not only during the most critical phase of an emergency, but also in the long term. The IKEA Foundation has been one of the major donors in Save the Children's response in emergencies since 2007 and has chosen to support victims of large natural disasters such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and the flooding in Pakistan, to address their critical needs for a place to call home. In addition, IKEA retail countries help financially and through in-kind support during national disasters.

Cyclone Nargis, Myanmar (Burma) 2008

In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar causing widespread destruction and loss of life. Official figures put the death toll at 140,000, but it is estimated that 2.4 million of the 7.35 million people living in the affected townships were severely affected by the cyclone, with up to 800,000 people displaced. According to the UN, children were estimated to represent 45% of this figure.

Save the Children was able to respond quickly to the emergency situation in Myanmar by rapidly deploying existing national staff from its long running development programme. Save the Children implemented food and non-food item distribution, health, nutrition, livelihood, child protection, education, WASH (water and sanitation), emergency shelter and disaster risk reduction programs. Save the Children has reached 620,000 people including 200,000 children.

As part of the IKEA partnership, the IKEA Foundation distributed 200,000 soft toys (crocodiles and hippos), which reached Myanmar in a series of shipments between September and November 2008.

The toys were distributed at the Child Friendly Spaces established by Save the Children. These Child Friendly Spaces gave girls and boys a safe place to play, to express themselves, and to support each other in the days, weeks and months after Cyclone Nargis. The toys were used during treatment to help children recover from their trauma and had a significant impact for many children.

Working in 11 of the affected townships, Save the Children's child protection team established 157 child friendly spaces which reached over 135,000 children. More than 300 community volunteers were trained to support children and to facilitate games, songs, health and hygiene awareness-raising etc.

The IKEA Foundation also supports Save the Children in more long-term reconstruction work. Thanks to funding from the IKEA Foundation, we can make it possible for many of these children whose schools were damaged or destroyed by the cyclone to get an education. The project is designed to reach 20,000 children and to integrate into Save the Children's long term work in Myanmar in strengthening child protection. By addressing these issues we will ensure better protection for children from abuse, neglect, violence and exploitation, and from disaster related risks and hazards. Furthermore, girls and boys will be better prepared to protect themselves in the event of future emergencies.