Annual Report 2023 - Save the Children Canada

THIS IS YOUR IMPACT

MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT/CEO
AND BOARD CHAIR

Click on the video to listen to a special message from our President & CEO and Board Chair.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS THANKS TO YOUR SUPPORT

In 2023, your dedication to children has been incredible.

You’ve supported efforts to respond to emergencies, help families facing hunger, provide mental health support, and protect children’s rights.

These achievements are more than just figures; they represent futures brightened.

Every milestone reached is a result of the dedication and hard work of partners, team members and you, our supporter.

Working with partners in Canada and around the world, and with the support of our community of donors, including you, we took urgent and necessary action to address the needs of children, with a focus on four key areas:

CHILDREN IN CRISIS

When conflict escalates or a natural disaster occurs, we are often the first to respond and we stay for as long as we are needed, to help children and families as they rebuild their lives. During and after emergencies, children are at an increased risk of abuse, exploitation, and missing out on education. Your help allows us to protect children, and fulfill their rights to learn, play, and enjoy their childhood.

In 2023, we responded immediately to major humanitarian crises in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gaza, Haiti, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Türkiye, and Ukraine.

To help children we:

distributed critical supplies, including emergency food, medicine, and clean water
established child-friendly spaces so kids can learn and play in a safe place
provided psychosocial support to help children through their recovery

RECONCILIATION AND INDIGENOUS CHILD RIGHTS

The National Reconciliation Program (NRP) at Save the Children works to advance reconciliation and Indigenous rights. We follow leadership from Indigenous communities, supporting their priorities, programs, and initiatives. These include mental health and wellness, climate resilience, and education.

This community-driven, community-led approach and our commitment to centring community voices and cultural safety are central to our partnerships and ways of working.

Using guidance from an Indigenous-led and rights-based approach, the NRP establishes meaningful relationships with Indigenous (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) communities and children, committed to programming focused on Truth and Reconciliation efforts in Canada.

In 2023 the NRP:

created meaningful change in the lives of 12, 637 children and 24,924 caregivers

worked alongside 79 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis partners on programming that supports Indigenous and Child Rights

worked across nine provinces and territories, with programming primarily related to health, education, and climate change

Exploring cultural identity

In 2023, the NRP supported the Kw’umut Lelum Foundation through the PhotoVoice project to shine a light on young people from nine Coast Salish Nations. The youth — aged from nine to early twenties — set off in four canoes during the annual Tribal Journeys. The journey was not only physical but was also one of cultural identity and connections. They captured photographs along the way, which were later put on display.

PARTNERSHIP HIGHLIGHT:
Shaping the future of international development

With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Reconciliation Program (NRP) undertook an exciting research project with Indigenous leaders from across Canada. As part of a multi-year initiative, the NRP hosted focus groups and conducted key informant interviews to understand Indigenous perspectives of international development, using an approach grounded in upholding Indigenous Peoples’s rights, as outlined under the United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions’ Calls to Action.

This groundbreaking research maps the landscape of perspectives and will shape the future of international development work and Indigenous involvement.

The resulting report, Pathways to Progress: Indigenous Approaches in International Development, will be released in 2024 and includes concrete actions for building more trust-based, reciprocal relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders and organizations, strengthening collaboration and equity for a better way forward.

GENDER EQUALITY

With your support, we directly contributed to reducing gender inequality to advance our vision for a world where every child attains an equal right to survival, protection, development, and participation, regardless of their gender.

We recognize that gender inequalities create major barriers to sustainable development, and we work to ensure our programs identify and account for the different needs, abilities, barriers, and opportunities of all, including girls, boys, women, and men.

Programming supports meaningful and lasting positive change in the lives of children and adolescents. It is a priority to work alongside children, their families, community and government leaders, and influencers to identify and transform root causes of gender inequality for girls and women, boys and men.

Ensuring girls get an education

Your involvement supported innovative development programs, such as She Belongs in School (SBIS) in Mozambique. SBIS tackles inequalities and harmful attitudes about gender so that girls can be protected and succeed at school.

How SBIS benefits girls in Mozambique:

Works with adolescent girls (ages 10-19), supporting them to access their right to quality, gender-responsive education.
Builds foundational learning outcomes (literacy, numeracy, and life skills) that can help girls grow into powerful advocates of their rights.
Helps connect girls and boys in the community to the Children’s Parliament structure, where they can express their needs and hold government accountable.
Works with Gender Equality Champions in the community, who help promote messages around girls’ right to education, and to challenge discriminatory and harmful gender norms.

PARTNERSHIP HIGHLIGHT:
Empowering Girls and Boys

Since 2020, The Slaight Family Foundation has supported Save the Children with our work to empower adolescent girls and boys in Sierra Leone to help them make informed decisions about marriage, pregnancy, and sexual and reproductive health. As a result, adolescent girls experiencing child, early, and forced marriage (CEFM) decreased from 26% to 5% throughout the lifetime of the project.

Girls who took part in activities gained confidence, improved their decision-making abilities at home, and became more involved in economic and civic activities. Equipped with the necessary skills, information, and resources, these girls are able to shape their own futures and uphold their human rights. They are also making a positive impact in their homes and communities, and their advocacy has led to stronger institutional frameworks at both national and sub-national levels in Sierra Leone.

CLIMATE JUSTICE

The climate crisis affects children’s future, yet they have contributed the least to the destruction of the environment. With your support, we work with children, families, and communities to increase their climate resilience and help implement smart solutions, which ensure families are better prepared when a climate disaster hits.

Creating change

The GENERATION HOPE CAMPAIGN is a movement for and with children calling for urgent action on the climate crisis and inequality. It calls for:

political action to tackle climate change
an increase in public investment in children
children to be part of the decision-making

Children are not quiet when it comes to the climate crisis; they have insightful views and bold demands for change. Their movements have helped to push the climate emergency up the political agenda.

In 2023, we supported more than 14,200 children across 40 countries to strengthen their skills and meaningfully lead and participate in campaigns for a greener and fairer future.

Your help gave 3,000 children the tools, safe spaces, and platforms to share their views and hold their leaders accountable, ahead of the UN Sustainable Development Goals summit.

We also held the first virtual Children’s Assembly, with more than 50 children from more than 10 countries, and ensured their views were heard by world leaders. 

THANK YOU

In 2023, children were resilient in the face of unimaginable hardship. They displayed the strength of their spirit and their limitless potential.

As we look ahead, we know that the path to a better world for children requires all of us to continue to stand together, act with compassion, and amplify the voices of children.

The achievements of 2023 reflect what we can accomplish when we come together for children. Thank you for being part of this incredible journey.

OUR FINANCES

Report of the Independent Auditor on the Summary Financial Statements

Opinion

The summary financial statements, which comprise the summary statement of financial position as at December 31, 2023, and the summary statements of operations and changes in net assets for the year then ended, and related note, are derived from the audited financial statements of Save the Children Canada (the “Organization”) for the year ended December 31, 2023.

In our opinion, the accompanying summary financial statements are a fair summary of the audited financial statements, on the basis described in the Note to the summary financial statements.

Summary Financial Statements

The summary financial statements do not contain all the disclosures required by Canadian accounting standards for not-for-profit organizations. Reading the summary financial statements and the auditor’s report thereon, therefore, is not a substitute for reading the Organization’s audited financial statements and the auditor’s report thereon.

The Audited Financial Statements and Our Report Thereon

We expressed an unmodified audit opinion on the audited financial statements in our report dated May 28, 2024.

Management’s Responsibility for the Summary Financial Statements

Management is responsible for the preparation of the summary financial statements on the basis described in the Note to the summary financial statements.

Auditor’s Responsibility

Our responsibility is to express an opinion on whether the summary financial statements are a fair summary of the audited financial statements based on our procedures, which were conducted in accordance with Canadian Auditing Standard (CAS) 810, Engagements to Report on Summary Financial Statements.