Discover how children in one of Africa’s most closed-off countries are facing hidden struggles in education, health, and freedom — and meet the quiet heroes offering care, connection, and hope.
Eritrea is one of the most isolated and tightly controlled nations in the world. Decades of militarization, restricted freedoms, and underinvestment in public services have left children growing up without the opportunities or protections they deserve. These are the three most urgent challenges they face:
While schooling is officially free, many children leave early due to poverty, conscription fears, or lack of resources. Secondary school students often face military training, and rural children face long travel distances or limited access to quality teachers.
With few income sources and patchy healthcare infrastructure, many children work to support their families — especially in agriculture and informal trade. Preventable illnesses go untreated, and malnutrition persists in both rural and urban settings.
In a country with restricted press, surveillance, and limited civil society, children grow up in silence. Those who experience trauma, abuse, or grief rarely receive emotional support, and public discussion about mental health remains taboo.
Despite these challenges, Uganda’s children remain full of hope — dreaming of education, health, and opportunities for a better tomorrow.
At iam4allkids.org, we bring light to stories that are often hidden — and stand with the children who face quiet hardship, not by choice, but by policy. In Eritrea, we support the people and partners offering safe spaces, health care, and learning opportunities — often under the radar, but never without purpose.
We:
Share the realities of Eritrean children growing up with limited freedom and shrinking futures
Highlight grassroots efforts offering education, health, and social support — despite government restrictions
Stand with refugee youth who have fled and are now rebuilding their lives
Even in silence, the needs are urgent. And the courage to act still grows.
Eritrea rarely makes headlines — but for its children, every day is a battle for stability, safety, and visibility.
Over 30% of children are out of school by lower secondary age
Many youth are conscripted into military training or forced labor by the time they reach high school
Health access remains limited, and children with emotional or developmental needs are often left behind
We believe that every child — no matter where they’re born or what their government allows — deserves protection, voice, and care.
Even when voices are restricted, hope still finds a way:
In remote villages, teachers are volunteering their time to keep classrooms open without state support.
In informal health centers, nurses are helping children grow strong with the little they have.
In refugee camps across East Africa, Eritrean youth are starting school again — and dreaming big.
Because of supporters like you, these efforts are gaining visibility.
No one can silence a child’s spirit — not for long.
While much of Eritrea is closed to external work, RSN supports Eritrean children who have fled to Sudan, Ethiopia, and Uganda. The organization offers access to education, legal protection, psychosocial care, and family tracing services.
RSN works with partner agencies to build learning centers in camps, help refugee children enroll in school, and provide trauma-informed support. For children who crossed borders alone or in fear, RSN offers structure, belonging, and stability.
Their work gives refugee youth more than safety — it gives them a way forward.
Operating quietly through local churches and clinics, St. George Health Outreach provides basic health checkups, nutrition support, and maternal education in Eritrean communities where public clinics are unreliable or absent.
They focus on reaching malnourished children, children with disabilities, and rural families who are often cut off from care. Through local training, food assistance, and medical referrals, they are creating community-based safety nets where none officially exist.
In places where care feels out of reach, they bring it close.
In 2023, RSN and partner organizations launched the Backpack Project, distributing school kits, uniforms, and language resources to Eritrean refugee children in camps in Sudan’s Kassala region.
Children who had been out of school for years lined up to receive their first backpack — some with names stitched by hand. Teachers helped each student enroll in classes, and many began learning the host country’s language for the first time.
The backpacks weren’t just supplies — they were symbols of reentry into hope.
In 2024, St. George Health Outreach organized Nutrition Awareness Day in low-income suburbs outside Asmara, gathering families for workshops on infant care, breastfeeding, and affordable nutrition using local crops.
Health workers distributed fortified porridge, vitamins, and clean water filters, while caregivers learned how to monitor malnutrition at home. Games and cooking demos made the event feel less like a clinic — and more like community.
For many parents, it was their first experience with child-focused health education.
Meet the ten organizations making extraordinary strides in improving the lives of Eritrea’s children — one community at a time.
Supporting Eritrean refugee children with legal aid, education, and protection.
Delivering nutrition and health care in hard-to-reach and underserved communities.
Supporting Eritrean youth in exile with education, trauma care, and reintegration tools.
Advocating for refugee rights and offering psychosocial support for unaccompanied minors.
Providing under-the-radar child health services and maternal care training through local networks.
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