Justin Forsyth, Chief Executive of Save the Children, responded to criticism of the charity’s latest campaign.
Save the Children, prominent UK charity promoting children’s welfare globally, made headlines this week when they launched their first-ever campaign to raise British children out of poverty. Though some lauded the group’s efforts to draw attention to the problem of poverty in the UK, others branded the charity’s campaign a political move.
Justin Forsyth, Chief Executive of Save the Children responded to those accusations, in a statement emailed to Periscope:
“It is a shame that some critics want to divert attention from the powerful insight our campaign has given into the lives of the very poorest children in Britain today. The unusual step we took was to ask children themselves their views. The appeal was based on strong independent polling which told us that some of the poorest families in the UK are struggling without basic essentials like food and heating.
Save the Children is never party political – we are a charity – but we do believe it is our responsibility to speak out on behalf of children. We have done this from our founding days when Eglantyne Jebb championed children’s rights 90 years ago . The question for our country is whether we can afford to allow the hopes of a generation of children to be wasted.
This is an urgent issue for all political parties. The UK is one of the richest countries in the world and no child should grow up without daily essentials such as a hot meal, a warm coat or shoes that fit.”
