The Bernard van Leer Foundation funds and shares knowledge about work in early childhood development.

The Foundation’s mission is to develop and support programmes that create significant positive change for children up to the age of eight years growing up in circumstances of social and economic disadvantage.

BvLF’s vision is one of a world where, in spite of such circumstances, young children reach their full potential.

For children’s human potential to be to realised, they need nurture that is physical, social, emotional, intellectual, cultural and spiritual – and a belief that the most appropriate care for young children comes from their parents, families and communities.

BvLF currently support about 140 major projects and focus their grantmaking on 21 countries including Africa, Asia, Europe and America.

Bernard van Leer Foundation considers proposal only if it addresses the three issues(Care, Transitions and Diversity).

The African countries include;

• Kenya – Care, Transitions
• South Africa – Care, Diversity
• Tanzania – Transitions
• Uganda – Care, Transitions
• Zimbabwe – Care

Please note that Bernard van Leer Foundation do not provide grants for the following:

• Applications for support to individual children
• Projects that concentrate solely on one aspect of children’s development or learning, such as health care or special educational needs
• Projects that focus on youth or children older than the age of eight
• Proposals for the construction and maintenance of buildings, the purchase of equipment and materials, or occasional recreational activities such as holiday camps
• Requests for scholarships, conferences, media or theatre events
• General organisational support or requests to cover recurrent costs or deficits.

For more information and application deta United Nations Voluntary Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery Grants

The Fund focuses particularly on individuals who suffer from the most severe forms of human rights violations occurring in the context of slavery, as well as the most identifiable contemporary forms of slavery – chattel slavery, debt bondage, human trafficking, serfdom, child labour and servitude, forced labour, and/or forced marriage.

The distinctive value of the Fund is its ability to provide concrete assistance to the victims of contemporary forms of slavery including housing, legal aid, psycho-social support, food, medical care, training and sustainable sources of incomes.

Previous projects undertaken with the Fund’s grants include medical, psychological, education and housing assistance aid for women and girls victims of forced marriages in the Middle East region, vocational training to victims of human trafficking for sexual and economic exploitation in the African region; support to rehabilitation centers for sexually and physically abused street children in the Latin American region, support for children used as jockey camels and projects to identify and release bonded labourers in the agriculture, carpet and construction industries.

The Fund bridges the gaps not addressed by other UN programmes and has a dynamic and integrated approach.

For information on application guidelines, visit: United Nations Voluntary Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery Website

ils, visit: Bernard van Leer Foundation