Food Security & Livelihoods

We believe that every child should grow up in a family that can provide nutritious food, care and protection. Food security and sustainable livelihoods are essential for parents to meet their children’s needs, build resilience and create opportunities for their children to thrive and reach their full potential.

We are committed to nurturing children and helping parents to care for and protect their children. The Food Security & Livelihoods (FSL) components in our programmes support parents by increasing production, diversifying income, and encouraging savings for the future.

They ensure that their children are well nourished, can grow up healthy, go to school and reach their potential. Self-Help Groups and community programmes strengthen economic resilience, social cohesion and self-reliance. 

Self-Help Groups bring people together to support one another, save money and build a more secure future for their families. By saving collectively, providing loans to members and developing financial skills, group members can invest in small businesses, meet household needs and cope better with unexpected expenses. By strengthening families’ economic resilience and independence, Self-Help Groups help parents provide for and care for their children.

The Participatory Integrated Planning (PIP) approach empowers the whole family to work together towards a better future. Parents and children are actively involved in identifying their dreams, setting goals and making practical plans to improve their livelihoods, strengthen food security and create a healthier living environment. By encouraging every family member to contribute, PIP helps families turn their ambitions into action and build a future where children can grow up healthy, safe and with opportunities to thrive.

Farmer groups bring farmers together to learn from one another, improve their agricultural practices and strengthen their livelihoods. By sharing knowledge, accessing resources and working together, farmers can increase food production, diversify their income and build resilience to challenges such as climate change. This helps families access nutritious food, improve their financial stability and create a better future for their children.

Climate resilience is an important part of Help a Child’s work to strengthen families and help children thrive. As climate change makes life increasingly unpredictable, we support families in adapting to challenges such as droughts, floods and changing weather patterns. By promoting climate-smart farming, sustainable use of natural resources and diversified livelihoods, we help families protect their food security, strengthen their resilience and build a more secure future for their children.

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is about helping families and communities prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters before they happen. Help a Child works with communities to identify risks, strengthen preparedness and develop practical ways to reduce the impact of hazards such as floods, droughts and other emergencies. By building knowledge, strengthening local capacities and promoting community-led solutions, we help protect children, safeguard livelihoods and ensure families are better equipped to face future challenges.