Railway Children is thrilled to be a charity partner for the Hollywood blockbuster film Lion, starring Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman.
Date: 16th January 2017
The producers behind the film have launched the #LionHeart social impact campaign, in partnership with The Charity Network. The campaign aims to raise awareness and funds for non-profit organisations in India helping children, like the film’s Saroo, living in poverty away from their families. Railway Children is one of three non-profit organisations to have been made a charity partner.
Dev Patel, one of the stars of the Lion said:
“Helping India’s most vulnerable children isn’t about signing a petition, making a phone call or clicking a ‘like’ button. There are organisations on the ground doing amazing work to help kids like Saroo,and the best way we can help them is by giving them the financial support they so desperately need.”
Terina Keene, Group Chief Executive of Railway Children, said: “
There’s a seamless connection between the story of Saroo and the reality of what we do every day, making this an incredible opportunity to raise awareness and offer the audience a tangible response to these problems on a global scale. We are a grassroots organisation and are passionate about delivering positive change and this campaign will help us in our fight for vulnerable children who live alone at risk, suffering abuse and exploitation on the streets of India.”
Railway Children works with children who, like Saroo, find themselves alone and facing extreme danger on the streets in India. Last year, with the help of partners, Railway Children indirectly contacted and protected over 201,000 children at Indian railway stations.
The film was launched on 20th January 2017 in UK cinemas and is currently available to watch on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Railway Children will join partners from the Rooted Futures collaboration at the 2026 Skoll World Forum to lead an interactive session on family strengthening and child protection reform.
Over 200 supporters from the rail industry raised more than £60,000 at Railway Children’s Night At The Station event, spending a night in stations across the UK to protect vulnerable children at risk.
Through our flagship youth participation programme, Youth Platform, young people are shaping our training materials, influencing key decisions and ensuring the rail industry truly understand youth vulnerability.
Julia, 24, grew up as a boy but knew, early on, that the gender she’d been born into was not who she was. Here, she talks to Youth Platform about her journey, and what she wishes she’d know as a ten-year-old boy.
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In India, Railway Children is reaching some of the most vulnerable young people through a powerful and proven approach: peer leadership.
