WAR CHILD

Established in: 1994
Global presence: 15+ countries

War Child International is an independent non-government organization founded in 1993 by film-makers Bill Leeson, David Wilson, and peace activist Willemijn Verloop. The organization works with parents, caregivers, community members, NGOs, governments, corporations, and other partners worldwide to ensure that children have access to protection, education and psychosocial support. War Child's work is rooted in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

War Child has historically been supported and endorsed by numerous influential patrons. However, it lost support from Luciano Pavarotti, Brian Eno, and three other celebrity patrons, along with 11 trustees, after it was discovered that in 1995 co-founder Bill Leeson took a bribe from contractors building a music centre in Bosnia. In 2001 when the story broke, War Child said that any financial mismanagement in the charity occurred "years ago" and they are "dealing properly with these historical charges".The UK Charity watchdog, the Charity Commission for England and Wales stated that they had been involved with the trustees regarding the matter since 1998. Bill Leeson is now a director at GardenAfrica, a charity he co-founded in 2002.