When Help Can’t Wait: ChildSafe Agents in Action

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I was in a hotel room after a day of training, watching The Lizzie McGuire Movie with Sari Hastuti, our Country Program Director in Indonesia. Sari’s phone lit up. A social worker on our Jakarta team had just heard from one of our ChildSafe Agents: a young woman, 18, was about to give birth.

The Agent and our colleague got her to a birthing center, and she delivered a healthy baby.

Once she had rested, our team sat down with her to understand what support she needed. Her family was no longer in the picture, and she had a newborn to care for. Our social worker and the Agent helped her reconnect with the baby’s father. While she recovers, the Agent has offered them a safe place to stay.

That night reminded me that our work doesn’t keep office hours. A child, a young person, or a family can need help at any moment, in any place.

This is why ChildSafe Agents matter. They are everyday people in the community, trained to recognize when someone needs support and who to call. Working alongside our social workers, they help us respond quickly, so a young person facing a hard moment is not facing it alone.

Story as narrated by Frances Leslie, Head of Partnerships – Friends-International