When David Spurdle, Stand by Me Founding Director, visited a church in 2007 to speak about the work of Stand by Me, he met Dr Janet Dacie. At the time, David had no idea the impact that Janet would have on Stand by Me through her sponsorship, support and dedication to being an advocate. At the end of 2025, while Janet was in St Francis Hospice receiving end-of-life care, she recounted her journey of involvement with Stand by Me. 

With ongoing civil war in Myanmar many displaced children have had everything taken away from them, their safety, homes, education and their future. Our staff at the Sophia Project are keen to see every child, not just the ones we care for, succeed and distributed stationery to over 200 displaced children. One father, Lwin shared a heart warming message of thanks.

When Kiya was given a place at school, her mother “laughed all the way home.” Kiya lives with her mum, Meseret, and her younger brother in a small mud home. A few years ago, Kiya’s father became ill and despite receiving treatment, he passed away leaving a huge hole in the family.

Myanmar, where we care for over 2,200 children, continues to be ravaged by war. In the north, families live under the constant threat of aerial bombardment, where schools, churches and homes can be struck without warning. As conflict intensifies, for thousands the only choice has been to flee. 

“Displacement often makes children feel invisible.” shared Thawn, who held a camp for over 250 displaced children in north-west Myanmar. 

In recent months rising tensions between the military and rebel groups have forced families to flee to other villages, forests and across the Indo-Burma border, leaving behind all that they own and taking with them the deep wounds of trauma.  

I wanted to share with you an update from my recent trip to Romania to visit the children at our Denisa Day Care Centre. I had the privilege of taking a small team to teach sewing skills to the children, to encourage confidence in maths and to give the children a view of themselves as part of a big world-wide Stand by Me family that cares about each other. 

We wanted to share with you some of the incredible impact that the gifts purchased through the catalogue have made in the lives of our kids around ...

Across the world our kids have been celebrating Christmas and as we look back on 2025 we are so grateful for your support. Through sponsorship, fundraising and sharing the stories of our kids you have helped to make 2025 another incredible year.