Our Theory of Change

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A safer, more inclusive future for Syria’s children

Syrian children face urgent threats from exploitation, abuse, and exclusion from education while the systems meant to protect them remain broken. Years of conflict have left millions of children vulnerable, with weakened institutions unable to provide the protection, care, and education they desperately need.

Our Theory of Change outlines how we bridge the gap between urgent action and lasting reform, working simultaneously to save lives today while rebuilding the institutions that will protect future generations.

Our THeoary of Change

Our Vision

All children in Syria are safe, well, and educated within a supportive society that upholds their best interests.

Our Approach: A Dual-Track Strategy

Child Guardians responds to the exclusion of children from protection, education, and care in Syria by advancing a dual-track strategy that addresses both immediate needs and systemic reform. This theory of change guides our work across two interconnected pathways:

Track 1

Responding to Immediate and Life-Threatening Needs

Our Objective

We aim to protect the most vulnerable children now, while broader reforms are underway. This track focuses on operational responses and emergency interventions that protect children from harm, reconnect them with education, and ensure inclusion and dignity.

Our Goals

  • Goal 1: Protect Children from Exploitation and Institutional Abuse Deploy child protection teams and caseworkers to identify children engaged in begging, scavenging, and hazardous labor. Enforce protection standards in residential facilities and detention centers, using monitoring and rapid response to reduce abuse, neglect, and disappearance.
  • Goal 2: Enforce Safeguarding in Schools and Learning Environments Implement safeguarding protocols across schools by training staff, conducting safety audits, and establishing community-based reporting and accountability systems to prevent violence and exploitation.
  • Goal 3: Reconnect Out-of-School Children with Education Expand access to non-formal, accelerated, and catch-up learning for children excluded due to poverty, displacement, or disability. Use mobile units and community-based education to reach children in remote or underserved areas.
  • Goal 4: Ensure Protection and Inclusion for Children with Disabilities Conduct outreach to identify children with disabilities and connect them to services. Provide assistive devices, inclusive learning materials, and community-based rehabilitation. Build the capacity of service providers and educators on disability-inclusive practices.
  • Goal 5: Provide Emergency Care and Family Tracing for Unaccompanied Children Strengthen family tracing, reunification, and alternative care for unaccompanied and separated children. Improve oversight of residential care facilities and activate community-based networks to prevent trafficking and disappearance.

Track 2

Policy Reform and Institutional Development

Our Objective

We aim to rebuild an inclusive, accountable child protection and education system in Syria by engaging ministries, civil leadership, and communities in long-term institutional reform.

Our Goals

  • Goal 1: Strengthen Capacity and Legitimacy of Governmental Institutions Build the skills and legitimacy of staff in the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Social Affairs. Integrate socially trusted professionals into service delivery and policymaking to address technical and human resource gaps.
  • Goal 2: Institutionalize Locally Led Bureaucratic Reform Support inclusive, evidence-based reform processes led by local actors within the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Social Affairs. Establish coherent policies and clear implementation pathways for inclusive education, safeguarding, and juvenile justice.
  • Goal 3: Empower Local Leaders and Intermediaries Equip community-level leaders, including unions and councils, to uphold safeguarding standards and hold institutions accountable. Provide leadership development, reporting tools, and links to national reform.
  • Goal 4: Build Safeguarding Systems for High-Risk Children Operationalize safeguarding systems across all institutions engaging with children, including schools, detention centers, and labor sites. Standardize case management, complaints, referrals, and monitoring protocols.
  • Goal 5: Mainstream Inclusion in National Recovery Agendas Embed inclusive child protection and education into Syria's reconstruction plans. Align humanitarian and governmental efforts to ensure that vulnerable children—especially those with disabilities or in conflict with the law—are prioritized in national recovery frameworks.

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