Waladi

Get involved

The people who run Waladi are all under 21.

Our senior leadership, permanent members and volunteers are all under 21. That is not a youth programme running alongside the real one. It is the whole organisation. Partners and associate brands can be any age, and anyone can raise a story.

Eight ways in

Pick the one that matches what you can actually give.

Join the team

For people under 21

Our senior leadership, permanent members and volunteers are all under 21. Under-18s need a parent or guardian to agree.

Help with the work behind our reporting: checking facts, finding the figure behind a statistic, translating, writing, design or video. You tell us what you are good at in a short form, and we match you to work that fits.

WhoUnder 21

TimeFlexible. You choose how much

To startA short form about your skills

Apply to volunteer

Teach a subject you know well to children whose school has stopped, in small groups wherever possible, until they understand it well enough to teach another child. Classes run at fixed times so the children can count on you.

WhoUnder 21, confident in one subject

TimeAbout two hours a week, at fixed times

To startA short form, then safeguarding checks

Apply to teach

Help lead Waladi: an officer role, or a place on one of our regional desks in Beirut, Cairo, Geneva, Tokyo or Nairobi. You decide what gets reported and answer for what goes out. Places are very limited and selection is highly competitive.

WhoUnder 21

TimeA full, regular commitment

To startThe senior application

Apply

Anyone, any age

No age limit

You do not need to join Waladi to help. Everything here is open to everyone, including people over 21.

Start a group of students who follow our reporting, host a talk, or invite us to a conference. We send you what you need to run the first session.

WhoAny age

TimeEach term, or for one event

To startMaterials for your first session

Ask us

You do not need to know the child or be related to them, and we only ask for their first name. If you are under 13, ask an adult to send it for you.

WhoAnyone

TimeAbout five minutes

To startOne short form

Raise a story

Organisations, brands and people of any age can work with us as partners or associate brands, under their own written agreement.

WhoAny age

TimeAgreed together

To startA message to our partnerships inbox

Get in touch

Share a link to any story, or quote a short passage with credit to Waladi and a link back. To republish a full article or a photo, ask our press desk first.

WhoAnyone

TimeNo sign-up

To startPick a story

Read the stories

We check everything, but figures change and mistakes happen. If something we published is wrong, or a fake account is using our name, tell us and we will put it right.

WhoAnyone

TimeOne email

To startA link to what you found

Tell us

After you apply

Nobody sends a form into silence.

01 · You apply

One short form. It asks what you can do and how much time you have, not for a CV full of things you have not had the chance to do yet.

02 · We read it

Someone on the team reads every application, never a computer. Applying does not guarantee a place, and it is not a job, a contract or paid work.

03 · We check

We may ask you to confirm your age, and under-18s need a parent or guardian to agree. Roles near children also need ID, a reference and training.

04 · You start

You agree in writing to our safeguarding rules, then start on real work. You speak for Waladi only when doing work we have asked you to do.

We never ask for money

Waladi does not accept donations, payments or gifts of any kind. If anyone asks you for money in our name, it is not us. Do not pay, and tell us straight away.

Working with children

Lessons happen online, in groups wherever possible. You contact children only through Waladi's own channels, never ask for their number, address or photo, and never meet them in person.

If you are over 21

You cannot hold a position or volunteer with us. You can still work with us as a partner or associate brand, raise a story about a child, and share our reporting.