This special fund has been set up in loving memory of Craig Maartens, who sadly passed away from COVID-19 on 2^nd January 2021, leaving behind Janine, Declan, Callum and Trinity, as well as myriad friends and colleagues who are heartbroken by this loss.

Craig worked for Save the Children from 2006 to 2021 and was dedicated to the organisation and its cause. In his role as Global Safety and Security Director, he supported staff from across the movement to deliver our mission for children in a safe and secure way. Craig was the calm lead in countless crisis management situations, had a passion for road safety, and pioneered a sector-leading approach to gender & diversity safety and security. In 2020, as the COVID-19 outbreak escalated into a pandemic, Craig was instrumental in making sure staff all over the world were able to return home safely, while enabling staff in country to continue to carry out their work serving the world’s most marginalised and deprived children.

Helping children in South Africa

When Save the Children South Africa launched its first ever emergency response programme, Craig provided critical safety & security advice. He visited our team on the ground, and helped ensure a successful food distribution in the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). We learned from this, and now use the approach across the country.

So we thought that a great way to honour Craig, who was himself from South Africa, would be to direct all donations towards this programme, specifically to food voucher support for vulnerable families in his home province, KZN.

Thank you for supporting this.