Mind the child

Kids Company, a leading London charity supported by Prince Charles, Helen Mirren and Stephen Fry, presents the voices of some of London's children, in partnership with the charity's founder Camila Batmanghelidjh - part of a series of twelve books tied to the twelve lines of the London Underground. Written by the children of Kids Company in partnership with Camila Batmanghelidjh, Mind The Child will bring voices to light from the hidden parts of the city, the parts not usually heard from in our media, the parts least served by investment, and by public transport. The stations of the Victoria Line are some of the few on the Underground to weave into the capital's most neglected areas - south and east London - but even they stop abruptly at the relatively central points of Brixton at one end, Walthamstow at the other. Here, the children bring us beyond these arbitrary cut-offs, into the vast stretches of the metropolis they call home. They want us to look at what we don't see. Kids Company supports 17,000 children and young people, many of whom have endured significant childhood maltreatment. The children are assisted through a recovery programme and helped to achieve their full potential. Kids Company is inspired by the children's courage and creativity as well as their ability to forgive those who have harmed them and remain hopeful. Their supporters include Prince Charles, Richard Branson, Stephen Fry and Helen Mirren.