Children's Welfare Stamps

Each year, since 1924, PostNL issues the Children's Welfare Stamps, sold with a surcharge. The proceeds of the benefits go to the Foundation for Children's Welfare Stamps, whose mission is "give vulnerable children development opportunities for a better future", through different programs within the Netherlands and abroad. 

The issues include the Children's Stamp Campaign: Every year in September, more than 200,000 students in grades 7 and 8 of the primary school hit the streets to sell the children's Welfare Stamps. In November, the children visit their customers again to deliver all orders.

Besides the charity purposes, they are usually striking and clever designs. These were issued on 29 October 2011, with the theme Give children a safe home, and designed by Solar Initiative.

Every stamp shows a single child playing. But, if you look at the whole sheet, you can see they are building a paper house together, as a metaphor of a secure environment.

Another sheet that I find especially eye-catching was the issued  on 4 November 2013, with the theme Let Children Learn.  The stamps were designed by Anton Corbijn; he photographed the children while his visit of an educational project in Ethiopia. 

The stamps highlight the contrast between children who attend school and children who have to work. Three children play a leading role on the stamp sheetlet, whereby each of the three is photographed both at school and at work.

See more children on stamps on Sunday Stamps-II.