Rebuilding Mali

There are three disasters simultaneously unfolding in Mali.

First, the Sahel region in Africa has been battling a severe food crisis. This food crisis preceded the conflict and has been considered the worst in recent history. In Mali alone, 1.2 million people have been rendered food insecure and malnourished.

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Senegal: Reaching talibé child beggars

In Senegal’s worst Koranic schools, the teachers routinely send their pupils to beg on the streets, citing it as a part of their religious learning.

The children, known as ‘talibés’, receive no formal education and can suffer poor living conditions. Boys aged from 3 to 15 must earn their keep on the streets, while girls may be put to work in the school – or daara – itself.

Watch the clip to learn more and see how Plan is working as a partner in the USAID-funded Basic Education Project, which is supporting the introduction of a formal education cycle and better learning conditions into daaras in Louga and Dakar.

Case study microfinance: Lifting thousands out of poverty

Plan-supported microfinance schemes are giving some of the poorest people around the world the chance to access savings and credit services, invest in their businesses and break out of the cycle of poverty. 

The schemes particularly target poor women living in rural areas, who typically would not be able to borrow money from commercial banks - so are forced to borrow from loan sharks who charge exhorbitant rates of interest. 

"I felt humiliated because I couldn't look after my children," says young mother Milene. "Now that I'm in the microfinance group I am sending my children to school. I've just bought a piece of land and I think I'll be able to buy a house thanks to the microfinance group." 

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The road to Zambia: A trip down memory lane

When John Woods was a young boy, he and his family moved from Canada to Zambia, Southern Africa where he spent six years of his childhood. His memories of Zambia remain dear to him, and as the years went on, John found a way to connect with his past.

“I always had an attachment to Zambia and a close kinship with the country,” explained John. “So, we specifically requested a child from Zambia when we decided to sponsor children through Plan Canada.”

When John and Merilyn began sponsoring 8-year-old Luka, their ties to Zambia grew closer. As Merilyn says, “you develop an attachment to these children and they almost become extended members of your family.”

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Supporting Residents is Crucial to Restoring Livelihoods and Social Infrastructure in Mozambique

Life seems to be returning to normalcy in the flood-hit town of Chókwè. Electricity and water have been restored and the community is cleaning up in the aftermath of the worst floods in 13 years.

Despite these recovery efforts, Chókwè residents are still faced with the reality of dwindling food stocks, disease outbreaks, and the cost of rebuilding destroyed social and economic infrastructure.

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What’s the impact of a new music studio in Senegal?

Up until recently, the idea of a music career was all but a dream for children living in the slums of Dakar. However, thanks to the support of famed Swedish rapper Timbuktu, Plan in Senegal has opened a new music studio.

Now there are possibilities for Senegalese children to be heard in their communities … and maybe even the world.

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Off the balance sheet: the impact of the economic crisis on girls and young women

This report by Plan and ODI examines the continuing and deepening impact of the economic crisis on girls and young women worldwide.

Long standing economic trends, entrenched gender inequality and austerity budgets have all left girls and their families bearing the brunt of fewer resources and reduced access to services.

Key findings from the report include:

• Girls drop out of school more – with a 29% decrease in primary school completion for girls versus 22% for boys.
• Family poverty hits girls hardest - a 1% fall in GDP increases infant mortality by 7.4 deaths per 1,000 births for girls versus 1.5 for boys.
• Health cuts leave adolescent girls at greater risk during pregnancy with 14-19 year olds most at risk of death in pregnancy in many countries.

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Improving Maternal and Child Health in Sri Lanka

Over the past year, Plan has been working with local residents and government health officials in villages across Sri Lanka on a new Health Promotion Strategy to make simple lifestyle changes in order improve maternal and child health.

Plan’s goal is to lower the under-five child malnutrition rates, which can often be as high as fifty-percent. The program also seeks to improve early childhood development.

 

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Improving education and wellbeing amongst vulnerable children in Senegal

Plan is working in Senegal to improve the educational opportunities and general welfare of children attending Koranic schools, known as daaras.

Partly due to a lack of funds and resources, young people living as part of daara arrangements face substandard living conditions and inadequate educational provisions. Moreover, maltreatment and exploitation is common. Many of the students, or talibés, are some of Senegal's most vulnerable children, separated from friends and family and living on the street.

“Traditionally, children went to daaras to learn the Koran, but also to learn a profession – such as agriculture,” says Oumar Ben Khatab Gueye, a project worker at Plan Senegal. “But it is now corrupt. The talibés are now children who are on the street, in a difficult situation, vulnerable physically and mentally, and often mistreated.”

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A Newfound Interest

Pacia, a 17-year-old member of the H’Mong minority ethnic community in Laos, has not let her parents’ stop her from learning –even if they have made her drop out of school. On the contrary, she has attended several Plan sponsored training sessions for youth radio announcers. Each time she has interviewed a community member with an issue to include in her radio program she has learned something new. 

Pacia is a member of a children’s group in the Paktha District that has provided her with the knowledge and technical skills needed to run local radio programs. These radio programs are part of a joint pilot project between Plan and the Provincial Department of Information, Culture, and Tourism. 


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Case study: Salamatu's school dream comes true

Two years ago, Salamatu, 19, was forced to drop out of business school because she could not afford to pay the tuition fees after the death of her father and brother.

Plan Sierra Leone and local partner, CIFORD, set up youth savings and loans groups in her community and it was not long before Salamatu had joined, become chairwoman of her group, and taken out her first loans: one to buy a bag of rice to start up her small business and one to pay her school fees.

She is one of over 3,000 young people in Freetown, Sierra Leone, participating in Plan's youth savings and loans programme, which introduces 15-25 year olds to financial literacy.

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Plan Distributes Learning Kits to Flood-Hit Schools in Mozambique

As the flood-induced humanitarian crisis continues to take its toll on thousands of communities in Mozambique, global children’s rights organization Plan International has started distributing learning kits to thousands of displaced school children to enable them to return to school.

Plan has also stepped in to provide emotional and psychological support to hundreds of teachers affected by the floods, which killed about 80 people and affected almost a quarter of a million people in the past few weeks.

 

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Children in Mozambique go back to school after floods

At Nkonne Primary School near the town of Chókwè in Mozambique, books and desks were destroyed by the recent floods which forced the school to close down for two weeks. Children and teachers have now returned and are trying to see what can be salvaged. Plan is helping the school get back to normal by providing 'learners kits' with exercise books and other items the children need.

Widespread flooding has left a trail of destruction in Mozambique. The floods, the heaviest since 2000, have submerged towns in Gaza Province, destroying roads, bridges, schools and hospitals.

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Bollywood star supports Plan's work for girls

Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan is donating tens of thousands of pounds to our Because I am a Girl campaign in India. Our campaign aims to support four million girls to stay in education and fulfil their potential. At least one in five adolescent girls around the world is denied an education because of poverty, conflict and discrimination. Every day, girls are taken out of school and forced into work, or married off to strangers where they risk isolation and abuse. Missing out on school can mark the end of a girl having any choice over her own future.

“I have always believed there is no difference between a male and a female child,” says Amitabh. “I have a son and daughter and whatever little we have will be equally divided.”

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Love

Plan's economic security strategy 2010-2015

This document outlines Plan’s strategy for promoting the economic rights of children and young people.

It focuses on children, young people and women and applies the dual approach of supporting households to reduce vulnerability for children and ensuring that young people are prepared to become economically active adults making a positive contribution to civil society.

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Facing an Illiterate Future

Senegal’s Koranic masters routinely send their pupils to beg on the streets, citing it as a part of their religious learning. Can one project improve the conditions and literacy of the Talibé children?

The mosque calls the evening prayer as five year-old Ngagne approaches the glow of the fire. A small, barefoot boy in filthy shorts and a ragged t-shirt, he curls up in the dirt, a little hunched figure leaning towards the light.

“At night I get scared,” Ngagne says. “I miss my parents so much.”

A Quiet Child Learns to Speak in Sri Lanka

When Nilusha’s daughter was 2 years old, she could only speak a few words –and Nilusha blamed herself. Her family believed that baby Kavisha could not talk because they had neglected some of their traditional rituals.

“We couldn’t observe her first meal of rice and her first haircut, according to our traditions," says Nulisha, who lives in the village of Veherayaya, in southern Sri Lanka. "I was feeling guilty as well. Things between me and my husband got bitter. He was angry and often shouted at me.”

But family traditions were not the cause of Kavisha’s learning problems, which are common in Veherayaya. A recent study has shown that 24 out of the 80 village children - 30 percent - had growth and development problems.

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Partnering for Girls

Plan Partners with 10x10 to Bring Attention to the Importance of Educating and Empowering Girls

We’re pleased to announce our exciting partnership with10x10, a global social action campaign with a groundbreaking feature film at its heart.

As part of Plan’s 'Because I am a Girl' initiative, we are working with 10x10 to raise awareness that educating and empowering girls can break the cycle of poverty in just one generation. For additional ways to get involved in our campaign, check out the projects Plan is implementing around the world to give girls a brighter future.

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Case study in pictures: Building skills for Timor-Leste's future

Around half of Timor-Leste's youths are unemployed. As more than 75% of the country's population is under 30 years old it means many thousands of young people are struggling to find a livelihood.

View the slideshow to learn about life in the capital Dili and see how Plan is providing training and employment schemes for out-of-work youths. 

From supporting young people to run their own businesses to teaching skills on agriculture and food production, Plan's programmes are helping youths to achieve their potential.

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A Diamond in West Africa

Located in West Africa, the Mano River basin encompasses regions of Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Quests to control oil, diamond and gold stores have contributed to the area’s conflict, but there is one Guinean woman determined to bring stability to the region.

Dr. Saran Daraba Kaba, a CEDPA alumna, is the founder and president of the Mano River Women’s Peace Network. In 2000, Dr. Saran led women from all walks of life to participate in the process of bringing peace to the region. The network participated in negotiations, which culminated in peace talks in Ghana in 2003. Because of their efforts, the U.N awarded them with the Prize in the field of Human Rights.

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Plan Funded Dormitories in Laos Improve Student Attendance

Like many children in Laos, 14-year-old Buasao lives far from school. For years she walked for two hours just to attend class in Pha Oudom district, Bokeo province. Her parents, a farming couple of the Lamed ethnic group couldn’t afford to buy her a bicycle, so she had no other choice but to walk to and from school each day.


Because of Pha Oudom’s remote location, there are only 4 secondary schools which serve the district’s 89 villages. The distance between student homes and schools often result in long commutes.

“Many of these children attend class sporadically or dropout completely,” said Mona Girgis, Director of Plan Laos.

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Plan Blangladesh TV game show highlights girls' rights

Plan Bangladesh has launched a television game show to highlight girls’ rights and development issues. The show is called ‘The Plan’, (which stands for Play, Learn, Achieve and Nurture). It pits teams of young men and women against each other in a series of challenges – which test their skills, knowledge and improvisation.

The challenges have been designed to highlight key messages around gender equality, violence against women, sexual harassment and child marriage. The programme is presented Tony Michael Gomes, Plan Bangladesh’s Communications and Public Relations manager. He says, “Reality shows are hugely popular these days and we chose this programme format to exploit its mass appeal”. The intention is that the issues will be brought home to viewers in an engaging and thought-provoking way.

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“I only wish I'd known then what I know now: I could have spared so many girls.”

“I only wish I'd known then what I know now: I could have spared so many girls.” Bobo Siede performed Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) at ceremonies across Guinea Bissau for more than 20 years. Now she works with Plan to advocate against it.

As we reach the tenth International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) on 6th February 2013, Plan is continuing to raise awareness within African communities about the dangers of the traditional practice – and change minds.

FGM, sometimes performed on girls as young as six, has many serious health risks: it violates the rights of girls to be protected from harm and often leaves women fighting for their lives. But in many communities it is a cherished tradition, defended by men – and women. 

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Economic security: what we do

Children are often the first to feel the effects of poverty, being forced to go hungry or leave school to earn an income for the family.

Plan works with community partners to ensure that families in extreme poverty have the skills they need to increase their income and can access financial services.

In 2012, Plan trained 72,075 agricultural workers and provided vocational and business training to 72,788 people. We also supported 5,366 microfinance organisations and 34,100 local savings and loans groups, benefiting 15,468 communities.

Over the next decade, 1.3 billion young people will be entering the workforce, but only 300,000,000 new jobs are expected to be created. To reduce poverty, one of our key priorities is to make sure that young people have opportunities for decent employment.

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Challenging traditions around FGM

Safaa is 23 years old and lives in a slum area in Egypt with her husband, two sons and a daughter.

Growing up, Safaa’s family was very poor and, like other girls in her community, she married young.

"Once I got married, I got so busy with my children, and I forgot about myself and my rights. Even if I was very young, I started to behave like my mother and like many other women in my community, replicating behaviours and traditions that were very hard on girls. Even traditions that I had criticised before like female genital mutilation, I considered for my daughter," she says.

However Safaa's attitude changed when her neighbour invited her to a women's awareness support group. 

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Designer Naja Munthe støtter Plan

Naja Munthe, som står bag munthe plus simonsen, har helt ekstraordinært designet og doneret en jakke til Plans pigekampagne ”Because I am a Girl.”

Jakken er produceret i 230 eksemplarer og syet af kvinder i det fattige Rajasthan i Nordindien.

Sammen med magasinet Elle og den anerkendte modefotograf Signe Vilstrup besøgte Naja Munthe selv kvinderne for at være sikker på at følge arbejdet.

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Millennium Development Goals on the agenda in Liberia

David Cameron became the first British Prime Minister to visit Liberia this week to attend talks on international development targets.

The PM will co-chair a United Nations meeting to discuss what happens after the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) expire in 2012.

He must grasp the “historic opportunity” to take major steps towards ending child poverty, leading charities urged.

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Thailand's Most Marginalized Girls Seize Scholarship Opportunities

"It was like having a new life after I received a scholarship from Plan," says 19-year-old Arba. Arba is from the ethnic Akha hill tribe in the Northern Thailand province of Chiang Rai.

Arba is one of Thailand's 44,000 'stateless' children whose births have not been registered, limiting their access to social services such as healthcare and education. Most stateless children, especially girls, are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty.

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Economic security

Plan's work to promote child rights and lift millions of children out of poverty is based around 8 core areas: education, health, water and sanitation, protection, economic security, emergencies, child participation and sexual health, including HIV. With that comes the three main campaigns Because I am a Girl, Count Every Child and Learn Without Fear.

Over the next year one of these areas or campaigns will be the focus for one month each.

The focus of February is Economic security.

You Never Have Too Little to Share

In a large compound on the outskirts of Ségou, two shadows are discernible in the shade of a mango tree, curled up, almost invisible. Aissata is laying down on the sandy ground with her little boy Bouba by her side.

She tries to find a comfortable position. However, without a mattress, mat, or even a cloth underneath her frail body, it looks impossible to achieve.

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Potential boost to developing economies through microfinance

The global economy, and particularly developing nations, could receive a yearly savings boost of up to US$157 billion if the 2.7 billion adults worldwide who are ‘unbanked’ participate in savings-led microfinance programmes.

The figure is part of a new report that finds that closer cooperation between banks, NGOs and governments is essential for real progress in financial inclusion.

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