India’s tobacco girls

Five-year-old Aliya thinks it is some kind of game which she will soon have to master. From the time she wakes up until she goes to bed Aliya watches her mother and all the other girls and women in her neighbourhood engaged in a frantic race. They all make beedis – traditional hand-rolled Indian cigarettes.

To assemble each beedi, the roller painstakingly places tobacco inside a dried leaf from a local tree, tightly rolls and secures it with a thread, and then closes the tips using a sharp knife. For anything between 10 and 14 hours every day, Aliya’s mother and the others must each roll at least 1,000 beedis to earn less than $2 (about £1.30), paid by a middleman.

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Relief for families hit by China earthquake

Plan teams are delivering emergency relief to families affected by the earthquake which hit north-west China on Monday.

Over 58,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed and more than 332,300 people have been affected in Gansu Province.

"Everything started shaking," says 7-year-old Li, one of many children who have been forced from their homes and are now living in tents with their families.

Plan deployed an assessment team to the affected zone the day the earthquake hit and is supporting 1,000 of the worst-affected households - including Li’s - with emergency relief kits.

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Families fear for children's education after earthquake

"Everything started shaking," says seven-year-old Li, one of the children affected by an earthquake that was 6.6 on the Richter scale, which hit north west China early on Monday 22 July.

The quake drove Li and her family from their home in Majiagou, less than a kilometre away from the epicentre in Gansu Province. Li, her younger brother, parents and grandmother are now living in a tent.

Current reports indicate that the earthquake has killed 95 people and injured thousands in this remote and mountainous region. Over 58,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed and more than 332,300 people in Gansu Province have been affected.

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Plan's Disaster Risk Management Strategy 2009-2013

This strategy outlines how Plan strives to achieve its vision of having effective programmes that promote the rights of children and young people and protect them from threats of conflicts and natural and human-made disasters.

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See it come true

Hi everyone,

Today I will be leaving for Aruha, Tanzania where I will be volunteering for three months starting of at a day care/orphanage for a month and then I will be doing some microfinance before moving on to Kenya where I am not exactly sure what I will be doing. I have always wanted to help in the developing field and I am looking so much forward to actually getting over their and doing it! And getting some experience before moving on to (hopefully) study International Development at a university. Though I have to tell you that it is extremely hard to apply for university during the summer, luckily I have a really cool brother who will help me while I'm away!

My blog is called seeitcometrue.blogspot.com, see it come true, it is taken from a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "the invariable mark of a dream is to see it come true."

Hopefully we will see many more dreams than mine coming true these next five months, I can't wait!

And by the way, I have planned loads of blogposts on this blog as well, because of course my themes for each month has to continue so they will all come and at least until the end of August there will be a post everyday, and you are all welcome to read my own blog as well!

- Maria

Communities Lose Everything in North West China Earthquake

Although Majiagou villager Zhu's newly-built house collapsed in the 6.6 earthquake that devastated North West China earlier this week, his focus is on the future of his grandchildren, as he says, “One thing I fear most is my grandchildren’s education in the new semester in September."

Seven-year-old Li is just one of the children from that same village who has been affected. "Everything started shaking," she says of the earthquake which began on the morning of July 22nd. The earthquake left Li and her family displaced from their home in Majiagou. Her younger brother, parents, and grandmother are now living in a tent.

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An important message to all the world’s dads

One of history’s most influential thinkers once said: “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” We couldn’t agree more, Sigmund Freud.

Our work to break the cycle of poverty often starts with family and equality of opportunity for girls and boys in areas of health, education, and in their careers and communities.

So to bring about change, we need to start at home. Fathers in many of the countries where we work are regularly considered the head of the household or key decision makers. They play a key role in influencing decisions and opportunities of their daughters, sons, wives and community as a whole.

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Case study Vietnam: Tackling disaster risks

Watch this video developed by children in Vietnam on their experience of Typhoon Ketsana and how they plan to protect their communities from future disasters.

Typhoon Ketsana killed more than 160 people, destroyed 21,000 houses and ruined 100,000 hectares of agricultural land when it hit Vietnam in 2009.

The children, who are from an ethnic minority, were given media training by Plan as part of a programme to give a voice to traditionally excluded people. Marginalised groups are rarely included in discussions and decisions on policies and programmes that affect their lives.

Nepal moves to abolish kamalari slave system

Nepal’s government has taken a huge step towards protecting the nation’s girls by formally announcing the abolition of the harmful kamalari practice.

Plan has welcomed the news and urged the government to follow through and take legal action against those who hire girls as kamalaris (child servants) to work in households in return for money or education.

“This is a significant step in the right direction and it could not come at a better time as the world’s attention is currently locked on the rights of girls in the wake of Malala Day last week,” says Donal Keane, Plan's country director in Nepal.

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3 down, 2 years to go: 10 things you should understand about the G8 Summit in Huntsville

Flashback three years ago: it was June 2010. The world’s leaders assembled in Huntsville, Canada for the annual G8 Summit – a time to discuss international affairs at a global level. This time, the focus was on maternal, newborn, and child health. The world took notice. But like many people, you may find yourself asking: what came of the Summit? Why should I care? That’s easy.

Every day, mothers and their children in developing countries die needlessly during pregnancy and childbirth. But many of these deaths are preventable.

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Education Helps Women and Children Recognize Their Value

According to Egyptian Law, a child must be at least 16 years old to obtain employment. However, 46 percent of the 1.96 million working children in Egypt are between the ages of 15 and 17. In Egypt, children as young as 5 are employed as child workers, making them extremely vulnerable to exploitation, maltreatment, and the deprivation of their rights.

Nadia, 13, is from the slum community Khairallah in the south of Cairo. She is one of the 17 percent of working children who work for more than 12 hours a day without receiving a break. With her simple but emotional words, she recalls those days.

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After the cameras have gone - children in disasters

Children are the most photographed, and least listened to, victims of disasters. As the tsunami relief effort moved from rescue to rebuilding, Plan re-printed this report on the long-term effect of disasters on children. The report demonstrates that the protection of children and their right to participate in decisions made about their future will be overlooked if patterns of previous disasters are followed. 

During a disaster the physical survival needs of children including safe water, food, shelter, clothing and primary health care are usually given a very high priority. However, other needs and rights, like protection from abuse and harm, education, rest, privacy and the right to participate in matters that affect them, are too often overlooked. 

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Dreaming big in Ethiopia: Meet 9-year-old Bezawit

Every child should have the right to dream, like 9-year-old Bezawit. She dreams of going to school and attending class with students every day. But Bezawit learned early that not all dreams are meant to come true.

When Plan’s field workers met Bezawit, she was living in a slum on the edge of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She lived there in a tiny shack with her mother and two sisters. Inside her home, there was no running water or furniture, just cardboard strewn across the dirt floor.

Much worse, there wasn’t a single flushing toilet in her entire community. As a result, disease was widespread and poor health all too common.

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Girls from Malawi and Pakistan at London child marriage meeting

Four girls from Malawi and Pakistan are talking to Justine Greening, the UK Government’s Secretary of State for International Development, and other high level decision-makers, about the impact of child marriage in their communities.

You can read more about the girls, who are members of Plan’s Global Speakers Network, below. They are participating in a special event today attended by London based High Commissioners from across the Commonwealth of Nations and representatives from the UK’s Department for International Development.

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A girl’s right to say no to marriage

“I thought he was my dad,” says Ramatou of her marriage, age 10, to a man she had never met. Ramatou is now preparing her 13-year-old daughter Mariama to be wed.

Plan’s new report, A girl’s right to say no to marriage, examines the global problem of child marriage and its devastating impact on the lives of children, particularly girls.

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Malala Day London

Plan UK, A World at School and the Southbank Centre in London recently hosted a special event highlighting girls’ right to education. The event tied in with the first ever youth take-over of the United Nations General Assembly on 12th July 2013 – now designated ‘Malala Day’. Malala Yousafzai was shot by masked gunmen while she was on her way to school in Pakistan last October – targeted for her support of girls’ education. On her 16th birthday she lead the first ever youth UN take-over in New York making a moving and powerful speech.

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Case study Dominican Republic: Be alert to disaster!

When Hurricane Tomas threatened the Dominican Republic last November (2010) hundreds of children were fully prepared to protect themselves, thanks to Plan’s disaster risk reduction training.

Watch the video to see how 447 children from 9 schools in Barahona and Pedernales provinces spent their 2010 summer vacation learning disaster risk prevention.

Through fun activities the participants located their nearest emergency shelters and found the best evacuation routes. They also learned how to raise awareness among parents and the wider community so that everyone was prepared when the next disaster struck.

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Through Help Comes Hope

Gil L’Italien is an avid traveler, epidemiologist, and enthusiastic supporter of Plan International USA. His generous involvement with the Because I am a Girl campaign programs have helped give hope and promise to countless girls in developing countries. In addition to Gil’s support of Plan, he is directly applying his epidemiologic skills to improve the health status of impoverished children in Mexico.

Plan recently asked Gil a few questions about why he enjoys supporting Plan’s programs, and here are his responses.

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Poverty Can Steal a Child's Dream

Rania had always dreamed of becoming an engineer and she studied hard to make her dreams come true.

However, when Rania’s father suffered a stroke, his condition limited the number of hours that he could work. As a result, the family’s income decreased, priorities shifted, and educating the children was no longer of importance.

“This made it hard for me at school. Every time I was asked to buy certain number of textbooks, my father could only afford to buy half the number required. I faced many embarrassing situations at school, especially when the headmaster came to the class and called my name. He strongly rebuked me for not paying the school fees by the due date, asking me not to come to school till they were paid,” Rania said.

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Hånden i vejret for pigerne!

I går var det Malala Dag, i den anledning tog tre af os fra Plan Future ind i Folketinget for at snakke med Mogens Lykketoft. Vi fik ham til at række hånden i vejret for pigerne samtidigt med at vi gav ham og hele Folketinget et brev om hvor vigtigt det er at sætte pigers ret uddannelse på dagsordenen når post 2015 målene skal udformes.

Echoing Malala's voice: Youth take over Sierra Leone's national parliament

As youth from all over the world today join Malala Yousafzai in taking over the United Nations General Assembly in New York, thousands of miles away, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, a group of 50 young people between the ages of 11 and 18 are setting out to do the same in their national parliament.

24 boys and 26 girls, from communities where Plan works all over Sierra Leone have been inspired by Malala’s call to action on education, giving a voice to the 66 million other girls who, like she once was, are denied an education.

They too want to raise awareness by advocating draft resolutions that directly fall in line with the Millennium Development Goal’s objective to achieve universal primary education.

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Malala Day: Youths take over UN

Malala Yousafzai has celebrated her 16th birthday by leading the first ever youth takeover of the United Nations in New York.

Young people from around the world - including a Plan-supported youth delegation - gathered together on 12 July to agree an official youth ‘call to action’ for the UN’s education work post-2015.

Malala, who was shot in the head by the Taliban last October for being a schoolgirl, made a powerful and moving speech. She highlighted the plight of ‘other Malalas’ across the world and called for urgent action to ensure education for all.

"One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first," she said.

Watch Malala's speech in full, via the BBC website*

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Watch the UN youth takeover

Watch a live stream of Malala's speech and the first ever youth takeover of the United Nations.

Find out more about Malala Day and see how you can get involved.

Support girls' education: Raise your hand now.

Source credit: UN Web TV

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Child-Centred Disaster Risk Reduction: Building resilience through participation

This publication provides an overview of Plan’s child-centred disaster risk reduction work. 

The report presents the results and recommendations of a 5-year programme and is essential reading for anyone concerned about reducing the impacts of disasters and particularly valuable for development and humanitarian practitioners, donors and policy makers.

Malala Day: Plan’s youth delegates arrive in New York

Plan’s delegates at Friday’s youth takeover of the United Nations have been explaining why they believe education is vital for the future of young people around the world. 

The delegates are now arriving in New York, where they will join more than 600 other young people to agree a Call to Action which will help shape the UN’s education work from 2015. They will also hear from global education campaigner Malala Yousafzai, who is expected to call for the urgent prioritisation of education in developing countries. 

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A birthday to remember for Malala and girls around the world

July 12th will be one of those days you remember for the rest of your life.

Malala Yousafzai will address the public at the United Nations for the first time since being shot last year on her way to school by the Taliban in Pakistan. On the same day, Malala will celebrate her 16th birthday, a milestone millions of supporters dreamt she would reach.

Last October, Malala was shot by armed Taliban gunmen while she was on her way to school in Pakistan – targeted for her keen support for girls’ education. In amazement, the world watched as Malala recovered from the malicious attack.

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Inside an internally displaced persons camp: Focus on Darfur

Imagine fighting breaking out in your town and having to flee your home with only what you could carry. It might be hard for most of us in Canada to imagine, but when widespread conflict erupted in 2003 in the Darfur region ofSudan, an estimated 1.5 million people had to do just that. Many of these families now live in what are called internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.

Plan has been working in Sudan since 1977 and in the area of North Darfur since 2005, helping children and families affected by the long-term conflict. Plan’s programs focus onquality learning, girls’ education, health and hygiene promotion, malaria prevention and environmental sanitation, as well as children’s and women’s protection.

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Ensuring a clean water supply after floods

People in Uttarakhand, India, are coping with the aftermath of devastating floods – the worst in the region in the last 20 years. As the flood waters which caused death and destruction recede, water will continue to create life-threatening problems. “Immediate priorities during and after a flood will be minimising risks of outbreaks of waterborne diseases, which will be very high due to anything and everything being washed everywhere – notably into water supplies,” says James Robertson, Plan UK’s water and sanitation expert.

Tragically in Uttarakhand, where hundreds of people were killed in the flooding, (thousands are missing) water supplies are seriously contaminated, “These are the only sources of water the people here have. The water needs to be disinfected or else disease will spread further,” adds Murali Kunduru, Plan’s emergency response manager in India.

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Emergencies: what we do

From disaster relief to recovery projects, Plan works to protect the rights of children and young people during emergencies.

In 2012, Plan provided life-saving humanitarian assistance, protection, education and emotional support in 36 disasters across the world.

We don’t stop when the news cameras go home but focus on children’s long-term needs, providing recovery programmes and developing disaster risk reduction strategies.

Children recover more quickly when they are involved in rebuilding their community so we ensure that children and young people take part in our disaster response.

Plan is now recognised as a global leader in child-centred disaster risk reduction. Preparation can make all the difference when the worst happens and we work with children, communities, and government agencies to identify disaster risks and strengthen their resilience.

When warnings were issued for the March 2011 tsunami, children in Indonesia, Philippines, Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama evacuated people to safe places and took other early action, thanks to our disaster risk reduction work.

Because I am a Girl film wins international prize

Plan’s ‘Because I am a Girl: I’ll take it from here’ film on the plight and power of girls has scooped a top prize at the world’s leading animation awards. Film director Mary Matheson blogs on the event in Annecy and a thrilling win.

Annecy, the French Alps - a crystal clear lake surrounded by shuttered chalets, with a backdrop of snow-capped mountains and deep blue skies. What better place to hold the International Animation Festival 2013* than this fairytale location?

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The other Malalas

Malala was gunned down by the Taliban in Pakistan because she dared to be a schoolgirl. But violence isn't the only thing stopping girls from getting an education.

Watch the clip and meet the 'other Malalas' who face a daily struggle against poverty, prejudice and discrimination as they attempt to go to school.

For Farridah, harassment threatened her dreams. When her grandfather saw her being intimidated by boys on her way to class, he took her home, beat her and forced her to drop out of school.

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Because I am a Girl: Sweet dreams

See how Brendar, a young Malawian, took up the challenge of starring in Plan’s innovative I'll take it from here stop-motion film to highlight the plight and power of girls worldwide.

Brendar scooped the role when Plan teamed up with local youth media group Timveni, which used to be part of Plan’s programmes but now stands on its own feet as an independent TV and radio station.

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Emergencies

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 July is Emergencies.

2,000 hands raised in Cannes

I arrive in the middle of the night at Nice airport in France. I am here to accompany Because I am a Girl campaign ambassador, celebrated author and journalist Mariane Pearl to the Lion’s awards in Cannes.

Mariane arrived earlier so I trudge with my bag looking for a way to reach Cannes. I am so excited – the first time in this well known and beautiful part of Côte d’Azur (literally = the blue coast).

Soon this excitement gives way to exasperation – the only way to reach Cannes is by exorbitantly priced taxis and monsieurs are in no mood to haggle with me. All my Indian skills to negotiate a price downwards are of no avail.

Ah well – welcome to Cannes.

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Malala raises her hand for girls!

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who has become a global symbol of a girls’ right to an education, has given her support to Plan’s Raise Your Hand campaign.

Malala, and her father Ziauddin, have both raised their hands – a symbolic gesture which calls on the United Nations and governments around the world to make girls’ education a global priority.

It is the first time Malala has supported an international non-governmental organisation’s education work since she was shot by Taliban gunmen on her way to school in Pakistan last October – targeted for her support of girls’ education.

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Sommerens PlanNyt

Vores faddermagasin, PlanNyt, er nu landet i postkassen hos vores PlanFaddere.

Her kan man blandt andet læse om Nepals slavepiger, Plans arbejde i Egyptens slum og om danske unge, der gør en forskel.

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