The Girl Issue

The girl issue is real, and it’s affecting girls and women around the world – but what is it? Girls in the poorest regions of the world are among the most disadvantaged people on the planet. They are more likely to live in poverty, more likely to be denied access to education, and more likely to be malnourished, simply because they are young and female.

And yet, studies show that when you invest in girls, the whole world benefits. If a girl has enough to eat, a safe environment, and an education, she’ll work to raise the standard of living for herself, her family and her community. And in time, she can even strengthen the economy of her entire country.

Learn more about the unique barriers girls face around the world, but also about the incredible power they have to change the future for everyone, here!

Helping you understand hunger and malnutrition

Hunger pangs. We’ve all been there, and it’s not fun! But did you know hunger kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined? Yup, it’s the number one health risk in the world, and 842 million people around the world do not have enough to eat. 98% - or 827 million people - live in developing countries.

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Grandmothers fighting malnutrition, one child at a time

Mother knows best, right? Well if that’s the case, it’s safe to call grandmothers the wisest members of the family. In Benin, Africa, that’s definitely the case.
“It’s often the grandmother that passes on the traditions, knowledge and values to children,” explained Paul Sabi Boum, a Plan staff member from Benin. “She is a respected member of the household and the community, and she is uniquely placed to influence others because of her experience.”

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A Step Forward for the Women of Papua New Guinea

“I was often thought of as crazy,” said Jukuli Kapiako, a CEDPA Global Women in Management (CEDPA GWIM) participant from the Hela Province in Papua New Guinea, also known as PNG. “Where I come from in Tari, our people were thought of as scary, because we had long skinny arms and legs and big bellies. I now know we were malnourished.”

Jukuli is one of 26 Papua New Guinean women leaders, who are attending the three-week long, CEDPA GWIM country-level workshop, sponsored by the ExxonMobil Foundation’s Women’s Economic Opportunity Initiative
. The need for this type of leadership and economic empowerment workshop in PNG is obvious. There were 80 applicants for 26 slots.Læs mere her!

Lunch Money Matters

Bringing a lunch from home is a healthier solution to eating out, but did you know that it can also help girls in the developing world? Invite your friends to take a lunch break that helps break the cycle of poverty. Simply download our free Lunch Money Matters fundraiser kit to raise money and awareness.

Read more here!

No child would ask for a life on the streets

"No child would ask for a life on the streets, but I had to accept it."

Ashraful knew what he wanted in life - it was a better education. For for the 14-year-old that opportunity lay in the busy metropolis of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Like the estimated 1.1 million 'street children' around the world, Ashraful soon realised that life on the streets was full of uncertainties and perils.

"Everyone tried to exploit me - the police, older children, snatchers - everyone." He would fit his three hours of school calsses around his work as a newspaper seller, where he was paid around 50 pence for a 12-hours day. The long, gruelling days started at 6am and went on late into the night, leaving him with jsut a few hours  to rest.
 
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Behind the Smile: a clown’s experience after Haiyan

It has been more than 100 days since Typhoon Haiyan. The entire world rushed to help the Philippines with humanitarian relief in the form of food, water and shelter... But another team with a very different kind of help arrived: they brought smiles with them.

When Michael O’Neil from Clowns Without Borders arrived the massive destruction overwhelmed him and his other 3 fellow clowns.

Michael is a teacher, director and performer with a BA from Castleton State College; he is a graduate of the most famous Ringling Bros.; and has a Masters in Fine Arts in Directing from the University of Portland.
 
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Rwanda genocide: young filmmakers look to the future

Young Rwandan filmmakers are coming together to mark 20 years since the end of the genocide as part of a Plan-supported film competition to promote reconciliation. The competition is among a series of events taking place around the world to commemorate the Rwanda genocide, which saw an estimated 800,000 people massacred in 100 days – leaving two thirds of the population under the age of 25. Three young filmmakers have already been selected out of 40 entrants to go forward to the finals - including Samuel Ishimwe, 22, with his short fiction film Crossing Lines, Yves Montand Niyogambo, 26, with the documentary Invincible, and Philbert Aime Mbabazi, 23, with a short fiction film called Hutsi-Akaliza keza.

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Take action: Support the right of girls to learn without fear

Do you believe that every child deserves to go to school without fear of being hurt, teased, abused or bullied? Sadly, this is not a reality for millions of children here at home and around the world – especially girls.

Plan Canada found that bullying, teasing, and physical and sexual violence is a major barrier to girls accessing their right to an education. Between 500 million and 1.5 billion children around the world experience violence every year, including girls right here in Canada.

Read more here!

Building a brighter future: 20 years after the Rwanda genocide

Twenty years after the Rwanda Genocide, despite all odds the country is on track to becoming one of Africa’s most developed nations. 

In around 100 days from April 7, 1994, at least 800,000 – and as many as one million – Rwandans were brutally and systematically murdered. Most of those killed were ethnic Tutsis. Plan Australia CEO Ian Wishart was there immediately after the slaughter finished. “What I remember most is the silence – the deathly silence. You’d move through village after village and you wouldn’t see a soul,” he commented during an interview with ABC News. “And that was because they’d either been killed, or they’d fled.”
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Meeting my mum's sponsored child left a lasting impression

Whilst backpacking around Africa on a trip of a lifetime with my friend, Natasha Hayman, 25, I have been fortunate to see the impressive ethos and execution of projects carried out by global children’s charity Plan UK thanks to donations from child sponsorship in countries including Uganda, Ghana and Ethiopia. Yet, we were still unprepared for the overwhelming experience of actually meeting the girl my mum sponsors through the charity. Her name is Pascaline, and she lives in Togo. My mum has been sponsoring her for seven years and I couldn’t wait to meet her.A two-hour drive took us from Atakpamé Pascaline’s village in the heart of rural Togo. As we stepped out of the car we found ourselves in the middle of a procession of singers and dancers. We were immediately led to a central meeting area, which was a clearing in the shade of mango trees, where 200 villagers gathered to welcome us. 

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Five fundraising ideas

Think you’ve got what it takes to fundraise? We’ve come up with five ways to fundraise to get you started. Plan’s advice to fundraisers: Find an issue that matters to you (here’s what matters to us). And most importantly: keep your event simple. 

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Fundraise

Fundraise Online

Set up an online fundraising page with Plan.

Host an Event

Organize an event in support of Plan as a fun and rewarding way to get nvolved. Get ideas, helpful hints, and materials for your event! 

Charity Challenge

Interested in travel, adventure, and raising money to benefit children in developing countries? Charity Challenge might be for you!

Read more here!

How does child sponsorship work?

Child sponsorship is still one of the most powerful ways to help break the cycle of poverty. 
Until the 1970s child sponsorship looked very different to what it does today. Since people started sponsoring children through charities in the ‘30s, children and their families received direct handouts, similar to a welfare system from sponsors in wealthier countries. Research and smarter ways of supplying aid to developing countries showed this wasn’t only unsustainable; it often created tension among communities when some families received money or gifts, and others didn’t. 

Today, child sponsorship is set up to benefit all children. But how? 

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A community free of child marriage, thanks to child sponsorship

Child sponsorship is an incredible way to support children around the world. It’s a unique and personal way to connect with a child in the developing world and make a lasting difference in their life. Child sponsorship is also a great opportunity to support projects that help an entire community. Yes! You heard us right -- your donation can help that many people.

Because of child sponsorship, Plan staff can operate effective programming that supports entire communities by providing essentials like health, education, water and sanitation, and livelihoods.

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One-on-one with Malala’s father, Ziauddin Yousafzai

As a parent, you make incredible sacrifices for your children. For Ziauddin
Yousafzai, his choices nearly cost him the life of his daughter, Malala Yousafzai.
In October 2012, Malala, a 15 year old schoolgirl from Pakistan, was nearly killed after Taliban gunmen tried to assassinate her on her way to school. She was targeted for her outspoken campaigning for girls’ right to an education. But with her family by her side, Malala made a miraculous recovery. Today, Malala is still fighting for girls’ education, and her father, Ziauddin, couldn’t be prouder.
We had the opportunity to sit down with Ziauddin, 44, on his recent trip to Canada. We wanted to get to know the man who raised Malala.

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Plan Youth Canada

Plan is one of the world's oldest and largest international development agencies. Our mission: A world in which all children realize their full potential in societies that respect people's rights and dignities.

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USAID and Partner Organizations Launch U.S. Global Development Lab to End Extreme Poverty

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers keynote address at launch event

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah announced today the establishment of the U.S. Global Development Lab at an event in New York City. The launch event featured a keynote address by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has been a strong supporter of the use of science, innovation and partnerships to further U.S development goals. The Lab and its 29 inaugural Cornerstone Partners will advance a science-and technology-based approach to development, creating a new global marketplace of innovations and taking them to scale to help end extreme poverty by 2030.

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37.924 kr. fra Midtfyns Gymnasium

Musik, teater, gymnastikopvisning, kunstauktioner, genbrugsmarked og tivoli. Der var underholdning for alle pengene, da eleverne på Midtfyns Gymnasium for nylig inviterede venner og familie til velgørenhedsdag.

På tværs af årgange og linjer havde eleverne brugt dagstimerne på at forberede sig til det helt store rykind, og om aftenen blev dørene åbnet til det velgørende arrangement.

Ud over entrébilletten solgte eleverne hjemmelavet kunst, postkort og bolcher i den gode sags tjeneste. Det lykkedes at samle hele 37.924,96 kr. ind, som går til Plan Danmarks projekt for udsatte piger i Zimbabwe.

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Plan International: Information has Become Central to Containing Ebola

CONAKRY, Guinea - Awareness among local population has become central to containing Ebola as the disease continues to spread in parts of West Africa, says Plan International.

Plan said that people must be urgently made aware of public health measures they can take to protect themselves from the lethal virus.

Due to lack of appropriate information, rumors are rife in the affected areas further complicating the response by government and humanitarian agencies.

“We are racing against the deadly virus. Appropriate and timely information can save lives from Ebola,” said Adama Coulibaly, Plan’s Regional Director for West & Central Africa.

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The opposite of love

A message from Plan Canada's CEO (from June 2013)

The opposite of love isn't hate, but indifference
The opposite of education is not ignorance, it's indifference.
The opposite of beauty is not ugliness, but indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.
The opposite of life is not death, but indifference to life and death.
-- Elie Wiesel, professor and political activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner

For many parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings and friends of young people, spring is the season of convocations and graduations. It seems to me that people are doing more and more these days to mark and celebrate students' progression through key milestones in their education. I've had young mothers and fathers excuse themselves from a meeting or event because they can't miss their son or daughter's "graduation" from first grade. I find myself wondering if they had to buy a prom dress!

Read the rest here!

Increased Efforts to Promote Gender Equality

NEW YORK - Plan International welcomes the strong call by UN member states to prioritize gender equality and human rights of women in the next set of sustainable development goals.

Plan supports the recommendations of the recent Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which closed early Saturday morning after two weeks of intense negotiations. Plan strongly supports the UN’s confirmation of the need for a stand-alone goal on gender equality in the set of international targets that will define the post-2015 global development agenda.Læs mere her!

Supporting mothers, supporting children

Crayson, 12, lives in the Ifikara region of Tanzania and was born with physical disabilities. His father abandoned his mother Maryam during her pregnancy. She gave birth beside the road on the three hour walk to get to the nearest clinic. Maryam supports them financially by growing maize and vegetables, leaving her struggling to care full time for Crayson’s needs. As Crayson got to primary school age Maryam contacted the nearest school that could cater for disabled children, but found that the fees of nearly a million Shillings a year (£397) were far out of her reach. She tried the local schools, but they all refused Crayson on the grounds of his disability. As a result of a Plan initiative called the Children’s Platform, which allows children to realise their right to participation, Crayson has been able to go to school. Children’s Platform gives children the ability to have their opinions heard through various forms of media.

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Kicking goals: Girls, football and gearing up for the FIFA World Cup

With less than three months until the 2014 FIFA World Cup kicks off, we shine a light on a young woman from Brazil who found inspiration through football, and turned her life around.

When Beatriz turned 14 she went through a dark patch. “I just wanted to be out on the streets or at parties. Then, I started doing drugs,” she says.
Beatriz didn’t know where her life was heading, so when she heard about Plan’s Empowering Girls Through Football program, she saw it as an opportunity to make a change and learn about her rights. “Had I continued with that lifestyle, where would I be today?” she asks.

The program works with girls in the community to enable them to fight for their rights through participation, learning, team work and self-esteem. Beatriz has enjoyed taking part in the program and has gone on to inspire change in her community by becoming a Plan volunteer. Now she’s looking forward to the World Cup in Brazil later this year.

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Spread the Net against malaria

Since 2007, Spread the Net has protected the lives of some 2.5 million children and pregnant women, delivering close to 563,000 malaria-preventing bed nets to families in Africa.

As part of a strategic evolution of the incredible work already achieved in protecting children from malaria, Plan Canada – which has received global recognition for its malaria prevention work-- will now be leading and delivering the Spread the Netcampaign.

Thanks to thousands of Plan field staff, local community health workers, volunteers and others, over 10 million people, including women and children under 5, have benefited from malaria prevention.

But there is still more work to be done.

Read more here!

Plan hjælper i Ebola-ramte områder

Guinea og Liberia i Vestafrika er blevet ramt af den smitsomme virus Ebola. Plan er i fuld gang med at uddele livsvigtig information til børn og deres familier i de berørte lande.

En af verdens mest smitsomme vira har ramt børn og deres familier i Guinea og Liberia i Vestafrika. Der findes ingen vaccine eller behandling, og virussen dræber op til 90 procent af dens ofre. Forebyggelse er derfor afgørende for at redde liv.

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Plan International: Guinea Ebola Epidemic Threatening to Become a Regional Crisis

CONAKRY, Guinea – The Ebola epidemic in the Republic of Guinea is threatening to become a regional health crisis endangering a vast population, warns humanitarian organization Plan International.

The region of Forest Guinea, where most of the 59 reported deaths have occurred, is close to the border with Sierra Leone and Liberia. A few suspected cases have already been reported in Sierra Leone.

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My favourite children's book

Literature can open up a child’s world. To celebrate International Children’s Book Day, we asked five Plan Australia parents to share their favourite children’s book and why it still makes their heart sing.
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Plan Canada

Throughout the last year the focus of each month has been different covering all of Plan International's core areas and campaigns: education, health, water and sanitation, protection, economic security, emergencies, child participation and sexual health, including HIV, Because I am a Girl, Count Every Child and Learn Without Fear.

Over the next six months, until the end of June, the focus will change to specific Plan foundraising countries and what they do.

The focus of April is Plan Canada.

Ebola: Taming a killer virus

A dangerous outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa’s Republic of Guinea is threatening to endanger a vast population. Plan is educating communities to help prevent the outbreak from becoming an epidemic. The Hollywood blockbuster Outbreak (1995) starring Dustin Hoffman imagined the outbreak of ‘Motaba’, an Ebola-like virus. The fictional virus originated in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) and spread to a small town in the United States. The film raised various ‘what if’ scenarios that – although highly dramatised and fictional – have basis in reality.

The current Ebola outbreak in Guinea risks spreading to neighbouring countries. If it happens, it could have devastating consequences in the West African country of ten million people, and for neighbouring countries Liberia and Sierra Leone. Communities in the border areas between Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are particularly vulnerable – Sierra Leone imports many of its goods from Guinea and the Guinea capital, Conakry, is a key trading hub. Læs mere her!