Five Reasons Early Childhood Care and Development is Important

Plan International USA is working to ensure all children receive the proper care from a young age.

 

Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) is an integral program area for Plan International. From Africa to Asia Ethiopia to Asia, Plan is working to establish early childhood development centers, educate parents, and provide the proper attention for children under 5 years old.
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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!

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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Improving Sanitation – and Health – in Cambodia

In Cambodia, poverty, a lack of infrastructure, and a long standing practice of open defecation all contribute to poor sanitation. In areas where people go to the bathroom in the open, contact with feces can result in illnesses being easily transmitted through what is known as the four “Fs”: food, fingers, flies, and fields. The most common condition is diarrhea, which still causes more deaths in children under the age of 5 than HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, combined.

Even when death isn’t an outcome, repeated bouts of diarrhea at a young age can often lead to malnutrition and stunted growth. In addition, when children miss school and adults miss work due to sickness, economic opportunities are often lost.

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Health: Indonesia

Because I am a girl…
I have the right to be healthy. 

Malnutrition is a contributing factor to over half of all deaths of children. If a child does survive without the proper nutrition, the malnutrition can haunt her for literally for the rest of her life. She may suffer from chronic health problems, stunted growth, and decreased mental capacity — which can hamper her educational and vocational achievement. In Indonesia, over 7.5 million children suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition. 

The Water Girl

Shallow swamps, steep ravines, and death-defying cliffs... When there’s no access to clean water at home, families in Timor-Leste have to go to great lengths for a safe supply – and the responsibility often falls to young girls, like 9-year-old Ludivina. Now, thanks to a simple water pump from Plan International, the young girl has the opportunity to transform her life...

It’s time for Ludivina’s morning walk – a ritual which takes place every day before she goes to school. As the sun rises, the 9-year-old steps out of her wooden house, water bottles in hand, and leads her two younger siblings behind their house.

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Protection: India

Because I am a girl…
I have the right to a childhood, not a job. 

Rolling beedis is hard work for anyone, particularly a young girl like Shanu.
Read her story.

As many as 60 million children are engaged in labor in India — that’s more child laborers than in any other country in the world. Certain types of labor, such as working in factories and rolling beedis (cigarettes), can be hazardous to a child’s health, especially when they are exposed at a young age. And no matter what type of labor a child is engaged in, it robs her of her childhood and cripples her opportunities for the future. 

School-2-School Linking

School-2-School Linking (S2S) is a program that connects young people here in the United States with their peers in the developing countries where Plan works. Through their S2S Link, young people learn about life in other parts of the world, engage in educational activities with their linking partners, and build relationships that bridge global divides.

Start your link today: planusa.org/s2s

Seeing Africa - and My Father - with New Eyes

Togo is a different kind of Africa than I had visited before. There were no tightly packed safari trucks toting westerners around the savannah. No picturesque beaches covered with lounging tourists. In fact, we didn’t encounter any tourists while there. Life in Togo is difficult. But the people I met seemed genuinely happy.

When we first arrived in Kparatao, the village where my father served in the Peace Corps, we had no idea what our reception would be. We honestly expected to shake a few hands, drink some Fantas, take some pictures, and head out. That imagined scenario couldn’t be farther from what actually happened. We were greeted by hundreds of people, children and adults alike, waiting to usher us into the village. They danced, played music, spoke to us, gave us gifts, and more. They welcomed us into the village like old friends. It was really unbelievable.

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Empowerment: Sierra Leone

Because I am a girl…I have the right to be whatever I want to be.

Danica, a young teenager in rural Sierra Leone, has big dreams.
Read her story.

After emerging from a ravaging civil war marked by horrific cases of violence, rape, and human rights violations, development indicators listed Sierra Leone as one of the worst places in the world both socially and economically. Although the country has today achieved relative national stability, violence is still very much a part of life for the majority of girls in Sierra Leone. Teen pregnancy has reached alarming rates among girls in Sierra Leone. Over 40% of young women had their first baby by the age of 18, and 12% gave birth by age 15. Pregnancy is a leading cause for school dropout among girls.

Youth engagement: for students and youth

With the youth programs at Plan, you could make a difference for the issues that matter most to you. Connect with our network of youth activists and to campaign for change together.Download our flyer! 

Youth United for Global Action and Awareness (YUGA) is a nationwide network of ambitious young people who take action on world issues. Through campaigns and awareness-raising activities, YUGA members educate their schools and communities on global challenges and engage them in finding solutions. Learn more–Download our flyer!

Start your journey with YUGA by registering a new YUGA club or chapter, or a new YUGA campaign. When you do, you will get access to all of our resources, including toolkits, campaign tips, our eNews, and much more!

Read more here!

Microfinance: Vietnam

Because I am a girl…
I have the right to manage my own money.

Cho is inspired by her mother and sets high goals for herself.
Read her story. 

Burdened by the demands of raising their children without the means to earn an income, young mothers in poor regions of Vietnam can end up trapped in a cycle of poverty with little hope of a better life. However, with even basic financial literacy, young women can truly take control of their lives and plan for their futures. Additionally, with financial security comes a tremendous sense of empowerment. Over time, the community starts to see these young women and girls as valuable contributors to their households rather than as financial burdens.

Walk4Wells - think global, act local

Walk4Wells is a dynamic event that puts YOU in the shoes of a young boy or girl who has to walk in search of water every day. When you, your family, your friends, and your community join together for a Walk4Wells walk-a-thon, you begin to understand the challenge of finding clean water—and become part of the solution. Take the first step today!

Read more here!

Plan USA

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 March is Plan USA.

Plan Foundraising countries slogans

Plan International and Plan Ireland: Promoting child rights to end child poverty.

Plan International USA: Promising futures, community by community.

Plan Australia: Let's tell a different story.

Plan UK: Working with the world’s poorest children so they can move themselves from a life of poverty to a future with opportunity.

Plan Begium: elk kind telt (Flemish) or chaque enfant compte (French) meaning every child matters.

Plan France: tendons la main aux enfants pour qu'ils puissent la lâcher meaning something along the lines of: reach out to children so that they can let go.

Plan Germany: gibt Kindern eine Chance meaning give kids a chance.

Plan India: there's a plan for every child.

Plan Italy: promuoviamo i diritti dei bambini per sconfiggere la loro poverta which means something along the lines of: promote the rights of children to overcome their poverty.

Plan Finland: usko lapsiin which might mean faith to children.

plan Norway: for og med barn which means for and with children.

Plan Sweden: För och med barn (same as Norway) for and with children.

Plan Netherlands: Girls first.

Plan Spain: paremos la pobreza infantil which means stop child poverty.

Plan Switzerland: les enfants changeront le monde (French) or mit Kindern die Welt verändern (German) which means children change the world or change the world with children.

There are more, either I could not find it or my knowledge of the language's letters was too limited, so if you can translate the one from Hong Kong, Japan or Korea, or if you can find or know the one from Canada, Denmark or Columbia or if you have better translations feel free to comment.

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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Child-friendly Latrines Improve Hygiene, Health, and Safety

Out of the 20 schools that were in the Nuwaragampalatha division, 6 had did not have toilets and 7 were without any kind of water supply. Without water systems to safely dispose of solid and liquid waste, many students suffered from poor health and were forced to drop out of school.

As a solution, Plan worked with the local communities to design and implement new sanitation programs. These programs would not only lead to the construction of new bathroom facilities, but it would also cultivate hygienic and sanitary environments for both schools and the entire communities.

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Love

How 'For-Profit' Strategies Can Benefit NGOs

On November 28th, Plan International USA acquired the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) and agreed to combine assets to boost existing programs, especially in gender mainstreaming and youth development. This move, according to Plan International USA's President/CEO Tessie San Martin, will not only maximize the impact of Plan’s projects, but it will also strengthen Plan’s resiliency to the global economic volatility.

San Martin explained the challenges of the acquisition to Devex and how this merger is different from a pure commercial merger. Because the partnership involves a nonprofit, there are clauses and provisions that involve money.

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Rebuilding After Typhoon Bopha

“Please, if there is someone out there, please help us. We need food, clothing and shelter,” says Christolo, 41, as he gets to work rebuilding his house in Sibahay village, Boston municipality, a few days after parts of the Philippines were ravaged by Typhoon Bopha.

“Our five-year-old daughter, Maria, is getting sick because we don't have enough food. We're just eating the coconuts and bananas left by the typhoon. We are tired and no aid has arrived,” he adds, before resuming his hammering and sawing.´


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