Playing hard and dreaming big in Ethiopia

5-year-old Hennock wants to be a pilot when he grows up. “I want to go anywhere I like,” he said. “I want to take my friends to the countryside!”

It’s an ambitious goal for a little boy who lives in one of the poorest countries in the world. Ethiopia is a country where 36 million people are struggling to survive, and a place where most children are denied their right to participate in school. Instead, they spend their time fetching water, tending to crops or caring for their siblings at home.

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What do the girls of Ecuador dream about?

All girls have dreams. In Ecuador, not all girls can fulfill these dreams. More than 60 per cent of people live in poverty in Ecuador, including 3 million children. So what do the girls of Ecuador dream about? Their futures.

Plan asked 1,200 girls aged 12–16 to write a letter to the Ecuadorian government listing the barriers they face from reaching their potential and to support them with national policies to fight gender inequality. They were also asked to draw their their hopes for the future.

Here's what the girls of Ecuador dream of growing up to be.

Dreaming the dreams of others

The girls from the first school I visited.

I have always had many dreams and I believe that dreams bring hope, that someday we might just be able to fulfill them. But what happens when your dreams aren’t your own, just repetitions you have heard since before you can remember? When can you tell the difference between the dreams that you have for yourself and the expectations of others?
                      One of the first evenings I spend in Tanzania this autumn I asked one of the children I lived with, a girl some fifteen years old named Aika who was prone to laughter and smiles, about what she wants to do when she finishes school, she said that she wanted to cook. I thought about it for a moment and asked: “Here?” She answered in the affirmative and pointed to the kitchen. Then I asked her if she didn’t want to be a doctor or a pilot. She said maybe a pilot. I was a bit disappointed, because I thought that she should have, I had imagined that she would have bigger dreams, aspirations. But she doesn’t really have that much of a reason to have bigger dreams, for her cooking for the family would be a great honor. Her dream might have been the most heartfelt that I got on my entire trip.
                      In Kenya I volunteered at a pre-school in one of the poorer neighborhoods of Nakuru. The class that I helped with was the top class, the ones getting ready to go to Standard one. As I was there in November they were getting ready for the Christmas break and starting primary school in January. That meant that they would have a graduation, for the graduation day every class would perform a couple of songs with dancing. My class had a song about dreams: “I have a dream, I have a dream that one day, one time I’ll be a doctor. I have a dream, I have a dream that one day, one time I’ll be a teacher. I have a dream, I have a dream that one day, one time I’ll be a driver. I have a dream, I have a dream that one day, one time I’ll be a pilot. I have a dream, I have a dream that one day, one time I’ll be a mother. I have a dream, I have a dream that one day, one time I’ll be a father.” A doctor, a teacher, a driver, a pilot, a mother, a father, that are the dreams that this song wants for them and I am sure that they will all remember them if they are ever asked if they have a dream.
                      In the end of November I visited Plan in Marimanti, Tharaka in Kenya. We visited one of the school projects there. As they were already on vacation only 30 of the 300 students were present, only girls. I talked with some of the braver girls from class six and seven. All nine of them were going to high school after this and I asked them what they wanted to do after that, what they dreamt of doing. Evelyn was the first to step forward, a sixteen years old girl in class seven with eyes wiser than her years. She has four sisters and three brothers, all of whom have been or are in school. After high school she wants to be a secretary in a bank. Lucy, a fifteen years old girl also in class seven with a cheeky smile and a shy demeanor, wants to be a doctor.  Fifteen years old Sacondina from class seven who has three brothers and two sisters and like playing volleyball and science also wants to be a doctor. Sixteen years old Penina wants to be a lawyer, fourteen years old Ndoris wants to be a doctor, thirteen years old Dhmaris wants to be a secretary in a bank, fourteen years old Ndibora wants to be a lawyer, sixteen years old Ruth wants to be an engineer and fifteen years old Gerevina wants to be a pilot. None of them have ever been outside of the district of Tharaka and none of them are planning to leave anytime soon. And as far as I can tell, there isn’t a university in Tharaka. I really want them to have these big dreams, but I cannot help wonder if it isn’t the dreams of others. Dreams that others expect them to have.

DRØMME

Dette er et gammelt men meget populært indlæg fra 2009 som bliver udgivet igen i anledningen af at denne måneds tema er citater, jeg planlagde dette indlæg i juni og jeg burde meget gerne være i Kenya når dette indlæg udkommer, jeg vil prøve at finde ud af om de er kommet tættere på deres drømme.


Jeg besøgte Bondo i november 2009. Jeg var ude på vores venskabsskole. Jeg blev bekræftet i, at det er det rigtige sted vi hjælper. De har drømmene og de har viljen til at gøre alt for at nå dem - selvom oddsene er imod dem.

Her er nogle af deres drømme

My name is Linet Akoth. I am in standard seven. I am fourteen years old. I want to be a teacher in my future.

My name is Nicholas Odongo. I am 17 years old. I am in standard seven. I want to be a doctor.

My name is Erick Omondi. I am in std. 7. I would like to be a driver in my future. I am 15 years old.

My name is Melda Atieno. I am 14 years old. I want to be a nurse I my future. I am in class six.

My name is Eveline Akinyi. I am in standard six. I am eleven years old. I want to be a sister in my future.

My name is David Okoth. I am fifteen years old. I am in class seven. When I finish my school I want to be a mayor in my future.

My name is Matthews Ogundo. I am in standard seven. I am 15 years old. I would like to be an engineer in my future.

My name is Selestine Adhiambo. I am in standard seven. I am thirteen years old. I want to be a teacher in my future.

My name is Irine Akinyi. I am twelve years old. I am in standard six. When I grow up I want to be a lawyer.

My name is Gilliane Akelo. I am in standard six. I am twelve years old. When I grow up I want to be a teacher.

My name is Sharone Awuor. I am in standard six, I am thirteen years old. In my future I would like to be a journalist.

My name is Florence Aoko. I am in standard six, I am thirteen years old. I want to be a doctor in my future.

Our future, our say

An important aspect of Plan’s approach is to encourage children to participate actively and genuinely in their own development. The dreams, opinions and frustrations featured here are echoed across the world as children demand progress on the promises made, insist that their rights are respected and call on world leaders to do the job that they and their predecessors committed to undertake.

Children have fundamental rights, not least of which is the right to participate in their own development. To do this genuinely, they need appropriate opportunities to address decision-makers at all levels, from parents to world leaders.

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Case study: Bangladeshi street children share their dreams

Bangladeshi street children had a chance to tell the world about their dreams by showing off their pictures in an art exhibition held at the Bangladesh National Museum in Dhaka, the capital city.

Some 28 street children created 80 pieces for the 'Our Dreams Drawn' exhibition held 2-4 June to raise awareness of their plight. About 400,000 girls and boys live on the streets of Dhaka and are often excluded from basic services like healthcare and education.

“I drew butterflies because I want to be like them,” said Kakoli, one of the artists. “They are so colourful and happy. And now I am very happy that my picture has been sold. I will keep the money and use it for starting a beauty parlour when I grow up.”

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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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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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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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An Empty Stomach Makes the School Day a Challenge

"I always sleep in class and teachers punish me because I often come to school hungry,” says Abit, a 6th grade student at Old Boli Primary School in Chiredzi, a village in southeast Zimbabwe.

Abit wants to be a doctor – but says she is ‘training’ herself not be hungry during the day, so that she can study.

“Although there’s no food to eat before I go to school, I want to pursue my education so that I can become a doctor. I’m training myself not to feel hungry until after the school day has ended,” she says. Abit, an orphan, lives with her 18-year-old sister, Naomi.

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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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Haiti: Didine realises her music dream

Didine, a Plan sponsored child, was 14 years old when the powerful earthquake hit Haiti 3 years ago.

For 35 long seconds, she thought the world was collapsing around her – along with her dream of becoming a violinist.

It took months for her to begin reconnecting to one of her most precious dreams – music – which has helped her regain faith in life.

The disaster was a turning point for Didine. "I saw my life scroll before me," she says.

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IMAGINE: Improving girls' education in Niger

Haoua, married at 13, has never been to school. Rabi, 14, was taken out of classes to get married - but she dreams of becoming a doctor...

In Niger, 40% of girls get married before they are 15 years old and all too often they lose out on an education. 85% of Nigerien women cannot read or write.

In 2008 Plan Niger launched IMAGINE (Improve the EducAtion of Girls in NigEr) with the aim of getting more girls into schools and keeping them there.

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