Mali teenager: I never thought I would miss school

Sévaré is a very different town from what it had been over the past weeks.

People are gradually coming back and things are becoming normal as it used to be. We are hearing less and less gunshots.

I am glad things are returning to normal. Even my 6-year-old brother, Mamadou, is not crying anymore - but he has gone all quiet about the dead bodies he saw close to the military barracks. I am avoiding the subject with him because I don’t want to make him cry again. At the same time I am still worried about him. I would like to know what is in his mind when he seems so absorbed in his thoughts. I am hoping that once he returns to school he will cheer up.

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Child-friendly spaces: Helping children through emergencies

Take a tour of a Plan child-friendly space in Niger and see the support it is providing to children who have been forced to flee fighting in neighbouring Mali.

Plan installs child-friendly spaces after a disaster or crisis to give affected children a place to play, be safe, have a nutritious meal and receive emotional support to help them cope and recover.

This child-friendly space in one Niger refugee camp alone has already benefited hundreds of children.

The Needs of Children Must Not Be Forgotten in Budgets to Secure Mali

Plan’s Head of Disaster Response Returned from Central Mali to Report Many Humanitarian Needs

Head of Disaster Response of Plan International, Dr. Unni Krishnan, says that it is imperative that donors rethink their stance on Mali and other countries in the Sahel affected by the humanitarian fallout from the Mali Conflict.

On the day that an international donors' conference opens in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to raise $950 million to fund the military campaign in Mali, he said that the world must not turn a deaf ear to appeals from the humanitarian community.

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After a decade of sponsorship, Eileen meets her sponsored child

When Eileen Fernandes-Smith planned her trip to West Africa, she was excited about including a visit with her sponsored child, Sidonie, from Benin. Eileen has been sponsoring Sidonie since she was four years old. After a decade of writing letters back and forth, it was time the two met face-to-face.

When Eileen left Toronto, she embarked on a journey of a lifetime.

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Case study: 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.

The programme starts by talking to parents and working with religious and traditional leaders, communities, parents and teachers. This is followed by the building of classrooms, girls' toilets and housing for female teachers.

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Children's lives on hold after flooding in Indonesia

Severe flooding affecting more than 90,000 people in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, left many of them exposed to the cold conditions. Relief supplies are now being distributed. “Our children did not get cold again last night,” said Sukaesih, from Rawabuaya in West Jakarta, who has a six-year-old son.

When the floods struck on Wednesday, Sukaesih and her neighbours sought shelter in a shop building before moving to a nearby camp for people forced from their homes by the flooding.

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BBC Radio 4 explores the impact of aid

A radio documentary on BBC Radio 4 broadcast on Sunday 13th January 2013 examined international aid effectiveness. It included some coverage of Plan’s work and comments by Ndungu Kahihu, Mobilisation and Resource Manager in South Sudan.

In the programme, which was part of the series ‘Inside the Aid Industry’, respected journalist Edward Stourton explores how it is possible for extreme poverty and large slums, for example, to exist in areas where significant numbers of well-established international development charities and organisations work. The series has prompted some debate on the issues. The latest programme is available for you to listen to up to and including 19th January 2013.