Plan China Annual Progress Report 2009

A YEAR IN

CHINA SUMMARY REPORT

09

3

GOOD REASONS why Plan works in China

• Despite massive economic growth, there are millions of Chinese still living in poverty

Children in Chaijiapan Village feeding pigs.

• Less than 40% of children in the area of China where Plan works have access to nursery care and education – despite such care being vital for youngsters to reach their full potential

RUSSIA

• Twenty million migrant children are excluded from social services like education, health and sanitation, and they are at risk of abuse

KAZ AK H S TA N

Harbin MONG OLI A

Ürümqi

Huang

Yellow Beijing

Yulin

Tianjin SOUTH KORE A

Xi’an

Chunhua NEPAL

NORTH KORE A

Jiaxian Pucheng

Longde Chengdu

Shenyang

Xixiang

Nanjing Hangzhou

Shanghai

e

tz Yang

CHI NA Country Office Programme Unit

MYANMAR LA OS

• Working to improve the health of mothers and babies • Advocating for children’s rights • Improving standards of education • Helping to provide clean water and sanitation • Helping to create sustainable livelihoods

I N DI A

Kunming

Our priorities in China

Xun

Guangzhou Hong Kong PH I LIPPIN E S

CHINA FACTS Capital: Beijing Population: 1.29 billion Language: Mandarin, with many local dialects.

Climate: The climate of China varies greatly. The northern zone (containing Beijing) has summer daytime temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius and winters of Arctic severity. The central zone (containing Shanghai) has a temperate continental climate

with very hot summers and cold winters. The southern zone (containing Guangzhou) has a subtropical climate with very hot summers and mild winters.

Economy: The Chinese Government calls their economic system “Socialism with Chinese characteristics”.

The size of China’s economy has been rapidly increasing, though some now question whether the cost has been

too great, and whether the economy has ‘overheated’, with side effects such as pollution and a substantial gap between rich and poor worrying many Chinese.

Students of Bei Xi Primary School reading in their new classroom.

A YEAR IN

CHINA SUMMARY REPORT

09

FOCUS ON: IMPROVING STANDARDS OF EDUCATION Education – from nursery-level up – is crucial to lifting families and communities out of poverty in the long term.

In China, our aim is to increase the number of children going to nursery school and lobby the Chinese government to improve the standard of nursery and primary education.

We also aim to help more girls (whose schooling is often neglected) to go to school, and increase the ability of schools, Chinese organisations and the government to provide children with a quality education.

THE LOCAL EXPERT

F

or a child, the early years are so important. It’s when they first learn to care for themselves, play constructively and interact with others.

Students at Bai Yang Primary School.

The Bigger Picture

Plan is working with children, families and whole communities to address the problems that China faces. This report can only tell a small part of that story. As a further insight, last year we also: • Set up a network of schools, government bodies and other organisations to protect children (especially migrant children) from violence and abuse • Improved rural water supply and sanitation.

1,589 water points have been upgraded and 9,704 latrines constructed or rebuilt • Helped train 4,300 farmers in poor rural areas on more sustainable farming and production methods • Supported the distribution of materials to make shelters and other supplies following the massive earthquake of 12 May 2008.

Your support as a sponsor is crucial to achieving these positive results. So on behalf of the communities, partner organisations, and most of all the children we work with – thank you!

“Nursery schools, where they exist, frequently have an overly-rigid, old-fashioned approach to learning.”

To learn more about Plan’s work in Chinan visit plan.org.au/ourwork/asia/china

Produced for China by the Australian National Office.

Yet in many countries, children’s early development is neglected, because parents have to work long hours to ensure the family’s survival.

They lack the time and energy to spend with their kids. And nursery schools, where they exist, frequently have an overly-rigid, old-fashioned approach to learning, or simply don’t exist at all.

Plan is working with local people to change that.

In China, we’ve found the best way to make a difference is to train a team of experts, each of whom will pass on the skills they’ve learned to a much larger group of teachers, parents and others who work with children. This approach creates a “multiplier-effect”, reaching a surprisingly large area. Last year, we trained more than 35 Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) trainers.

They in turn have given support to over 200 nursery teachers, each one of whom will work with thousands of children over their careers.

Ma is one such trainer. He’s a local government worker in Pucheng, central China, who has attended a series of Plan training courses which have helped him develop his skills. He now has an extensive knowledge of modern methods of nursery education and care which far exceeds what’s generally on offer in rural China.

A new experiment Ma’s career as a “local expert” really took off in 2005, when he received training from Plan as part of our ECCD project. The course greatly expanded his ideas on caring for children, but he wanted hard evidence that they would work in practice. So he put the new ideas to the test in a kindergarten in Pucheng, setting up an “experimental class” to try out new methods in the autumn term of 2007.

By December 2007, after the experimental class had been running for three months, Ma compared the children in the experimental classes to those in other classes and noticed a real difference – an impression shared by parents. In the words of one mother: “I find my child has become braver, politer and cleverer. Now he can do many things by himself, such as tying his shoe laces.”

Last year, Ma organised the children of Pucheng Kindergarten to put on a school play. In the past, such performances had been rather dull and repetitive activities, but under Ma’s leadership, the children and parents found the play was a totally different experience – fun, light-hearted and enjoyable.

Ma also holds training sessions for parents, teaching them how to care for and educate their children. Other teachers now follow his ideas.

A role model Now Ma has been invited to different parts of the country to give training to parents and teachers on how best to deal with young children. His reputation has spread to such a degree that now parents come and consult him on the best way to bring up their children. He’s even published a series of training books which have been praised by local leaders.

Over the years, Ma has kept trying to improve himself. His ambition is to become Pucheng County’s recognised local expert. But of course, it’s not really about him. His progress has raised the profile of the importance of care and education for toddlers. As he says: “I am deeply proud of my role as an ECCD trainer. I sincerely hope that through my training, there will be more and more high-quality trainers, who may, themselves, be of much greater use than me.”

Some names have been changed for child protection and privacy purposes.

“Ma’s progress has raised the profile of the importance of care and education for toddlers.”

plan.org.au