Plan Guinea Annual Progress Report 2010

GIBRAL

A YEAR IN

GUINEA

SUMMARY REPORT

2010

With access to bore water this family’s health has improved

4

GOOD REASONS

WESTERN SAHARA (OCCUPIED BY MOROCCO)

OUR PRIORITIES in Guinea

why Plan works in Guinea

• Almost one in five children die before their fifth birthday

• Improving children’s health by increasing vaccination coverage, reducing malaria, diarrhoea, and respiratory infections and improving nutrition

• Malaria, diarrhoea, and respiratory infections are major child killers, as well as lack of drinking water and sanitation • Many children do not receive a basic education

MAURITANIA

• Increasing the numbers of children going to school, especially girls and children from rural areas

• Children’s rights are not widely recognised, and abuses such as female genital cutting, child labour and trafficking are widespread

• Making children and young people aware of their rights and getting them involved in solving their problems and those of their communities • Supporting the state and community organisations to provide good local services

‘Our children will not be like us, who are not educated’

Senegal

Sen

Students with their teacher outside their school in Koldou

l ega

GAMBIA SENEGAL

considerable potential for growth in the agricultural and fishing sectors. Soil, water, and climatic conditions provide opportunities for largescale irrigated farming and agro-industry. Possibilities for investment and commercial activities exist in all these areas, but Guinea’s poorly developed infrastructure and political challenges continue to present obstacles to largescale investment projects.

MALI

er i

Ban

Au Labé

Niger

Mamou

Kankan

Conakry SIERRA LEONE

Kissidougou

Guékédou

GUINEA Country Office Program Units

Black Volta

Eight African languages are widely spoken Climate: Generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with south-westerly winds; dry season (December to May) with north-easterly ‘Harmattan’ winds.

Economy: Guinea has

GUINEABISSAU

bia

m Ga

Guinea Facts Capital: Conakry Population: 10 million Languages: French (official).

Nig

Macenta

N’Zerekore LIBERIA

COTE D'IVOIRE

Focus On: education

Because of fees and other pressures, only 60 per cent of children who start primary school complete it. Plan aims to increase the number of children who go to preschool, primary and secondary school, improve the quality of education they receive, and provide learning opportunities for young people who have

dropped out of school. We build and equip classrooms, provide teaching materials and train teachers, so more children find school relevant and engaging and complete their education.

Students from the Gbayan school plant trees to repair damaged land

A New School brings hope

The village of Koldou in southern Guinea always dreamed of having its own school for its own children, but this dream took a long time to come true.

It became a reality with the opening of Koldou Primary School in October 2008. The story of Koldou shows how working with Plan on a project can bring communities together and trigger positive change.

Difficult choices Koldou is four miles from the nearest town.

Before the school was built, children had to walk to and from school in town, or leave their parents and move to larger towns to live with relatives. Seven-year-old Yawa went to school in Kissidougou: ‘My aunt, who lives in Kissidougou, came for me because of the long distance between Koldou, my home village, and the school in town. I wanted to stay with my friends and especially with my parents.’

Koldou Primary School has three classrooms, an office and storeroom, as well as offices for the teachers. It also has two latrine blocks – one for girls and one for boys. Plan provided furniture and school equipment, including desks, benches and chairs. A well with a hand pump was also provided as the village did not have a safe supply of drinking water.

Children’s lives have changed for the better now that they can go to school in their home village. They no longer face a daily walk of eight miles, and they can develop better relationships with their parents now they are not living away from them. Children from the neighbouring villages of Tembedou and Mankoredou also attend the school, which has 67 pupils (33 girls and 34 boys).

Mothers are appreciative of the project’s positive impact on their children’s lives.

Sona, a mother of five and a member of the management committee, says: ‘I thank Plan.

My children will get a better education. Before, our children were not doing well at [the town] school. Now we will teach them well.’

Produced for Guinea by Plan International Australia.

The Bigger Picture As well as improving education, the project has brought other benefits. The well has reduced rates of water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, and the community uses the school for community events such as village meetings and vaccination campaigns.

Making change happen The partnership between Plan and the village of Koldou shows how communities are enthusiastic about getting involved in a project when there are clear benefits. Koldou’s population is small – about 125 inhabitants – but they are highly engaged and mobilised.

The community contributed local building materials such as stones, sand, and gravel, and provided food and lodging for the workers building the school.

The community management committee, the pupils and parents association, local officials, community leaders, and children themselves all got involved in project planning and development. The strong collaboration between Plan and the community meant that the school was built in only three months.

The community recognises Plan’s contribution.

Sixty-year-old Saa-Eloi, a village elder and father of nine children, says: ‘Even if we gathered all contributions from this community we could never have got a third of the total cost. It will help our community for many years. Our children will not be like us, who are not educated.’

Hope for the future This school is a beacon of hope, promising better opportunities and a brighter future.

As one villager says: ‘This school gives [our children] the chance to get a better basic education before going to high school and then university, so they can take part in the government, to be governors and high civil servants of our country.’

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

Plan is working with children, families and communities to find sustainable solutions to the challenges in Guinea. We have only given you a small insight into Plan’s work in Guinea with this report but over the past year we also: • Drilled 28 water points, providing 9810 people with drinking water • Constructed 141 latrines, providing 2820 people with sanitation • Trained and equipped 219 water-point committees to improve hygiene and sanitation in their communities • Helped to achieve a 20 per cent increase in the number of people with health services in our program areas Your support as a sponsor is crucial to achieving these results. With the resources provided by sponsors, Plan expertise and the collaboration of communities and local partners we are making a big difference to the lives of people in Guinea.

Thank you for your involvement!

To learn more about Plan’s work in Guinea visit plan.org.au/ourwork/westafrica/guinea

‘The community contributed local building materials such as stones, sand, and gravel, and provided food and lodging for the workers building the school.’