Global Child THE MAGAZINE OF PLAN IN AUSTRALIA | WINTER 2015
Nepal, we’re with you Building back better
Let’s talk climate change: Giving kids a voice
Letters from all corners of the globe WINTER 2015
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the
Plan story Founded more than 75 years ago, Plan is one of the oldest and largest children's development organisations in the world with no political affiliations or religious agenda. We work at the grassroots level to empower communities to overcome poverty so that children have the opportunity to reach their full potential. We encourage children to be actively
involved in improving their communities. We unite, empower and inspire people around the globe to champion every child’s right to survive, develop to their fullest, be protected from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation and participate fully in family, cultural and social life. Together with our supporters we can transform the world for children.
Transform the world for children. Call 13 75 26 or visit plan.org.au
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Eudel has a world of things to smile about Thanks to Plan sponsorship, the eight-year-old is going to school and eating nutritious meals. You can sponsor a child by filling out the brochure included with this magazine, or contacting Plan.
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By Ian Wishart CEO, Plan International Australia
The road to recovery is long, but with supporters like you, we’ll get there When I was much younger, I went trekking through Nepal, as many Australians do. I’ll never forget the towering mountains, the temples and the kindness and resilience of local people we met. At one point we went off the main track and climbed for four hours. We went very high up, and reached a remote village most trekkers would never reach. It was so quiet and peaceful. Then an elderly lady came out of her house. She beckoned us over, and we indicated with hand signals that we three young blokes were hungry. Straight away she cooked us up a big bowl of steaming noodles.
I was completely out of my comfort zone, out in the wilderness and completely reliant on the hospitality and care of locals. If anything went wrong, if you got sick, if you needed food, the only hope and help you had were people in the villages, like the lady in the mountaintop village. These people need us now. As soon as the two earthquakes happened, our team sprung into action and your donations were put to work. Supplies were flown in from Dubai, and emergency shelter, food and hygiene kits were distributed as fast as possible. Thanks to ongoing support from people like you, and our partners (with special thanks to Intrepid Travel), we’ve been able to act quickly.
In this edition of Global Child, we wanted to highlight what makes Plan different during emergency responses. While we deliver essential aid items, we’re also leading the Australian aid effort in protecting children still at risk. We’ve set up child-friendly spaces to help children learn, play, relax and receive emotional support – this is so important when they’ve lost homes, schools and family members. It’s time for Australians to give back to Nepal – for all the bowls of hot noodles, the unforgettable trekking experiences and the obligation we have as a country to help people in need. Yours sincerely,
Ian Wishart Join us by supporting children and their families in Nepal: plan.org.au/nepalappeal
Contents Community News
THE VOICE OF YOUTH
4 Events and updates
16 Youth Ambassador in the Philippines
PLAN IN ACTION
SUPPORTERS IN FOCUS
8 Update on Nepal
18 Plants for Plan
13 Meet the team: Tom Rankin
Toy story
SPONSORSHIP 14 Drawings and stories: letters of thanks from sponsored children
Global Child Winter 2015, Vol.39 . Global Child is the magazine of Plan International Australia and is published biannually. Editorial enquiries: editor@plan.org.au Plan International Australia | Address: 18/60 City Road, Southbank, Melbourne VIC 3006 | Phone: 13 75 26 Fax: 03 9670 1130 | Email: info@plan.org.au | Web: www.plan.org.au To support Plan visit www.plan.org.au. Donations to Plan of $2 or more are tax deductible. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Plan. © 2015. All material in Global Child is under copyright; however, articles and photographs may be reproduced with permission from Plan. Plan is a signatory to the ACFID Code of Conduct and is a trusted recipient of funding from the Australian Government.
Front cover: Girls attend a Plan-supported Temporary Learning Centre in the earthquake-affected region of Dolakha, Nepal. Inside cover: Eudel at her school in Zimbabwe.
community
news
South Sudan: four years young
South Sudan’s independence was declared four years ago this July, making it the world’s newest country. But civil war has sparked a devastating humanitarian crisis. We’re working towards a brighter South Sudan – and for Plan Australia’s Programs Director Dave Husy, who recently spent two months there, that's within reach:
"The people of South Sudan want a stable country, one where children can play and go to school safely and families aren't worried about where their next meal is coming from. We’re working with them to get there." Plan's Betty Gorle plays with baby James in South Sudan.
Food Appeal update:
Thanks to generous donors to our Food Appeal this year, we have raised $470,000 and reached 930,000 people with nourishing food across Myanmar, Cambodia, Zimbabwe and South Sudan. Thank you!
Around the world
25 April A speedy round-up of recent events 25 January
Upcoming events - Around the world
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Domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty announced as Australian of the Year.
6 March
Cyclone Pam causes widespread damage in Vanuatu and surrounding Pacific islands. Plan supporters came together and raised funds to help our neighbours rebuild their lives.
A major earthquake strikes Nepal (with another following three weeks later) killing more than 8,500 people. Australia steps up to support the thousands of survivors left homeless.
19 March Australia’s 22nd Prime Minister and supporter of humanitarian aid, Malcolm Fraser dies, age 84.
19-22 May Plan attends UNESCO’s World Education Forum in Korea to raise issues around gender-based violence in and around schools.
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Time for class From South Sudan to Myanmar, we zip around the world to see what learning looks like – and it’s not just happening in the classroom.
Together, we’re fighting hunger and feeding futures In Siem Reap, Cambodia, Samuon goes to a school you support, receives breakfast each morning of beans, fish and rice and spends the day in class.
Bangladesh Here are kids at a Plan-supported pre-school, preparing for a life-long journey of learning. With more children in school than ever before, we’re continuing the progress in Bangladesh.
Samuon, 13, and her friend at school in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
50%
Thanks to you, we’ve expanded the School Feeding Project in Cambodia to reach 200,000 children like Samuon in one year.
of children in the project are girls
kids take home 10kg of food to 14,500 their families
Let’s get digital
Timor-Leste In Timor-Leste only 5% of kids attend pre-school. Here, children attend a ceremony where stones are being laid for a new Plan-supported pre-school.
We’re all over Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. But what’s social media without you? Keep the comments, likes, shares and questions coming – we can’t get enough of them.
Here are some of our favourite comments from supporters this year:
@Jen Jones Through holding a fundraising Tupperware Party with a few friends I have been able to donate $455 for the children. @jeffaiau I just become a Children in Crisis
Laos People in developing countries bear the brunt of climate change. With your help, Plan is working with communities in Laos to learn and adapt to increasing floods, erosion and natural disasters. WINTER 2015
Champion, helping @PlanAustralia respond to large scale emergencies. Join me!
@Paula Durance Lovely to see the positive stories, and that donations actually make a difference! facebook.com/planaustralia • instagram/plan_australia twitter.com/planaustralia The Magazine of Plan international Australia Global Child 6
community
news
Born a girl: a game of snakes and ladders Remember playing Snakes and Ladders when you were a child? In many parts of the world, being born a girl is like a life-sized version of the game, But thanks to you, we’re helping girls rise up the education ladder, so they’re not sent back to square one by child marriage, violence or discrimination.
Congratulations! You just graduated from school – this has set you up to achieve life goals
We know that once girls rise up the education ladder, they’re able to lift themselves and their communities out of poverty for the long term.
s Joi n u
Sunday 11 October is International Day of the Girl! If you’re in Melbourne, join us for celebrations at Federation Square. More information will be available in the coming months at becauseiamagirl.com.au
Sorry, you need to stay home and cook and work in the field today. Your brothers will go to school instead. Yum. You’re eating a delicious meal of fish, rice and beans at your school. It will keep your brain powered up for class.
You’ve reached your 14th birthday. Time to leave school – you’re about to marry a man 10 years older than you.
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Around the world events World Youth Skills Day 15 July
International Day of Friendship 30 July
Reaksa, 12, at her school in Cambodia.
11 October is International Day of the Girl Get involved: becauseiamagirl.com.au
World Humanitarian Day 19 August
International Youth Day 12 August
International Literacy Day 8 September
Hello Reaksa!
World Teachers Day 5 October
International Day of the Girl 11 October
Reaksa is evidence that girls have incredible power to lift themselves, and their communities out of poverty.
World Food Day
An energetic student in Cambodia, Reaksa volunteers to help students keep up in class – plus she talks to parents who are not allowing their daughters to attend school. Now that Reaksa has accessed her right to education, she wants to help others. “Children are the bamboo shoots of society,” she says.
16 October
Universal Children’s Day 29 November
International Day of Persons with Disabilities
When girls are educated and informed, they are less likely to be forced into marriage, be malnourished, and are more likely to support themselves.
3 December
Do you agree that girls have the power to change the world? So do we. Join the campaign at becauseiamagirl.com.au
The wonder of mums Mums hold a special place in our heart. Every day, we meet incredible women living in poverty, working hard to give their kids the best start in life. To celebrate Mother’s Day we asked you to tell us something you’ve learnt from your mum. The winner, Dan from Brisbane, scooped a deliciously coffee-filled hamper from República Organic. Hope you shared it with Mum, Dan!
“ I’ve learnt how to have a generous heart, how to respect and value others, and how to make every moment count ... all from my mum. ” Dan Cleary, Brisbane
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, l a Nep ith w e r ’ e w u o y aking Nepal, sh 00 k c u r t s 8,5 kes earthqua ing in more than m the o w t e c result er fro sed sin und and families to recov for the have pas o r s g h t e n h o t M ide ls to s for Nepal’s s k better. nd schoo ake year c homes a reality is it will t e able to stick by Nepal ba e ’r g h e T in w . d t t il r s u o lo supp s on b lives ith your our sight W p . r e e e t k s a ’s dis er, let l. Togeth u a h g n lo
The road to recovery is long – but together we can get there.
Donate today plan.org.au/nepalappeal WINTER 2015
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A mother carries her baby through the debris of their home in Kathmandu, Nepal.
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Nepal we're with you
Thousands of people are without homes, schools and little more than the clothes on their backs. But Plan’s child-friendly spaces in Kathmandu allow kids to learn and play safely, away from the destruction. Plan Australia’s Adam Cathro wrote from a child-friendly space days after the earthquake. Just a few days ago I was standing in a vacant, grassy lot on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Dotted with makeshift tents, the lot was housing around 20 families. These weren’t families too scared to return to their homes. These were families who now had no home to return to. They had watched as they were destroyed by a terrifying and powerful earthquake. They told me they had been terrified as the quake struck. But if they were terrified, spare a thought for their children. For them, that fearful day was only the beginning. While their parents were out trying to find new places to live, they were left here in this empty lot. Still trying to come to terms with the terror of that horrifying Saturday that turned their world upside down. They wore haunted expressions. There were no games. There was no laughter. They had little to do beside relive that day in their heads. Their only distraction was to watch as a handful of volunteers toiled in the sun to build them somewhere to recover. Together we silently watched them dig holes, saw bamboo poles to fit, and slowly and painstakingly erect a shelter from the sun. A shelter that would soon become one of Plan International’s Child Friendly Spaces.
Boys play at a Plan-run child-friendly space.
A child-friendly space: where kids can be safe
Fast forward two days, and I’m back in that grassy lot. The tents are still there – they will be there for a long time to come. But an incredible transformation has taken place. There are now two marquees full of happy children. Some are singing songs about brushing their teeth. Some are gleefully rehearsing their dance moves. Some are deeply involved with painting and drawing. All around the two marquees there are gaggles of happy kids, skipping rope and playing football. It’s like a school playground. The silence of two days ago has been completely chased away by the sounds of laughter.
Children playing at a Plan-run child-friendly space.
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The very same children who sat quietly with me and watched the child-friendly space being constructed are now running up to ask my name, to shake my hand, to offer spontaneous highfives. They didn’t do that two days ago. Suddenly, they are just like children anywhere and everywhere. The difference is the child-friendly space and the trained volunteers who have arrived to engage around 150 children with their games and songs. Eight-year-old Mabish tells me: “Drawing is my hobby and I get a chance to learn about drawing and time to draw the things I like. This has become the place for us to meet our friends.” It looks like all fun, all the time. But it’s not just about fun. child-friendly spaces are a place for children to begin to recover from their ordeal on the day the ground rocked beneath them. "It is … helping me to forget the horrible situation I have been through,” 11-year-old Ajay says. Children are all too often forgotten when disaster strikes. But usually, for them, the experience is the most profound.Younger children can sometimes have little idea of how to cope, and often their parents are themselves too shocked to provide them with all the help they need. Recovery becomes all the more difficult when children are thrust from the security of the homes they know and into the uncertainty of a makeshift tent city. That’s where child-friendly spaces can make an enormous difference. Children can forget disaster for a little while. They get to be kids again. And a team of extraordinary volunteers help them process their experience through songs, dance and games. The recovery of these kids will be long and it won’t always be easy. Their young minds are unlikely ever to forget the day the earthquake struck. But now, at least, they can begin their healing journey. Adam Cathro is Plan International Australia’s Media Manager
Girls having fun at a Plan-run child-friendly space.
Thanks to supporters of our Nepal Earthquake Appeal, Plan has set up child-friendly spaces for 1,200 children, which will rise as the relief efforts continue. We have raised more than $1million. Thank you!
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“This has become the place for us to meet our friends.” The Magazine of Plan international Australia Global Child 12
Digging deep Australians have shown enormous support for the children and families affected by the Nepal earthquakes. We can’t thank you enough. Special thanks to:
INTREPID TRAVEL Intrepid Travel’s call for support of our Nepal Appeal received a recordbreaking response from their supporters. With travellers donating approximately $300,000 and The Intrepid Foundation donating a further $100,000, we are overwhelmed by the response. That’s close to $400,000 from Intrepid Travel – an amazing effort.
Harris Farm Markets
Albert Park College
Shoppers and staff of the New South Students at Albert Park College raised Wales grocery stores raised an incredible a whopping $12,600 for children $66,800. Thank you! and families in Nepal. Thank you!
When Maya’s world changed Maya with her daughter Anjana in Nepal.
Maya sits among friends and family, holding her daughter Anjana. She belongs to the Tamang people, an indigenous group living in the Himalayan regions of Nepal. During the April earthquakes in Nepal, the local school and most houses were destroyed. Day-to-day Maya works in a factory making mats, while her husband farms in the rice and corn fields. Together they don’t make much money, but enough to get by. “Now we have nothing,” Maya
says. “Everything has totally stopped. I’m not even sure whether we are going to live or not as we are still getting aftershocks every day.” Thanks to Plan supporters like you, families like Maya’s received emergency supplies to help them through this challenging time. “As there’s no shelter, the tarpaulin is home it will be useful for us to live in.” Plan has reached the hardest-toreach areas of Nepal to ensure aid is delivered to minority communities who need it most.
"As we have no shelter, this tarpaulin will be useful for us to live in.” WINTER 2015
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Tom
Plan's Water and Sanitation Program Manager Tom Rankin in East Malaita, Solomon Islands.
Tell us something we don’t know about you …
I used to love playing football, until I fell out of a pack (without the ball) and broke my pelvis. Now I surf on the weekends.
How did you get involved in development work?
As with many others, my entry point was through volunteering, most notably a couple of placements doing water, sanitation and hygiene work in the Solomon Islands over two years.
Meet the team Plan's Tom Rankin loves water. The former engineer, football nut, and now father, believes it’s the most basic need in life. So right now he’s helping people access clean water, and sanitation to improve their health and dignity. Go Tom! To learn more about Plan's projects visit plan.org.au
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Tell us about the most inspiring country you’ve been to, and why …
India would for sure be the most inspiring and heartbreaking all at once. So many people, so much crazy stuff going on. So much colour, so much fun, so much energy, so much curry, so much …
You work in water and sanitation – why?
I’ve always felt that water is the most basic need in life but it wasn’t until I got into water, sanitation and hygiene that the huge gap in access to sanitation dawned on me. Despite being an engineer, I still spend most days talking about where people poo – and a little about water.
You’ve recently become a dad – what kind of world do you want your child to grow up in?
A world where people greet each other in streets full of music, share knowledge and wealth freely, live sustainably from the land and St Kilda Football Club win the premiership every year. Oh, and no open defecation. Kind of sounds like the places we work doesn’t it?! Sort of…
Three things you take with you when you travel overseas to the field … Running shoes, a really ordinary travel guitar & a sense of humour.
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Child Sponsorship Leakna, 11
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Fatima, 9 An excited girl receives her birthday card from her Plan supporter.
Neema, 9
Write to me From Zambia to Perth, Myanmar to Adelaide, and Peru to Sydney – letters to and from sponsored children are soaring all over the world every day. When you sponsor a child through Plan, you are funding life-changing projects in their community. You can also create a personal and meaningful connection through drawings, letters and photos – just see the examples from children on this page. Don’t you think receiving a drawing from a child in Bangladesh is better than an electricity bill? We do!
Want to sponsor a child?
Get in touch today: plan.org.au/sponsor
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Let's talk
Climate Change Climate change presents an urgent threat to vulnerable children and the communities they live in. So who is speaking up about it? Young people. And we need to listen.
Plan Youth Ambassador Imogen on a beach in the Philippines.
Twenty-one-year-old Imogen Morrissey, a Plan Youth Ambassador, took her passion for tackling climate change to the Philippines – here, she listened to other young people talk about ocean tides, how the environment matters, and the challenges of being heard. Thanks to Imogen’s research, Plan’s climate change campaign will call on the Australian Government to join the global fight against climate change at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris this December.
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A young boy from the Philippines holds up a poster on climate change.
Attention young people! Are you aged 14-24? Have your voice heard in Plan’s climate change report. Get in touch with Community Engagement Advisor Victoria Kahla to book a consultation. Email: victoria.kahla@plan.org.au Keep up to date Plan’s Youth Ambassadors are all over Facebook – get involved and like: facebook.org.au/planforchange
How are young people taking action in the Philippines? Tell us about your first impressions of the Philippines when you first got out into the field? It was so hot! From the moment I stepped off the plane, it was very humid. But despite the heat there are people everywhere, outside in the fields, or hanging out together – and always children playing. It’s not something you see very often in Australia; people just hanging out together.
Was there one person’s story that stayed with you? All of the young people have very interesting stories in their own way. But there was one girl, Marinel, who is 17. She said that many people in her community are ignorant about climate change, and don’t listen to her. She says she gets annoyed by that, because they’re doing things like dynamite fishing [the practice of using explosives to stun or kill schools of fish for easy collection]. She’s worried about what kind of impact that will have on her generation.
How important is it for these young people to get vocal about climate change? It’s really important. And not just to get vocal, but to get active too. For young people in the Philippines, even doing something as simple as planting trees is having an impact in getting people’s attention. Trees can also be very effective for minimising landslides by stabilising hills, and it can prevent the impact of storm surges – and helps to absorb greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
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If they see people not disposing of rubbish, they’ll talk to them. There’s also a theatre group that do performances about climate change, and what it’s doing to communities already. There was another group I spoke to who have a radio program where they interview different people whose job involves something to do with climate change.
Could you see for yourself – or through the eyes of the young people you spoke to – what the effects of climate change look like? There was a place we went to in southern Leyte – and these communities are right on the beach. The children and young people talked about how the beach is a lot closer than it used to be. And also behind the communities there are mountains and sloping hills. It’s a very lush area, so there are palm trees and lush forests – and you could see the forests on the hills were interrupted from landslides that have occurred.
What should Australians be doing to tackle climate change? I think the first thing people need to do is educate themselves on climate change, because it’s not something that you’ll actually know or be taught. I think people living in developed countries, like Australia, should be making changes in their lives and advocating for things to change in their own countries so their government and communities are more aware on how to mitigate the effects of climate change – because Australia is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. And that has a real effect on countries like the Philippines – so we have to start in our own country.
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Star fundraisers
It’s never too early – or late – to start fundraising. Eleven-yearold Ty from Perth, and 80-year-old Kevin from Macksville, NSW, have found their own unique and creative ways to make a difference for children who need it most. High fives to you, Ty and Kevin!
Keen to get fundraising? Get in touch: plan.org.au/get-involved/fundraise
Plants for Plan Long-time supporter, Kevin, has turned his passion for gardening into an impressive fundraising venture. “I sell plants at the local market about twice a month – orchids, bromeliads, all sorts of plants. I grow most of them myself. Since selling the plants, I’ve raised $131,000 all up – from something that started out quite speculative it has turned into a small business! I grew up on a farm, growing vegetables with my father – then I became a banana farmer. I’ve also been a school bursar, and manager of a business. My wife Jan and I managed storage units too – and then at 72 I retired, so I’ve had a varied career. I’ve had eight sponsored children over the years since 1978 – and I visited one in Peru and saw the work Plan was doing there. It reinforced my faith in Plan. The first thing they showed me was the toilet! But they were also giving the children milk at the school, and mothers were receiving advice on pre-natal care. I think Plan’s doing a great job with the support of the girls. I think if you can educate girls, that’s a really good thing. Sometimes I slip a brochure in with the plant when I sell them – so I hope people have taken up the opportunity to sponsor a child through Plan.”
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Toy story Legendary Ty knows one way to raise funds for hungry kids in South Sudan – a toy sale! A budding entrepreneur perhaps? “We raised money for South Sudan by selling all my toys at a baby and kids market. I raised $112. It made me really happy. I also did a lucky dip – I wrapped the surprises up myself and people got to pick them out. I’d like to tell other kids that I raised money and that they should too. Because you’re helping other people and that’s really nice. And it’s really sad when kids don’t have food and are only eating pumpkin leaves. It’s important to do that for the people in South Sudan.”
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Smiling girls from Nilphamari Programme Unit in Bangladesh
for helping children realise their potential
This publication has been printed by an ISO 14001 environmental management system (EMS) and ISO 9001 quality management system (QMS) certified printer using vegetable based inks and a 100% alcohol free printing process. It is manufactured using an independently audited carbon neutral process. The paper is ecoStar, a FSC速 Recycled certified paper made carbon neutral (CN), manufactured from 100% post consumer recycled paper in a process chlorine free environment and under an ISO 14001 EMS. This publication is fully recyclable, please dispose of wisely.
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NICE WORK!
Here’s a snapshot of what we’re achieving this year, together. We look forward to your continued support over the coming year. Rehabilitating and constructing community water supplies in Timor Leste for more than 4,200 people
Providing a daily breakfast at schools in Cambodia to help more than 200,000 kids concentrate in class
Training more than 100 teachers at pre-schools in Laos so kids have the best start in life
Providing vocational training to young men and women in Sri Lanka
Helping kids and young people prepare for impacts of climate change and natural disasters in the Pacific
Pass me on! When you’re done with this edition of Global Child, be a friend and pass it on.
Keep in touch Call 13 75 26 or visit plan.org.au
A young boy enjoys playing outside a child-friendly classroom supported by Plan in Bondo, Kenya.