Global Child Summer 2008

Global Child THE MAGAZINE OF PLAN IN AUSTRALIA • SUMMER 2008

Improved access to

CLEAN WATER means children are less vulnerable to disease

Indonesia's women migrant workers Peru pre-schoolers welcome water on tap Uganda early childhood project begins

INSIDE WIN A TRIP TO SEE UGANDA’S MOUNTAIN GORILLAS AND A PLAN PROJECT WITH COFFEX COFFEE AND GECKO’S GRASSROOTS ADVENTURES • GLOBAL LEARNING • FRIENDS OF PLAN • NEWS & VIEWS

ınside

global child | contents

what's

Summer 2008

Plan priority projects 04

Water and sanitation in Tanzania

06

Women migrant workers in Indonesia

Kisarawe communities securing their water and hygiene

Better protection for Indonesian women working abroad

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Uganda and Aceh children united by early learning

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PLAN INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA

Front cover Children in Sierra Leone enjoy clean water pumped from a borehole – one of the outcomes of a water and sanitation project supported by Plan child sponsors.

Early Childhood Care in Uganda and Aceh, Indonesia

Child sponsorship

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08

Sponsor visit – Malawi

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Peru school water project

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Sri Lanka’s child artist and inventor

Malawi visit inspires Melbourne sponsor to run for kids Peru pre-schoolers welcome water on tap Environment inspires sponsored child’s artistic talent

Be a part of it 11

Global Learning

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Corporate support

So who’s involved in combating global poverty?

Win a trip to Uganda with Coffex Coffee and Gecko’s Grassroots Adventures

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Friends of Plan

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News, projects and people

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Annual Report summary

Join others and help support Plan News from around the Plan world Even more children benefit after Plan’s total revenue is $32.8 million for FY2008

Editorial contact media@plan.org.au Global Child is the magazine of Plan in Australia and is published biannually. Address 1/533 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000. GPO Box 2818, Melbourne VIC 3001. Phone 13 PLAN (13 7526) 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 2

summer 2008 www.plan.org.au

Plan's vision is of a world in which all children realise their full potential in societies that respect people's rights and dignity. Plan has no religious or political affiliations. As a child centred community development organisation, children are at the heart of everything Plan does.

www.plan.org.au THE PLAN STORY

Plan is a not-for-profit change agent for the sake of children working at the grassroots level in the developing world 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.

Together with our supporters, Plan is a catalyst for change, free from political and religious agendas, existing only for the sake of children.

Plan works in over 45 developing countries.

We unite, empower and inspire people around the globe to champion every child’s right to grow up healthy, safe and educated.

And as a Plan supporter, you can see that real, long-term solutions make a lasting difference in the lives of children, their families and communities.

SUPPORTING PLAN

Thank you to all our supporters, who help fund Plan’s work by: Sponsoring a child and supporting a community over time by connecting with a child who acts as a representative for their entire community. Plan supporters around the world sponsor nearly 1.3 million children.

Australians sponsor more than 41,000 children and their regular donation helps fund thousands of projects that benefit all such as health care, education, water and sanitation, food security and increasing family livelihoods.

Supporting Children First! where your regular donation supports Plan’s priority community development projects in many communities in a number of countries in Africa and Asia. Children First! projects improve education, health and rights for children living in the most difficult circumstances and usually take three or more years to complete.

CURRENT PRIORITY PROJECTS • Reducing Community Vulnerability to HIV and AIDS in in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe • Water and Sanitation in East Timor • Youth Participation and Youth Livelihoods in East Timor • Protection of Women Migrant Workers in Indonesia • Early Childhood Care and Development in China, India, Indonesia and Uganda • Empowering Families in Cambodia • Community Learning Support in Bangladesh • Sustainable Livelihoods in the Philippines • Global Connections • Food and Nutrition Security in Indonesia • Water and Sanitation in Tanzania • World Food Program • China Rehabilitation (earthquake in Shaanxi Province) • Cambodia Reach

SAFE WATER & SANITATION IMPORTANT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT

global child | welcome

our comment

OF CHILDREN

WATER, WATER NOT EVERYWHERE

WHEN YOU TURN ON THE TAP to wash your hands and later for a drink, spare a thought too for the one billion people who also don’t have access to safe water. And when you go to the toilet, especially on 19 November ‘World Toilet Day 2008’, also spare a thought for more than 2.6 billion people who don’t have one.

Clean water and a clean toilet are just part of everyday life for us, but in developing countries most people lack these basic facilities, which inevitably leads to disease, especially for children. Their drinking water usually comes from a pond or creek that is probably also used to water livestock and going to the toilet is usually done behind a bush, on a creek bank or even in the street as there is often no other choice. However, Plan and many other development organisations see clean water and proper sanitation as a priority in developing communities.

A BIG THANK YOU TO…

Thank you to all Plan supporters who gave so generously to our End-of-Financial-Year appeal which raised more than $400,000 to support Plan’s Early Childhood Care and Development projects in Asia. Your donation is helping infants and young children have better opportunities to grow into healthy, happy and educated girls and boys.

Safe drinking water and basic sanitation are also targets of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which aim to halve extreme poverty by 2015. And providing basic sanitation to those who don’t have it, particularly those living in Africa, was also highlighted this year as 2008 was the International Year of Sanitation.

Plan supporters are already helping to provide clean water and proper sanitation to thousands of children and their communities. But more needs to be done if even more people, especially children, are to benefit from access to clean water and sanitation.

While Plan globally funds water and sanitation projects in more than 45 developing countries, its water and sanitation projects in Tanzania, Vietnam and East Timor, in particular, are being supported

by Australians and managed by Plan in Australia.

When I was growing up in the ‘60s we never thought of water as a limited resource. You played under the sprinkler, washed down the paths, left the hose on overnight. Water seemed free and abundant.

In Australia we have come to realise that water is scarce and precious. Water conservation is now standard practice.

Rain water tanks have made a return.

Government authorities are challenged by how to meet the water demand for our cities, industry and agriculture.

Two things we still take for granted though is that the water will be available when we turn on the tap, and that it will be clean and drinkable.

In the countries where Plan works neither of these assumptions hold true.

Water is often distant and hard to obtain. When it is found it is usually unfit for drinking.

This is why water projects are such a major part of Plan’s work. Clean water and appropriate sanitation are absolutely essential elements in creating an environment that is safe for children.

Plan’s water project in Kisarawe, Tanzania is an example of such efforts.

The project is installing bore holes, pumps, rain water tanks and small-scale dams in one of the driest areas of Tanzania.

It will provide clean, protected and accessible water to thousands of children. It will literally save lives and improve lives by alleviating the tiresome burden of trekking kilometres to the river or waterhole.

I commend this project to you and invite you to learn more about it in this edition of our magazine.

WE'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK…

PMP Limited for providing print services free of charge. This issue has been printed on Envi Laser Carbon Neutral Paper manufactured in Australia by Australian Paper who kindly donated this stock, which is certified Greenhouse FriendlyTM by the Australian Government’s Department of Climate Change. summer 2008 www.plan.org.au

Ian Wishart National Executive Director Plan in Australia 3

priority projects |

kisarawe communities securing their

water & hygiene Increased access to water and community-led total sanitation mean improved health in Tanzania’s Kisarawe district, thanks to Plan extending its water and sanitation work for another three years.

“The borehole project meant a lot to our community,” says Jumanne Mohamed Maleta – a member of a Kisarawe district village water committee. “Previously we had to travel far away if we wanted safe water, otherwise we relied on unprotected water sources around the valley. It was a bad experience because some people were bathing, washing and defecating very close to the traditional shallow well which was not covered.

Now things have changed, people are happy to have safe water within the village,” Jumanne says.

However, in some areas in Kisarawe it is difficult to access underground water, so boreholes are not the only answer to improving access to water.

Between 2005 and 2008, a water project supported by Plan in Australia provided rainwater tanks at schools and health centres to utilize rainwater collected from roofs.

“Since the installation of the rainwater harvesting tanks, water is available for drinking and for cleaning toilets in our school,” says Zena, a year six student at a primary school where Plan installed tanks, pipes, gutters and improved the roofing.

“We don’t have to miss classes to look for water.

Water is available here and everyone is happy.

Now we can concentrate on lessons.”

Six boreholes with hand pumps, nine rainwater harvesting systems and a dam were provided through the project which will be completed in October 2008, resulting in around 10,000 people having improved access to protected water sources.

As Kisarawe district’s total population exceeds 95,000 more children like Zena could benefit from improved access to water. Responding to this need, Plan will extend its water and sanitation project to other areas of the district, which again will be managed by Plan in Australia in partnership with Plan Tanzania and communities in Kisarawe.

While phase one of the project was generously funded through a grant from a private foundation, the support of Australians – both individuals and businesses – will be vital in raising the $1 million needed to fund phase two of the project.

Over the next three years, Plan will work with rural communities to improve access to protected water sources in nine villages, while a community-led total sanitation approach will be initiated in 55 villages. This approach is expected to encourage village residents to work together to address open defecation if it occurs in their communities and improve hygiene practices.

“The important message that is delivered to the community is the link between the unsanitary environment and their illness and how to break the transmission route through hand washing, use of latrines and personal hygiene,” says Ramadhan Chambo, a community health worker

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Subira, Zena (right) and their fellow students have clean water to drink and for washing after Plan installed a rainwater harvesting system at their primary school in Kisarawe district.

from a village that is already following the approach. “As a result of our work, many people have adopted the key hygienic practices.”

The community-led total sanitation approach will compliment the provision of communityowned-and-managed water systems. A local community committee will oversee maintenance and repairs for each water system, and manage a small fund collected from community members to cover costs. This will help ensure sustainability long after Plan has moved on.

With piped water limited mainly to the Kisarawe township, the majority of people in Kisarawe’s rural summer 2008 www.plan.org.au

areas (around 80,000) are farmers who have limited access to protected or reliable water supplies. Many of those who have not yet benefited from Plan’s water and sanitation project still rely on unprotected water sources such as shallow traditional wells, open ponds and rivers. In some places, people have to purchase water. During the dry season some water sources dry up. It makes it hard for families, especially for women and children who are the ones who usually collect water. However, with Plan extending its work in Kisarawe, more children and their families will have access to improved water supplies.✦

| priority projects

"Previously we had to travel far away if we wanted safe water, otherwise we relied on unprotected water sources around the valley...

Now things have changed, people are happy to have safe water within the village.”

Right: Water collected from ponds is often dirty and contaminated, but soon more communities will have access to protected water via boreholes, dams and rainwater tanks.

Below right: Children collect water from a pond also used by animals. A borehole can provide protected water closer to their village.

FAST FACTS

The Kisarawe Water and Sanitation Phase 2 project, which has a budget of just over $1 million, is to be funded entirely by donations from the Australian public and Plan corporate supporters. The project is also the focus of Plan’s annual appeal.

Pit latrine toilets for boys and girls installed by Plan provide school children with proper sanitation.

summer 2008 www.plan.org.au

The second phase of Plan’s water and sanitation project in Kisarawe, Tanzania aims to provide improved access to water to over 20,000 people in nine villages; it also aims to initiate community-led total sanitation benefiting an expected 70,000 people in 55 villages. Over the next three years, Plan in Australia will help support Plan Tanzania to: • Provide protected borehole water systems with hand pumps in five villages.

• Set up rainwater tanks, hand washing facilities and pit toilets at six schools • Construct a dam.

•S et up pipes and holding tanks on two high yielding boreholes drilled during phase one of the project, providing more people with improved access to water.

•P rovide training in water management, operation and maintenance for members of nine community water management committees.

Collecting rainwater after Plan installed tanks, pipes and improved the roofing, provided water for drinking and washing for school children.

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priority projects |

better protection for

indonesian women working abroad

For millions of Indonesians looking to escape poverty, working abroad is often their only option. But for many – most of whom are women – it can be an option filled with exploitation, abuse and neglect for the children they must leave behind.

In many of the villages of eastern Indonesia, where poverty is acute and unemployment high, a growing number of concrete houses stand tall between traditional wood homes.

This ‘misplaced’ prosperity comes from the toil of Indonesia’s migrant workers (up to 95 per cent are women) who are mostly employed as housemaids in countries like Hong Kong, Malaysia, Saudia Arabia and Syria.

While working abroad for a few years can lift a family out of poverty, providing a better future especially for children, for some migrant workers it can be a high price to pay.

Currently, there are four million documented migrant workers, but it is estimated there could be as many as 16 million Indonesians working overseas. Many are recruited by unscrupulous agents lured with the promise of high wages.

However, with little knowledge of their rights and few regulations to protect them, they are open to exploitation such as debt bondage to pay high arbitrary recruitment fees; forced to work long hours; paid a lot less than originally agreed; and also physical and sexual abuse. And their children, left behind in the care of relatives, are at a greater risk of missing out on early learning and schooling.

Until recently, there were no laws protecting Indonesians working abroad. However, Plan’s Protection of Women Migrant Workers project in eastern Indonesia has helped set up a number of protection measures.

The five-year project, with the phase-out now extended to 2009 to ensure greater long-term impact, also benefits men and operates in 30 villages in the rural districts of Nusa Tenggara Barat, Sumbawa, Dompu and East Lombok in eastern Indonesia. With each village having around 2000 residents, at any one time about 300 people will be working abroad.

Plan Indonesia, while working on other projects in Plan-supported villages, first became aware of the abuse experienced by migrant workers and the negative impact on their children back in 2002. But in just four years, Plan in Australia, Plan Indonesia and local partners have successfully lobbied for new village and district regulations that were approved in December 2007. The new law prohibits recruitment of workers under 18 years; a labour contract must be provided to each worker by the recruiter; and a credit facility established to finance recruitment fees. A district-level migrant protection commission has been established and the district welfare office is also paying more attention to the issue of care and welfare of migrant workers' children.

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Village regulations have been introduced which limits the activities of head hunters from disreputable recruitment agencies. And community protection groups have been set up in all 30 villages with returned migrants encouraged to be members so they can play a mentoring role to potential migrant workers.

Plan and its local partners have also worked with community groups to equip prospective migrant workers and their families with information about their legal rights, the consequences including the impact on family, especially young children and the risks associated with migrant work.

During the final year and phase out of the project in 2009, Plan will continue to improve access of migrant workers to these newly established legal and social systems of protection.✦

summer 2008 www.plan.org.au

The Protection of Women Migrant Workers in Indonesia project is funded through AusAID, the Australian Government Agency for International Development and by donations from the Australian public and Plan corporate supporters.

Above left: Women learn about new regulations that help protect migrant workers from exploitation.

Above right: Prospective women migrant workers are asked to stop and consider the impact of their work abroad on the development of their very young children in a poster funded by Plan. Below left: Relatives often care for children whose mothers are working abroad. Below right: Women from a community protection group provide information on the new protection regulations and advice to prospective migrant workers.

| priority projects

children in

uganda & aceh united in early learning

Ugandan toddlers are set to follow in the footsteps of pre-schoolers in Aceh, Indonesia as Plan begins to develop an early childhood project in a rural district of the east African country.

Children in rural Uganda will soon benefit from early learning activities through a new Plan project.

Pre-school success in Aceh

Suwarni, 25, is a pre-school teacher and the co-ordinator of a Plan-supported Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Centre on the outskirts of Banda Aceh – the capital of Indonesia’s Aceh province.

The community-run Lampisang centre, with 24 children enrolled in its pre-school, is the end result of a Plan project that commenced just after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami smashed into Aceh’s coast destroying thousands of lives and wiping out entire towns and villages.

Part of Plan’s emergency response was to provide a sense of normality for the children who had been traumatized by the wave of destruction. First there were tents with books, toys and crayons for 2500 children in the displaced persons camps. Later, early learning activities and schooling moved to 16 temporary shelters and finally to seven purpose-built schools and pre-schools. The four ECCD centres with pre-schools, plus two primary schools and a secondary school were all built by Plan with funds generously donated

by Dymocks owner and chair John Forsyth, School Aid Trust and the Australian public.

“I have been working at this centre since it was established (end of 2005). And I like to be here,” says Suwarni, who enrolled in a Plan-supported teacher training course, which was part of Plan’s Rebuilding Education in Aceh program. Suwarni has also recently completed specialist early learning training

Suwarni (wearing black head scarf) is an Acehenese pre-school teacher who has received specialist training.

that enables her to teach BCCT (Beyond Centres and Circle Time – an early learning method that prepares children for success at school but in a creative play-based environment).

“This new method provides a new way of teaching for us. “I hope the children will become great children in the future and this new method will succeed and can be used as a model for other Early Childhood centers.”

Suwarni adds that the community also contributed to the centre by donating some money to buy the land where it was built. “They are very glad because now they have a centre in their area for their children. Thus, their children will not be left behind in comparison to other children who live in the city,” she says.

Besides teaching at the centre, Suwarni is still a student at Aceh’s Muhammadiyah University, where she continues to improve her early education teaching skills. summer 2008 www.plan.org.au

Pre-schoolers-to-be in Lowero West district in Uganda presently share little in common with children in Indonesia’s Aceh province – other than possibly a few hand-made toys.

While the Acehenese children stepped excitedly through the doors of a new pre-school, most children living in rural Uganda had no such opportunity to step into a bright new future.

The pre-school in Aceh is part of a Plan-supported Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) project that began immediately after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

But now children in Uganda are also about to benefit from Plan’s ECCD program skills; skills that are continually being developed through projects like the one in Aceh, where Plan is recognised as the leading development organisation on ECCD. Early learning, basic childhood health care, parenting and nutrition advice all aim to give children the best head start in life. While parents often use many positive practices in traditional parenting, some have not had the opportunity to share knowledge and experience about the long-term impact of things like a balanced diet and early learning can have on their child’s development.

However, for children in six communities in the Lowero West district that is all about to change as Plan in Australia and Plan Uganda, working together with the communities, are about to begin a new project to harness experience, skills and understanding of ECCD. “Communities themselves will be leading the development of an appropriate ECCD model that will begin from the ground up,” program manager Katie Ramsay says.

During the next 12 months, Plan will be working with parents and other community members to research how ECCD can be integrated into Ugandan culture with a particular focus on traditional child-rearing practices.

While the Ugandan Government has developed an ECCD framework document, the need now, is for this document to be taken beyond words and into a practical guide for caregivers and parents at a local level.

Over the next 12 months practical manuals on ECCD, including ones on early learning and parenting skills which incorporate traditional parenting, will be developed. Project activities will also include harnessing opportunities for parents to share experiences, successes and best practice. ✦ The Early Childhood Care and Development in Uganda project is funded by AusAID, the Australian Government Agency for International Development and by donations from the Australian public and Plan corporate supporters.

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child sponsorship at work |

malawi visit inspires melbourne sponsor

to run for kids When Ryan Jones sponsored a child from Malawi, he never thought he would visit her, but it was a visit that inspired him to join a growing number of Plan supporters ‘fun running’ for Plan.

Above: Vitumbiko – a Plan sponsored child from Malawi. Below: Ryan Jones and Andrew McIntosh visit Vitumbiko’s school.

Ryan Jones with Vitumbiko (centre) and her twin sister Wes.

For 26-year-old Melbourne sponsor Ryan Jones, no commitments and a well-paid job added up to lots of good times. But the realisation that he wanted his hard-earned cash to make a difference soon came to him. He called Plan and sponsored 10-year-old Vitumbiko from Malawi.

For the little girl from an isolated village of mud and thatch-roofed huts, her life and that of other children in her village now included new opportunities. And so, too, for Ryan as just two years later, he had the opportunity to visit her when his mechanical engineering skills were needed for a short contract in South Africa.

“When I sponsored her, I never anticipated that I would ever meet her,” Ryan says. “I also never thought on return, I’d be inspired to do more for kids like Vitumbiko and enter the Run Melbourne charity fun run.”

When Ryan’s South African contract ended in

FAST FACTS

Australians currently sponsor 913 children in Malawi where Plan has been working since 1994. Recent programs funded by child sponsors include: • 10 pre-schools built to give young children a good start to their education • Over 500 outside toilets constructed to improve sanitation for families • 170 community members trained in counselling of vulnerable children and HIV/AIDS orphans • Over 600 farmers trained in growing cassava, a root vegetable that is particularly drought-resistant.

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April this year, he and colleague Andrew McIntosh flew direct to Malawi.

“When we arrived at Vitumbiko’s village, there was a welcoming ceremony of songs and dances and then we were sat down in front of about 100 people including about 20 elderly gentlemen – the leaders from the surrounding villages.

“The Plan interpreter told us we were the first sponsors to ever visit the district. The village leaders asked lots of questions about what we eat, what we farm and what we do with ourselves. They also told us about their problems, the two main ones being water and basic health care.

“After kicking the ball around, Vitumbiko took us on a tour to her school where she is in Grade 5.

The headmaster showed us the curriculum, which was surprisingly very similar to what Australian kids are learning at this age.

“In fact, talking to the headmaster and earlier when we were talking to the village heads, it seemed there were a lot of similarities. Our lives really weren’t that much different from each others.

“The Plan interpreter also told us the community were so happy to have met a sponsor – to see that sponsors were real people.

"Meeting Vitumbiko, her family and her community was an unforgettable experience and once again drove home just how far a dollar can go. The idea isn’t to change their lives to become more like us, but to give them the opportunity to learn and become something they may have never known existed, with the possibility of it becoming reality," Ryan says. ✦ Presently, Australian sponsors are needed for 300 children in Malawi. To sponsor a child or to learn more about visiting your sponsored child visit www.plan.org.au or phone 13 PLAN (13 7526). summer 2008 www.plan.org.au

Child sponsors are ‘everyday heros’ for Plan

Ryan Jones is one of more than 50 Plan supporters around Australia who are ‘fun running’ as an exciting new way to fundraise for Plan.

After visiting Vitumbiko in Malawi, Ryan became an ‘Everyday Hero’ when he signed up for the 10 kilometre leg of the inaugural Run Melbourne charity fun run held on 22 June. With girlfriend Danielle Van Ryn, they raised an impressive $1385 for Plan’s Early Childhood Care and Development projects in India. While a motorcycle accident just days before the race prevented Ryan from running himself, Andrew McIntosh who travelled with him to Malawi and now sponsors a child there, ran in his place.

You can read more on how Plan supporters are ‘fun running’ to fundraise for Plan on page 13 ‘Be a part of it’.

Vitumbiko and her friends play with a football given as a gift to the children by Ryan during his visit.

| child sponsorship at work Hand wash basins and pour-flush toilets have improved hygiene for pre-schoolers in Peru.

Peru pre-schoolers

welcome water on tap Children attending a pre-school in a village in the San Salvador region of Peru in South America had to share an unhygienic pit toilet and had no where to wash their hands.

At school and at home in many of Peru’s rural villages, most children and their families don’t have access to hygienic pour flush toilets and water on tap for hand washing and drinking.

As a result, frequent bouts of diarrhoea are common, especially amongst children.

While Plan’s work in supporting families to improve sanitation at home is ongoing, teachers and parents in one village got together to make an immediate difference at their local pre-school. With support from Plan, they developed a sanitation project that was funded entirely by Plan child sponsors.

Children at the pre-school now have pour-flush toilets for boys and girls and clean water on tap for hand washing and drinking and have also learnt other personal hygiene practices such as brushing teeth.

Pre-school teacher Wilfredo Timpo says child sponsors, along with the local community, have contributed significantly to developing the facilities.

"Some years ago, Plan and the community built this school for children under five years old. Later the municipality built a playground that is also part of the school. Then, we built the kitchen and now we also have first quality toilets.

"My commitment as a teacher is to now extend the sanitation program to the parents in order that good hygiene doesn’t remain only in the school," Wilfredo adds.

Providing sanitation at the pre-school is only part of Plan Peru’s goal in improving education for children in Peru beginning in the very first years.

With only 56 per cent of children under five years attending pre-school, particularly in rural areas, Plan is also working with Peru’s education department to help ensure early learning is available to those children missing out.✦

Gardener set to raise $50,000 for Plan projects As well as being a Plan child sponsor for over 30 years, including of children in Peru, Kevin Welsh has raised $30,000 – the profits from

market plant sales – for Plan projects. But with plant sales far exceeding expectations, his goal now is to bring the total raised to a staggering $50,000 by 2010.

“That’s when I’ll probably have to give it away,” says Kevin. However the 72-year-old former banana farmer and small business owner, who only retired last year, says he will continue selling plants for as long as he can.

Since 2004, Kevin has made a difference to children with his donations going to reducing community vulnerability to HIV and AIDS in Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia; water and sanitation in East Timor and, more recently, early childhood care and development in India..

Battle of Choirs finalist ‘Harambee’ supports Plan Melbourne’s Harambee Choir, who came third in Channel Seven’s ‘Battle of the Choirs’ in August, sponsor six-year-old Lleydi from Ecuador.

An Ecuadorian folksong ‘La Lluvia’ meaning ‘the rain’ which is one of their favourite songs, inspired the 18-member choir to sponsor Lleydi. Since 2006, their sponsorship has helped support Lleydi’s community rebuild and repair classrooms, install school toilets, provide training to teachers and train community volunteers in health and hygiene promotion.

Harambee, which means ‘in the spirit of togetherness’ in Swahili, hold public performances in Melbourne throughout the year. For details visit www.harambee.com.au

summer 2008 www.plan.org.au

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child sponsorship at work |

environment inspires

sri lankan A Sri Lankan boy, who is sponsored by an Australian family, is realising his potential as both an awardwinning artist and inventor.

Above: Dilan, a sponsored child from Sri Lanka, is a talented artist and inventor.

child artist “Since I was a small child, I liked very much the rural environment and I try to capture the beauty of the surrounding areas in my paintings,” Dilan says.

Through his art, fourteen-year-old Dilan, has not only captured the beauty of his local area in north west Sri Lanka, but has also raised awareness about the impact of climate change.

Dilan, who is sponsored by the Head family in Melbourne, has won several painting competitions including the Provincial Art Competition in 2007 and the Sri Lankan Government’s Ministry of Environment Art Competition in 2006.

“It is no surprise to me that Dilan has won these awards. When he writes to us, he sends us drawings and it is obvious that he is very talented.

We look forward to receiving his art and proudly display it for all to see,” Julie Head says.

Besides painting, Dilan is also an award-winning inventor after his electrical coconut scrapper made out of discarded materials and inspired by a school project, recently received the top prize in this year’s Provincial Inventors Competition. Dilan and his invention were also featured on Sri Lankan television.

Unfortunately, the electrical coconut scrapper, which showed such potential, has since been dismantled as Dilan needed the parts to build his latest invention.

However, all is not lost as Plan Sri Lanka community worker Mr Badra says Dilan’s teacher is now helping Dilan find other parts to reassemble the electrical coconut scrapper. “Dilan is very talented and is continuing to improve his skills for the future,” Badra adds.✦

Above and centre: Dilan’s art has won several art awards.

Below: An electrical coconut scrapper designed by Dilan was made from discarded materials.

Above: Through his pastel drawing ‘Effects of Global Warming’, Dilan raises awareness about climate change.

Writing to your sponsored child Writing to your sponsored child provides an opportunity to build a relationship. Children in our sponsorship programs understand they are representatives of the entire community, however they value the personal contact through letter writing.

Your letters are often translated by Plan for children and their family members. You don't need to write long letters – drawings, photos even postcards are a great way of expressing yourself and your family. Write about general-interest topics such as where you live, what you do, your pets, friends and, importantly, Australia. Ask questions about the child, family and community.

Writing to your sponsored child goes far beyond words. Thank you for your support.

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FAST FACTS

Presently, Australian sponsors are needed for 172 children in Sri Lanka. To sponsor a child visit www.plan.org.au or phone 13 PLAN (13 7526). summer 2008 www.plan.org.au

Australians sponsor 3216 children in Sri Lanka. Recent projects funded by child sponsorship include: •1 000 volunteers trained in community health and hygiene promotion, first aid and nutrition.

•1 00 early childhood centres with play and activity corners for early learning set up.

•4 00 young people attended vocational training with 70 per cent finding jobs.

so who's involved with

be a part of it | global learning

combatTing poverty?

In our regular Global Learning series, we feature Part 2 of the chapter ‘What is being done to change things?’ re-printed from Plan’s ‘Action on global poverty: a guide to making a difference’.

• Develop a global partnership for development.

Just as there are many factors that can contribute to the existence of poverty, there are also many levels of government, businesses, organisations and ordinary people that are working together to combat poverty. Here are some examples…

They might seem like pretty big targets, but many experts say that the goals are achievable if everyone does their fair share.

The United Nations

Governments

The United Nations is a global organisation and most countries are members. They help fund and run the UN, which brings the countries of the world together to work out how to make it a better place for everyone. One of the key organisations is UNICEF, the United Nations Childrens Fund, which does a lot of work on children’s rights. The UN also builds partnerships with NGOs, businesses and governments around the world.

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals

In September of 2000, all 189 member states of the United Nations (including Australia) gathered at the United Nations Millennium Summit where they committed themselves to achieving the Millennium Development Goals by the year 2015. In their simplified form, the MDGs are: • Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger • Achieve universal primary education • Promote gender equality and empower women • Reduce child mortality • Improve maternal health • Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases • Ensure environmental sustainability

Most wealthy governments contribute at some level to organisations like the UN and the World Bank as well as having their own aid budgets and programs. However, there is debate about whether governments are doing enough. According to AusAID it costs each Australian about $2.40 a week of their tax dollars to fund Australia’s overseas aid program. Can we afford to give more?

Business

Many businesses contribute skills, resources or money towards work that is helping people living in poverty, but some people argue that the very nature of business is about taking money from some people and giving more to others. There are some businesses that have a record of not helping to reduce poverty – and there are some that even contribute to the problem.

Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and Community Development

NGOs care about how things affect people, while often governments and big business focus on the economy and politics. The thousands of NGOs around the world spend much of their time and resources “on the ground” working with the people. Many of the NGOs adopt the “community development” approach, which is all about supporting a community to lead and manage their own projects to combat poverty.

Learn more

To learn more, you can visit these web sites: •w ww.un.org find out about the United Nations and which countries are members.

•w ww.un.org/millenniumgoals/ find out more about the MDGs and what they aim to achieve.

•w ww.ausaid.gov.au find out about Australia’s international aid program.

The full 52 page ‘Action on Global Poverty: a guide to making a difference’ is published by Plan in partnership with The Age newspaper.

RRP $17 or $200 per class set of 25 books (all prices incl. GST and postage).

Order from the Plan shop at www.plan.org.au or call 13 PLAN (13 7526)

BECAUSE I AM A GIRL – Report 2 Report shines light on girls in the shadow of war Let me tell you about a little girl from Sierra Leone named Hawa.

Hawa was three when militia killed her parents. She was taken by the militia and at age eight was ‘married’ to one of the leaders.

One of the atrocities that Hawa experienced occurred when some of the soldiers wanted Hawa to shoot a pregnant woman to settle a bet over whether she was carrying a boy or a girl. For refusing, Hawa was herself shot and injured. The soldiers went on to shoot the woman to settle the bet. Hawa eventually escaped and is now getting herself through school. She is one of the lucky ones.

Hawa’s story is featured in Plan’s second ‘Because I am a Girl’ report (released internationally in May), which focuses on girls and young women living in the shadow of war and aims to bring global attention to the importance of gender equity.

Children do not start wars yet they are most vulnerable to its deadly effects. Particularly for girls. In wartime girls are drawn into violence in many ways. They can be forced from their homes, separated from their families and lose the chance of an education. They can be abducted by armed groups and forced to act as porters, camp domestics, combatants, spies and even soldiers’ ‘wives’. Of the estimated

Girls in Sierra Leone return to school after missing out on years of education during the war.

300,000 child soldiers in the world today, approximately 100,000 are girls. But also in times of peace, girls frequently face discrimination, exclusion, control, and various levels of emotional and physical violence.

Only by addressing these prejudices can we construct a world that is safe for girls in both peace and war. When we deal with the underlying attitudes that make the world intolerable for girls, I am sure we will be a long way toward lasting peace.

Ian Wishart, National Executive Director of Plan in Australia summer 2008 www.plan.org.au

‘Because I am a Girl: The state of the world’s Girls 2008’ report is the second in a series of nine. The series aims to bring global attention to the importance of gender equity in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, which call to halve world poverty by 2015. The report can be downloaded from www.plan.org.au

11

be a part of it | corporate

win!

Buy Coffex Fairtrade coffee to win a trip to Uganda!

For the launch of its fairtrade organic coffee range, Coffex Coffee in partnership with Gecko’s Grassroots Adventures are offering a holiday of a life time for two on Gecko’s eight-day Gorilla Express trip to Uganda.

The two Plan corporate partners have joined forces to also help promote Plan to potentially thousands of Australians who buy Coffex’s ‘Global Café Direct’ fairtrade organic coffee. And potentially, this means the real winners will be children in developing countries as just some of these Australians may also decide to join the Plan family and ‘be a part of it’.

In addition to seeing the majestic highland mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, the competition winner will also have the opportunity to see how Plan works with children and their families by visiting a community in Uganda’s Luwero West district.*

Mountain gorilla and baby.

To win this fantastic trip valued at $14,758, just buy Coffex’s ‘Global Café Direct’ fairtrade organic coffee from Coles, other participating retailers and Coffex’s Online Store. And in 25 words or less, tell Coffex: “What does Global Café Direct fairtrade organic coffee mean to you?”

Send your completed entry with the barcode to: BBC Australia Good Food Global Café Direct competition, Locked Bag 4999, South Yarra, VIC 3141.

Good luck and let us know if you win!

Competition closes 30/11/08. For full terms and conditions please go to www.globalcafedirect.com.au. *For the winner and their friend that decide to visit the Plan supported community in Luwero West they must abide by Plan’s child protection policy.

For details visit www.plan.org.au.

Check in with Accor for children in India Despite the economic growth of urban India, millions of children in isolated rural areas and slums on the urban fringe have no access to early childhood services, such as pre-schools.

As a result, they don’t receive the critical development building blocks they need to thrive as they grow older. Plan is working to provide essential early childhood services for children in India and you can help. Simply book a room at an Accor hotel in Australia during October, November or December and add a $1 donation to Plan.

Plan corporate partner Accor is helping support children in India.

It’s hoped the campaign will raise $10,000 for Plan’s Early Childhood Care and Development project in Delhi’s urban slums and rural villages in Orissa and Rajasthan.

Since 2004, Accor and Plan have been working together to make a difference to the lives of children and their communities through child sponsorship, workplace giving and corporate donations. Globally, Accor customers and employees have collected more than $1.3 million for Plan projects, while in Australia, since 2006, more than $50,000 has been donated to Plan’s Early Childhood and Development (ECCD) programs in China and India.

So if you’re looking for a weekend getaway or planning a trip, book with Accor and support Plan. Visit www.accorhotels.com.au or call 1300 65 65 65 (local call cost) for reservations.

The Accor Hotels for Plan campaign applies to bookings made during October, November and December 2008 for stays in Accor’s Australian hotels (excluding Formule 1) prior to 31 December 2008. Visit www.accorhotels.com.au for more about the campaign (including terms and conditions) and the ways in which Accor supports Plan.

Buy Season’s Greetings Cards & support Plan

Thanks to Stationery Online, you can select Season’s Greetings cards online, personalise the message and order in bulk. Great for companies, organisations and groups. There is also a range of family cards available. 10 per cent of the proceeds will assist Plan’s priority projects in Africa and Asia. Visit www.stationeryonline.com.au/plan.

12

summer 2008 www.plan.org.au

be a part of it | friends of Plan Father and son’s outback odyssey for others

Jon Pfeffer and his father, Steve, cycle from Brisbane to Broome for Plan.

Plan supporters and cyclists Jon Pfeffer and his father Steve peddled into Broome, Western Australia on July 16 after more than 10 weeks on the road.

The pair left Brisbane on May 4 and rode almost 5000 kilometres without a support vehicle through heat, wind and rain. Punctures, passing road trains and the occasional fall were all part of the adventure but their most memorable experiences were outback hospitality and awe-inspiring desert scenery.

Their Brisbane to Broome ride raised more than $6000 for Plan’s water and sanitation project in East Timor and Early Childhood Care and Development in India.

“I consider myself lucky to have had such an amazing trip and experience with my dad.

I hope that the money we’ve raised and the work of Plan will help give others the same sort of opportunities and choice about their future as I’ve had,” Jon says. Their ride also raised awareness of Plan’s work through the many people they talked to along the way including journalists on regional radio and newspapers.

friends of plan help raise

awareness

and support

To find out more about community fundraising or Friends of Plan groups contact Nicole Rodger on 13 PLAN (13 7526).

Members of ACT’s Cambodian Association with Gosta Lynga from Canberra FOP and The Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, Bob McMullan at the Cambodia fundraising launch.

Above: Plan supporters Tim and Taff Richardson raise $445 for Plan after participating in Run Melbourne.

Supporters walk, run and amble for Plan

More than 50 Plan supporters have recently taken up a physical and fundraising challenge. After registering in fun runs (Run Melbourne, City2Surf in Sydney, Bridge to Brisbane and City-Bay in Adelaide), supporters created an online fundraising page for Plan through ’Everyday Hero’. As a result more than $9000 has been raised for Plan priority projects such as Early Childhood Care and Development in India. Taff Richardson, who participated in Run Melbourne with her husband Tim, says: “The walk was great, Tim and I had a ball. And it has been a good opportunity to talk about Plan to our friends”. You, too, can join the online fundraising fun. Whether you are running a marathon or celebrating a wedding or birthday, all you have to do is create your own fundraising page and email your friends.

To find out more click on ‘Be a part of it’ at www.plan.org.au.

Canberra friends help families in Cambodia

Canberra Friends of Plan are now focusing on empowering families in Cambodia after raising more than $4500 to support Plan’s work to reduce the impact of HIV and AIDS in Africa. With the Cambodian community in the ACT, Canberra FOP have already held a fundraising launch at Parliament House and a Cambodian-themed dinner dance. Next is their 9th Annual Art and Craft Show from November 28 to 30 at Weston Creek Community Centre. Funds raised go to Plan’s newest priority project ‘Empowering Families’ in Siem Reap, Cambodia. summer 2008 www.plan.org.au

13

be a part of it | plan news

haiti devastated by a series of tropical cyclones Four successive tropical storms have struck Haiti in September causing flooding and mudslides. It is estimated that 29,685 persons, including 3680 children under five have been affected. It has also been reported that 90 percent of the small farms have been destroyed and 75 per cent of the livestock has been killed. Plan Haiti has given immediate response to people affected by the last hurricane and will continue supporting the affected communities by providing essential medicines to the Department of Health in order to give free emergency care to people in need. In addition, health centers that have been destroyed will be rehabilitated, school materials will be supplied, a recapitalisation loan program targeting small merchants will be implemented and psycho-social support will be given to families at a hospital in Jacmel. Plan in Australia has not set up a fundraising appeal to support the response to the emergency, as it is expected that sufficient funds will be raised from other sources.

A woman gazes at her submerged home in Bihar, north east India.

Flooding displaces millions in asia

Jamie Durie travelled to India in September to produce and feature in a television special on Plan’s early childhood projects in India. The television special is due to be screened on Channel Seven in 2009.

Over 3 million people have been forced from their homes by floods in northern India, Nepal and Pakistan. Heavy rains have caused the Kosi and Sutlej Rivers to break their banks, submerging millions of acres of farmland and devastating villages. Plan is working to help the immediate as well as long term needs of children and their families. Our efforts will concentrate on the protection of children and the provision of safe drinking water and sanitation. Plan in Australia did not set up an appeal as funds are being raised from other sources.

Plan congratulates Ms Quentin Bryce AC, on her appointment as 25th Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia and as the first woman to be appointed to the role.

The newly appointed Govenor General, who is also a mother of five and grandmother of five, was a Board member of Plan in Australia from 1996 to 2003. As well as children’s rights supporter, her long list of achievements also include lawyer and advocate for women’s rights and human rights. Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC comes to the head of state role after serving as governor of Queensland for five years.

Jamie Durie, celebrity landscape designer & Plan Ambassador

Regular meals for children in rural Zimbabwe will be funded by a Plan International grant.

Zimbabwe’s rural communities supported

by Plan

Plan International has pledged $17.8 million to support rural communities in Zimbabwe who presently are in need of regular food, health care, clean water and education for children.

This grant follows the Zimbabwe Government’s decision in August to lift its three-month suspension on all humanitarian work in rural areas.

Plan has been working in Zimbabwe since 1986 with its child centred community development projects mostly focusing on HIV and AIDS, health care, education, water and sanitation, and household food security.

14

summer 2008 www.plan.org.au

| be a part of it

annual report summary

revenue by source total = $32.8million

grants $12million

Sponsorship $18.3million Project donations $2.1million other income $0.4million

The 2008 financial year saw Plan in Australia continue to grow with $32.8 million in total revenue raised (up from $24.7 million in 2007). This was a fantastic result for children, their families and communities in more than 45 developing countries where Plan works.

Above and below: children living in India's rural areas and urban slums benefit from Early Learning supported by Plan in Australia.

With this result, a total of $18.9 million was remitted to Plan International to fund child centred community development programs (an increase of 11.3% from 2007 and the first time we have exceed $18 million). Plan in Australia also continued its important association with the World Food Program to distribute $7.5 million in food aid in Zimbabwe.

41,302 children were sponsored by Australians in 2008 which raised $18.3 million (an increase of 4.5%). Continued generosity of Australians was reflected by donations of $2.1 million towards Plan’s Priority Projects and for the first time Government grants from AusAID – the Australian Government Agency for International Development – exceeded $4 million. The increase in total revenue was achieved with a similar expenditure to 2007 on administration and fundraising of $5.7 million. With the support of the Australian public, the Australian corporate and business sector and AusAID, Plan in Australia is confident that we are well positioned to continue to strengthen our capacity to support children, families and communities in the developing world.

Our 2008 Annual Report is available online from 13 November. To view the report, please visit www.plan.org.au

41,302 children sponsored by Australians 1.3 million children sponsored globally $32.8 million total raised

Global Child – Summer (October) 2008 Vol 26 No.2. We hope you enjoyed reading this issue of Global Child. If you wish, please pass it on to others. You can also view Global Child at www. plan.org.au or receive your copy via email. Global Child is the magazine of Plan in Australia. Plan 1/533 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne VIC 3000. Phone: 13 PLAN (13 7526) Fax: 03 9670 1130. Email: info@plan.org.au Web: www.plan.org.au Writer/Editor: Heather Ellis. Editorial contact: media@plan.org.au. Printing: PMP Limited. Paper: Australian Paper. Global Child is printed on recycled paper. Plan in Australia wishes to thank these companies for kindly donating design, printing and paper free to charge. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Plan.

2008 All material in Global Child is subject to copyright; however, articles and photographs may be reproduced with permission from Plan. Plan is a signatory to the ACFID Code of Conduct and a trusted recipient of funding from AusAID – the Australian Government Agency for International Development. Donations to Plan of $2 or more are tax deductible. Plan in Australia is governed by a board of directors comprising: Anne Skipper AM (Chair), Margaret Winn (Deputy Chair), Suzanne Bell, Tim Beresford, Emily Booker, Philip Endersbee, Russell Gordon, Claire Hatton, Jeremy Ingall, Thomas Kane, Wendy McCarthy AO and Neil Thompson. Next edition: May 2009. summer 2008 www.plan.org.au

15

an nu al app ea l

communities

IN THE HELP kisarawe district of tanzania to

access clean, safe water and improved

SAnitation

Give a gift to Plan today to support our work in Kisarawe so that we can assist children and communities with the development of sustainable, communitymanaged water and sanitation systems which will improve lives.

Make a donation by calling 13 PLAN (13 7526) or donate securely online at:

www.plan.org.au

Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible.

The Kisarawe Water and Sanitation project will be funded entirely by public donations. If Plan receives more than the amount required to fund this project, then donations in excess will be applied to other projects in need.

Plan International Australia ABN 49 004 875 807