Global Child Winter 2008

Global Child WINTER 2008

The magazine of Plan in Australia

What is Early childhood care and development?

Native rice brings

prosperity to farmers in the Philippines

Child Sponsorship:

India’s Mysore communities celebrate sustainability

Early learning in Asia

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

PLAN NATIONAL Office PLAN PROGRAM country Plan international works in over 45 developing countries

Inside Plan priority projects

Child sponsorship at work

Be a part of it

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Mali sponsor visit

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Communities in India’s Mysore district say farewell

11 Global Learning: What is being done to change things?

Early learning in Asia: Giving children a head start

6 Native rice brings prosperity to farmers in the Philippines 6

High school on the horizon for Cambodia’s children

About Plan Plan in Australia is part of Plan globally, one of the world’s largest community development organisations committed to ending child poverty.

We work with children, their families and communities in over 45 countries in Asia, Africa and Central and South America.

Our child centred community development approach involves children as equal partners in changing their future. In this way, children are not passive recipients of compassion but agents of change with us in community development.

Plan is also member of the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY coalition and works within Australia to raise awareness of the issues of poverty in the developing world and what we can all do to be a part of the solution.

10 Ecuador’s teenagers reclaim their future

How to support Plan Sponsor a Child and support a community over time by connecting with a child who acts as an ambassador 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 donations help fund thousands of projects such as health care, education, water and sanitation, food security and increasing family livelihoods.

Join Children First! and help support children living in the most difficult circumstances. Your regular donation supports Plan’s community development projects in many communities in Africa and Asia that improve children’s education, health and rights and usually take three or more years to complete.

12 Corporate support 13 Friends of Plan 14 Plan news

Donate to a priority project and join other Australians, small businesses and the corporate sector in supporting: • Reducing Community Vulnerability to HIV and AIDS in five countries in Africa • Water and Sanitation in East Timor • Engaging Youth in East Timor • Early Childhood Care and Development in India, Indonesia and China • Community Learning Support in Bangladesh • Isabela Sustainable Livelihoods in the Philippines • Reach – making education accessible in Cambodia These projects are also funded by grants from AusAID – the Australian Government Agency for International Development.

To support a Plan visit www.plan.org.au. Donations to Plan of $2 or more are tax deductible.

Front cover: Children in East Timor enjoy early learning activities as part of an Early Childhood Care and Development program funded by Plan International.

Writer/Editor: Heather Ellis Editorial contact: media@plan.org.au. Global Child is the magazine of Plan in Australia and is published biannually. Plan 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

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c o mm e n T

What is Appeal for children in Escaping poverty through early learning

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arly learning and care for children under eight years is not a concept that we normally associate with poverty reduction.

But the early years are crucial to a child’s growth and development and therefore success later in life.

While most Australian parents and the Australian Government now value the importance of early learning for their child’s development, many parents in developing countries are unaware of its impact. Fortunately, through community education programs run by Plan, parents in these countries are gradually coming to understand its value as well. It is also interesting to note that their governments too are recognising that it makes good economic sense to ensure early childhood care and development services are available for all their citizens’ children, especially the poor.

When children aged up to eight years receive high quality early childhood care they tend to be better nourished and tend to perform better in school once given a head start in the very first years. These factors are beneficial to a developing country’s economy in the long-term because such children are more likely to be literate, more likely to contribute to productivity and more likely to send their own children to school. And this is particularly true for Children flying kites and girl children who otherwise drop out in balloons by Elvira Ekauat i from Indonesia greater numbers than boys and who, as mothers later in life, have enormous influence over whether or not their own children (especially their daughters) go to school.

Plan is an agency that is taking seriously these early years as it is a time that has such a great impact on children realising their potential. I trust you will learn more about this important work in this edition of our magazine.

Ian Wishart National Executive Director Plan in Australia

HELP GIVE

CHILDREN a head start

Early Childhood

Care and Development?

The early years are crucial to a child’s growth and development: proper nutrition, health care and stimulation improves learning and other abilities.

Plan’s Early Childhood Care and Development projects provide children with stimulating learning activities and social play and parents with information and advice on child health and development. Basic health care includes weight monitoring for infants and children, supplementary feeding when needed and antenatal and postnatal care for mothers.

New mums can learn parenting techniques, how to prepare nutritious food and also have the opportunity to study childhood care and development which can lead to job opportunities within their community.

These projects are run, mostly by volunteers, in community spaces, families’ homes and even at construction sites. Educational toys are made from recycled and local materials and children’s meals are often prepared from food grown by staff and volunteers and donated by parents.

Funding for these projects also supports advocacy activities aimed at building long-term community and government support so that even more children will have the head start in life that they deserve.

While Plan globally runs ECCD projects for children up to eight years in more than 45 developing countries, its projects in India, Indonesia and China, in particular, are being supported by Australians and managed by Plan in Australia.

Thank you

Plan’s annual Appeal for Children in Africa in December 2007 raised more than $340,000 for the Reducing *For every dollar you contributeCommunity to Plan’s priority projects in Asia, gives up to Vulnerability to AusAID HIV and Give a gift before June 30 and triple your donation more as part of the AusAID NGO Cooperation Program. If Plan receives more than AIDS program in selected communities Young children are missing out on the opportunity to develop into healthy, happy $3 and educated the multiplying match for the current year the donations in excess will be applied to in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia andthe world, which girls and boys, simply because they don’t have access to childhood care and pre-school servicesyears of these projects the subsequent or other Plan projects around mayAgency not achieve the same multiplying effect. AusAID is the Australian Zimbabwe.

A big thank you to Government all Plan during their early years. Donate before June 30 and AusAID (Australian Government Agency for International Development. Gifts received at Plan before 4pm, Friday June supporters who gave so generously. for International Development) will match every dollar from our supporters with an29additional are eligible as a tax deduction for the 2007 financial year. Gifts received after June will be included in the 2008 financial year. #These are examples of the benefit your three. Make a secure online donation at www.plan.org.au or phone 13 PLAN (13 29 7526). donation can provide in supporting Plan’s activities in this program.

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Paintings by primary school children from Ecuador: (artist from left to right) Rocio Paguay, Luis Ricardo, Jose Pintas and Marie Volleine Daguilem.

n e r d l i h c g n i Giv

a head start in life

Children in India, Indonesia and China are benefiting from early learning opportunities, good nutrition and basic health care through Plan’s priority ‘Early Childhood Care and Development’ projects thanks to ongoing support from Australians.

Indonesia

Infant care and early learning benefits children today …and tomorrow

Budi from Indonesia is just four years old, but already the support that he received even before he was born, has meant that he has a better chance of overcoming poverty and reaching his full potential as a young man.

For Budi has benefited from the services available at his local Plansupported Early Childhood Care and Development centre, which now number more than 300 across rural Indonesia.

Presently, the biggest impact on Budi’s life is the opportunity to attend pre-school. However, with very limited government support for pre-school education for Indonesia’s estimated 26 million children under six years, Budi is in the minority.

But as communities see the positive impact of early childhood care on their children, their support and participation has strengthened, says Sudiyo Sudiyo, Plan Indonesia learning advisor.

Setting up the centres and getting community support is only part of the story. Plan has also ensured the 4 • G l o b a l C h i l d W I n T E R 20 0 8

sustainability of these centres and future centres by recently establishing a network of resource centres that support its ECCD projects across rural Indonesia. The resource centres provide a forum for the training of pre-school teachers, volunteers, committees, health post workers and master trainers; the development of training modules and materials; and a small library.

Pre-schools are also set up at the resource centres so that newly trained teachers have the chance to practice their new skills and receive guidance.

To ensure long term sustainability of its ECCD projects, Plan Indonesia also works with the Directorate of Early Childhood Education at the Ministry of Education to develop ECCD learning materials and training resources.

Children in rural Indonesia benefit from early learnin

g at Plan-supported pre-schools.

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India

Job opportunities for young mothers Mother and childcare worker Sukanti and hundreds of other local employees like her are vital to the success of Plan’s Early Childhood Care and Development projects in regional India.

As a young woman, Sukanti, from a rural village in Orissa, Eastern India, persisted for 10 years to complete her higher education.

In addition to studying and working as a farm labourer for her extended family, she also spent her evenings teaching young children. Then when Plan started an Early Childhood Care and Development project in the area in 1998, she was inspired to join as a volunteer. Later, she was asked by her fellow villagers to run the community’s ECCD centre.

Now married with two children of her own, she is also the family’s breadwinner after her husband developed a longterm illness. Through Plan, Sukanti has undertaken specialist training in Plan’s ECCD approach including centre-based and home-based early learning; child health and hygiene, maternal care and first aid.

Her day begins with running the centre for three hours, and then she conducts home visits focusing on child health, hygiene, antenatal and postnatal care. At the centre, children enjoy educational play including songs, dance, games and craft activities using local and recycled resources.

“This is my real success and I am proud of it,” Sukanti says of her work with Plan’s ECCD project.

In India, Plan works with local organisations to support crèches at construction sites in Delhi and a network of more than 120 ECCD centres in the states of Rajasthan and Orissa.

China

Nokia helps expand pre-school and ECCD for rural children More children in rural China will soon have the opportunity to attend preschool and receive early care just like their big city cousins after Plan partnered with phone company, Nokia China.

“The Nokia-funded project will address the growing opportunity gap by focusing on building the capacity of teachers, health workers, caregivers and the government in order to deliver Early Childhood Care and Development services in selected poor rural areas of Shaanxi Province”, says Jan Parry, Plan’s Australian-based program manager.

Jan says that despite China’s ongoing economic boom, the growing affluence has not yet reached the rural regions where millions of families still live in poverty. And it is in these rural areas where most children do not have the opportunity for early learning by attending pre-school.

At the end of the three-year project, more than 1200 ECCD centres will have Sukanti is one of hundreds of regional Indian women who are vital to the success of Plan’s early childhood care and development projects

provide even more children Nokia has partnered with Plan to learning and care. early to s acces with a in rural Chin

been established offering care and early learning to more than 70,000 children in Shaanxi.

“Plan’s ultimate goal is to provide a model of ECCD for the Chinese Government to adopt as national policy by 2013,” Jan adds.

The Shaanxi ECCD project is a landmark public-private partnership between Plan China, Plan in Australia, China’s Shaanxi Provincial Government and Nokia China, which will provide funding of over $10 million over the next three years.

“This successful outcome in China has served to highlight the true value of seed funding to implement pilot projects, which can then be replicated on a much larger scale with private and public funding,” Jan says.

Plan first introduced ECCD to China six years ago with a pilot project funded by a small grant of approximately $100,000 from AusAID (the Australian Government Agency for International Development).

Since 2006, Plan in Australia has used AusAID funds and public donations of over $300,000 to continue to develop ECCD in China.

The expanded project also includes a continued partnership (which began during the pilot) with early childhood researchers from Beijing Normal University. Together with Plan China staff, the researchers will develop a training curriculum for pre-school teachers and care-givers.

Plan’s ECCD projects in India, Indonesia and China are also funded through AusAID, the Australian Government Agency for International Development and by donations from the Australian public and Plan corporate supporters.

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Native rice brings prosperity to

p i l i h P e h t n i s r e farm Filipino farming families are reaping the rewards from bumper rice harvests after changing to low-cost organic farming methods.

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lan’s Isabela Sustainable Livelihoods project in the Philippines has made it possible for farmers to grow native rice using organic fertilizer made mostly from buffalo manure at a fraction of the cost of growing hybrid rice using expensive commercially-produced chemical fertilizers.

In just three short years, the Plan in Australiafunded project in the Isabela district in north east Luzon saw organic rice crop yields increase by 215 per cent. And so far more than 3700 farming families, each growing rice on just a few hectares, have benefited from the project.

In the Philippines, most rural families own between one and three Asian water buffalo that produce around five tonnes of wet manure each per year. So Plan saw organic as the answer to helping farmers escape from a vicious cycle of ongoing poor rice yields, depleted soils and indebtedness to moneylenders.

It was then simply a matter of showing the farmers the techniques for composting buffalo and other farm animal manures mixed with rice husks to produce a cost-effective nutrient-rich organic fertilizer.

Plan’s partner MASIPAG – the Philippine-based organisation that brings together farmers and scientists in research on sustainable agriculture – then supplied the Isabela farmers with the native rice seed from their stock of 1800 varieties.

Selecting the best seed varieties that suited their soil and growing conditions not only meant higher yields but also several crops a year could be harvested.

Instead of being locked into purchasing rice seed from commercial seed companies, farmers now use seed from the previous harvest and also exchange seed varieties with other farmers.

However during the transition from

chemical-based farming to organic, the farmers do struggle to make ends meet, says project manager Katie Ramsay from Plan in Australia.

“The first couple of years are hard going. The farmers and their families really have to pull together and support each other until the rice yields improve,” she says.

Katie says that while hybrid rice grown with chemical fertilizers return yields of up to 120 tonne per hectare in the first year, gradually soils are depleted and need more and more fertilizer.

Yields decline to the extent that within five years the organically-grown rice would match the first year’s harvest of hybrid rice and over time could even surpass it. And all for only a fraction of the growing cost.

But the comparison should not be made on tonnage alone, says Katie.

“In Manila, where demand out-strips supply, organic brown rice sells for double or triple the price of white rice.

“And as more people realise that brown rice is more nutritious, grown chemically-free and is a lot more filling, it is expected the demand will increase further,” Katie adds.

Organic rice farming, which was first introduced to the area by Plan Philippines in 1998, is only one aspect of the Australian-funded Isabela Sustainable Livelihoods project.

High school on the horizon for Cambodia’s children As Cambodia’s economy starts to prosper, a new project aims to improve life options for children.

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ambodia, for many years one of Asia’s poorest countries as it struggled to recover from 30 years of war and instability, is finally entering a period of economic growth at around 6 • G l o b a l C h i l d W I N T E R 20 0 8

nine per cent and comparable with India and China; but not everyone is benefiting.

For example, newly built roads have improved access to markets in Dambae, a remote district in southern Cambodia – yet only one in five girls in the district will enter high school. For both boys and girls, education participation rates are significantly lower than the national average; indeed, on some measures, education outcomes in Dambae, Kampong Cham province are declining.

Plan and its local partner Kampuchean Action for Primary Education (KAPE) are working to improve the life options for children in Dambae through a new ‘access to education’ project called Reach. The project will focus on quality, relevance and access issues in education, especially for girls.

An existing KAPE study found economic factors were the main reason for children dropping out of school.

Indeed, a new road, which has opened up

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ppines Farmers also have access to micro-finance loans, training in farm management practices and business planning for new farming ventures like fish farming, raising pigs and growing organic vegetables.

All are important secondary incomes for families and have mostly been developed and managed by women using surplus income from rice harvests.

Technical advisors from Plan’s partner, local organisation UMFI (Upland Marketing Foundation Inc.), have also provided farming families with marketing support, especially to supply the increasing market for organic rice and produce in Manila.

And to further ensure they continue to prosper, Plan Philippines has helped them establish a farmer’s cooperative.

While presently UMFI mills, transports and sells the rice for the farmers, the new cooperative is expected to take over this role by July 2008 guaranteeing even more profits are returned to the farmers.

Farmers say that the increased food supply and income has meant their children have enough to eat all year round and they can afford to send all their children to school and then on to college.

They have been able to renovate their homes, buy household appliances and purchase new farm equipment. As well as more money, the farmers and their families also say their health has improved.

And all it took was a small grant of

access to work opportunities in factories, particularly for girls, may itself be a contributing factor.

Initially, the Reach project will conduct research into the causes of student dropout rates and to better understand the experiences that girls and boys have in and out of school. A specific challenge in Dambae is that 25 per cent of the district’s population is ethnically Cham.

Traditionally the Cham have placed a lower value on formal education; some

$325,000 over three years from AusAID (Australian Government Agency for International Development) plus just over $245,000 in additional donations from the Australian public, particularly the Greenlight Foundation, which has

generously supported the project from its very beginning.

As the project in Isabela comes to a close in 2009, its outstanding success is likely to see it extended to other provinces in the Philippines.

Isabela’s farming families share their success Plan recently interviewed farming families who participated in Plan’s Isabela Sustainable Livelihoods project.

“My parents were able to send and support the schooling of my brothers and sisters. We are paying our tuition fees and other school fees on time. Unlike before, when we needed to borrow money to be able to sustain our school needs,” says the teenage daughter from one of the families.

The daughter of another family says: “When my father was using commercial fertilizers, he spent too much money in buying these fertilizers so when harvest time came, there was low profit... Now we are very grateful for the great changes in our life”.

One of the mothers says: “Since sustainable agriculture came to our life, my two malnourished children became brighter and healthier because we were able to provide everything they needed”.

Another mother says: “The money we saved was used to renovate our house, buy appliances and some other things that we need inside the house”.

And the farmers trained by Plan in organic farming are also sharing their skills with others.

“In the community, I can share my knowledge and ability on how to make and use organic fertiliser,” says a farmer.

THESE PLAN PRIORITY PROJECTS ARE ALSO FUNDED THROUGH AUSAID, THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND BY DONATIONS FROM THE AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC AND PLAN CORPORATE SUPPORTERS.

see religious schools as an attractive option. Preliminary findings from a Reach study provide an insight into the difficulties, which include ethnic language issues and learning difficuties encountered by Cham students. Based on findings from a series of such studies and on consultations with community members, teachers, parents and students, the Reach project will pilot activities in three schools with plans to expand over the next three years.

s for

p discussion Children participate in focus grou ect. proj ation educ Reach – a new

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Mali… three times the appeal for Melbourne child sponsors Instead of travelling the world, the Sadler family from Melbourne had always brought the world to their letterbox! But all that changed recently when Geoff and Robyn Sadler headed to Mali.

Left to right: Australian sponsors, Geoff and Robyn with 16-year-old Oumou, a senior high school student.

Famusa, 9, (centre) and his family meet Robyn and Geoff.

Sali, 6 (left) and her friends welcome Geoff and Robyn to their community.

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or many years the Sadler’s have sponsored three children throughout Asia, Latin America and Africa, but now all three sponsored children – Oumou, Famusa and Sali – live in Mali, West Africa – and all are no more than a few hours drive a part.

Geoff, who has sponsored children through Plan since the early 1970s, decided to sponsor additional children after the birth of his own three children.

And while a steady flow of regular updates reporting on each sponsored child’s progress provided the family with an insight into Plan’s work and the cultures of far flung countries, their busy lives meant only the occasional letter was sent from the Sadler household.

“With all three children in Mali, there was the exciting possibility of redeeming ourselves to some extent by visiting all on the one visit,” Geoff says.

With Plan Mali staff acting as guide and translator, they travelled first to meet 16-year-old Oumou, now a young lady in the final years of high school.

“We toured the district’s junior and senior high school where Oumou was learning English and planned to be a midwife,” Geoff says.

“The school had a total of 2000 students and articulate and friendly teachers, but not one library book or computer. The government only provides the classrooms, blackboards and teachers. However, with these few resources, the students were still learning

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as the work on the blackboard revealed,” Geoff adds.

From there, they travelled a short distance over a rough dirt track to a tiny village to visit nine-year-old Famusa and his family.

“After presenting ourselves to the elders and exchanging gifts, the entire village celebrated our arrival. The children also performed a play on the priorities of Plan’s work with the community. Potable water, vaccination, hygiene and health, education, and the rights of children and women. The themes of the play were serious but it was presented as a comedy with much laughter and cheering,” Geoff says.

Geoff and Robyn’s third sponsored child is six-year-old Sali.

“After meeting the elders, we sat down with Sali, her family and Plan staff, and later with Sali acting as our guide, we inspected her primary school which has 400 students. It was built with Plan’s assistance and had solar-powered lights,” Geoff adds.

“Plan had also provided clean water to the community by installing a well and had improved health care for mothers by building a maternity clinic, which also had solar power.”

Geoff says the visit to Oumou, Famusa and Sali and their families and friends in their villages in Mali “where laughter, honesty and tolerance is a way of life” was a real privilege. “To be involved with Plan and to be able to make such

a difference, that is so appreciated, for what is really just small change for us, made us feel very proud.”

If you would like to learn more about visiting your sponsored child visit www. plan.org.au or phone 13 PLAN. Presently, Australian sponsors are needed for 53 children in Mali. To sponsor a child visit www.plan.org.au or phone 13 PLAN (13 7526).

FAST FACTS Australians sponsor 650 children in Mali where Plan has been working with communities since 1976.

Recent programs funded by child sponsorship include: • Six health clinics constructed and 58,455 children vaccinated as part of a Plan-supported immunisation program.

• 24 classrooms constructed and equipped plus 762 teachers trained.

• Five school libraries constructed and books provided to 10 libraries and 11 primary schools.

• Vocational training in carpentry, metalwork, dressmaking, mechanics and brick-laying provided for children forced to drop out of school.

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After 25 years, Plan has moved on from 70 villages in southern India as a sustainable level of development has been reached and the communities can now stand on their own.

India’s Mysore communities

celebrate sustainability

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eaving a community where Plan works in Africa, Asia or South and Central America may seem like a strange goal, but the greatest measure of Plan’s success is when we can say goodbye.

This happens when the communities we have worked with for many years reach a level of sustainability that Plan’s support is no longer needed.

Thanks to Plan child sponsors from around the world, including Australian couple Chris and Natalie Jones from Katoomba, NSW, 70 villages in the Mysore district in southern India celebrated achieving their development goals in December 2007.

But the celebrations in Mysore would never have happened – and the journey never completed – without the undaunting support of child sponsors like Chris and Natalie who sponsored a little girl for 10 years.

Chris says they are very proud of the support they were able to provide for Mahadevamma, now aged 17 years.

“It is very heartening to hear that so much good work has been done for Mahadevamma and the surrounding community through the simple act of a small monthly donation from child sponsors.

“The success of the Mysore communities only renews our enthusiasm for sponsorship and we are delighted to be involved with another child, Mohan, who lives in a different area in India,” Chris says.

Chris and Natalie’s regular child sponsorship donations along with that

Since 1982, children, their families and communities from the Mysore district have worked together on Plansupported projects that benefit all.

For example, many more families now have adequate housing; some have electricity. Clean water and proper sanitation infrastructure has been installed. A grassroots community

of other Australians who sponsored 157 children in the 70 villages in the Mysore district, meant long term projects could be funded. Projects that benefited all, such as health care, education, water and sanitation and improving housing and livelihoods.

Mahadevamma says that she and the other sponsored children have been very fortunate. “Because we were sponsored children, we had a wonderful opportunity to know about our sponsors who live thousands of miles away from us. We learnt about their lifestyle and their culture through their letters,” she says.

As a sponsored child, Mahadevamma was an ambassador for her community, which gave her the opportunity to develop public speaking and leadership skills. She also participated in other childcentered programs run by Plan and local partner organisation MYRADA. However, sponsorship has not just benefited the individual sponsored children in this way. All children in the district have had the opportunity to participate in children’s clubs and other child-centred projects. “We are all very happy,” says Mahadevamma, who is in Year 11, and wants to be a nurse after completing her education.

While Plan and MYRADA are leaving the MYRADA Plan H.D. Kote program unit in Mysore district, the communities are not on their own. The residents now have the support of their own organisation formed to help them with new and ongoing community projects and with seeking local assistance where necessary.

‘health insurance’ scheme makes health care affordable for the most disadvantaged. Training mothers in antenatal and postnatal care gives babies a head start in life. Children can now attend pre, primary and secondary school. And families now have more money from improved sustainable farming practices.

Plan’s phase-out from any community is an event to celebrate, for both the community and the sponsors.

It demonstrates the power of child sponsorship to change the lives of children and an entire community for the long term, and give child sponsors an opportunity to help another community do the same.

Above: Children, who are members of a children’s club set up by Plan in the Mysore district meet to discuss new projects that will benefit children.

And just as the time came for Plan to move on…and help other communities in need, sponsors also had to move on.

Many, like Chris and Natalie, to sponsor another child from a community still being supported by Plan. This ongoing sponsorship of $39 per month will now help all these communities reach sustainability just as it helped the Mysore communities grow.

In India, 75,000 children are sponsored through Plan, including 2182 children sponsored by Australians. Presently, Australian sponsors are needed for 118 children in India. To sponsor a child visit www.plan.org.au or phone 13A PLAN mother (13 with7526). her child inspects crops damaged by floods in Guatemala.

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Ecuador’s teenagers

reclaim their future It’s never easy being young – but it’s particularly tough if you live in one of the poorest communities in Ecuador.

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ou should have your whole life ahead of you, and a seemingly endless array of choices.

But poverty and peer pressure can force children and young people into making dangerous decisions. In Ecuador, teenage pregnancy is common and the incidence of child marriage stands at 26 per cent. Although the spread of HIV and AIDS has not reached pandemic levels, it has increased seven-fold since 1990.

However, Plan has been working with children, parents, teachers and health professionals to raise awareness of young people’s rights. And this includes one of the most fundamental rights of all: the right to sexual health.

For young people like Rosa, 14, taking part in the project has brought so much more than a knowledge of preventing sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancy. It has taught her that she has the right to be heard and respected.

Using a method known as Paso a Paso, (literally “Step by Step”), Plan is bringing communities together to learn how to keep children and young people safe and promote their wellbeing and self-esteem. Plan Ecuador program manager Candida Pinargote says that Paso a Paso was introduced in Ecuador in 2005.

“It is designed around a series of workshops during which children, their

Teenagers in Ecuador learn about sexual health through a Plan-supported education project.

families and other community members take part in exercises to improve their relationships and the way they communicate with each other,” she says.

“In the areas where this approach has been piloted, the results have been very positive.”

Plan has reported a reduction in violence within the family, and better interaction between parents and their children. “It is also expected that there will be a reduction in the number of unplanned pregnancies at the end of the project,” Candida adds.

Local and national partners, like Ecuador’s Ministry of Health are also

raising awareness about sexually transmitted infections and their consequences. They have run conferences on HIV and AIDS in schools, for example, and promoted health education for parents.

Gradually, families and communities are learning that children and young people have the right to make their own decisions and choices, and to grow into adulthood armed with the knowledge to lead safe, healthy and productive lives.

Presently, Australian sponsors are needed for 157 children in Ecuador. To sponsor a child visit www.plan.org.au or phone 13 PLAN (13 7526).

New handbook promotes sexual health to youth Rosa, 14, is one of hundreds of teenagers in Ecuador to attend Plansupported workshops on sexual health.

Teenagers in Central and South America now have the ‘You, Your Life, Your Dreams’ handbook to turn to on matters of sexual health.

Previously, young people did not have well-established access to such information. The Plan-backed handbook published in collaboration with Family Care International, aims to promote their right to sexual health information as outlined in the Ibero-American Convention on the Rights of Youth.

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

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| B e a pa rt o f i t

ACTION ON GLOBAL POVERTY: A GUIDE TO MAKING A DIFFERENCE

What is being done

to combat poverty?

In the third installment in our regular Global Learning series, we feature ‘Part 1’ 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’.

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hen talk turns to global poverty, you may hear people say: “There’s no point trying to change anything – it’s such a big problem”. However, when countries, international organisations, nongovernment organisations, business and ordinary people work together, change happens.

Over the past 50 years there has been improvement in the lives of people all around the world. More people have access to the food they need, more children are attending school and the number of people with access to clean water is steadily increasing. These are just a few examples but there’s still a lot to be done.

Approaches to combating poverty Charity or Welfare Early last century, many people adopted a charity or welfare approach.

This means that when people are poor, you give them what they need.

While this approach deals with the immediate problem, it can make things worse in the long run because people get used to handouts. One of the biggest criticisms is that it does not respect the value of the people who are in need. It can also make the giver feel important and powerful.

Community Development Community development is different from disaster relief and charity. Instead of telling people how to fix their problems, community development says that any group of people has strengths and skills that can help solve their own problems.

A community development approach says that people are more likely to work harder to improve their lives if they are playing a large part in the process

and that their voices and opinions are considered to be very important. NGOs (Non-Government Organisations) ask people in economically poor communities about their lives, what they think needs to be done, and for ideas about how it can be done.

A community development response to poverty by Plan would include: • Helping a community to lead and manage their own projects to fight poverty.

• Helping community members to take a strong role in how projects are planned and implemented.

• Linking community organisations to local government and other organisations so they can work together.

• Making sure that the most vulnerable members of a community (such as the poorest and women and children) are included in any planning and running of projects.

Working together to combat global poverty The groups working to reduce poverty at the global level can be loosely divided into three general types.

Nation-states and affiliated institutions Governments, along with the international institutions funded by them such as the United Nations, World Bank, World Trade Organisation, Asian Development Bank and so on…are big players in working to reduce poverty.

International business The world of business is, primarily,

focused on making money for individuals, companies and shareholders. However, some business people are starting to realise that they have a responsibility to operate in ethical ways and help people in poverty. This is called corporate social responsibility.

NGOs and non-profits Non Government Organisations are motivated mostly by a desire for social change. NGOs get involved with communities and development issues despite the fact that they neither have the formal political responsibility of leadership like governments or desire to make money. NGOs are “not-for-profit” organisations.

Citizens of the world (that includes you!)

Ultimately all of these areas of public and private life are supposed to serve the citizens of the world: that’s you and me as well as people who live in poverty. We are the ones who elect the governments; who pay taxes that fund international institutions; and who buy products produced by companies around the world.

Learn more There are many ways to change things.

To learn more visit: • www.ethical.org.au • www.ausaid.gov.au • www.corporatewatch.org ‘Action on Global Poverty: a guide to making a difference’ (Chapter 4: What is being done to change things?) will be continued in Global Child Summer 2008 edition published in October.

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) G l o b a l C h i l d W I n T E R 20 0 8 •

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b e a pa rt o f i t |

Kenzo perfume sales support Indian pre-schoolers

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or the launch of its new limitededition perfume, Kenzo has once again partnered with Plan to help raise funds for children in India.

For every bottle of KenzoAmour Indian Holi purchased online from March to May, Kenzo will donate $10 to Plan’s Early Childhood Care and Development projects in India.

By purchasing the new fragrance online, you also get to enter Kenzo’s ‘Gift of Love to Plan’ competition and be in the running to win 1 of 4 Kenzo gift packs.

KenzoAmour Indian Holi is inspired

by India’s colourful Holi festival, which is a celebration of love and life where the game is to throw coloured powder without restraint over friends, neighbours and passers-by. The perfume is a joyfully sensual flora musky fragrance with rose and red berries and the blossom of rice, musk and frangipani.

Kenzo, an international cosmetics company part of the French group Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey, previously supported Plan’s early childhood projects in India with the launch of KenzoAmour for Christmas 2006.

A gift to your mum and to India’s children

And KenzoAmour Indian Holi is also set to be popular, especially for Mother’s Day on May 11, 2008.

Visit www.KenzoStore.com.au to purchase KenzoAmour Indian Holi and enter the ‘Gift of Love for Plan’ competition.

This Mother’s Day, 11 Ma y 2008, buy your mum KenzoAmour Indian Holi – the new limited-edition perfume from Kenzo – and help childre n in India.

For every bottle purchased online from March 1 to May 31, Kenzo will donate $10 to Plan’s ECC D projects in India. You can also enter Kenzo’s ‘Gift of Love to Plan’ competitio n.

Visit www.KenzoStore.co m.au

A big plan for small business Whether you are an employee, manager or business-owner, there are several ways your business can become involved with Plan.

You can sponsor a child or number of children, make a donation or join with other businesses in funding a Plan project.

The Insight Group, an executive search firm, is helping fund a water and sanitation program in East Timor

along with several other smaller businesses who have followed their lead; Parenthood, a children’s retailer, recently sponsored nine children to celebrate the opening of their first store in Richmond, Victoria; and Jet Couriers engage their staff by sponsoring a child for each of their business sites. These are just a few examples of what you can do.

Plan Corporate Relations Manager, Meg Hamilton says it doesn’t matter

how big or small your budget is, all businesses can genuinely be a part of the solution to ending poverty.

For more information on Plan’s corporate benefits package and how your company can be a part of a plan to end child poverty, email us at: corporatepartners@plan.org.au.

Coffex ‘Fairtrade’ coffee supports children in Africa

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rofits from Coffex coffee grown in Africa will go back to the continent via a generous $15,000 donation to Plan.

The donation will be used to support Plan’s Reducing Community Vulnerability to HIV and AIDS projects in selected communities in Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Coffex buys Fairtrade-certified coffee beans from farmers in Africa and Central 12 • G l o b a l C h i l d W I n T E R 20 0 8

America, which guarantees they get a fair price for their coffee.

Look out for Coffex coffee in your local supermarket.

Exciting Plan promotions with Coffex and other corporate partners will also be announced throughout the year. Visit www.plan.org.au for details.

| b e a pa rt o f i t

Friends of Plan now in Brisbane A group of Plan supporters in Brisbane have come together to help increase community awareness of Plan’s work and to raise funds for priority projects. The group’s first meeting was held in January and they will meet regularly during the year to plan their activities. If you would like to get involved with supporting Plan in Brisbane, please contact Alwyn on alwynblayse@hotmail.com.

Another big year for Canberra Nick Wagner, Steve Pfeffer and Jon Pfeffer will cycle from Brisbane to Broome to raise awareness of child poverty and to raise funds for Plan.

Brisbane to Broome by bike Three men will ride 4500 kms by bicycle for Plan starting in Brisbane on May 4, finishing in Broome, Western Australia.

Jon Pfeffer, his dad Steve Pfeffer and stepbrother Nick Wagner while peddling west for 10 weeks will also raise awareness about some of the major challenges facing the world today with a particular focus on child poverty. They also aim to raise $10,000 for Plan’s

priority development projects. You can follow the progress of the Brisbane to Broome bike ride and make donations of equipment such as riding jerseys, tyres and water filters at www.brisbanetobroome.org. To support this ride and donate to Plan, please visit www.everydayhero.com.au/ BrisbanetoBroome.

Knitted doll sales help support Malawi community The wonderfully creative staff and community of the Louis Joel Arts and Community Centre in Altona, Melbourne have spent months knitting dozens of unique dolls for Christmas shoppers and other gift buyers. The knitted dolls, sold at markets and events, come with their own Certificate of Adoption. Sales from November 2007 to February 2008 raised $840 making it possible for the centre

to sponsor a child in Malawi. This Easter, the dolls were sold with a small Easter egg, and so the knitting and fundraising continues! The good people of Louis Joel are happy to be supporting projects in their sponsored child’s community; projects like improving water and sanitation, children’s healthcare, food security and education.

Friends of Plan Canberra are gearing up for another event-filled year with stalls, a dinner and their Annual Art and Craft Show in November. To get involved contact Gosta on gosta@webone.com.au.

Entertainment Books in Perth In Perth, Friends of Plan are selling Entertainment Books – to buy a book or help with sales, please contact Julienne on rjpatience@yahoo.com.au. ting To find out more about get n Pla of nds Frie h wit lved invo group n ow r groups or starting you on ger Rod contact Nicole 13 PLAN (13 7526).

PLAN VOLUNTEER PROFILE

Glenys Kuhn

Glenys has been a Plan child sponsor for nearly 30 years, and has been a volunteer in the Melbourne office since 2003. After Glenys retired, she decided to travel, but also wanted to do some volunteering which would give her personal fulfillment and job satisfaction.

In between her travels, Glenys comes in to Plan one day a week to assist the regional coordinators in Supporter Service. She helps with general administration, filing and database work and knows she is contributing something useful. Glenys likes to socialise and meet new people at Plan and knows that her support is appreciated.

“Everyone at Plan is here for a purpose – to help make a difference for children, their families and communities - I am proud to be a part of that,” Glenys says.

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Plan News |

Jamie Durie brings hope for children over Easter Jamie Durie’s inspiring and at times confronting documentary ‘Jamie’s Journey – Hope for Uganda’s Children’ was screened on Channel Seven on Easter Sunday.

The one-hour documentary features Plan Ambassador and child sponsor Jamie Durie – better known as an awardwining landscape designer and television presenter – in Uganda, East Africa.

Jamie follows the personal stories of three people: Zaituna, Eunice and Doreen

who are affected by HIV and AIDS and learns how whole communities, with Plan’s support, are fighting back.

The Channel Seven screening inspired donations to Plan’s ‘Reducing Community Vulnerability to HIV and AIDS’ project and inspired even more Australians to join Plan by sponsoring a child.

For a preview or to purchase ‘Jamie’s Journey – Hope for Uganda’s Children’ on DVD visit www.plan.org.au.

Jamie Durie meets Zaituna who lost both her parents to AIDS-related illnesses.

Heartfelt message for Plan Pakistan colleagues killed in attack

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hree Plan Pakistan staff and a community worker were killed in an attack on the Plan office in Mansehra, northern Pakistan on 25 February 2008.

Mohammad Saqib, Syed Zaheer Shah, Saad Riaz and Nazakat Ullah Khan died while engaged in vital work for children in Mansehra and throughout Pakistan.

“The Plan family in Australia gives our heartfelt condolences to the families and Plan Pakistan staff and volunteers for this tragic loss,” says Ian Wishart, national executive director of Plan in Australia.

“This tragic event reminds us that humanitarian work takes courage; courage which for over 70 years has been shown on a daily basis by Plan staff and volunteers

around the world, including Mohammad, Syed, Saad and Nazakat,” Ian says.

Pakistani authorities have arrested a number of suspects and continue to investigate the motive. Plan’s sponsorship programs and program unit in Mansehra remain closed for the foreseeable future.

Plan on Facebook, Youth-led global learning program extended lobal Connections – Plan’s youthMySpace and YouTube

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undreds of Plan supporters around Australia are showing their support online via the social networking sites: FaceBook, MySpace and YouTube. In response to feedback from supporters, Plan has set up profiles on all three sites. And on YouTube you can also watch videos of Plan’s work around the world. We invite you to visit, engage and meet some of the other amazing people who are helping to end child poverty.

Important Notice on Child Protection: Plan is committed to protecting the security, privacy and dignity of all children that we work with. We therefore ask that you refrain from posting photos and personal identifying information of sponsored children on the web. To learn more about Plan’s Child Protection policy visit www.plan.org.au.

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led program presently based in Australia and Indonesia – is on track to connect even more Australian school children with those from developing countries after receiving a project grant.

The program, which is jointly managed by Plan Indonesia and Plan in Australia, in partnership with two Australian universities, was recently awarded a $283,000 grant by the Australian Government’s Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project.

Working with partners from the Youth Research Centre at the University of Melbourne and RMIT University, the three-year grant will be used to explore how even more young people can develop better global connections, including social connections across racial and religious boundaries.

Since it began in 2005, Global Connections has brought together over

Girls from the Lapas Juvenile Detention Centre in Jakarta, Indonesia communicate with teenagers in Australia through Global Connections.

200 young people from six Australian schools and five children’s groups in Indonesia. For more information and to view a video introduction visit www.plan. org.au/ourwork/about/education.

| Plan News

Sri Lankan school complex opens A new school complex in Sri Lanka that would rival any in Australia opened for the 2008 school year.

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bout 3000 Sri Lankan children, whose schools were damaged or destroyed by the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, can now continue their studies in uncrowded classrooms using up-to-date education resources at the Ruhunu School Complex.

And a $1.2 million grant from the Victorian Government – the largest contributor – helped make it all possible.

As well as the generous grant from the Victorian Government, Plan in

Australia also received donations for the school from the Australian community including more than $30,000 from fundraising activities by the University of Canberra and Sydney’s Reddam House School.

After the official opening, ongoing operations of the $7.6 million school in the Hambantota district will be funded by the Sri Lankan Government with support from the local community.

Girls’ rights in East Timor

Let us stop fighting

Girls in East Timor – the inequalities they face and the progress made – especially access to learning, will be the focus of a Plan web and media campaign in May. The campaign in May, coincides with the release of the second ‘Because I am a Girl: The State of the World’s Girls’ study. The unique study is tracking the progress of 135 girls from all over the world, born in 2007 until they turn nineyears-old.

Video clips featuring Plan’s work for girls’ rights both in East Timor and globally will be featured during May on www.plan.org.au and on the popular video website YouTube.

Global Child – Winter (April) 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. The cost of printing, design and posting is $1.10 per copy, and is a cost effective way of keeping Plan supporters up to date.

Global Child is the magazine of Plan in Australia.

Plan 1/533 Little Lonsdale St, 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

Children in Sri Lanka start the 2008 school year at the Ruhunu School Complex – a Plan post-tsuna mi reconstruction project.

Our Country Kenya is well known all over the African continent and beyond But my question is, why all this chaos?

Many schools to this day are not open due to the skirmishes experienced But my question is, why all this chaos?

Many people are dead and buried; others are refugees in their own country But my question is, why all this chaos?

Killings are not the remedy for the nation Tribalism is poison to all peaceful citizens But my question is, why all this chaos?

Unity and union are the pillars of the nation Wake up all leaders to condemn this omen But my question is, why all this chaos?

This poem was written by children from the Kathangacini Primary School located in a remote region in Kenya.

It was in response to the violence following the Kenyan Government elections on 27 December 2007.

The 400-pupil school is supported

by Plan through the regular donations provided by child sponsorship. An Early Childhood Care and Development Centre

based at the school and also supported

by Plan, provides early learning for 66 children.

Earlier this year, Plan responded to the post-election emergency in Kenya by providing support to refugees, mostly women and children, who fled to neighbouring Uganda to escape the election-related violence.

Children from Kathangacini Primary School speak out through poetry in response to Kenya’s election-related violence.

Design: Motion Printing: Belair Graphics Pty Ltd

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 in Australia is governed by a board of directors comprising: Anne Skipper AM (Chair), Margaret Winn (Deputy Chair), Tim Beresford, Emily Booker, Philip Endersbee, Russell Gordon, Jeremy Ingall, Thomas Kane, Wendy McCarthy AO and Neil Thompson.

Next edition: October 2008.

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.

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HELP GIVE

CHILDREN a head start Young children are missing out on the opportunity to develop into healthy, happy and educated girls and boys, simply because they don’t have access to childhood care and pre-school services during their early years.

Your gift today will help Plan to provide this essential care so that these children can dramatically improve their lives.

Donate before June 30 and AusAID* will match every dollar from you with an additional three. (i.e. $50 from our supporters + $150 from AusAID = $200)

Make a donation today by calling 13 PLAN (13 7526) or make a secure online donation at:

www.plan.org.au donations of $2 or more are tax deductible

*For every dollar you contribute to Plan’s Priority Projects, AusAID gives up to $3 more as part of the AusAID NGO Cooperation Program.

If Plan receives more than the multiplying match for the current year, the donations in excess will be applied to the subsequent years of these projects or other Plan projects around the world, which may not achieve the same multiplying effect. AusAID is the Australian Government Agency for International Development. Gifts received at Plan before 4pm Monday, June 30 are eligible as a tax deduction for the 2008 financial year. Gifts received after June 30 will be included in the 2009 financial year. Plan International Australia ABN 49 004 875 807.