Plan Honduras Annual Program Report 2007

146.5mm FLAP

148.5mm BACK

Challenge and change in Honduras

Real progress

2007 saw increasing crime and insecurity in Honduras, as well as energy crises and food shortages, but poverty remains the issue that most affects the lives of children and their families.

With the support of Plan, children and adults in Honduras are working together to develop their communities and claim their right to a better future. And real progress is being made.

Last year our work included:

Plan’s priorities include improving health, education, family support and housing.

The way we work is as important as the results: we support children and adults to take control of their lives and give themselves and their communities the chance of a better future.

Plan is becoming a recognised voice for children, speaking out on children’s rights and child protection both nationally and locally, and working with government institutions, including the Ministries of Education and Health, and other children’s rights organisations.

But there are always more challenges ahead. Jennifer Vaughan, Plan’s Country Director for Honduras, says: “We are excited by what we will achieve in 2008!”

p We’re improving schools and helping teac hers to put children at centre of the learning the experience

In this Country Progress Report, we look at one successful project among hundreds that your support has made possible.

Honduras country facts Capital: Tegucigalpa

People without adequate sanitation: 31%

UN Human Development Index ranking: 117th (of 177 countries)

Adults who cannot read and write: 20%

Life expectancy: 68 years

(Sources: the UN, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, UNICEF)

Population: 7.2 million

• Giving literacy teacher training to 477 professional and 603 volunteer teachers in 396 communities

• Building and equipping 33 school

Any enquiries please contact: Nick Burton. e: nick@bright-uk.com m: 07884 367567. d: 020 7620 8150 Size (Prod)

Colours(Prod)

Art (A/D)

Copy (C/W)

Content (Acc.)

Honduras

• Building or upgrading 1,327 latrines in 64 communities to improve sanitation and keep children safe from diseases like diarrhoea

• Training 1,300 young people over the past seven years to educate others about preventing HIV/AIDS, reaching over 60,000 children and young people.

Plan’s greatest successes come from a joint effort combining the hard work and determination of communities, children, volunteers, staff, and partner organisations. The ongoing support of our sponsors is a vital ingredient, too. It’s their generosity and commitment that allows us to continue to help children in 49 of the poorest countries in the world.

So on behalf of the children and communities we work with, thank you to all our sponsors!

HND

0407 100647 PLAN 0407_Honduras 13.11.07 210x443.5mm FOLD TO A5 Client proof: 2 3

p A Plan-sup ported march to raise aware of HIV/AIDS ness

kitchens to provide a daily meal – up to a third of children in Honduras are chronically malnourished

Plan UK Registered Charity No: 276035

Admagic No: Bright No: Client name: File name: Date: Size: Studio proof:

148.5mm FRONT

Country Progress Report 2007

146.5mm FLAP

148.5mm BACK

Challenge and change in Honduras

Real progress

2007 saw increasing crime and insecurity in Honduras, as well as energy crises and food shortages, but poverty remains the issue that most affects the lives of children and their families.

With the support of Plan, children and adults in Honduras are working together to develop their communities and claim their right to a better future. And real progress is being made.

Last year our work included:

Plan’s priorities include improving health, education, family support and housing.

The way we work is as important as the results: we support children and adults to take control of their lives and give themselves and their communities the chance of a better future.

Plan is becoming a recognised voice for children, speaking out on children’s rights and child protection both nationally and locally, and working with government institutions, including the Ministries of Education and Health, and other children’s rights organisations.

But there are always more challenges ahead. Jennifer Vaughan, Plan’s Country Director for Honduras, says: “We are excited by what we will achieve in 2008!”

p We’re improving schools and helping teac hers to put children at centre of the learning the experience

In this Country Progress Report, we look at one successful project among hundreds that your support has made possible.

Honduras country facts Capital: Tegucigalpa

People without adequate sanitation: 31%

UN Human Development Index ranking: 117th (of 177 countries)

Adults who cannot read and write: 20%

Life expectancy: 68 years

(Sources: the UN, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, UNICEF)

Population: 7.2 million

• Giving literacy teacher training to 477 professional and 603 volunteer teachers in 396 communities

• Building and equipping 33 school

Any enquiries please contact: Nick Burton. e: nick@bright-uk.com m: 07884 367567. d: 020 7620 8150 Size (Prod)

Colours(Prod)

Art (A/D)

Copy (C/W)

Content (Acc.)

Honduras

• Building or upgrading 1,327 latrines in 64 communities to improve sanitation and keep children safe from diseases like diarrhoea

• Training 1,300 young people over the past seven years to educate others about preventing HIV/AIDS, reaching over 60,000 children and young people.

Plan’s greatest successes come from a joint effort combining the hard work and determination of communities, children, volunteers, staff, and partner organisations. The ongoing support of our sponsors is a vital ingredient, too. It’s their generosity and commitment that allows us to continue to help children in 49 of the poorest countries in the world.

So on behalf of the children and communities we work with, thank you to all our sponsors!

HND

0407 100647 PLAN 0407_Honduras 13.11.07 210x443.5mm FOLD TO A5 Client proof: 2 3

p A Plan-sup ported march to raise aware of HIV/AIDS ness

kitchens to provide a daily meal – up to a third of children in Honduras are chronically malnourished

Plan UK Registered Charity No: 276035

Admagic No: Bright No: Client name: File name: Date: Size: Studio proof:

148.5mm FRONT

Country Progress Report 2007

148.5mm INSIDE

148.5mm INSIDE

Stamping out the killer diseases Every year in Honduras, thousands of children die from killer diseases like measles – despite the fact that they can easily be protected by vaccination.

Convincing parents of the need to have their children vaccinated is perhaps the most important task in any vaccination programme, and also one of the most difficult.

Take the area of La Iguala, western Honduras, which is made up of many remote communities. Until recently, La Iguala had low levels of vaccination, with many children left unprotected because of lack of awareness, as well as practical problems in storing and distributing vaccines.

Children unprotected Doris Dominguez is a nurse at San Juan de Opoa Health Centre, in charge of a population of about 7,000 people. She remembers how things were: “Parents would say that since their children weren’t vaccinated and were still alive, then they wouldn’t have any problems.

They would give the vaccination control cards to their children to play with.”

Even when parents did bring their children, this wasn’t the end of the

accessible by mule or on foot. Working conditions didn’t help either: “During the rainy season, there was only one room in the health centre and only one part of it was dry,” says Doris. “It was unhealthy and overcrowded.” Vaccines also have to be refrigerated to be effective and this was often impossible.

The demands of the vaccination programme also affected other health services, as health workers often had to leave health centres under-staffed while they were away on vaccination campaigns in remote areas.

New ways of working p One mother proudly shows

off her baby's vaccination card

story. Most vaccinations are given as an initial dose followed by a booster later on, but parents often didn’t realise that they had to keep booster appointments, leaving children unprotected. “We had to keep sending notes or messages to parents to bring their children back. Sometimes we had to force parents to bring their children,” Doris remembers.

It wasn’t just convincing parents that was difficult. There were also practical obstacles to overcome. Many communities are very remote, only

Plan realised that new ways of working were needed to solve these problems and started a project in La Iguala which used brand new methods to reach people.

The epidemiologist responsible for La Iguala, describes how the project works: “Volunteers who were already experienced in communications were selected from each community and given training in organising, getting people involved, and preventable diseases.

“Children were trained to produce videos and radio features on vaccination. They wrote the scripts

themselves and acted as announcers.

“Plan and the Government Health Secretariat organised a workshop on radio forums and each volunteer was given a tape recorder and tapes.

Volunteers then organised radio forums in their own communities where groups of 20 parents listened to the programmes produced by the children and discussed the issues raised.”

Practical problems were also addressed.

Plan collaborated on the construction of new health centres with more space.

Health centres now include a waiting room, pharmacy, clinic, storage and toilets. They also have electric refrigerators or, for communities without electricity, solar powered refrigerators, as well as coolers with ice packs to keep vaccines in good condition.

Dramatic results Today, vaccination coverage is almost 100% in the 32 communities involved in the project, even the most remote.

Almost all the volunteers are still working on the project. Doris is proud.

“The greatest success is that now it’s not just nurses who are responsible for vaccination,” she says. “The volunteers have taken on this important mission.

146.5mm INSIDE

Parents are punctual in having their children vaccinated, including booster doses.”

Children in particular have taken on a crucial role. As well as producing radio programmes, they are making murals and producing written material about health and children’s rights. p A Honduran nurse registering

“The greatest success is that now it’s not just nurses who are responsible for vaccination.”

The new methods are working so well that the team is considering using the same techniques to increase awareness of other important health issues. Now that parents visit health centres more often, staff can take advantage of these opportunities to show the programmes made by the children, and to discuss issues other than vaccination.

Volunteers themselves have taken the initiative in expanding their responsibilities, talking to parents about subjects like hygiene, parenting and breast-feeding.

vaccinations

In all, a life threatening problem has been conquered through talking and working together. Thanks to enthusiastic child and adult volunteers, communities now have better health and a more secure future for all their children.

A life threatening problem has been conquered through talking and working together.

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

148.5mm INSIDE

148.5mm INSIDE

Stamping out the killer diseases Every year in Honduras, thousands of children die from killer diseases like measles – despite the fact that they can easily be protected by vaccination.

Convincing parents of the need to have their children vaccinated is perhaps the most important task in any vaccination programme, and also one of the most difficult.

Take the area of La Iguala, western Honduras, which is made up of many remote communities. Until recently, La Iguala had low levels of vaccination, with many children left unprotected because of lack of awareness, as well as practical problems in storing and distributing vaccines.

Children unprotected Doris Dominguez is a nurse at San Juan de Opoa Health Centre, in charge of a population of about 7,000 people. She remembers how things were: “Parents would say that since their children weren’t vaccinated and were still alive, then they wouldn’t have any problems.

They would give the vaccination control cards to their children to play with.”

Even when parents did bring their children, this wasn’t the end of the

accessible by mule or on foot. Working conditions didn’t help either: “During the rainy season, there was only one room in the health centre and only one part of it was dry,” says Doris. “It was unhealthy and overcrowded.” Vaccines also have to be refrigerated to be effective and this was often impossible.

The demands of the vaccination programme also affected other health services, as health workers often had to leave health centres under-staffed while they were away on vaccination campaigns in remote areas.

New ways of working p One mother proudly shows

off her baby's vaccination card

story. Most vaccinations are given as an initial dose followed by a booster later on, but parents often didn’t realise that they had to keep booster appointments, leaving children unprotected. “We had to keep sending notes or messages to parents to bring their children back. Sometimes we had to force parents to bring their children,” Doris remembers.

It wasn’t just convincing parents that was difficult. There were also practical obstacles to overcome. Many communities are very remote, only

Plan realised that new ways of working were needed to solve these problems and started a project in La Iguala which used brand new methods to reach people.

The epidemiologist responsible for La Iguala, describes how the project works: “Volunteers who were already experienced in communications were selected from each community and given training in organising, getting people involved, and preventable diseases.

“Children were trained to produce videos and radio features on vaccination. They wrote the scripts

themselves and acted as announcers.

“Plan and the Government Health Secretariat organised a workshop on radio forums and each volunteer was given a tape recorder and tapes.

Volunteers then organised radio forums in their own communities where groups of 20 parents listened to the programmes produced by the children and discussed the issues raised.”

Practical problems were also addressed.

Plan collaborated on the construction of new health centres with more space.

Health centres now include a waiting room, pharmacy, clinic, storage and toilets. They also have electric refrigerators or, for communities without electricity, solar powered refrigerators, as well as coolers with ice packs to keep vaccines in good condition.

Dramatic results Today, vaccination coverage is almost 100% in the 32 communities involved in the project, even the most remote.

Almost all the volunteers are still working on the project. Doris is proud.

“The greatest success is that now it’s not just nurses who are responsible for vaccination,” she says. “The volunteers have taken on this important mission.

146.5mm INSIDE

Parents are punctual in having their children vaccinated, including booster doses.”

Children in particular have taken on a crucial role. As well as producing radio programmes, they are making murals and producing written material about health and children’s rights. p A Honduran nurse registering

“The greatest success is that now it’s not just nurses who are responsible for vaccination.”

The new methods are working so well that the team is considering using the same techniques to increase awareness of other important health issues. Now that parents visit health centres more often, staff can take advantage of these opportunities to show the programmes made by the children, and to discuss issues other than vaccination.

Volunteers themselves have taken the initiative in expanding their responsibilities, talking to parents about subjects like hygiene, parenting and breast-feeding.

vaccinations

In all, a life threatening problem has been conquered through talking and working together. Thanks to enthusiastic child and adult volunteers, communities now have better health and a more secure future for all their children.

A life threatening problem has been conquered through talking and working together.

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

148.5mm INSIDE

148.5mm INSIDE

Stamping out the killer diseases Every year in Honduras, thousands of children die from killer diseases like measles – despite the fact that they can easily be protected by vaccination.

Convincing parents of the need to have their children vaccinated is perhaps the most important task in any vaccination programme, and also one of the most difficult.

Take the area of La Iguala, western Honduras, which is made up of many remote communities. Until recently, La Iguala had low levels of vaccination, with many children left unprotected because of lack of awareness, as well as practical problems in storing and distributing vaccines.

Children unprotected Doris Dominguez is a nurse at San Juan de Opoa Health Centre, in charge of a population of about 7,000 people. She remembers how things were: “Parents would say that since their children weren’t vaccinated and were still alive, then they wouldn’t have any problems.

They would give the vaccination control cards to their children to play with.”

Even when parents did bring their children, this wasn’t the end of the

accessible by mule or on foot. Working conditions didn’t help either: “During the rainy season, there was only one room in the health centre and only one part of it was dry,” says Doris. “It was unhealthy and overcrowded.” Vaccines also have to be refrigerated to be effective and this was often impossible.

The demands of the vaccination programme also affected other health services, as health workers often had to leave health centres under-staffed while they were away on vaccination campaigns in remote areas.

New ways of working p One mother proudly shows

off her baby's vaccination card

story. Most vaccinations are given as an initial dose followed by a booster later on, but parents often didn’t realise that they had to keep booster appointments, leaving children unprotected. “We had to keep sending notes or messages to parents to bring their children back. Sometimes we had to force parents to bring their children,” Doris remembers.

It wasn’t just convincing parents that was difficult. There were also practical obstacles to overcome. Many communities are very remote, only

Plan realised that new ways of working were needed to solve these problems and started a project in La Iguala which used brand new methods to reach people.

The epidemiologist responsible for La Iguala, describes how the project works: “Volunteers who were already experienced in communications were selected from each community and given training in organising, getting people involved, and preventable diseases.

“Children were trained to produce videos and radio features on vaccination. They wrote the scripts

themselves and acted as announcers.

“Plan and the Government Health Secretariat organised a workshop on radio forums and each volunteer was given a tape recorder and tapes.

Volunteers then organised radio forums in their own communities where groups of 20 parents listened to the programmes produced by the children and discussed the issues raised.”

Practical problems were also addressed.

Plan collaborated on the construction of new health centres with more space.

Health centres now include a waiting room, pharmacy, clinic, storage and toilets. They also have electric refrigerators or, for communities without electricity, solar powered refrigerators, as well as coolers with ice packs to keep vaccines in good condition.

Dramatic results Today, vaccination coverage is almost 100% in the 32 communities involved in the project, even the most remote.

Almost all the volunteers are still working on the project. Doris is proud.

“The greatest success is that now it’s not just nurses who are responsible for vaccination,” she says. “The volunteers have taken on this important mission.

146.5mm INSIDE

Parents are punctual in having their children vaccinated, including booster doses.”

Children in particular have taken on a crucial role. As well as producing radio programmes, they are making murals and producing written material about health and children’s rights. p A Honduran nurse registering

“The greatest success is that now it’s not just nurses who are responsible for vaccination.”

The new methods are working so well that the team is considering using the same techniques to increase awareness of other important health issues. Now that parents visit health centres more often, staff can take advantage of these opportunities to show the programmes made by the children, and to discuss issues other than vaccination.

Volunteers themselves have taken the initiative in expanding their responsibilities, talking to parents about subjects like hygiene, parenting and breast-feeding.

vaccinations

In all, a life threatening problem has been conquered through talking and working together. Thanks to enthusiastic child and adult volunteers, communities now have better health and a more secure future for all their children.

A life threatening problem has been conquered through talking and working together.

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

146.5mm FLAP

148.5mm BACK

Challenge and change in Honduras

Real progress

2007 saw increasing crime and insecurity in Honduras, as well as energy crises and food shortages, but poverty remains the issue that most affects the lives of children and their families.

With the support of Plan, children and adults in Honduras are working together to develop their communities and claim their right to a better future. And real progress is being made.

Last year our work included:

Plan’s priorities include improving health, education, family support and housing.

The way we work is as important as the results: we support children and adults to take control of their lives and give themselves and their communities the chance of a better future.

Plan is becoming a recognised voice for children, speaking out on children’s rights and child protection both nationally and locally, and working with government institutions, including the Ministries of Education and Health, and other children’s rights organisations.

But there are always more challenges ahead. Jennifer Vaughan, Plan’s Country Director for Honduras, says: “We are excited by what we will achieve in 2008!”

p We’re improving schools and helping teac hers to put children at centre of the learning the experience

In this Country Progress Report, we look at one successful project among hundreds that your support has made possible.

Honduras country facts Capital: Tegucigalpa

People without adequate sanitation: 31%

UN Human Development Index ranking: 117th (of 177 countries)

Adults who cannot read and write: 20%

Life expectancy: 68 years

(Sources: the UN, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, UNICEF)

Population: 7.2 million

• Giving literacy teacher training to 477 professional and 603 volunteer teachers in 396 communities

• Building and equipping 33 school

Any enquiries please contact: Nick Burton. e: nick@bright-uk.com m: 07884 367567. d: 020 7620 8150 Size (Prod)

Colours(Prod)

Art (A/D)

Copy (C/W)

Content (Acc.)

Honduras

• Building or upgrading 1,327 latrines in 64 communities to improve sanitation and keep children safe from diseases like diarrhoea

• Training 1,300 young people over the past seven years to educate others about preventing HIV/AIDS, reaching over 60,000 children and young people.

Plan’s greatest successes come from a joint effort combining the hard work and determination of communities, children, volunteers, staff, and partner organisations. The ongoing support of our sponsors is a vital ingredient, too. It’s their generosity and commitment that allows us to continue to help children in 49 of the poorest countries in the world.

So on behalf of the children and communities we work with, thank you to all our sponsors!

HND

0407 100647 PLAN 0407_Honduras 13.11.07 210x443.5mm FOLD TO A5 Client proof: 2 3

p A Plan-sup ported march to raise aware of HIV/AIDS ness

kitchens to provide a daily meal – up to a third of children in Honduras are chronically malnourished

Plan UK Registered Charity No: 276035

Admagic No: Bright No: Client name: File name: Date: Size: Studio proof:

148.5mm FRONT

Country Progress Report 2007