The evolution of Plan Plan has been in existence since 1937
1940s
In that time we’ve helped millions of children across the world.
When the Second World War broke out in Europe, Plan responded.
We’ve grown and developed but one thing has stayed the same – our commitment to helping every child to reach their full potential.
We created sanctuaries in England for children affected by the war. They came from England, Spain, Malta, Gibraltar and Belgium. We provided day and residential care, emergency shelter, and rest and recuperation. Plan also helped severely injured and disfigured children.
1930s
Eventually, Plan was helping children in 11 countries – several of which now have Plan national organisations.
“This is José. I am his father. When Santander falls, I shall be shot. Please, whoever finds my son, take care of him for me.”
In 1942, Edna Blue, a charismatic American, became Executive Chair of Plan.
An English reporter, John Langdon-Davies, met an orphaned boy with this note in Spain in 1937. Like thousands of others, he had been separated from his family by the Spanish Civil War. John was deeply moved by his plight. With Eric Muggeridge, he founded a refuge for children affected by the war – the beginning of Plan. They were joined by Australian Esme Odgers, and American Nick Carter. Plan started a ‘foster parent’ system through which people could sponsor a child for one shilling a day. Letters and photographs were exchanged between the child and their ‘foster parent’ forming the basis of our sponsorship work that continues today.
By 1939, Plan was directly helping over 900 children.
In 1943, child psychologist Anna Freud published ‘War and children’, based on her observations while working with Plan at Hampstead nurseries. It underlined the importance of our work by highlighting the terrible impact of family separation caused by war.
1950s From relief work to long-term rehabilitation Europe started to recover from the Second World War allowing us to expand our work. We started new programs: ■
in South Vietnam – to handle the influx of refugees from the communist North
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in Korea – at the request of the UN Korean Reconstruction Agency
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in Hong Kong – to accommodate refugees from China
In Asia we responded to new challenges: ■
moving from emergency relief to long-term projects
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increasingly helping children within their own families
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concentrating on tackling the causes and effects of poverty
Our budget reached US$1 million for the first time – most of it from the USA and Canada.
By 1959, we were directly helping over 15,000 children.
‘Plan - our story’ CD-ROM, August 2005
The evolution of Plan 1960s Expansion in Asia and South America War broke out in Vietnam – giving our work there extra importance. We also started a program among the poorest families in the Philippines for whom there were no formal social services. As we grew, we expanded to South America adding programs in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil and Bolivia.
We explored the causes of child poverty: ■
looking at an array of issues from health and housing to income and education
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identifying how these problems were interrelated
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developing solutions that had to involve whole families and communities
1980s
By the end of the decade, we were directly supporting over 53,000 children.
Building self-reliance and working in partnership
1970s
The 1980s was an important decade.
Plan expands into Africa In the 1970s, the desperate poverty in Africa highlighted the need for Plan’s work there. We wound down our work in Hong Kong, Greece, Korea and Vietnam, and set up programs in Mali, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone and Ethiopia. These were mostly in rural areas. ‘Small is beautiful’ became the mantra. A simple well costing only a few hundred dollars, for example, could prevent a range of life-threatening diseases for a whole community. We also continued to grow, with new national organisations in Australia and the Netherlands. Their ties to Indonesia prompted our rapid growth there.
By 1979, we were directly helping over 127,000 children.
‘Plan - our story’ CD-ROM, August 2005
1987 was our 50th anniversary. We were recognised by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (UNESCO). We carried on growing with: ■
19 program countries in Africa, Asia and South America
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new regional offices for South America and South Asia
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national organisations in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Japan and Germany
We promoted community self-reliance by: ■
focusing on long-term development
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working at the heart of communities
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working in partnership with them
By the end of the decade, we were directly supporting 450,000 children worldwide.
The evolution of Plan
1990s
2000 onwards
Expansion and consolidation
A mature organisation
We worked in 42 program countries, had 15 national organisations and five regional offices.
We’ve moved from direct implementation to working in partnership with children, communities, civil society, local and national governments.
The decade also saw our re-entry into Europe with a program set up in Albania. We defined five areas of work or ‘domains’, each critical to the development of a child:
We’ve clearly defined our strategic directions, which reinforce our rights-based approach. Child centred community development has been established as the guiding approach to all our work.
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growing up healthy
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learning
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habitat
We’re also committed to the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) working with partners and governments to help make these a reality.
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livelihood
2005 was a big year.
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building relationships
We launched our first global advocacy campaign at the United Nations – a campaign for universal birth registration (UBR).
And it was the integration of all these that produced effective programs. We developed an initial set of strategic directions incorporating our role in reinforcing and realising the rights of the child.
By the end of the 1990s, we were working together with more than a million children, their families and communities. ‘Plan - our story’ CD-ROM, August 2005