GlobalChild THE magaZInE of Plan In auSTralIa | WInTEr 2009
food
SECURITY
Helping children
thrive in Indonesia
Emergency food relief
in Zimbabwe
Improving nutrition
in Paraguay
LEARNING
WITHoUT
fEAR
Empowering children in Bangladesh
Child clubs in Senegal call for safe schools
INSIdE:
SPoNSoR CoMMUNICATIoN | JAMIE dURIE IN INdIA | SLUMdoG MILLIoNAIRE SUPPoRTS PLAN
1

the plAn vision
Plan’s vision is of a world in which all children realise their full
potential in societies that respect people’s rights and dignity.
the plAn story
Plan is a not for profit change agent that exists solely for
the sake of children.
We work at the grassroots level in 49 developing countries to
empower communities to overcome poverty so that children have
the opportunity to reach their full potential. We encourage children
to be actively involved in improving their communities. We unite,
empower and inspire people around the globe to champion every
child’s right to grow up healthy, safe and educated. Together with
our supporters, Plan is a catalyst for change, free from political and
religious agendas, existing only for the sake of children.
A world of chAnge
Plan operates child centered community development projects
in 49 developing countries around the world. These projects are
funded by child sponsorship, regular giving programs and one
off donations. There are 17 national offices that support and help
coordinate the global effort.
AfricA AsiA centrAl And
Benin Bangladesh south AmericA
Burkina Faso Cambodia Bolivia
Cameroon China Brazil
Egypt East Timor Colombia
Ethiopia India Dominican Republic
Ghana Indonesia Ecuador
Guinea Laos El Salvador
Guinea Bissau Nepal Guatemala
Kenya Pakistan Haiti
Liberia Philippines Honduras
Malawi Sri Lanka Nicaragua
Mali Thailand Paraguay
Mozambique Vietnam Peru
Where we work Niger
Rwanda
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Southern Sudan
Sudan
Tanzania
Togo
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe

contents
Food security
For children
5 HeLpInG CHILDren
6
tHrIve In InDOnesIA
sAvInG LIves tHrOuGH
Food For thought
emerGenCy fOOD reLIef By Ian wishart
CEO, Plan in Australia
In ZImBABwe
7 ImprOvInG nutrItIOn I CAnnOt ImAGIne my children going without It does not grab the
wItH GOAt’s mILk In food, yet when I worked in Laos, I regularly met
pArAGuAy families who spoke of the ‘hungry season’ when media headlines: ‘60
7 tHe COst Of HunGer
food to their children had to be rationed. The
‘hungry season’ would last three to four months
Minutes’ does not visit
and would come just before the next harvest. At to film the process.
learning this time, rice reserves were running low and there
without Fear was no spare cash to purchase more. The number IAn wIsHArt, CEO, PLAN IN AusTRALIA
9 LeArn wItHOut feAr of meals would be reduced, as well as the portion
sizes. Children would go without and signs of They had small plots of land and there seemed
CAmpAIGn LAunCHeD malnutrition would appear. no way they could grow more food to get ahead.
9 wHAt Is vIOLenCe In In Plan’s experience one of the foundation
stones to building a life beyond poverty is access
They were highly dependent on fertilisers
to maintain yield levels and the costs of these
sCHOOLs? to enough food to adequately nourish yourself were gradually sinking them. After extensive study,
10 After-sCHOOL tuItIOn and your family. We call this food security. Food Plan figured out that one way they might be
security can be achieved either by directly growing able to break the cycle was to become certified
empOwers CHILDren
more food or by combining food production with organic producers. If their farm sizes weren’t
In BAnGLADesH other cash earning activities, either on the farm going to increase then the way out was to
11 CHILD CLuBs In seneGAL or off the farm.
When food security is not achieved it causes
produce something of higher value, but with
lower input costs.
CALL fOr sAfe sCHOOLs vulnerabilities that result in people sliding further Fortunately, there was a growing awareness
12 Be A pArt Of It into poverty. Malnutrition causes illness that
weakens children and disables their ability to learn.
of the benefits of organic produce in the capital
Manila and people prepared to pay a higher price
14 news They drop out of school and become child laborers. for a better quality grain. On top of that farmers
Food shortages cause families to take out loans were introduced to natural ways that they could
Global Child Winter (May) 2009
Vol 27 No 1. Global Child is the magazine of Plan from money lenders that they struggle to pay back. fertilise their paddy fields. Four years later those
International Australia and is published biannually. Eventually the money lender takes control of the same farmers have increased their profits and have
next edition November 2009. land as payment for the outstanding principal. a sustainable farming model. They are moving
plan International Australia Food insecurity comes in two main forms: ahead and their families are food secure. And Plan
1/533 Little Lonsdale street, emergency and chronic. is now working to replicate these organic farming
Melbourne VIC 3000.
phone 13 PLAN (13 7526) fax 03 9670 1 130 In emergencies people suffer a devastating practices in other communities.
www.plan.org.au and catastrophic loss that overwhelms their Recently, my team also informed me of
Donations to PLAN of $2 or more are tax deductible. community’s normal coping mechanisms. This another food security-related project we will be
writer Heather Ellis comes about due to a disaster in the form of supporting in Indonesia. It will concentrate on
Design and publishing ACP Custom Publishing a war, political chaos, flood, earthquake, tsunami improving childhood nutrition. This is vital work.
Design manager Paul Davis
or fire. We have seen this ourselves – in the recent Children that are malnourished do not fully develop
We welcome any feedback on Global Child by email devastating bushfires in Victoria. At such times physically and mentally and this impedes them for
to publications@plan.org.au.
it is imperative that surrounding communities take the rest of their life. We must intervene before
Plan in Australia wishes to thank ACP Custom
Publishing for their support in the design and action by urgently providing relief items of food, damage is done.
publishing of this magazine. The opinions expressed water, shelter and replacement clothes and To continue this vital work of solving food
are not necessarily those of Plan. © 2009. All material blankets. In Plan’s work overseas it frequently insecurity we need your ongoing support. We will
in Global Child is subject to copyright; however,
articles and photographs may be reproduced with encounters such disasters and must respond. be calling on donations for food security projects in
permission from Plan. Plan is a signatory to the ACFID Right now, for example, we are distributing food our May/June appeal and I would urge you to give.
Code of Conduct and a trusted recipient of funding to vulnerable children in Zimbabwe due to the Remember that chronic food security problems will
from AusAID – the Australian Government Agency
collapse of that country’s food production system not grab the headlines but solving it is one of the
for International Development. Plan in Australia is
governed by a Board of Directors comprising: Anne brought on by the political chaos. most important things we can do to help families
skipper AM (Chair), Margaret Winn (Deputy Chair), Chronic food insecurity is much harder to see. lift themselves out of poverty.
suzanne Bell, Tim Beresford, Emily Booker, Philip It does not grab the media headlines: ‘60 Minutes’
Endersbee, Russell Gordon, Claire Hatton, Jeremy
Ingall, Thomas Kane, Wendy McCarthy AO and does not visit to film the process.
Neil Thompson. Five years ago this was the experience of
families we were working with in the Philippines.
Plan in Australia is committed to reducing the impact our printed publications have on the environment. This publication is
printed on Envirocare 100% Recycled paper, this uncoated paper is manufactured entirely from waste paper.
front Cover Empowering communities with the
skills and resources to grow home vegetable gardens
provides children with nutritious food in Guatemala.
GLOBAL CHILD WINTER 2009 3

food & nutrition
food IN THE
dEVELoPING
WoRLd
4 GLoBAL CHiLd WINTER 2009

food & nutrition
Empowering communities so that families,
especially children, have enough food – good
wholesome nutritious food – has always
been a strong focus of Plan’s work. In this
feature, we offer you a unique insight into
the challenges faced by three developing
communities and how Plan is working with
them to put food on the table.
HELPING cHILdREN
THRIVE IN INdoNEsIa
taking the nutrition message East Nusa Tenggara and Timor Tengah Utara.
The focus will be on taking the ‘nutrition
to villages is key to improving message’ to parents including pregnant and
breast feeding mothers and by training
childhood development in community health workers. Plan will also help
rural indonesia. BY JAN PARRY, strengthen and support government health posts
PLAN IN AUSTRALIA PROGRAM MANAGER in the districts by providing extensive training
and mentoring to these health workers as well.
In a bid to increase government budget
allocations to address child undernutrition in
WALkinG tHrouGH A rurAL viLLAGe the region, Plan will also undertake advocacy
in Indonesia, especially the eastern provinces – activities. By working in partnership with the
some of the poorest in the archipelago – you can’t existing government health system, Plan hopes
help but notice the number of undernourished to strengthen services that will continue to exist
children, especially children under five years. This once Plan leaves.
is a common picture in rural eastern Indonesia. As the focus is on children under five,
In most cases, it isn’t that these children aren’t this new project, which is funded entirely
getting enough to eat. On the contrary, they may by Australians, will be linked to Plan’s existing
get sufficient rice at meal times but have little Early Childhood Care and Development
else to eat. A recent Plan study of three villages project as well as a combination of water and
in this region found that more than 60 per cent sanitation and food security programs.
of children under five were undernourished and the Community-based nutrition
nearly 40 per cent were severely stunted. project in indonesia is funded by AusAid,
While Plan in Indonesia has worked with the Australian Government Agency for
a number of communities on sustainable international development and by
agricultural projects in the region, nutrition donations from the Australian public
education has not yet had sufficient attention. and Plan’s corporate supporters.
Even if a family was able to secure food, their
children could still be underweight the study
found. In many cases inadequate knowledge
and skills, specifically in selecting and preparing
food, were to blame. The study not only showed
that child undernutrition is still rampant in many
rural communities, but also that parents often
have low awareness of the fact that their children
are actually undernourished. Even less do they
realise the underlying causes.
tama from togo sells beans
– a small business that has
To help address this, Plan has developed
helped improve her family’s a community-based nutrition project, which
food and household will be implemented initially over a three year nutrition education helps improve children’s
economic security. period in 20 villages in two eastern districts: growth and development in indonesia.
GLoBAL CHiLd WINTER 2009 5

food & nutrition
Plan staff ensure food aid provided by the
World food Program is distributed to food
insecure families in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe.
saVING LIVEs THRoUGH
EMERGENcY food RELIEf
Plan in partnership with the World food Program has been
providing thousands of Zimbabweans, especially vulnerable
children, with a supply of basic food.
onCe tHe BreAd BASket of southern Africa, emergency food relief for Zimbabweans. While
TsHaMELENI’s
there is little to eat for many in Zimbabwe these the WFP ships basic food stuffs (mostly maize,
days. Over the past two years, food production beans and vegetable oil) to Africa and trucks
has declined drastically, which left more than five
million people in need of food assistance between
it to Zimbabwe, cooperating non government
organisations like Plan distribute the food sToRY:
November 2008 and March 2009. ensuring it gets to the most vulnerable: orphans,
Hyperinflation, lack of adequate agricultural child-headed households, single mothers, the
tshameleni is an orphan
inputs including seed and fertiliser and adverse elderly, the disabled and those affected by HIV and is the head of her
weather for crop production have meant and AIDS.
that many families who previously could feed Between October 2008 and March 2009, household in Chiredzi,
themselves now go hungry. Periods of drought Plan Zimbabwe with support from Plan in
only add to their food insecurity. Australia, has distributed more than 10,000
southern Zimbabwe.
Chiredzi district in southern Zimbabwe, metric tonnes of food to more than 160,000 “I am 12 years old. I stay with my three
where Plan is helping to feed vulnerable families, people in Chiredzi. During 2009, similar amounts other siblings who are ten, seven and
is one such drought prone area. With rainfall less of food aid will also be distributed as predictions five. My father died long back when
than 450mm per year, raising livestock instead suggest a continuing need to feed vulnerable I was still very young and my mother
of growing crops is often the norm. However, children and communities in Chiredzi. passed away last year. I am the eldest.
with a nation-wide shortage of cereals like maize, Handling and distributing such large I therefore have to take care of the
families have bartered their goats and cattle for quantities of food is costly and labour intensive, other children. It is difficult to look after
the limited supplies available and many of the with people employed to distribute food to these children especially the youngest
most food insecure families no longer have any communities and monitor that it reached the most one who often falls sick.
livestock. A study undertaken by Plan in Chiredzi food insecure. To meet these additional costs, “With the current food assistance,
in November found that to eat, families had Plan relies on the generosity of its supporters and which we are getting (through Plan’s
resorted to stealing livestock, eating wild fruits the Australian public. Together we can lend Vulnerable Group Feeding Program),
and roots or sending their children to beg food a hand in Zimbabweans’ time of need. I have been able to care much better for
from neighbours. In the study based on interviews Plan has been working in partnership the siblings. Under such circumstances,
with 200 families, 92 per cent said during the with the World food Program since 2002 I am happy to say the local community
previous four weeks there were times their on vulnerable group feeding programs in have always been there for us including
household had no food at all. Zimbabwe. While the economic situation in support to till the small land which we
Fortunately, during these difficult times, the Zimbabwe has improved, the next harvest is not have and provision of inputs (seeds and
World Food Program (WFP) has been providing expected to be adequate to meet food needs. fertiliser).”
6 GLoBAL CHiLd WINTER 2009

food & nutrition
IMPRoVING NUTRITIoN THE cosT
WITH GoaT’s MILk of HUNGER
for children in Paraguay, over – a pet to shower with love and affection.
HunGer And MALnutrition
“Our goats have names. One is called
kill nearly six million children a year.
South America, goats not Cabrita and the other one is called Mansita,”
Many die from treatable infectious
says Fernando – one of the children whose family
only help children grow acquired two Anglo Nubian goats (a breed best
diseases including diarrhoea, pneumonia,
malaria and measles. Most would survive
‘big and strong’ but have suited to the local climate.)
if their bodies were not weak and
But the children also recognise that goat’s
malnourished. Presently, nearly a billion
also become a much loved milk is good for their health… and tastes delicious.
people globally are suffering chronic
“I enjoy taking care of the kids. They are so
family pet. cute. I bath and feed them and I also make them
hunger.
The first Millennium Development
go out from the stall. I hope the dams will
Goal (MDG) calls for the eradication
produce a large amount of milk after kidding,”
of extreme poverty and hunger. Meeting
in A LittLe viLLAGe in southern Paraguay, says six-year-old Belén.
this is also essential for meeting all
goats are providing improved nutrition for Maria, one of the mothers from the initial
other MDGs, which all 192 United
families, especially children. With 60 per cent of group of 30, says the milk is not only good for
Nations member countries have pledged
Paraguay’s six million people living in poverty, their children’s growth and development, but the
to meet by 2015. Hunger and malnutrition
most families survive on cassava (a root excess provides extra income for school fees and
are among the root causes of poverty
vegetable), corn and beans. Meat, milk and other other household expenses.
and illiteracy, as well as disease and
dairy products are expensive as are vegetables “I am happy with the project. It is very good.
mortality.
which are not traditionally grown. We still hope for many good benefits from it so
As the world battles to recover from
However, the diet and family incomes we can have a better life,” Maria says.
the global financial crisis, world leaders
of a community in Guaiaybi district radically The group of 30 mothers who participated
at the Group of 20 (G20) developed and
changed last year after a group of 30 mothers in the project have since formed a cooperative
developing nations summit in London
learnt of the nutritional and financial benefits for milk sales and marketing and to advise other
in April this year, also reaffirmed their
of keeping dairy goats through Plan Paraguay’s families on keeping dairy goats.
commitment to the MDGs to increase
Household Food and Economic Security project, Plan has worked in Paraguay since 1994
development assistance.
which is funded by child sponsors. and currently supports 470 rural communities.
With their children and husbands and with Australians sponsor 327 children in Paraguay.
Plan providing advice on raising dairy goats, as
well as materials for pens, and most importantly
goats – two per family – milk is enjoyed daily. i am happy with the project. it is very good. We still
But improved nutrition wasn’t all that hope for many good benefits from it so we can have
children enjoyed. The goats and later their
offspring filled the need of every child the world a better life, says Maria
Maria and her son oscar get ready to milk
the family’s dairy goats which were provided
as part of a sponsor-funded project.
GLoBAL CHiLd WINTER 2009 7

LEARN WITHOUT FEAR
LEARNiNg
WiTHOUT FEAR
Almost one million
children suffer violence
every day in schools
around the world most
often in the form of
corporal punishment,
sexual violence or bullying.
8 GLOBAL CHILD WINTER 2009

LEARN WITHOUT FEAR
Far from being safe and nurturing, schools too often,
are frightening places for children the world over.
ENDiNg ViOLENCE iN SCHOOLS
during the three-year Learn Without Fear
campaign, Plan will work directly with at least
5000 schools in 40 countries to tackle violence.
Key goals include: persuading governments to
outlaw all forms of violence against children
“WE ARE BEATEN mercilessly in school, are often unwilling to investigate accusations. in school and to enforce those laws; work
As a result we are unable to sit properly,” Through its work around the world, Plan with school leaders and teachers to promote
says a group of school boys in India. became increasingly concerned about violence alternative discipline methods; and create
These boys make up more than an estimated in so many schools and in 2008 created Learn a global momentum for change, including
350 million children globally who suffer violence Without Fear. The three-year campaign aims increased resources from international donors
in schools each year mostly in the form of to end violence in schools so that children can and governments.
corporal punishment, sexual violence or bullying. receive a quality education in a safe and secure The campaign, underpinned by the united
They suffer serious injuries, sexually transmitted environment. Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,
diseases, unwanted pregnancies, depression Plan in Australia CEO Ian Wishart says is also an important step towards reaching
and mental health problems that can lead to violence against children is an abuse of their the Millennium development goals as quality
suicide. Most victims are too scared, ashamed or rights. “It is not only cruel and unjust but is also education is key to eliminating poverty and
traumatised to speak out and school authorities preventable.” giving children the chance to improve their lives.
WHAT iS ViOLENCE iN SCHOOLS?
CORpORAL pUNiSHmENT SExUAL ViOLENCE BULLyiNg
Our school principal We are irritated by love Friends like to make
punishes very hard. She advances from teachers. I fun of me or look down on
makes us go down on our feel like disappearing from me… Teachers sometimes
knees over small stones or the world if a person who do the same thing… I was
bottle screw tops for over 20 is supposed to protect me humiliated.
minutes and also she often instead destroys me. (A STudENT FROM THAILANd)
Bullying occurs in all countries including
pulls our ears. (gIRL, 15, FROM ugANdA)
Australia. up to two-thirds of students identify
(gIRL, 8, FROM PARAguAy) In some countries, girls as young as ten themselves as victims in any month. Victims
are forced by their teachers to have sex to get of bullying can lose self-esteem, suffer anxiety,
Around the world, 90 countries including good grades. As well as teachers taking sexual develop learning problems and become suicidal.
Australia (schools in South Australia and some advantage of students, children also suffer sexual Bullying at school is a cause of violence in wider
private schools), continue to allow teachers to aggression from their peers or from others on society with both bullies and their victims likely
legally use corporal punishment. And in those the way to and from school. In 2002, the World to be more violent as adults.
countries that do ban it, the laws are often Health Organisation estimated that 150 million
poorly enforced. In developing countries the girls and 73 million boys under the age of 18
discipline dished out can be brutal with children had been raped or suffered other forms of sexual
being violently hit, kicked, bitten, thrown, locked violence.
or tied up and even burnt by their teachers. A
child may suffer a beating for simply asking a
question, making a mistake, arriving late for class,
not sitting still or not paying attention. Such a
beating is too often viewed as acceptable or
necessary by education authorities, parents and
governments who feel discipline helps children To view the report: ‘Learn Without Fear: The global
learn. But evidence shows, it causes the opposite. Campaign to End Violence in Schools’ and to watch videos
Anxious and frightened children can not about the campaign go to www.learnwithoutfear.org
learn and such punishment causes lasting mental
and physical suffering.
GLOBAL CHILD WINTER 2009 9

LEARN WITHOUT FEAR
LEARNiNg
CAmpS
EmpOWER
CHiLDREN
Thousands of children in
Bangladesh are not only
‘making the grade’, they are
also helping to make their
schools safe and inspiring
places to learn. By KATIE RAMSAy,
PLAN IN AuSTRALIA PROgRAM MANAgER.
IN BANGLADESH, going to school can be
a frightening experience. Corporal punishment
is rife and bullying is commonplace with children
from poor families targeted: the label ‘slow learner’
the cause of taunts by their classmates.
On top of this, with primary school compulsory,
government schools are severely overcrowded; up
to 50 students per class. Teaching is by rote learning
with the focus on passing exams to advance to the
next year. To pass, private tutoring is an absolute
necessity but can only be afforded by the more well
off students. Of the 16.5 million children enrolled
each year in government primary schools around
40 per cent will drop out, usually by grade four or
five when the struggle to keep up becomes too much.
Beaten by their teachers, bullied by classmates, and with
poor literacy and numeracy skills and next to no self-
confidence, life in the eyes of these children holds
little hope. And this is the crux of the problem because
fear is a terrible obstacle to learning.
But back in 1998, a more child-friendly way
of learning was trialed for children from Bangladesh’s
poor rural communities. Plan introduced an interactive
problem-solving approach to learning in which children
attended school tuition sessions or Learning Camps
before or after their normal school sessions. These
camps are now the cornerstone of Plan’s Community
Learning Action Project (CLAP).
Aligned with the national curriculum, each
Learning Camp has about 30 students who attend
daily two-hour sessions held in a classroom provided
by the school. Sessions are run by a Plan-trained
tutor, usually a high school graduate, who receives
fees from the parents (about 70 cents per child per
month). For those children from families living in the
Children in Bangladesh
improve their grades
through after-school And this is the crux of the
tuition sessions or
Learning Camps problem because fear is a
supported by Plan.
terrible obstacle to learning.
10 GLOBAL CHILD WINTER 2009

LEARN WITHOUT FEAR
most difficult circumstances, the local community CHiLDREN impROVE AFTER ATTENDiNg LEARNiNg CAmpS
provides their fees. Parents are also involved, taking
on the day-to-day management of the camps, and
as a result have helped instigate quality learning Academic grades BEFORE attending learning camps
methods being adopted by some schools and 1200
teachers.
1000
Last year, 26,332 children were enrolled in
Plan-supported Learning Camps in two districts – 800
Naushingdi and Jessore. Many of these children
600
have gone from the bottom of the classes to the
top. In 2009, we will begin to step back from 400
supporting these camps so that the communities
200
themselves can take over and Plan can move to
other areas. 0
This year, in partnership with the community, A B C D
we will begin setting up Learning Camps (benefiting
around 15,500 children) in every community in one
Academic grades AFTER attending learning camps
800
province in Sreepur in central Bangladesh, one of
700
the poorest regions. Coverage right across a province
600
will mean the effectiveness of the project will be
clearly evident and this helps us strengthen our case 500
for the government to have punishment-free schools 400
and interactive learning methods for all children 300
in Bangladesh. 200
The Bangladesh Community Learning Action 100
Project (CLAP) is funded by Plan supporters, 0
donations from the Australian public and grants A B C D
from AusAID, the Australian Government Agency Reference: Plan Bangladesh Technical Report 2005 – Community Learning Action Project.
for International Development.
HimU’S
STORy
Himu is a young girl from a rural
village in Bangladesh. She was
recently awarded a scholarship to
attend high school – a rare feat
for many of Bangladesh’s children.
While her future looks bright, it did not always hold
such promise.
“I was admitted to the gazaria government primary
school but I found rote learning very difficult and my
teacher very unfriendly. I asked my mother to take me
away from that school,” Himu says.
Luckily, Himu’s mother understood her problem Members of a children’s club in Senegal discuss strategies to combat child rights issues
such as violence in schools.
and admitted her into the Plan-supported Learning
CHiLD CLUBS iN SENEgAL
Camp that had been recently set up at the same
school. “I learned there without any fear and gradually
was seen to be a ‘good student’ in the school and
community,” she says.
Himu’s parents, who later helped run the Learning CALL FOR SAFE SCHOOLS
Camp, also began discussions with Himu’s teacher to A group of 37 children in Senegal were so violence in schools, they suggested sex
have interactive child-friendly learning (as used in the concerned about violence at their school education classes be introduced and
Learning Camps) used in the classroom as well. that they took action to stop it. With the that staff and students sign a code of
In 2007, Himu appeared in the primary scholarship support of Plan, the children – members of conduct to make them accountable for
examination and was awarded a scholarship obtaining a children’s club funded by child sponsors – their actions. Plan Senegal has followed
the highest marks in gazipur district, an outstanding conducted a study to find solutions. through on these suggestions and is now
achievement in a country where only 20 per cent of With corporal punishment and engaging with children’s clubs, school and
children make it to secondary school. “The people sexual violence their main concerns, the government authorities and other NgOs.
of Rajabari union were very happy with my excellent children advised that teachers needed to As part of child rights projects in
result and I was awarded a gold medal. They said I had understand the detrimental effect corporal Plan-supported communities, more than
brought honor to the district. I am in class seven in high punishment has on children and that the 257 children’s clubs involving thousands of
school and my ambition is to delight the society by Convention on the Rights of the Child be children have been set up in Senegal over
good reputation,” says Himu. part of teacher training. To tackle sexual the past 22 years.
GLOBAL CHILD WINTER 2009 11

BE A PART OF IT
SPoNSor commuNIcATIoN Maria Garvey and daughter Andy win a trip of a lifetime.
ImProVEmENTS
Rasmata, 11, from Burkina Faso was the first child
sponsored by an Australian to have her photo
and introduction page printed here in Australia.
This might seem insignificant news,
but it saves Plan valuable resources and time
and means children like Rasmata are sponsored
much sooner.
Previously, a hard copy of the Sponsored
Child Introduction (SCI) travelled across countries
and seas to reach our shores... and the new
sponsor. However, Plan has recently developed
a secure global database to share sponsored child and community
information.
Now, field volunteers collect and load a child’s information and
photos into Plan’s ‘global digital hub’. This information, including changes
and updates, can now be accessed in real time at national offices like Plan
LoNG-TImE cHILd SPoNSor
in Australia. During 2009, this new system will also be applied to annual wINS GorILLA TrEK wITH
Sponsored Child Updates (SCUs).
In Australia, sponsors can also view their sponsored child profile online
GEcKo’S ANd coFFEx
in MyPlan. This portal provides sponsors with secure access to their accounts One of Plan’s very first child sponsors, Maria Garvey from Canberra,
and a point where they can correspond with their sponsored child or learn has won the holiday of a lifetime to Uganda. With daughter Andy,
more about their community. To join MyPlan go to www.plan.org.au. Maria will soon be on Gecko’s eight-day Gorilla Express trip in the
Sponsors will also soon notice a change to their sponsored child’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and then on to a Plan-supported community
reference number. To help us clearly identify a child’s program unit, an extra in Uganda’s Lowero West district, where Maria will have the opportunity
four numbers will be added to the front of the original number. After the to meet her sponsored child, 14-year-old Birigita. The competition came
new number is made available to you please use it when writing to your about when two Plan corporate
sponsored child and when communicating with Plan. If you have any partners, Coffex Coffee and
questions about this change please contact Supporter Service on 13 PLAN Gecko’s Adventures, joined
(13 7526) or email info@plan.org.au. forces to support Global Café
Direct, a fair-trade organic coffee
range. Open to all Australians,
JET courIErS SHArES ITS the competition also helped
SuccESS wITH cHILdrEN promote Plan.
Maria, who also sponsors
A growing group of children, 13-year-old Xia in China, has
mostly in Africa, share a special sponsored eight children through
bond with delivery business Jet Plan in the past 34 years.
Couriers. As the success of Jet
Couriers, originally a local Maria Garvey’s winning words for ‘What does Global Café Direct
Melbourne company, has taken fairtrade organic coffee mean to you’:
off, so too has the development
of these children and their Gorillas love Global Café. Now jungles
communities. Their sponsorship
are safe places to play. Farmers well paid
means a regular flow of funding
The Jet Couriers team from for projects that benefit all for fairtrade coffee. Don’t need money from
Williamstown sponsors two poaching bushmeat like me!
community members. Jet Couriers
children in Uganda.
has been sponsoring children
through Plan since 2005. Presently, 22 children are sponsored: two
children for every branch in Australia. Two girls in Niger (Hanifatou, 10,
and Sarifatou, 13) were the most recent children to be sponsored when
the latest office – the seventh in Victoria – was opened at Carrum Downs
in March. Over the past four years, other offices have also been opened
in Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Tasmania.
Jet Couriers managing director Brett Ralph says that sponsoring A GIFT THAT KEEPS GIVING
a child through Plan allows staff to take an interest in the children and An increasing number of Australians are discovering the benefit of giving
also gain a greater understanding of the enormous difficulties faced to charities through their own endowment funds.
by their communities. An endowment fund is either set up as a private prescribed fund or
“Every year we receive many approaches from aid and charitable as an account within an ancillary fund. Private prescribed funds, which have
organisations seeking financial support, all of which do wonderful work, auditing and reporting requirements, are growing in popularity in Australia
however we felt the programs undertaken by Plan could make a real with more than $1.5 billion deposited in 769 approved funds since 2001.
difference to the lives of these children,” Brett says. Endowment funds allow a foundation’s principle donation to be invested
and left to grow while a portion of the investment return is donated to
organisations like Plan. The deposits and the interest earned on both funds
are income tax exempt and donations are fully tax deductible.
For more information visit www.plan.org.au.
12 GLOBAL CHILD WINTER 2009

BE A PART OF IT
cANbErrA EmPowErS Plan sponsor Tiffany Taylor
cAmbodIAN FAmILIES took the Great Ocean Walk Raw
Charity Challenge in October.
More Cambodian families will have the chance to build better lives after
Canberra Friends of Plan (FOP) raised $6000 through fundraising events
last year. A Cambodian-themed dinner dance attended by 261 people raised
$4000 and the group’s raffle and 9th Annual Art and Craft Show raised
another $2000. Canberra FOP member Gösta Lyngå says the link forged
with the Cambodian Association of the ACT contributed to this outstanding
success. Over the past eight years, Canberra FOP have raised more than
$30,000 for Plan’s priority development projects.
cHALLENGE oN For ‘GrEAT’
wALKS
Plan and Raw Challenges (formerly Intrepid Challenges) are offering you
the chance to have the adventure of a lifetime. This year, you can walk the
Great Wall of China or do the Great Ocean Walk in Victoria knowing that
every step you take will help change the lives of children, their families and
communities in developing countries.
You too could be heading off on an exciting adventure like Plan
supporters Bill Doran and Kasey Nairn who will cycle through Mongolia in
July. However, Bill and Kasey are fundraising for a project closer to home –
Plan’s Water and Environmental Sanitation project in East Timor. So far they
have raised more than $3500. When you take the Raw Charity Challenge for
Canberra Friends of Plan volunteers Gösta and Pauline Lyngå with Salwah Plan you can choose either to fundraise or make a donation on top of your
Kirk (centre), the ‘people’s choice’ craft winner at their 9th Annual Art and trip costs. If you fundraise a specified amount, Plan can subsidise part of the
Craft Show. trip costs (land only), in return for your fundraising efforts.
SydNEy dANcES For
ZImbAbwE
Ocean swimmer, Luke
Griffiths raised more
than $1000 for Plan.
More than $3300 was raised to help feed vulnerable families in
Zimbabwe when more than 250 people danced the night away
at Sydney’s popular Piano Room in February. The DJ sounds of
SPoNSor MC Double D (Daimon Downey from Sneaky Sound System) and
SwImS For
friends made the night a huge success. The money raised is going
to the Vulnerable Group Feeding Program in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe
PLAN where Plan is working with the
World Food Program to help
Plan child sponsor Luke Griffiths save lives by distributing food to
hit the water with 4000 other children and their families.
swimmers for the Sydney Cole
Classic – the largest ocean cELEbrATE your SPEcIAL
swim over both one and two
kilometres – on 1 February. occASIoN For cHILdrEN
Luke used his passion for ocean If you’re the kind of person who has everything and wants for
swimming to raise more than nothing, you can make your special day even more special by
$1000 for Plan. “Being able helping to make a difference for children. Whether it’s your
to support Plan in this way birthday, engagement, wedding or birth of a new baby, you can
made this experience even set up a special occasion online fundraising page with Everyday
more rewarding and satisfying,” Hero at www.plan.org.au/beapartofit and follow the links to ‘Other
Luke says. ways to Help’. Then just ask your friends, family and colleagues for
Luke is just one of the many donations for Plan in lieu of gifts.
supporters who have fundraised You can also set up an online charity gift registry for Plan
via www.everydayhero.com.au at www.karmacurrency.com.au. There are a range of Plan gifts
for Plan by participating in to choose from. Set up is free and you can print or email your
community swimming and gift registry cards to guests. All donations support Plan’s priority
running events. Keep an eye on projects in Africa and Asia.
www.plan.org.au for future To find out more about fundraising or events visit
events. the ‘Be a Part of it’ section at www.plan.org.au or contact
Nicole Rodger on 13 PLAN (13 7526).
GLOBAL CHILD WINTER 2009 13

NEWS
PLAN NAmEd ‘ToP PErFormEr’ ANNuAL APPEAL rAISES morE
IN GLobAL AccouNTAbILITy THAN $220,000
rEPorT Thank you to all our supporters who gave
generously to the 2008 annual appeal
Plan was ranked second in the NGO section and third overall in a for the Water and Sanitation project in
global accountability report prepared by independent think tank One Kisarawe district, Tanzania – a project
World Trust. The independent report ranks 30 of the world’s influential that has significant benefits for children’s
corporations, intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations health. Working with communities, Plan
on accountability and transparency. Plan in Australia CEO Ian Wishart is improving access to clean water for
says Plan welcomes any independent assessment of our practices. more than 22,000 people and over 4000
“As an organisation that actively school children by drilling boreholes,
promotes accountability at all levels, installing rainwater tanks, building water
it is vital that we are also accountable distribution systems and constructing an
to those we support,” Ian says. earthen dam. The project will expand
For a copy of the global this year to tackle open defecation and
accountability report visit hygiene through an approach called
www.oneworldtrust.org and to Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS).
read about Plan’s commitment to CLTS activities will reach more than
accountability visit www.plan.org.au. one world trust 70,000 people in 55 villages.
Professional surfer
Serena Brooke visits
Miguel (right) and his
family in Peru.
GoVErNor-
GENErAL VISITS
PLAN ProJEcTS IN
AFrIcA
Governor-General Quentin Bryce visited
Kawangware School in Kenya in March and
was impressed by Plan’s work at the school.
Plan has repaired or constructed
classrooms, helped set up child peer groups,
facilitated teacher training and provided clean
water and proper sanitation. A daily meal
provided through the World Food Program has
also meant that children do not go hungry.
“I enjoyed enormously the time that I
spent visiting the school. I have learnt of the
challenges for boys and girls in education,” says
Ms Bryce, who is also a child rights advocate,
and a former Plan in Australia board member.
Children are also involved in the ongoing
development of their school, which has been
made possible with support from the
SurF’S uP For cHILdrEN community and child sponsors around
the world.
Professional surfer and Plan child sponsor Serena Brooke, after competing in a world championship tour event As well as Kawangware School, which is
in Peru last October, headed inland to visit 13-year-old Miguel. Serena, from Queensland, sponsors two children located in an urban slum in Nairobi, Ms Bryce
through Plan: Miguel and seven-year-old Tania from Bangladesh. also visited two Plan projects in rural Kisarawe,
“While I have been to Peru several times before and witnessed the poverty firsthand, visiting Miguel and Tanzania – a village microfinance project and
his family was such a unique experience,” says Serena, who ranks 16th in the world of women’s pro surfers. a school-based water and sanitation project.
“Despite the terrain looking something like Mars (it was very barren and dry), I saw the positive way Plan Ms Bryce was in Africa on a nine-country tour
had empowered the community. The kids were very proud of their school and new toilets. And a community of Mauritius, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana,
knitting project was helping women use their skills to contribute to the family income. I was very stumped for Mozambique, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and
words when Miguel’s parents asked me about a day in my life. With the ocean as my playground, it was a stark the Seychelles; she also met with the presidents
contrast to the hardship of their desert way of life. I feel so fortunate to be in a position to help.” of all these countries. The purpose of the tour
Through her Serena Brooke Charity Surf Day events held in the United States, Serena also recently donated was to emphasise Australia’s growing
$18,890 to Plan in Australia to help feed vulnerable children and their communities in Chiredzi, Zimbabwe. engagement in Africa.
14 GLOBAL CHILD WINTER 2009

NEWS
Jamie Durie
with children in
Rajasthan where
Plan supports
community-based
early childhood
care and
development.
INSPIrEd by INdIA’S cHILdrEN I saw firsthand
India and its children left a lasting impression on Jamie Durie during a recent visit of Plan’s early childhood care what could be achieved
and development projects in Delhi’s slums and construction sites and in desert villages in Rajasthan. Leaving
behind his role as landscape designer and television personality, he travelled to India as Plan Ambassador to film when you empower
a television special discovering both hardship and hope. communities, like Plan
“I expected to be overwhelmed by the poverty and despair that so many of us have experienced on our
travels. But what I found, turned out to be a very different story… and took me on one of the most positive,
does.
hopeful journeys I’ve ever been on.” JAMIE DURIE – PLAN AMBASSADOR
Jamie’s Journey with the Children of India will be screened on Saturday, 16 May 2009 on Channel 7 - 4.30pm Sydney,
4.00pm Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and 3.30pm in Perth. For a preview of the television special visit www.plan.org.au.
SLumdoG mILLIoNAIrE
SuPPorTS PLAN
Slumdog Millionaire filmmakers, leading star Ani Kapoor and the Oscar-winning film’s
cast and crew are all supporting Plan’s work in India.
Producer Christian Colson and Director Danny Boyle have donated £500,000
($1million) to improve the lives of children in Mumbai’s slums where the hit move
was filmed. The donation goes to Plan India’s five-year integrated child development
program that addresses issues related to health, education, protection, water and
sanitation and aims to reach 5000 children and 2000 families.
“Having benefitted so much from the hospitality of the people of Mumbai it is only
right that some of the success of the movie be ploughed back into the city in areas
where it is needed most and where it can make a real difference to some lives,” Boyle
says.
In consultation with Plan, a trust has also been established by the filmmakers to
provide for the welfare and educational needs of two of the film’s young stars: Rubina Ali
and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail.
Anil Kapoor also donated his entire fee for the movie to Plan’s Universal Birth
Registration campaign in India. “Before we started shooting, I had made an arrangement
with the filmmakers,” he says. Kapoor, one of the best-known actors in the Indian film
world, has been involved in promoting the campaign since its launch two years ago.
Slumdog Millionaire cast and crew also joined Kapoor at a fundraising event raising
an additional $56,500 for Plan India’s work in preventing the abuse and exploitation of
Slumdog Millionaire vulnerable children.
actor Anil Kapoor To learn more about Plan’s child centred community development projects
(centre) visits a in India including Plan’s Universal Birth Registration campaign
community in Delhi
and to view a short video from Anil Kapoor
supported by Plan.
visit www.plan.org.au/ourwork/campaigns/ubr
GLOBAL CHILD WINTER 2009 15

LeArning neW
methods
fArming
meAns
mALnutrition is
off the menu
In many developing countries around the world, children do not get
enough food for an active, healthy and productive life. This year
more than ever, Plan needs your support to ensure our emergency
food relief work and long-term food sustainability projects continue.
Your gift today will help Plan work with communities in countries
like The Philippines to improve health, increase family incomes and
reduce the incidence of malnutrition in children.
donAte todAy by calling 13 PLAN (13 7526) or make a secure online donation at plan.org.au
Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. For every dollar you contribute to Plan’s Priority Projects supported by the AusAID NGO
Cooperation Program by June 30, AusAID gives up to $3 more. 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.
Change Agents…for the sake of Children