While the floods in Pakistan are drawing plenty of attention and receiving significant donations, the devastation in Central America in the aftermath of tropical storm Agatha remains largely out of the public’s attention.

In June, 80,000 people were left homeless as Tropical Storm Agatha tore through the tiny Central American country. And at the weekend, at least 45 people were killed in landslides across the country following torrential rains.

“Agatha began one of the most intense rainy seasons in the last 50 years in Guatemala,” says Plan’s country director Debora Cobar. “Heavy rains from the latest tropical depression have pelted the country for days, unleashing mudslides in several areas. Highways have been cut off, prompting officials to evacuate thousands of people – rescuers were trying to save people buried under a wall of mud”.

Fresh downpours suspended a rescue bid with at least 15 people still missing after a mudslide wiped out a highway north-west of the capital, Guatemala City. More than 40,000 people have been affected and thousands more remain at risk from further flooding and landslides. The worst affected areas are on the Pacific Coast, in Retalhuleu, Suchitepequez and Escuintla, currently at ‘red alert’.

More than 30 separate landslides hit the Inter-American Highway, one of Guatemala’s main roads and more rain is forecast. “Water levels behind some dams in the region have risen so high that floodgates have been opened,” says Ms Cobar.

Plan staff are on stand-by to provide help for those caught-up in the crisis as part of the Humanitarian Network of emergency response bodies and is in talks with local governments to provide water, food and child protection teams. Plan is also distributing blankets, mattresses, and clothes for patients after the Santa Catalina La Tinta hospital was flooded.

Click the button below to visit the Plan website to find out how they are helping Guatemala and other countries recover from the effects of tropical storm Agatha. If you want to get involved in helping, you can even sponsor a child with Plan. By donating a small amount each month, you can make a huge difference in the life of a child and help Plan to change children’s lives around the world.

CHILDREN WORKING TO LIVE

Too often, news reaches our ears of children in developing and third world nations laboring in harsh conditions simply to earn enough to eat and live, with no way out of this life. Without alternate skills to offer employers and with school fees excluding many poor children from education, there are few choices for those who are fighting for survival. Their families are often forced to send them off to work as they are unable to keep them themselves in their low – income positions.

Large factories producing everything from clothing and candies to phones and toys operate in these impoverished places where there are few rules that limit hours, regulate fair wages or enforce age minimums. The large amount of people competing for work means that wages are often below subsistence and exploitive, as goallover recently reported in this story about ASDA.

LARGE TRAINING PROJECTS

In response to the high instance of young people being forced into a life of low-paying factory work, Plan has coordinated with a group of Community Development Associations in Cairo to begin a large-scale vocational training movement. Every weekend, mothers are offered daycare services and, along with youth and children, are invited to learn and improve such skills as reading and writing. The more practical side teaches handicrafts that steer children toward less harmful labour markets. Examples include lace and tablecloth making which children can then sell in local markets.

SUCCESS

One of the girls enrolled in the classes, 11-year-old Astra, said:

“I used to work in a stainless steel factory making teapots. I used to work from 8 in the morning to 11 at night and not get home before midnight. The owner of the factory also used to treat us very bad. I used to earn about £30 a week. I would take what I needed for my expenses and then give the rest of the money to my family. Nowadays I take part in the project and I sell handicrafts to get an income. I am much happier now.”

Neyama, 14 years old, said: “This is a good project – I have learnt a lot of good things. I know the importance of education now. I dropped out of school to work, but I made sure that I carried on working at home and sat my exams.”

When asked what she wished for, Neyama said: “I wish to stop working and return to school. And I want to be an engineer.”

You can help children like Neyama now by Sponsoring a child today.

Far too often in developing countries such as Ethiopia, Somalia and even Egypt, famines are a way of life. The harsh climate and unpredictable rain patterns mean food supplies are often inconsistent and children miss out on adequate nutrition.

Reaction to Food Crisies is much more complicated than simply delivering food supplies to countries with shortages.  Often, infrastructure has been damaged and growing patterns are hard to reestablish.

The most effective solutions occur with changes at the structural  level. One example is Ethiopia, where drought has forced farmers to diversity their crops and include species more resistant to drought and amend their farming techniques to compensate for changing climates and trading patterns.

War and internal conflict is another culprit, it destroys farms and plantations and pollutes soils and water supplies. The conflict also cuts off import and export activity and food supplies suffer. Within this context, large groups of people are displaced and overpopulate an area, not allowing for farm plots or resulting in slums in un-growable conditions.

Internally displaced persons are the largest group in crisis with families separated and children often abandoned in the exodous from war-torn cities.  FREEDOM FROM HUNGER

CAUSE AND EFFECT

The result? At present in Somalia one in every five children is malnourished and one in every twenty-two is severely malnourished. Malnutrition is the insufficient, excessive or imbalanced consumption of nutrients that can result in severe health complications, but it is also easily preventable. You can help a child eat their way away from poor health and give them a great starting point.

Education

Against this background some schools have reopened. Plan has run campaigns to encourage parents and teachers to prioritise education, set up temporary schools and trained teachers to provide additional support for children who have been traumatized by the earthquake.

Plan’s design for transitional schools was recently endorsed and approved by the Haitian Ministry of Education. We are continuing to set up temporary school tents as the materials for transitional schools are being readied. Over the past month, this work has meant almost 6,000 students could go to school.

Plan is working with other organisations to ensure early years education will be provided in the new camps to which people are being relocated in advance of the rainy season.

Protection and health

An increasing number of ‘child-friendly spaces’ are being established to give children a place to play and engage in social activities with their peers. Plan is working in partnership with other organizations to raise awareness in camp sites and communities about the threat of child trafficking.

Plan is also involved in projects focusing on violence against women and environmental hygiene, particularly in the camps.

Plan has improved families’ livelihoods through Cash for Work programmes. Work activities have included clearing of waste disposal and irrigation canals; preparation of sites for temporary school classrooms; road repair and building latrines.

Plan has set up around 100 mobile clinics which have provided consultations and immunisations where required for over 6,000 adults and over 25,000 children.

Psycho-social support

Plan has provided training in the provision of psycho-social support for school directors, teachers, Plan Haiti staff, staff of Plan Haiti partner organisations, and youth volunteers working in our child friendly spaces.

Our successful partnership with Clowns Without Borders reached more than 6,000 children through over 20 performances at camp sites, schools, and community centres. A second phase of performances is planned for June.

Future resilience

Plan is working with other organisations to ensure emphasis is given to improving Haiti’s ability to prevent and survive disasters – by building disaster-resilient school structures; encouraging school contingency planning; raising awareness at the community/camp level; supporting capacity-building of relevant government departments; and lobbying the Government to make disaster risk reduction a part of the school curriculum.

Hurricane Season

Adequate shelter remains an urgent need ahead of the rainy and hurricane seasons. People in vulnerable camps may return home if their house or building has been declared safe by United Nations experts or stay with host families, where possible. Otherwise they will need to be moved to a camp in a safer location.

Hopeful

Although there still remains a lot of work to be done, with Plan’s help, life for many people in Haiti is beginning to return to normal. While many lives have been irrevocably damaged by the disaster, there is a renewed sense of hope in Haiti that the country can be rebuilt in a way that will provide a brighter future for its people. The children of Haiti will be key to this future, and their voices must be heard in the rebuilding process if the country is going to be united in its efforts to forge a promising future.

For impoverished families the world over, working hard from an early age isn’t a choice, it is a necessity. Children in poorer countries are pulled from school and forced into manual labour positions in order to make enough money simply to eat each day. With little education these children grow up in this industry and have very little opportunity to advance and break the cycle of poverty.

Goallover has reported on this heartbreaking trends with such stories as the plight of children working in the cocoa trade in West Africa or the children working in Malawi on tobacco farms.

Now, Plan UK is interested in highlighting the problems of children working in famine-ridden Niger. Right now, children are being pulled from school and play and sent to earn money to help their families. This is a very real problem, according to recent numbers from the Niger government 74,000 children under five are suffering from acute malnutrition. Overall 7.2 million people do not have enough food to sustain themselves.

Country Director of Plan Niger, Rheal Drisdelle explains:

“In Niger, when families feel threatened they develop coping strategies, and one is to get children earning money or food. They are often taken out of school to be an added helping hand, instead of being a ‘burden’ on the family”.

“Girls will do mainly domestic work and boys will work selling things in the market, like cold water, or ice,”

adds Assalama Sidi, programme support manager for Plan Niger.

“There are definitely consequences,” says Sidi. “If children are pulled out of school they will fall behind in their education. And towns and cities are dangerous for a child, who knows what kind of work they could be doing? Some can be involved with illegal sales like drugs, and young girls are easily exposed to sex work”.

Plan Niger has been working tirelessly in conjunction with a national food crisis board delivering almost 1,050 tons of food. Plan’s next imperative is to provide enough food to cover these communities’ needs until the harvest in October. You can help Plan to achieve this goal by sponsoring a child in these troubled times.

SPREADING THE WORD

Originally, the plan was launched in the village of Genete-Mariam where the program enjoyed tremendous success, mostly with the female members of the community. Women have started businesses and raised the standard of living for their families in several instances. Presently, 61 people in the local community are developing their own businesses and generating an income through the scheme.

The rules that govern the scheme have given priority to women as they are most in need of independant income in this corner of the world. The rules are created by a community organized coalition, they have been learning skills form Plan UK in order to enable themselves to successfully run these committees, skills such as financial management and decision-making and lending policies.

SUCCESS

Amare, a mother of five, says: “I received a loan of 200 Birr (around £10) two months back. I started up a small coffee and salt business. I make a weekly profit of 50 Birr (around £2.60). I cover my family needs – food and stationery - with this money. In the future, I want to increase my saving so that I will have more loans to expand my business.”

Tsegaw Alemu, says: “My group loaned me 400 Birr (around £20). I bought lentils from local farmers and sold it in genete-mariam town for 700 Birr (around £39); I made a profit of 300 Birr (around £19). With the money I rented a room in genete-mariam town for my son to pursue his education comfortably.”

THE FUTURE IS GROWING

A series of advisors based within each village are on-hand to help with any queries as they arise. The three groups now meet on a regular basis with these advisors, there are plans for the groups to join forces and create a larger association. From that point, the groups propose to launch a large-scale grain trading organization.

This another example of Plan UK teaching a skill set rather than simply supplying short term supplies or relief. This program will have long-term positive effects and the potential for growth is evident, people have already spread the word to locally and the scheme is gathering momentum. You can be part of Plan’s ongoing success by sponsoring a child in this part of the world and contributing to the continued their valuable work.

DANGEROUS CONDITIONS

Plan UK‘s new report entitled;  ‘Hard work, little pay and long hours’ details the shocking conditions in which children throughout Malawi are working today.

Children as young as five are toiling up to twelve hours a day, absorbing an astounding 54 miligrams of nicotine through their skin.  Each day, the contact their hands have with the tobacco leaves is enough to pose the same health risks that heavy smokers face.

Tobacco producers have begun to shift production into developing countries and they are taking more and more advantage of the lack of child protection measures by employing young children. Some are paid as as little as 1p an hour with no protection from the law and few are given adequate protective clothing.

Interviews have revealed the further dangers to which these children are exposed, the children revealed stories of physical, sexual and emotional abuses at the hands of their employers.

There are an estimated 78,000 children working on tobacco plantations accross Malawi today.

SIDE EFFECTS

Plan‘s research revealed that children are complaining of serious symptoms including lack of breath and severe headaches.  One little boy expressed his grief as he described sympoms that indicate Green Tobacco Sickness (GTS), or nicotine poisoning.

“Sometimes it feels like you don’t have enough breath, you don’t have enough oxygen, you reach a point where you cannot breathe because of the pain in your chest. Then the blood comes when you vomit.”

Plan UK is urging police to enforce child labour laws and crack down on offending corporations.

“This research shows that tobacco estates are exploiting and abusing children who have a right to a safe working environment. Plan is calling for better enforcement of child labour laws and harsher punishment for employers who break them,” says Mcdonald Mumba, Plan Malawi’s Child Rights Advisor.

“These children are risking their health for 11p a day and multinational tobacco companies, who profit vastly from child labour, need to take a more active responsibility for their involvement.”

Children continue to work in these conditions to pay rising school fees and fend for themselves. Malawi has a large number of orphan children and with the few state-run facilities overcrowded, many are left to fend for themselves.  Plan is advocating for mandatory birth registration throughout the country which will make it easier to enforce existing labour legislation.

“The lack of such registration makes it difficult to prove that working children are under the age of 14,” says country director Lillian Okwirry.

SAFER ALTERNATIVES

Plan UK is providing alternative suggestions for crops which require less handling and maintenance, removing the need for cheap labour and hopefully, removing the appeal of employing younger children.  Products such as pepper, cassava and tea have higher yields with less upkeep and are currently being promoted by Plan‘s team on the ground in Malawi.

Child sponsorship allows children to go to school and live a childhood free from this kind of exploitation, Plan UK needs help and support to protect the children who can’t speak for themselves.

An article in the May 2009 issue of  ”Scientific America” claims that changes in weather patterns and climate are responsible for retreating glaciers which are affecting water supplies. The run-off from the glaciers normally irrigate the land and supply clean drinking water for much of the proximate population.  With irrigation no longer occuring organically, “Scientific America” reports upon the increased spread of diseases and lack of potable water.

Plan UK helps those who are affected either by pollution, climate change or other limiting factors in regard to clean water acces by providing new technical skills and alternatives to traditional water sourcing.  Solutions include; teaching various method of harvesting rainwater, river and stream management and the creation of levees and other manmade interventions.

Peru does benefits from these initiatves, however, pollution from mining residues is still a large problem.  Residual mining matter pollutes 16 of Peru’s 53 rivers and Plan is not able to help with regard to industry standards.  That is why it was so encouraging to learn of the introduction the “Regulation of Quality of Water for Human Consumption” bill by Peruvian Minister of Health Oscar Ugarte Ubilluz.

The bill is shortly to be signed by Peruvian president Alan Garcia Perez, making it law. It establishes certain criteria for potable water, intended to reduce waterborne diseases and is expected to cut down on the pollution of several freshwater sources.  This policy will enable longer-term changes to take effect and have positive impact on the Peruvian population.

This means that Plan UK is able to continue its efforts amid this encouraging development. Plan UK will continue to work with the Peruvian and global populations to provide greater access to clean water.  Click below to help them bring safe and clean water to those that need it most.

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Plan is a member of the End Water Poverty coalition, whose proposals to bring about a change in this situation will be discussed a month on from World Water Day, in the first ever international high level meeting on sanitation and water.

According to the United Nations, each person needs 20-50 litres of safe freshwater a day to ensure their basic needs for drinking, cooking and cleaning – but more than one in six people worldwide – 894 million, don’t have access to this amount of safe freshwater.

While most people are aware of the health problems associated with insufficient access to clean, fresh water, Plan is seeking to also highlight other more deeply-rooted social problems that lack of water provision causes.

Water collection is often seen as a task for only girls and women. This can mean that girls miss out on school in order to collect water for their families. Even if they are able to get to school, they still face the prospect of being sent away from their classroom by their teacher to go and collect water for the school.

Plan works with many communities, encouraging changes in behaviour where necessary and supporting efforts to improve access to clean, safe water.

At one village school in Mali for example, Plan responded when pupils raised the problem of drinking water supply. The pump at the N’gouraba primary school had been out of order for four years, and parents were having to bring water by donkey to supply the school. During extreme shortages children were often sent long distances to fetch water.

Rehabilitating the water supply involved cleaning the borehole, installing a manual pump, and constructing a washing area and a drainage system for waste water.

But Plan consider making communities self-sufficient as important as providing them with access to water. The school management committee was trained in management and maintenance of water points and Plan trained two manual pump repairmen.

Since the pump was repaired, cases of diarrhoea among the pupils have become much less frequent, and the access to clean, safe water has meant absences of girls from class have been reduced.

Plan is actively involved in water projects across the 49 countries where it works, collaborating with communities to identify sanitation problems, and jointly design solutions to enable community members to manage their own water and sanitation systems.

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Despite the wonderful leaps in gender equality that the world has seen in recent years, a new publication reports that some 40 million girls and women world-wide miss out on any form of education.  In many instances this is due to the perception that educating girls is not nearly as important as educating their brothers and male counterparts.

Even if young women do make it into educational institutes, there are often deterrents that discourage continuing with schooling. Problems such as poor sanitation and living facilities, along with the threat of sexual harassment and bullying serve to decrease female enrollment.

However, things in Rwanda have taken a turn for the better,  the government has recently announced they are prioritizing women’s education and Plan UK has stepped in to help to fund new facilities to support this initiative.  

Schools such as Kiziguro Secondary now enjoy new dormitories and hygiene facilities, as well as varied classes that teach creative skills and provide classes for those whose education has been cut-off. The school has 600 places and allows those from far away to board and not miss out on the opportunity to learn.

“My parents live in Nyagatare district more than one and a half hours drive from school. I’m in senior four – Computer Science. The Kiziguro dormitory is the only place where I can stay for my studies.” explains 17 year old Joyce, who boards at the school. “This new building comes at the right time. We used to sleep two per bed.”

The classes offered range from sciences to humanities and also cater to those whose education has been hampered in some way. English, creative writing and literary studies help women to build confidence and express themselves. 

Jackline, who is 17 and took part in the classes, said “During the classes we leant that given opportunity girls can perform better than boys. I also discovered that reading improves my English, which helped me to perform well.”

These schools offer new beginnings to young women country-wide.

SPONSOR A CHILD WITH PLAN

Plan, along with a number of partners are set to propose a number of measures that seek to improve prevention, identification and punishment of sexual violence.

To offer greater protection to children they are seeking the HRC to prohibit all forms of sexual violence against children and for authorities to provide stronger protection and more child-friendly reporting practices.

They have been lobbying for increased investment in national resources that could provide help to vulnerable children. They believe more needs to be done to raise awareness of the issue, and want to see an improvement in the support network for victims.

The proposed investment will be focussed upon improving education, preventative health care and social care.

As well as providing more means of direct support for children, Plan wants to see more done by those in positions of responsibility to help prevent sexual crimes taking place and speedier and more effective reporting when it does.

Better accountability and awareness among teachers, social workers, police, lawyers and judiciary would go a long way towards reducing the worrying levels of violence towards children.

Plan’s representative in Geneva Anne-Sophie Lois said: “Now, it is time for action. Governments must take responsibility to prevent and respond to these appalling violations of children’s rights. What we need is better protection and enforcement if we are to stop failing these children”

Sexual violence leads to higher levels of HIV and AIDS, teenage pregnancy, physical and psychological trauma of victims. Studies have shown that threats of sexual violence can keep many children – particularly girls – out of school and increases drop-out rates.

Abigail Sogah, 17, is a member of a Plan-supported youth group in Ghana, said in an address to the HRC that awareness-raising activities with her community and the police have reduced attacks.

“Our youth group in Ghana is trying its best to combat violence against girls. Sexual abuse of girls at school and in the community is a real problem where I live and we girls are scared to become victims.”

“We would like all governments to intensify law enforcement and to make sure that perpetrators are severely punished. Sensitisation of the public should also continue. Girls are exposed to sexual abuse because of how boys and men – and we and our mothers – think about us.”

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Plan has programme units in the province of Cusco, where 24 hours of continuous rain fell on 28 February. This came just weeks after initial flooding forced villagers out of their homes and into camps.

During that first series of rains and floods in the area, Plan distributed emergency kits in Huacarpay and Zurite, as well as installing water tanks at the shelter sites to provide clean drinking water.

Plan also set up centres for psychosocial support, called Kusi Wasis (or Houses of Happiness in the indigenous Quechua language) that provided assistance to the Peruvian government’s medical and psychological teams.

Currently, between 40 and 80 children attend psychosocial support sessions at the centres every day in the Huacarpay and Zurite emergency shelter zones.

Rivers that overflowed during the first emergency have now burst their banks again, leading to flooded homes, collapsed highways and lost lives.

Plan Peru continues to coordinate with local authorities in wake of this new disaster; providing fuel for the machinery used to clear landslides and handing out clothing kits with boots, blankets, and other warm clothing.

The Fireman’s Association of Cusco and the Green Squadron Police have reported 7 official deaths and at least 30 missing people in this latest disaster, with children reported to be among them. Hundreds of homes have also been destroyed.

While Plan helps Peru to recover from this second disaster in such a short space of time, there are fears that the full effects of the catastrophe have not yet been felt. Drinking water systems and hundreds of hectares of grain were wiped out in the floods, arousing fears that the country may face a food security crisis later this year.

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Plan will work together with children and youth groups to ensure that the government and the international community listen to their concerns as they go through this process. Supported by Plan facilitators, trained youth journalists will talk to children across Haiti, producing radio programmes, videos and blogs.

Many young earthquake survivors have a very clear vision of what a new Haiti should look like. “I want the rights of children (to be) respected and (for) all children (to) know what their rights are.“ says 15 year-old Daphmika. “I also want everyone (to have) access to education.”

Johanne, 20, sees the exploitation of vulnerable children as an issue that needs addressing. “We have to think especially about those who work as domestic servants and those who have been sold to other countries like a commodity”.

A concern among many youngsters is that the recovery effort does not focus solely on the capital Port-au-Prince, which was worst hit by the quake. Many of the provinces in Haiti have experienced an influx of people who have fled the devastation of the capital.

”It is important that the reconstruction process in Haiti not only concentrates on Port-au-Prince. Otherwise people from other towns will keep on coming here and there will be more and more slums,” says 19-year old Meite. “Schools, universities and industries should be built in the provinces so that people in other towns can find work or go to school there – and can stay in their native places.”

All of the information collected will be fed back to the post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA), which is forming the overarching vision for Haiti’s recovery. PDNAs (post-disaster needs assessment) are often brought in after humanitarian crises to ensure a country has an effective transition from relief to long-term redevelopment.

Plan believes that it is of utmost importance that this process reflects the voices, needs and perceptions of children and young people. This is especially the case as half of Haiti’s population is below 18. The development of the country is impossible without a positive transformation in their lives and the future.

Up to now, young people rarely had a chance to be heard in Haiti.

”Before, the government completely excluded young people in this country. Now we need a new strategy,” says Jean Kency Vixama, 22. “I want another Haiti where young people like us have the chance to work with the government, where we can get involved with all activities of the country.”

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Plan Burkina spent the winter break cleaning, repainting and installing new equipment so classrooms would be ready when the children returned.

Pupils at Kilwin School in the suburbs of the capital, Ougadougou, were visibly delighted with the work that had been done.

“Everything is new again,” said 11-year-old Daoudou. “The ceiling, the windows, the walls, the blackboard and our benches are now new and beautiful.”

The scenes of children hurrying to lessons were a far cry from those in September when over 10 inches of rain fell on Ouagadougou, the most in any 12-hour period since 1953.

Schools were used as temporary shelters for victims of floods that left over 150,000 people homeless and affected over 700,000. Many were left in a terrible condition.

“We could not recognise our school, it was very dirty. In addition, it was stinking,” said 12-year-old Biba, a student at the school.

At the time Plan launched an emergency appeal, providing shelter, food supplies and water and sanitation facilities to those affected. Plan continues to work in the country to support communities who are rebuilding their homes and lives after the floods.

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by Dan Sumners

In this scheme English children will be allowed to take the reigns of schools, newspapers, football clubs and local MP’s. Last year 17,000 children took place and this year the Plan UK will take part as advised by Youth Advisory Board.

It is believed it will help children gain a clearer understanding of the day-to-day work of Plan UK, build enthusiasm within the charity sector, help them to appreciate diversity within the group and contribute to the group’s development. “Takeover Day” will take place on 30th October.

This is one of those positive stories that is unfortunately rare. And instead of pinning youths as an enemy or a force to be afraid of, “Takeover Day” helps to promote them as our future, train them and instill confidence in their ability.