It was soon after her and her younger brother ran away from home that a social worker found them walking in a rubbish tip.

The social worker who found Elizabeth and her brother on the tip took them to a government transit home, where abandoned children are taken into temporary care. From there, Elizabeth and her brother were settled into the SOS Children’s Village Lusaka, Zambia – housed in one of 15 brick-built homes with facilities, where in each house 12 children are loved and cared for by an SOS Mother.

The facilities there were a long way from the surrounding that she had run away. She had been living with her Grandmother and other extended family members in a traditional Zambian home, a small circular hut made of mud blocks dried white by the sun, roofed with dried grass, and an outside set-apart area used as a latrine. No plumbing; no sewage pipes and no electricity.

When Elizabeth decided she wanted to see her Grandma again, it meant a trip back to that same hut where the family was still living.

Potentially, it was a hugely emotional experience for her. But Elizabeth was determined to face up to it. With her camera in hand, she was out to prove, even at such a young age, that she could be stoical and could live out her dream of one day becoming a journalist. She would find her grandmother; she would interview her grandmother about her own younger years; and she would do so without crying.

Patiently, she waited outside the hut as her grandmother appeared from working in the fields. And then, suddenly, there she was, bounding forward, smiling broadly, welcoming Elizabeth and remarking how much she’d grown. Her grandmother is aged 52, a quite remarkable age in a country where life expectancy for women is in the early 40s.

She said she couldn’t afford to eat more than one meal a day; and that she hadn’t eaten bread for two months. The chickens running around were beginning to reduce in number as they were slaughtered for a special meal. But it wasn’t just herself she was struggling to feed; it was also the 10 grandchildren who lived with her in the clean and tidied hut where grandmother slept on a mattress and all the grandchildren slept huddled together on the dirt floor.

Grandmother had had five children herself, but only one had survived HIV-AIDSs. Every time she went to a family funeral she brought home another grandchild or two. She had so many, and there was now so little room, that grandmother was building a second hut nearby her own – block of mud by block of mud. She didn’t know when it would be finished. Her plan was to house the grandchildren there.

Elizabeth said she was shocked to see how desolate her grandmother’s living conditions were compared to her own at the SOS Children Village. But she was pleased that her grandmother appeared happy – like so many Africans living in desolation, grandmother smiled big, beaming, white teeth smiles, sang out loud ‘I’m so happy today’ in her local language, and danced for joy outside her home, celebrating Elizabeth’s visit.

Elizabeth did her interview; asking grandmother about what life was like in Zambia when she was Elizabeth’s age; how her grandmother lived now; and what her grandmother’s hopes were for the future. And, if there had been in Elizabeth’s mind before she went any follow-up questions about how she came to suffer so terribly as a younger child; or how she could have ended up on a rubbish tip with her brother; that was all swept away by her emotions: the shock and the joy.

Back home in her SOS Children village, Elizabeth said she hoped to go to see her grandmother again.

It is only with the help of generous donors that SOS Children’s Villages is able to provide such opportunities for children like Elizabeth. You can do your own small part to help by sponsoring a child with SOS. You will receive regular updates on your chosen child and see exactly how much of a difference you are making in their life. Just click the button below to find out more.

With the extent of the damage now being uncovered, and the first tentative steps towards recovery being taken, the President of SOS Children’s’ Villages Pakistan has given an interview to the charity’s website.

How would you describe the current situation in the affected regions?

That depends on the region. This calamity has taken in its thrall an estimated area covering one-fifth of the entire land mass of the country – equivalent to over 150 thousand square kilometres – so we are talking about an area bigger than the size of England!

It is estimated that this disaster is bigger than the combined havoc of the Kashmir earthquake, the Indian Ocean tsunami and the Haiti earthquake. Considering the ferocity of the floodwaters, thankfully, the loss of life has not been too high – 1,754 reported so far – but the loss of homes, belongings, crops, animals, livelihood are without parallel. Over 20 million people have been affected, which is about the entire population of Australia and more than that of the Netherlands. It is difficult to put this into a proper perspective, but looking at it in the context of the Afghan refugee crisis, which was considered gigantic; we were then dealing with, perhaps, three million people.

Disaster struck in the last week of July, in the province of Balochistan when flash floods hit several villages. The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which includes Swat, Dir, Kohistan and Shangla (you will recognise names from our delivery areas for relief goods) was the next to be affected, as the River Indus went into high flood, washing away entire villages, roads and bridges. This was a result of the normal melting of glaciers in the Karakorum mountains and the unprecedented heavy rainfall. I read a report that, on one day in July, the rainfall was more than the previous record for the whole month! This is, province-wise, the worst affected area. It is much more densely populated than Balochistan and millions have been displaced with their homes, either damaged, or washed away. The worst is over for them and some are gradually returning to their areas and trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. We continue to send them food packages, as this need will continue for some months. The government authorities and NGOs, are now looking at providing assistance for rebuilding of homes.

The province of Punjab, with 60% of the total population of the country has been, for the most part, spared by the flood havoc, although the river Indus passes down its length, from north to south. The area which has been totally devastated is that of southern Punjab and this is still badly affected. Countless numbers of marooned villagers were rescued from their rooftops and are accommodated in the numerous camps which have been set up. They are slowly returning home as the waters recede.

The flooding has now moved south into the province of Sindh and the same scenes are being repeated – embankments giving way, entire villages inundated, homes disappearing, roads being breached and the unfortunate inhabitants stranded on whatever high ground they can find. It is a terrible scenario and will continue until the flood reaches the sea, leaving desolation behind, so the worst is not over yet.

What are the most urgent needs right now?

The top priority is to save lives so the urgent need is for food and drugs. This need has not been entirely met, and I suppose cannot be. The response of the people of Pakistan has been phenomenal but, the problem is so gigantic, that it is extremely difficult to reach all those affected. The army is doing a magnificent job, rescuing people and providing for them. We have distributed tents through our programme, but are concentrating now on food packages and drugs. Requests are now beginning to come in for assistance in rehabilitation, and will be followed by demands for blankets and quilts, as the cold weather sets in.

What are the main concerns regarding children?

There are some reports of children being separated from their families but normally, a family will ensure the safety of their children. A serious concern is the health hazards, as gastro-enteritis, malaria and other diseases take their toll. There are reports of children having died from starvation, and malnutrition – which in any case is a problem – has been exacerbated by the inability to prepare suitable meals for infants, or even provide milk.

How is the general perception of the catastrophe in Pakistan? Do the people in Pakistan stay together and try their best to help the flood victims?

Our people are proud and very resilient. They have faced many disasters in the past and the life of the common man is an on-going struggle for survival. They accept such calamities as God’s will and will get on with their lives as best they can, once they can return to their homes. The generosity of the nation is legendary and there has been an outpouring of support for those affected. The amount of goods that are being collected and distributed is astonishing, with many stories of people who have put their lives on hold and dedicated themselves to the relief effort.

Are there still many International NGOs and local NGOs active in the field?

As always there are numerous International NGOs working in the field. These organizations are the best positioned to provide emergency relief with their resources, professional management and vast experience in handling crisis situations. There are also countless local NGOs active in relief work. It is especially heart warming to witness the concern, enthusiasm and effectiveness of student groups at this time.

Do you think the aid is sufficient?

No, it is not nearly sufficient. The cost of rehabilitating 20 million people and restoring the infrastructure will be astronomical. If we can keep ahead of the game and manage to save lives, that in itself is a big achievement.

What are the plans of SOS Children’s Villages Pakistan in the near future and in the mid-term?

For the present, SOS Children’s Villages Pakistan is focusing on getting help to the most needy. We are striving to reach areas where sufficient aid is not being delivered and ensuring that all donations received are properly accounted for. This emergency programme will continue as long as funding is available. It will be carried on in the mid-term if any amounts are specifically allocated for rehabilitation. After the present critical needs are met we will explore the possibility of procuring funding from the various donor agencies pledging assistance for rehabilitation efforts. An achievement of this programme is that there is no deduction, whatsoever, being made for administrative costs or overheads of any nature, and that includes transport of supplies. A lot of volunteer support has been harnessed.

If you address an appeal to potential donors what will you tell them?

Pakistan has faced many disasters in its short history. Its very existence started with a catastrophe of epic proportions and this current disaster follows on the heels of the tragic loss of lives at the time of the earthquake, less than five years ago. This, however, is not the greatest threat with which we are faced. We are confronted with a demon which has the potential to destroy us all – terrorism. We have seen how terrorism thrives on poverty and finds disciples amongst simple and poor people, by buying their support. At this difficult time we must ensure that more people are not led astray by showing them that we care, we share their grief and will stand by them in their hour of need. The dimensions of this tragedy are so vast that we need all the help we can get to tackle it – not only in the name of humanity but for our very survival.

Your hopes and fears for Pakistan?

I have great hope in our young people. I am exhilarated by their confidence, their idealism, their enthusiasm and their love for their country. If any group can bring about change, this is it. They have decided that they will not accept the status quo and seek to bring about change, incrementally to begin with, but their voices will be heard. I also have great fears for Pakistan. Our people are peace-loving and tolerant but are depicted in the eyes of the world as barbaric extremists. This is understandable when one takes into account the frequent violent episodes perpetrated by a radical minority. They threaten our way of life and have made the entire country a soft target. It is extremely difficult to confront such a threat and, with imminent changes in a neighbouring country, it is possible that the situation further deteriorates. However, we cannot abandon.

Click on the button below to find out how you can help the relief effort in Pakistan and how adopting a child in Pakistan can help to provide them with a future they might otherwise be denied.

His Majesty praised the great work done by SOS Children’s Villages in helping out the vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the country. He further pointed out that it was very important that everyone works together as a nation to support such work.

“SOS Children’s Villages is an organisation that is pivotal in the protection and grooming of the Swazi child. Therefore, companies, and Swazi people that are able, need to reach out and give support to SOS Children’s Villages.” The King also thanked for the great performance done by the children who touched on the history and great work done by the organisation.

Leutloa Moteetee, SOS Children’s Villages International representative, also conveyed his sentiments on the support given to SOS Children’s Villages Swaziland. He pointed out that this showed that, indeed, the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child” is true

He thanked the support of the King and the Swaziland government but went on to requested that this support should not stop today but only be the beginning.

After all the speeches and events, the King was shown the facility by the national director, Dudu Dlamini, with the board of governors’ chairperson. This was then followed by the planting of a tree and official opening of the facility by His Majesty King Mswati III who has taken the patronage for SOS Children’s Villages Swaziland in 1998.

Siteki is the third SOS Children’s Village in Swaziland (the other two are located in Mbabane and Nhlangano) and has been operational since December 2009. Siteki is located in the east of the country, in the Lubombo region between Manzini and the border with Mozambique.

SOS Children’s Village Siteki consists of twelve family houses for up to 120 orphaned, vulnerable or neglected children. An SOS Kindergarten, an SOS Medical Centre, an SOS Social Centre and offices for the family strengthening programme are situated on another plot of land just across the street, forming a “community service centre” for the neighbourhood. An already existing nearby primary school was extended and supported with the aim of increasing its performance capabilities and its capacity to admit children both from the SOS Children’s Village and the surrounding community.

The SOS Medical Centre provides basic health care to the community including a mother-and-child clinic offering ante-natal and post-natal services to women in the neighbourhood. In order to improve the general health conditions, health education and information are also on offer. Up to 2,000 patients a year benefit from the services of the SOS Medical Centre in Siteki.

The efforts of the SOS Social Centre and the family strengthening programme mainly focus on children and families affected by HIV/AIDS. The family strengthening programme is projected to be able to reach out to about 800 children living with terminally ill parents or in a child-headed or granny-headed household within four years after its inception.

Development within this particular region is progressing at a slow rate and it is difficult for the locals to access necessary services. Overall, the HIV/AIDS pandemic combined with widespread poverty has left nearly one-third of all children in Swaziland living under extremely poor and difficult circumstances.

In total, the social programmes of SOS Children’s Villages in Swaziland benefit more than 12,000 children and adults.

It was in the beginning of August that the floods came, catching the family (father, mother and eight children) completely by surprise.

With water levels rising fast, the family had no other choice than to run.

As the ran to escape the flood waters, one daughter, just eight years old, fell down amid the rising water and drowned.

When the family finally reached the relative safety of some higher ground, they discovered another child was missing. The mother still does not know what happened to her child.

Their small family home was washed away by the flood water, along with their six cows and four adult goats.

All what was left were the clothes they were wearing, some identification cards and four young goats.

For two days the family found refuge under a tree along a main road near their village along with others from their village. Then they were eventually picked up by army personnel that brought them to a small camp outside Larkana.

The population of this camp rapidly grew until the facilities could no longer handle the number of people seeking help there.

So Pakistan army set up a new camp in the neighbourhood.

With SOS Children’s Villages Pakistan one of the key organisations involved in providing 77 brand new tents for the displaced people. The camp was named Camp SOS.

The camp now provides shelter to 2,630 people.

All around Pakistan, SOS have now distributed 12,650 food packages for families affected by the flooding, which represents over 2 million meals.

The target is still to provide 100,000 food packages.

Each of the packages contain wheat flour, lentils, rice, cooking oil, sugar, tea, milk powder, salt, chilli powder, washing soap, toilet soap, candles and matches. They cost just £13 each and will feed one family of 6-8 persons for ten days.

Other than food packages, SOS continue to distribute tents and medical items where they can.

But even though progress is being made, the stark reality remains that these peoples’ lives have been changed forever.

The mother of the family that barely escaped the floods, Nazira, is not very positive about her future. “We’ve lost everything, how do we survive when nothing is left?”

One of Nazira’s sons, Shouked says that he is very afraid of water since the floods had reached their village. He wants to go back to school and meet with his friends. He has no idea what became of them, he hopes they are ok.

You can help to ensure that resources are in place to help children like Shouked recover from the disaster and live a long and happy life. The best way to do this is by sponsoring a child with SOS Children’s Villages.

If you click on the button below, then you can find out how SOS child sponsorship programmes work and just how much of a difference you can make in a child’s life.

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.

The flooding has killed more than 1,700 people and affected more than 18 million across a third of the country. Plan has been heavily involved in helping find people temporary shelter and providing basic cooked and dried food supplies, but with the arrival of the most important annual holiday in the calendar for Pakistani Muslims, they have begun distributing 20,000 special Eid food packages.

Eid-ul-Fitr is usually a time when families come together, special Eid meals are prepared to mark the end of fasting and it is a special time for children. Girls receive new clothes, buy and wear new glass bangles and put mehndi (henna) on their hands and the boys get new shalwar kameez (traditional clothing). Children get ‘Eidee’ from grown-ups – usually a small sum of money.

Ten-year-old Zaafira is with her two younger brothers, father and grandmother in a Plan-supported camp in Makli, Thatta district, Sindh. She says she does not expect to receive any gifts this year. “I do not know what we will do this year – I hope we can go home for it, but I don’t know”. Her mother Jannat says, “We have nothing for Eid celebrations. How could we? Look where we are living. Usually the children get new clothes and bangles – but how can I give them any of that this year, when we are struggling just to eat?”

Plan hope to provide some kind of relief for children and families in the flood-hit areas, and while their special food packages might not be a replacement for families’ traditional Eid celebrations, they could just provide some hope and cheer at this terrible time.

People across Pakistan are forgoing their traditional Eid gifts this year and donating to needy flood victims instead.

Those not affected have been giving what they can to others, says Director of Plan in Pakistan, Haider Yaqub. “The flooding has had a devastating impact on many areas – but there are others which have not been affected. Many Pakistani people feel great solidarity and concern for the flood survivors and are saying they will not spend much money on Eid this year, but will donate that money”.

Haider explains, “There are many text and email campaigns going around right now for people to donate their Eid money. So, even if many people celebrate, as it is a religious festival and a religious duty, they will donate much of what they would usually spend to flood relief”.

If you have been affected by what you have seen and heard from Pakistan, you can help Plan to continue their excellent work in helping Pakistan’s children by adopting a child in Pakistan today. Just click the button below and read all about the difference you could be making in a child’s life.

The village, the second largest worldwide with 34 family houses (the largest one is in Dharamsala), is 7 km from the town of Leh in the Ladakh region of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Tsewang Yeshi, the President of SOS Children’s Villages for Tibetans, explains how the village managed to avoid any major damage in the floods and as a result has provided an extremely useful source of both shelter and aid for those affected by the floods:

“Despite the wide scale of catastrophe, fortunately, we are very happy to inform you that no major damage or loss is reported from our children’s village. Except for some minor damages to some of the buildings, all children and co-workers are safe. Although the cloud burst was widespread over the region and the consequent flash flood left a trail of devastation on a massive scale, with the Leh area hardest hit, the children’s village was very lucky to remain largely unaffected. We must thank the providence for this miracle ….to escape unscathed!

The small children’s village hospital is filled with over 50 affected people for emergency medical treatment. Similarly, our school hall is packed with other victims of the flash flood for relief and temporary shelter. In the vicinity of the SOS Children’s Village, around 70 houses have been destroyed or damaged badly in two Tibetan camps. Our co-workers and senior students are fully involved and doing the best they can in the relief operations.

Communication with Ladakh is still very difficult. We only hope the weather will hold well, and not go worse, as reports of uncertainty still hang heavy in the air. Reports indicate urgent relief measures for immediate medical treatment, food and blanket, and temporary shelter, not to mention the long drawn rehabilitation task ahead for the affected families. For the proper organisation and coordination of relief efforts, from the Tibetan side, the Home Department of our exile Government is overseeing it with a local committee formed. Our children’s village director is a member of this committee.”

As was the case following the earthquake in Haiti earlier this year, SOS Children’s Villages has been active in providing both immediate resources for disaster relief and putting in plans to help communities recover and look to the future.

If you want to help them continue their excellent work by sponsoring a child, or you want to find out more information about their flood appeal, click on the button below.

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.

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.

THE DAMAGE DONE

On the 14th of April, winds over 100 mph swept though India’s eastern towns and farmlands and uprooted trees, destroyed crops and flattened buildings.  In total, the storm demolished nearly 50,000 huts in West Bengal and thousands more in Bihar, officials said. Most homes in this area are fashioned from mud and tin and were quickly destroyed.

Along with flattening buildings, the storm also caused widespread damage to electricity and cell towers heavily disrupting transportation and people’s ability to communicate.  This has left thousands of people cut off. With food supplies dangerously low, aid agencies such as Actionaid are worried.  Starvation, the rapid spread of disease and death from untreated injuries are some of the dangers faced by post-disaster populations that go without help for any real length of time.

Many roads remain blocked by debris and teams are being dispatched to reinstate transportation and communication throughout the country’s eastern region and get help to those locations further afield.

RELIEF EFFORTS

Actionaid is currently working in partnership with several agencies on the ground to deliver dried food and cooking supplies, they are also lobbying the government to honour their promises to provide relief aid, something they consider a priority. Temporary housing in the form of tents, make-shift sanitation facilities and generated electricity are working for the present, but Actionaid is looking to longer-term solutions that will help people to rebuild their lives.

Harjeet Singh, ActionAid’s Emergencies Advisor said:

“People were sleeping when the storm hit and this led to many deaths and injuries. ActionAid has focused on reaching the survivors with basic relief supplies, especially women, the elderly, persons with disabilities and children. With such massive damage to homes and livelihoods in the communities this will be a long-term response.”

You can help Actionaid by sponsoring a child today.