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“We are the community leaders of the future and by having a voice, and exercising our rights we show and receive respect. It’s not always easy to talk so the drama groups have been a good way to get messages across. We re-create situations so people can learn from them. Not just children, but parents and teachers as well.”
Obdulio (13), child media project, Honduras.
During 2007, Plan strengthened its commitment to emergency work worldwide by finalising its global disaster management strategy. This includes disaster risk reduction and its emergency response capabilities.
Disaster risk reduction is assuming greater importance within the international development agenda. This was emphasised in the concluding statements of the first UNISDR (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction) Global Platform event held in June 2007, with John Holmes, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, stating that it was clear that: “Investment in risk reduction needs to be substantially increased.”
In 2005/06, Plan UK said it would:
- Provide support to those in urgent need where it has the capacity and the mandate to do so;
- Keep its supporters fully informed as to the progress of its disaster response work and seek to find improved ways of ensuring accountability towards its supporters;
- Place children at the centre of its disaster management work. Plan will seek to identify and implement best practice for making children active participants in risk reduction, preparedness and response, both to improve its own programmes and shape others’ policy.
Objectives: To make long-term commitment to children living in poverty, and to work in partnerships and alliances.
During the year, Plan UK:
- Contributed to strengthening Plan’s disaster management capacity: supporting training for Plan staff in Asia and West Africa on ‘Sphere’, the minimum standards for humanitarian response work; and contributing to the development of Plan’s International Disaster Management strategy launched in March 2007;
- Supported Plan’s Regional Humanitarian Coordinators in Plan’s 4 regional offices to be responsible for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in the respective regions and provided support to Plan offices in developing their strategy programmes to reduce people’s vulnerability to disasters;
- Launched disaster risk reduction projects in three countries: Philippines, El Salvador and Sierra Leone aiming to: 1) increase the capacity of Plan communities and partners to manage child-centred processes to reduce disaster risks, integrating children and young people’s participation into the planning, implementation and evaluation process of these projects 2) increase recognition among international and national policy-makers and other actors (humanitarian INGOs, academia, media etc) of the importance of children and young people’s participation in risk reduction and the management of disasters;
- Promoted children’s rights to protection and participation at international events, including the UNISDR’s Global Platform held in June 2007 in Geneva.
- Worked through its Inter-agency networks in the UK (BOND), EU (VOICE) and internationally (INEE, UNISDR) to promote disaster risk reduction (DRR) and also on promoting the value of child-centred DRR.
In the future, Plan UK will:
- Implement an action research programme entitled ‘Children in a Changing Climate’, in partnership with IDS Sussex University, the Centre for Disaster Preparedness and RMIT, and other partners, which will gather evidence for Plan’s work on child-centred disaster risk reduction;
- Raise awareness of children’s role in reducing their communities vulnerability to disaster through a four series documentary programme being produced by the Thomson Foundation, covering Plan’s work in the Philippines, El Salvador, Sierra Leone and Pakistan. The documentary will be aired by the BBC World;
- Place children at the heart of policy debate on disaster management and climate change, supporting their participation at international events such as the UNFCC’s COP meetings;
- Engage with UK schools through our Development Education Programme, on the issue of climate change and its impact on future generations;
- Expand Plan’s programme on disaster preparedness to other countries, including Indonesia, Niger, Bangladesh and the Dominican Republic;
- Expand training on Sphere standards to reach relevant Plan staff in all Plan regions;
- Work in collaboration with our country offices to better understand the impact of climate change on vulnerable communities where we work, and how best Plan can support climate adaptation and disaster mitigation through our work.
“We want our voices to be heard and we want to make a stand on what we see as best for us,”
Mariecon Malinao, President of the Municipal Children’s Association of Daram, Philippines.
“Before Plan started to support my village there was nobody interested in taking responsibility for the school, not even me. I never paid any attention to how the school was run and it was pretty bad. But now we students are thinking differently and we are taking an interest in our school. We even try to contribute financially when we can and have lent a hand in making two rooms, one for us students and one for our teachers. We now realise that we should come to school and try to solve problems so we can make it a better place for all!”
A student member of a School Representative Council, in Chakwal District, India
“We planned our action, completed our preparations and gathered the community together for the big event. On the fifth of April this year, we finally warmly welcomed the guests to our village. After they had taken their seats, groups of boys and girls came and stood in front of the government officials with cards conveying our message. The mayor took our message seriously and announced that our school would be upgraded in 2007 - 08. He said that he would support and push our case in the District Assembly until we get the school that we long for. We realised then that we could do something for our community, that our voices could be heard. We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Child to Child Health programme, for building our capacity to identify our needs, look for solutions and to work together to improve our lives.”
Nighat Bashir, Pakistan
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