Plan International Essay

Submitted By abouche96
Words: 1268
Pages: 6

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Alison Bouche
Ms. Donna DeGiobbi
Literature and Social Justice
24 February 2014
Plan International
While many kids dream of xboxes, ipads, and macbooks, all 10­year­old Jednel wished for was to “have a house again and no more disasters, just like that. And fine weather, just like that.” We are all guilty of never being satisfied with what we have and forgetting about the difference we could make in others lives. Jednel was a 10­year­old boy who lost his home and one of his friends when Typhoon Halyan hit the Philippines (Plan). As Jednel spoke about the difficulties he deals with, the ruins of what used to be his city and school can be spotted behind him. All over the world there are thousands of children who are living in poverty have no hope of recovering from the endless cycle poverty. Plan International is a company that works to promote child rights and life millions of children out of poverty through education, health, water sanitation, protection, economic security, emergencies, and sexual health.
Education is one of the most powerful tools in breaking the cycle of poverty. Every child should have the right to education, but many children are excluded because of high costs, language and cultural barriers, geographical remoteness, or special needs. Plan International works to ensure free and equal access to quality education at all times, as well as access to learning for young people so they can reach their full potential. Globally, 1 in 5 girls is denied an education. Plan’s ‘Because I am a Girl Campaign’ is working to break down the barriers that prevent girls from being educated and aims to directly support millions of girls to get the

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education, skills, livelihoods, and protection they need to transform their lives. In 2013, Plan trained 67,647 educators on child­friendly learning skills. They also supported the construction and rehabilitation of 2,741 schools. Higher education throughout the worlds helps break the cycle of poverty and gives an equal opportunities to all children (Plan).
Children have the right to a healthy start in life. From fighting diseases to boosting nutrition, Plan’s health programs help to save thousands of children’s lives each year. Although they help by providing immunisations, child nutrition, and hygiene promotion, recently they have been focusing on maternal health. For example, in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar, Plan has organized camps to train traditional birth attendants, which has resulted in a marked decrease in infant and maternal mortality rates. They work to prevent and combat preventable childhood illnesses such as malaria, diarrhea, and malnutrition all over the globe. In
2013 alone, Plan trained 226,462 professional and volunteer health workers on early education and care skills, benefiting 19,763 communities (Plan).
Another global crisis is in water and sanitation, with diarrhea killing at least 1,200,000 children under 5 years old each year. Plan works with communities to improve access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation and to raise awareness of the importance of hand washing and waste management. Billions of people lack access to basic sanitation and are forced to defecate out in the open, contaminating food and water supplies. Plan tries to educate communities about the importance of sanitation and encourage them to strive for a total ban of open defecation. They work alongside the governments, communities, and local groups to ensure that initiatives are sustainable in the long run. In 2013, Plan supported 326,950 households to improve their sanitation facilities, and helped communities to build or refurbish 4,809 water

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points (Plan).
Another catastrophic problem is children experiencing abuse everyday from people they know and trust. Abuse threatens their survival, development, and future participation in society.
Plan was actively involved in the 2006