May 2012: Plan is providing vital aid to thousands of Malian refugees who have fled violence in their country only to find themselves caught up in West Africa's food crisis.

200,000 refugees have so far left Mali, with 30,000 heading to Niger - a country where more than 6 million people are already at risk of hunger.

Malnourished children

Every day, refugees who have walked for up to 15 days arrive in Gaoudel, a small village just 5km from the Malian border. All of the children are malnourished, and many have illnesses such as whooping cough.

Azahara and her young family have only a sheet for shelter.

"The government couldn't protect us anymore. The bandits came with guns and stole many of our things, so we ran away. I left with nothing because I had to help my children," she says.

Plan support

Azahara and her family are now among 15,000 Malian refugees who are receiving emergency food, blankets and mosquito nets from Plan in Niger.

In addition to providing vital support to villagers suffering from the food crisis, Plan has also furnished the village school with extra blackboards, seating mats and teaching guides to accommodate greater numbers.

Teacher Adouramane Oumarou says one entire class is now made up of 117 refugee children, who have never been to school before.

Read about and donate to Plan's West Africa food crisis appeal

Find out more about Plan's work in Niger

By giving children a birth certificate, we give them the opportunity to access their rights

14 March, 2012: From encouraging children to go to school, providing healthcare to families and trying to register every child after birth, Plan has been working hard over the past 75 years to help children to realise their rights.

Plan turns 75 on the 20th March this year, and to mark this milestone are putting extra emphasis on the importance of universal birth registration. Children without birth certificates are at greater risk from exploitation and often unable to access basic services in education and health.

In Liberia, only 16% of children are registered at birth and in Niger just 32%.  Yet very often children need a proof of identity to sit for national exams at primary school and, without a simple birth certificate, they can be denied crucial health care such as immunisations.

By working with governments and other organisations to enforce registration, and targeting parents to raise awareness of the importance of registering a child at birth, Plan offices in West Africa have been campaigning to make birth registration is respected.

The celebrations in West Africa

Celebrations will be taking part all over the world, in countries that Plan works in. In West Africa, lots of countries are celebrating Plan’s 75th anniversary in style, with Birthday parties to drawing competitions.

In Burkina Faso and Togo, local musicians are being invited to celebrate alongside participating children while in Ghana, Plan is holding a virtual birthday party, connecting children from rural areas with children living in the city so that they can share their different experiences.

Plan Benin is holding an awards ceremony to recognise children in local Plan-supported schools for their hard work and commitment to their education and the Niger office is hosting a drawing competition for children.

Youth media clubs across some of the countries in the region will also be getting involved by broadcasting live radio programmes on the critical issue of universal birth registration.

We will be creating e-cards for you to send to friends and family too, with pictures drawn by children from Plan Programme Units and schools, all over the world.

Other Birthday celebrations

In the West Africa region too, Plan Senegal and Plan Ghana will be celebrating their birthdays later this year – 30 years and 20 years respectively.

You can keep up to date with Plan's 75th anniversary celebrations in West Africa and across the world by visiting our Plan's 75th anniversary page

Because of a lack of national child protection systems, cases of abuse tend to be handled in an ad hoc, sporadic and uncoordinated manner. Sexual violence and abuse occur in many different forms and may happen anywhere: at home, in school, at work, in the community, institutional care, vocational training centres as well as in cyberspace.

According to Stefanie Conrad, Plan West Africa’s Regional Deputy Director: “On too many occasions, the process of handling cases of abuse is itself abusive and re-traumatizes children and their families. In some cases the current legislative systems are so defective that they favour the perpetrators rather than the victims.”

“There is a need to work together, to build and strengthen child protection systems at different levels, in different contexts. The education system needs to be part and parcel of an effective protection system. Schools have a responsibility to ensure that children are protected from physical and sexual abuse while pursuing their education; but they also have a responsibility to ensure that students learn how to act in a non-violent and cooperative manner,” she continued.

Many children in the region continue to be victims of physical, sexual and emotional abuse, which can lead to deep psychological scars, irreversible damage to the health of women and girls in particular, including their reproductive and sexual health and, in some instances, can result in death.

According to recent research by Plan, in Mali, 8.3 % of men and 7.7 % of women declared that they have one child or a relative who was a victim of sexual violence in school.  In Niger, a UNICEF study revealed that 47.7 % of students have observed teachers expressing feelings of love for a fellow student. In Ghana, 14 % of students surveyed by Plan have experienced sexual abuse and two thirds of the girls interviewed in a national survey in Sierra Leone reported that they had experienced at least one or more forms of sexual violence with 30% of rape incidents school-related.

Plan works hard across the world to end violence against children

13 December, 2011: “Millions of children in Africa continue to suffer physical and humiliating punishment.  Some countries in the region have adopted laws banning corporal punishment in schools but these laws are not enforced,” Plan’s Nathalia Ngende tells us.

Although laws do exist in many countries in West Africa, like in Togo where corporal punishment has been banned in all settings, these laws are often not enforced and corporal punishment of children continues. This leaves children subject to violence at home and in school.

Working together

This week, Plan with Save the Children Sweden and the Global Initiative To End All Corporal Punishment Of Children are coming together in Ougadougou to push for legal reform to prohibit corporal punishment of children whether at home, school or in the community.

Ensuring laws to prohibit corporal punishment of children are enforced are the first steps towards ending violence against children. “In order to protect the rights of children in West Africa we need governments to implement laws criminalising violence against children and to commit the needed resources at all levels to eliminate violence in schools,” Nathalia explains.

A workshop will be held for representatives from countries across West Africa to discuss the most successful and effective ways of ensuring legal reform in their countries. It aims to support civil society and government actors to initiate and support law reform to better protect children legally against corporal punishment at school. The children’s own voices are being represented during the meeting by more than 20 members of national youth advisory boards on violence against children.

Plan’s efforts

In recent years, Plan has supported and promoted the rights of children to live and learn without fear of violence or exploitation. Plan’s global campaign “Learn Without Fear” promotes the development of policy and laws, while simultaneously encouraging the voluntary adoption of new violence-free programmes in schools and communities through outreach and education programmes. Providing children with a safe environment for learning is important, and Plan works hard to achieve this not only in West Africa, but all across the world.

Read more about Plan's campaigns in Africa

Plan's Adama Coulibaly (left) and Aide et Action's Koffi Adjimon shaking hands after signing the agreement

12 December, 2011: Universal access to quality and inclusive education is something that Plan works tirelessly to achieve.

With this in mind, Plan’s regional office for West and Central Africa has gone into partnership with the West Africa office of Aide et Action to come together to address this issue across the region.

With a particular focus on girls’ access to education, Plan and Aide et Action hope that the partnership will add weight to the Because I am a Girl Campaign, working towards gender equality and encouraging more girls to go to school.

Aide et Action aims to provide children not only in West Africa, but across the world, with a good education. With Plan’s ongoing work to provide schooling for children in West Africa, going into partnership together makes sense when it comes to the fight for universal education for all.

“Two is always better than one, so having Plan and Aide et Action combine their efforts and speak with one voice will have a greater impact to influence policy when it comes to children’s rights to education,” explained Francis Sala-Diakanda, Plan’s Head of Strategy in West Africa.

“This partnership will make sure children have more access to quality education, especially girls and the most marginalised children in West Africa,” he continued.  “It also offers the opportunity for joint research, communication and advocacy.”

Read more about Plan's work in Africa

With no rainfall, natural food sources for herds cannot grow

8 December, 2011: With the current drought in the Western Sahel, and in particular in Niger, expected to create another food insecurity crisis for the region in the coming months, Plan International today stressed the need to focus on long-term support as well as emergency aid.With the current drought in the Western Sahel, and in particular in Niger, expected to create another food insecurity crisis for the region in the coming months, Plan International today stressed the need to focus on long-term support as well as emergency aid.

The findings of the government of Niger’s national food vulnerability survey will be published at the end of this month but the country’s food deficit is expected to be more than 500,000 metric tons, approximately 14% of the annual consumption of the total population.  Around six million people in nearly 7000 villages are thought likely to be affected.

According to Rhéal Drisdelle, Plan Niger’s country director: “As families struggle to get by, children are often sent long distances away to work for money or food to supplement their family’s income or supplies, thereby missing out on their education.  At times of food insecurity, it is the most vulnerable groups in society such as young children whose health, education and protection are most in jeopardy.”

He continued: “Climate change and other environmental concerns are impacting on food production and exacerbating poverty in Niger but the focus often falls on emergency aid rather than on providing development support which in the long run would cost far less.”

In the Tillabéri region, rainfall has been extremely low and poorly distributed both in terms of geography and seasonality. The pastoral zones there will produce almost no substantial fodder for the large herds of animals that normally migrate in the weeks and months to come.  At times of crisis and great hardship, pastoralists are often forced to sell part of their flock in order to support their family.

Plan's priorities in advance of the coming ‘hungry season’ will be to help build communities’ resilience through reinforcing existing livelihoods and to provide assistance to affected children and their families through school feeding and food distribution programmes.  Other     initiatives will focus on sustainable gardening and agriculture, drought resistant crop cultivation, grain banks, microfinance and nutritional centres for mothers and babies.

In a recent publication entitled Escaping the Hunger Cycle: Pathways to Resilience in the Sahel which Plan along with other agencies working in the region was involved in, the conclusion was drawn that more effective early warning indicators and rapid response mechanisms are required in order to prevent the immense damage to livelihoods, and the loss of productive assets by vulnerable households when an acute food crisis occurs.

Read more about Plan's work in Niger

To mark the 22nd Universal Day of the Child on 20 November, a unique approach by Plan is emerging as a strong case study of how children can be empowered to fight for their rights and place child protection and support on the agenda of national and regional governments as well as international developmental agencies.

By establishing Child Protection Committees in all regions where it operates, Plan is increasing integrating with various community organisations and governance structures to enhance understanding of child rights and thereby empowering children to voice abuses on their rights.

Violence against children has a devastating impact - threatening children's survival, development and participation in society. It is not just widespread but is a fundamental breach of their human rights.

The 2006 United Nations Study on Violence Against Children estimates that a startling 40 million children are abused each year, 150 million girls and 73 million boys experience sexual violence while a 1.8 million and 1.2 million children are involved in prostitution and pornography and are victims of trafficking, respectively.

A court session at Kamuli girls Primary School, Uganda. The children’s court  at school to settle disputes amongst children without interference of adults.

In Eastern and Southern Africa, the Child Protection Committees have made headway in reaching out to children, community members, teachers, government departments and the police to promote child rights.

Other than facilitating training programs for children and youth to appreciate their rights, Plan is collaborating with institutions to provide child protection in child-friendly environments.

In schools, children have been empowered to educate their peers about children’s rights, their responsibilities and the importance of education.

For 14-year old Winfred of Kamuli Girls Primary School in East Uganda, the work of the child protection commitees is finally paying off. Winfred is among the 5 nominees for the International Children’s Peace Prize 2011. The International Children’s Peace Prize is presented annually to a child, who’s courageous or otherwise remarkable acts have made a difference in countering problems which affect children around the world.

Winfred has also been recently honoured by Plan for her outstanding contribution towards fighting for children’s rights.

“These days the majority of the students know their rights and dare to speak up for what they believe is right and against violence, sexual abuse and corporal punishment,” says Winfred.

“Children now understand that they are somebody, that they can be something, and begin to understand who they are as individuals,” she adds.

Her comments are echoed by Fredrick, the 11-year old Chairperson of Kamuli Boys Primary School Child Protection Committee in Uganda. “We thank Plan for the trainings where we learn about interacting with friends and finding out about children’s rights in their schools and how they do things,” he says.

“In our group, we guide children and tell them about their rights responsibilities and correct them when they have wronged. And as a chairperson, I make sure that all children meet their needs and they are disciplined (well behaved),” Fredrick asserts.

Under its Child Protection Committees, Plan focuses on key priority areas that include; child protection and learning, increasing awareness and participation to both the children and parents on the importance of education and child protection issues such as early marriages, irregular migration, child neglect, violence and child labour amongst others.

“Education is crucial for the empowerment of children, young people and their communities in securing their rights,” Gezahegn Kebede, Regional Director for Plan International in Eastern and Southern Africa says.

“Through the community-based and national initiatives, Plan aims to increase children’s space and inclusion in decision making and policy making processes. We do this through support to existing and emerging children and youth organisations and child media work,” Mr. Kebede adds.

Read more on Plan's child protection work

Plan is helping children plant trees to restore the environment after a natural disaster

21 November, 2011: West Africa is one of the most vulnerable areas to climate change worldwide and, according to Plan International, thousands of children in the region have suffered from extreme events this year such as flooding and food insecurity.

To mark Universal Children’s Day on 20th November, Plan is highlighting how children’s rights to health, education and protection are in jeopardy as a result of such crises and calling for decision makers in the region to improve levels of preparedness in order to protect the most vulnerable.

According to Plan, children are on the frontline of climate change. When extreme weather events happen, girls are very often the primary family members taken out of school to work either in the home or outside to bring in income. They are also prone to suffering sexual violence and harassment if they become separated from their family in the aftermath of a disaster.

Floods, famine and drought all lead to the displacement of populations, loss of goods and houses and an inability to practice subsistence agriculture as is currently being witnessed in the Sahel where another drought-induced famine is looming.

In Niger last year for example, the combined effects of chronic drought and poverty particularly affected vulnerable groups such as women and children who had serious difficulties producing enough food to meet their nutritional needs.

Plan, in partnership with the government and other development partners, constructed cereal banks in 86 communities throughout Dosso and Tillaberi in order to empower women to manage the way they acquire and distribute cereals.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, this year already more than 450,000 people have been affected by the floods in West Africa and Central Africa.

In 2010, heavy seasonal rains caused severe flooding across Benin affecting the lives of thousands. Some 98,000 homes, clinics and businesses were damaged or destroyed by the flood waters, including more than 600 schools. Plan intervened with emergency relief for thousands of households as well as working closely with children who had been traumatized.

In Senegal, many villages live through seasons of drought every year where the availability of water is scarce. These conditions often mean that families relocate to other regions until the effects of the drought start to disappear.

Plan has put in place training programmes for farmers in the country so that they can share their experiences and skills with other farmers with the aim of improving farming methods and better maintaining the land.

Through this they have learnt how to properly tend the greenery and are no longer planting and watering seedlings but instead tending to the trees and plants that already exist, and in turn naturally regenerating the land thereby helping protect the natural environment.

According to Stefanie Conrad, Plan West Africa’s Regional Deputy Director: “Most disasters in West Africa are climate-related. Floods and droughts compound people’s vulnerabilities and usually it’s the children who pay the highest price. Besides staggering rates of malnutrition and stunting, which are intimately related to food security in West Africa, this region counts numberless children who missed their chance for education as schools and school materials were washed away in seasonal flooding.

“Preventing occurrences like food crises in West Africa will require significant investments in building the resilience of people through disaster risk reduction, social protection, and investment in sustainable development in areas such as agriculture. Children need to be put at the centre of these efforts to make sure that the most marginalised benefit.”

Read more about Plan's priorities in Africa

Plan prepares to provide communities with emergency food supplies of nuts and grain

4 November, 2011: With erratic rainfall and the prices of imported rice and wheat rising in West Africa, Plan is preparing to assist communities in the region at risk of food insecurity. Food production is expected to be lower than usual this harvest in parts of western Niger, western Mali, eastern Burkina Faso and northern Senegal, and the spectre of chronic malnutrition in children is once again on the horizon. 

The situation in Niger

Year after year, parts of West Africa experience acute malnutrition rates and this year the return to Niger of migrants from Libya is exacerbating the situation and pushing some families into further food insecurity.

It’s almost certain that the Tillaberi Department, where Plan Niger is operational, and most of the Tillaberi Region as well will have a serious food deficit as the rainfall has been extremely low and poorly distributed both in terms of geography and seasonality. The malnutrition rate in that region is 14.8 %, above the country average since June 2011 and will be aggravated by this food crisis.

Some communities where we work have already told staff that they will either have no crops at all or just a tiny amount of cereals that will not provide for the family until next year’s crop. The pastoral zones in the Tillaberi Region are predicted to produce almost no substantial fodder for the large herds of animals that normally migrate in the weeks and months to come.

The Niger government and its partners are currently studying the food security situation and exploring options such as emergency food distributions and food subsidies. A survey will be conducted in November to determine numbers of household affected as well as impact to better develop the response to the crisis.
Preventative measures

It is thought that some 40% of West Africa’s rice consumption is imported and so some governments, particularly in Senegal for example, are actively encouraging self sufficiency, trying to reduce the dependency on international rice markets.   However this is just one of many measures that could help forestall a potential hunger crisis. 

In a new publication entitled Escaping the Hunger Cycle; Pathways to Resilience in the Sahel which Plan  has been involved in along with other agencies working in the region, the conclusion was drawn that more effective early warning indicators and rapid response mechanisms are required in order to prevent the immense damage to livelihoods, and the loss of productive assets by vulnerable households when an acute food crisis occurs.

Children at their most vulnerable

In Niger last year at a similar time of crisis, children were forced from their homes and into living on the street.  As families struggled for survival, children were sent long distances away to work for money or food to supplement their family’s income or supplies.  At that time Plan Niger supported food distribution to vulnerable families and in the meantime has been tackling the perennial problem of food crises in the country with projects in sustainable gardening and agriculture, drought resistant crop cultivation, grain banks, microfinance, nutritional centres for mothers and babies, diet and nutrition courses and feeding programmes in schools.

According to the UNFPA’s recent State of the Population 2011 report, the population of Africa will more than triple in the 21st century and is expected to add another billion in just 35 years.

In less developed regions of the continent which are experiencing a doubling population every 20 years, it is almost impossible for communities to keep up with the growing demand for schools, health clinics, housing and road maintenance.

Many children are going without access to quality education and, with no birth registration, they are almost invisible with no access to their basic human rights.

Plan International has been campaigning to make birth registration a formality in 12 countries in West Africa, working with governments and other organisations to enforce registration, and targeting parents in order to raise their awareness of the importance of registering a child at birth.

In West Africa, children need a proof of identity to sit for national exams at primary school.  A birth certificate is also key to prove children’s real age and origin in cases of trafficking and child labor.

These basic rights ensure that a child can keep healthy, be educated, stay safe and in the future earn a living. Being denied just one of these rights can cripple their opportunity to fulfill their potential.

Children around the region are being excluded for the want of a simple piece of paper.  Instead of focusing on numbers, it’s time to start thinking about all the newborns who won’t receive a birth certificate.

Children in Guinea Bissau learn how to use bleach to clean water sources

October 12, 2011: As part of the International Day for Disaster Reduction on October 13, Plan has been working hard to get children across West Africa involved in order to help reduce the impact of emergencies.

Of course, some natural disasters are unavoidable, but Plan and our partners’ dedicated work and response to such adversities helps families and communities to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of devastating circumstances. There are also many global disasters where, with advance planning, the impact of such tragedies can be reduced, and Plan works with children, young people and communities to identify disaster risks and strengthen their resilience.

After a disaster, children are amongst the most affected and traumatised; but with the right knowledge of prevention, and knowing that they have somewhere to go or someone to talk to, everything becomes a little easier to deal with and, in some cases, disasters can be avoided altogether. Encouraging children to participate in disaster risk reduction gives young people somewhere they can go when disaster strikes. It gives them a community of peers to talk to, helping to make the situation more bearable. Encouraging children to step up to disaster risk reduction also strengthens the chances of reducing the risks of avoidable disasters within not only their communities, but across the entire region.

Step up!

Across West Africa, particularly in Cameroon and Guinea Bissau, Plan youth groups have been trained on the risks of cholera, and how this deadly disease can be prevented. These groups have in turn become active in their communities, teaching others how to prevent infection and thereby reduce the risk of a potentially fatal outbreak.

The youth groups also carry out hand washing demonstrations and perform short plays about basic hygiene, teaching their community how to keep clean and avoid the spread of cholera. Alongside putting up posters showcasing personal hygiene, they have also set up cleaning brigades to disinfect public places with bleach to prevent the infection from starting and spreading.

“My friends and I cleaned the main water point in our village, Ga-Faty. We also spoke to adults on how to prevent cholera by disinfecting water with bleach,” said 14-year-old Mussa, a Child Participation Group member.

With the help of local radio stations in Guinea Bissau, the youth groups have set up a ‘cleanest household’ contest each week where the winners are announced on air.

Success!

In the last two years in the Bafata region of Cameroon, no children are known to have died from cholera. The total number of recorded cases of this infection has also reduced dramatically as a result of Plan’s simple and very successful approach to disaster risk reduction and cholera prevention.

A Freedom Community Member in Ghana, buying shares during a meeting

6 October, 2011: Setting up a business can be hard in West Africa, and although you may have the right skills, finding the money to start up can be a problem and receiving a loan from a local bank can prove almost impossible.

This week an important savings group’s summit is being held in Arusha, Tanzania, to look at how microfinance can impact on social inclusion and empowerment. The first global event of its type, it gives experts in the field the chance to come together and share their experiences of working with communities in developing countries to achieve financial stability.

Microfinance plays a huge role in Plan’s work in West Africa, and the Savings and Loans projects are both effective and inspiring. Providing communities who already have the skills to become successful business owners and entrepreneurs with the means to set up or expand their businesses means that communities across West Africa are benefitting greatly, helping to make long-cherished dreams come true.

In Ghana and other parts of the region, Plan, in partnership with Barclays Bank and Hopeline, have trained, developed and supported a Youth Savings and Loans programme.

The project in action

The savings and loans system varies slightly from one village to the next, but a small community in Accra, known as Freedom, use their system to make sure that everyone has an equal opportunity. Members are allowed to buy shares at each meeting, up to five shares per person (one share costing two Ghanaian Cedi). This is then logged in their books, and the money is placed in a bowl and counted at the end of the meeting. Each person is then offered the opportunity to take out a loan, receiving up to three times the amount of shares they own altogether.

There is also another collection known as the Social Fund which is added to by community members when they can. It is then used for social situations such as buying gifts for the arrival of a new baby, or helping provide medical care to a community member who is sick. In this way community members have the chance to expand their friendships and learn new skills by working together as a group.
“We understand the social fund very well, because we know that if anything happens to one of us, we can use it to support that person,” Daniel explains, a Freedom community member.

In partnership with Plan Ghana, Barclays Bank is investing US$ 2.2 million into this project to change so many people’s lives throughout Ghana, and is enabling them to protect their households from emergencies and to plan for the future.

Eradicating guinea worm would leave many countries in West Africa, including Togo and Burkina Faso where Plan works in partnership with the Global Fund on this issue, feeling a lot safer when it comes to collecting and using precious water sources.

What is guinea worm?

A parasitic infection, the guinea worm usually grows up to 1 metre long and leads to severe disability, meaning people cannot work and provide food for their families or education costs for their children.
Caused by drinking infected, stagnant water, guinea worm affects around 3.5 million people across Africa each year. Now, these figures have been reduced by 99%, and with a final push guinea worm is on the verge of being completely eradicated.

Teaching children

With a strong focus on child participation to help prevent the risks of catching guinea worm, Plan together with the Global Fund are still working hard on the best form of prevention: education. We teach children and their families how to avoid being infected by guinea worm, and provide training on how to use cloth filters to sieve out any water fleas which may carry infected guinea worm larvae.  This work is vital in stopping the disease spread, and the children can then share what they have learnt with their families and their communities, thereby putting an end to the cycle of pain and suffering caused to so many across West Africa.

Read more about Plan and the Global Fund

A family being checked for malaria

14 September 2011: A project to curtail deaths from malaria and reduce guinea worm and river blindness infections is being rolled out across Togo as part of a US$25,200,000 partnership between the country's Ministry of Health, Plan and The Global Fund.

The partnership in Togo is one of 3 between Plan and The Global Fund in West Africa with a combined value of more than $50,500,000. Burkina Faso ($13,600,000) and Cameroon ($12,100,000) are the other recipient countries. 

As implementation of the projects winds down in Burkina, it is scaling up in Togo and Cameroon. All projects will be complete by February 2013.

Child focus

With a focus on child participation, Plan works with local partners and its own child and youth groups to deliver long-lasting insecticide nets and raise awareness of malaria prevention and treatment. 

In addition, communities are made aware of other easily prevented and treated maladies caused by parasites. Treatment is made available at net distribution sites for river blindness-round worms, guinea worms and schistosomiasis-snail fever. Vitamin A deficiency-immune boosts are also provided.

Children under 5 are particularly vulnerable to malaria and Vitamin A deficiency. In Africa, every 45 seconds a child dies from malaria and accounts for 20% of child deaths according to the World Health Organisation. 

Read more about Plan’s global health work

Learn about Plan’s work in Africa

1 August 2011: Plan has started delivering food to schools in Kenya’s drought-hit district of Machakos as part of its emergency school feeding programme which will reach 150,000 children across the country.

For pupils in Liani community, the maize, beans and oil dispatched are the first aid supplies they have received since the drought crisis hit. 

Hunger pains

Liani Primary School’s deputy headmaster, Onesmus Malombe, hopes that the food will help stem the tide of school drop-outs. 

“As the drought got worse, we started experiencing high numbers of absences. Some of the boys go looking for whatever they can get to sell so that they can buy food for their families. Some have become involved in child labour such as brick-making.

“The situation is challenging. Some children are coming to school but during the day they complain of feeling unwell. We can tell that it is hunger that is making them weak and affecting their work,” said Mr Malombe. 

Vital support

The nutritious food aid will continue through the school holidays and provide vital support to families struggling to feed their children.

“I am happy my child can take at least a meal a day,” said Mwikali, a parent of an 11-year-old pupil. “At home we have nothing to eat.”

Amina, aged 9, who attends another primary school in the feeding programme, said: “We have not had food for 2 days now at home. We are 7 of us -  my brothers and sisters including our grandparents who live with us.”

“We only eat at school as most times there is no food at home," she added.

Plan action

In addition to the school feeding programme, Plan’s emergency drought response in Kenya includes trucking in water, medicine, and delivering therapeutic feeding programmes, shelter and hygiene promotion to vulnerable communities. We aim to reach more than 260,000 people.

Plan is also providing emergency response in Ethiopia where nearly 1,000,000 people will be assisted with nutritious food for young children and mothers, school meals, water, seeds, livestock and fertilisers. 

In South Sudan, Plan is working with the World Food Programme to ensure that children, especially girls, are supported with nutritious food so they can continue their education. More than 40,490 children from 76 schools are benefiting. 

Find out more about Plan’s East Africa drought response

Donate to the East Africa appeal

Learn about Plan’s work in Kenya