How Valentine’s Day is celebrated round the world

We asked our partner offices from Timor Leste, Vietnam and Zambia how people celebrated Valentine’s Day in their country. Their responses show that people are pretty much the same the world over – but there are differences that make each of our cultures special too.

Timor Leste – don’t give flowers!

Timor Leste gained its independence in 2002 and most Timorese were not aware of Valentine’s Day celebration. It was only in 2004 when the young Timorese who studied and had exposure from the outside world began to celebrate this occasion.

Timorese don’t give flowers to their loved ones for they believe that flowers should be given only to the dead. They don’t even use fresh flowers at home. I am Filipina married to a Timorese national and I remember my husband was offended when I put fresh flowers in our vase and he told me to remove it because as he said, “I am not yet dead”. Even in the church, no fresh flowers can be seen but they just decorate the church with plants and plastic flower ornaments even if it is wedding or funeral masses.

Of course, if you live let’s say in other country where Valentine’s Day is so commercialised, you might think that Timorese are not romantic people because they don’t give flowers and chocolates on this occasion. Perhaps, they are not used to giving these kinds of gifts, not only because it’s not their culture but also because most Timorese are poor. However, in their own way they celebrate Valentine’s Day by going to the beach or mountains with their loved ones and there they would enjoy nature, just eat and drink and sometimes dance (because some of them bring radios).

Timorese girls on the other hand show their love to their boyfriend or husband by making personalised cards. As for men, most of them I asked agreed saying that love is more important than the material things that they will give to their loved ones.

All in all, gifts are given to appreciate and show love to their loved ones. It is not so different from what is done elsewhere in the world.

Handmade card from Timor

Vietnam – with a song in your heart

Valentine’s is not one of our traditional days; it became popular just few years ago amongst the young generation. The reason, perhaps, is the result of globalization with more cultural exchange with Western countries. Flowers and chocolate are popular gifts, going out to celebrate the day is more than popular. Same as what you are doing in NZ.

Apart from flowers and chocolate, young Vietnamese people also prepare gifts for their partners. This kind of gift is the same as birthday gifts, but more romantic, of course. It may be a ring, teddy bears or heart-shaped stuffs or simply casual things, such as clothes, leather wallets, etc.

Some skillful girls even prefer making handy gifts to their partners. People can make an embroidery handkerchief or knit a scarf. A handkerchief or scarf has a special meaning in Eastern culture, it means the close connection between two partners.

Besides Valentine’s, men in Vietnam have other special occasions to express their love and appreciation to their wives or girlfriends. On Vietnam woman’s Day (22 October) or International Woman’s Day (8 March), men usually prepare meal for their beloved ones. This is special in Vietnam because normally it is women who do the cooking in families.

When it comes to tradition and cultural aspects, we have Bac Ninh Love duets. They are folk songs, which are sung by young people to express their love in an indirect and subtle way during Spring festival. This, however, is more of cultural or spiritual activity than a practice. Nowadays, very few people use Bac Ninh Love duets to show their feeling towards other.

Zambia – a special meal

Generally in Zambia, whether in the village or in towns/cities, people express their love and appreciation by giving gifts. These may not necessarily be flowers but could be anything that one feels they are able to give away. The modern Zambian has adopted the western way where flowers, chocolate and teddy bears etc, are presented to their loved ones.

In rural areas the gift could be in the form of a chicken, vegetables and whatever they are able to give away. A rural Zambian will appreciate receiving flowers for a gift. Sometimes the preparation of a traditional meal would be a way of expressing love and appreciation. They would even go out of their way to cook a special meal which would be with a chicken, a goat or a cow which they would not afford to eat every other day but would do it for that special occasion to show their appreciation and love.

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If you’re in New Zealand and thinking of doing something a little more special than the traditional (depending on where you live) gift giving for Valentines Day, remember ChildFund Gifts that Grow. Sweeten your love with a range of fruit tree seedlings that give long-lasting help to children and families in developing countries or gift a blanket to keep a child warm at night. Purchasers receive a special gift card to give to their Valentine that describes the gift and explains how it benefits the recipients. To order visit www.childfund.org.nz/catalogue or call 0800 223 111.

Haiti – spotlight on a disaster

By Kiri Carter, ChildFund New Zealand

The earthquake in Haiti has provided an interesting case study on disaster response. Unlike many disasters that happen thousands of miles away to people we barely think about, this one has taken place under the full glare of the media spotlight. Images of people being pulled from the rubble were on the nightly news for more than a week providing key ingredients for TV – high drama and miracles.

Why has Haiti’s earthquake attracted such intense scrutiny and the high level of support from so many individuals and organisations? Clearly the massive death toll and the sheer number of people affected make it headline news. But what has probably kept it in the news is the way the disaster unfolded practically in the USA’s backyard. With the disaster occurring in the same time zone as the USA (EST), media organisations were assured of live feeds for their news shows.

Some commentators have asserted that another reason for the outpouring of support is guilt – Haiti has long suffered from neglect, in turns exploited and ignored by world governments. Now the media have ensured that it is front and centre – at least for now.

Of course, the media is often a double-edged sword. It can raise public awareness quickly of disasters bringing the horror straight into people’s living rooms, galvanising many to take action and help.

Courtesy of Reuters

The media does however in its rush to get information out, simplify things that can’t be simplified without leaving out important aspects. It also focuses on the dramatic without providing the context. Rather than seeing people waiting patiently in line or letting pregnant women in at the front, we are shown looters running through the streets. Even though, at it turns out, these incidences were localised and were often just people getting food from the rubble.

Despite the reasons staring them in the face, there has been much criticism from some in the media of the relief effort in Haiti. Of course writing articles and taking photographs does not require a lot of resource or infrastructure on the ground. Getting aid to the people who need it does. Most disasters are complex emergencies requiring a massive logistics effort.

Imagine being told you had to organise a traditional wedding with all the trimmings – big church, celebrant, designer wedding gown, photographer, accommodation for out-of-town guests, catering for reception – and the wedding was scheduled for this afternoon. On top of that, the phone lines are down and the roads are blocked. And the caterers have gone home.

If you would like to learn more about the different aspects of what is a complex relief effort in Haiti, there is an excellent article on the BBC News website called “What is delaying Haiti’s aid?”

Delays in getting aid to those in need are frustrating but inevitable in a disaster of this scale. When faced with images of human suffering the overwhelming feeling most people have is that something needs to be done and it needs to be done now.

The quickest and most effective action that the average person can take is to donate money to trusted organisations. Some people want to do more and offer their help but well meaning volunteers can do more harm than good.

The recent arrest of a group of Americans attempting to take children they believed to be orphans out of Haiti without proper authority is a case in point. The one thing this unfortunate misguided group have achieved though is to keep Haiti in the news.

For as with most disasters, once the last survivor is pulled alive from the rubble, the media typically start to lose interest as more immediate news begins to crowd the front page and TV news bulletins. But we can’t turn our backs on Haiti, not again. If there is a silver lining to this tragedy I hope that it is that we don’t leave Haitians to struggle alone again.

A determined coordinated effort over the long term both at an international/national level and at a community level is required to rebuild Haiti. ChildFund through its local partners will be doing its part to improve the lives of Haiti’s children. Let’s hope the same kind of support is present at all levels of society and internationally, and that Haitians are empowered to rebuild a better, stronger future for all.

You can donate to ChildFund’s Haiti Emergency Appeal here

Moses – Part III

Moses in May 2009

While in Kenya our Programmes Coordinator Laura Patterson was lucky enough to fit in a visit to see Moses. If you remember we were first introduced to Moses last year by filmmaker and photographer Phill Prendeville who was there to shoot footage for ChildFund. You can read his post about the desperate condition Phill found Moses in here. We also had an update on Moses’ progress from ChildFund Kenya’s Sponsor Relations Officer in Emali, Violet Lukale a few months later.

The change in Moses over the past year has been profound as the photos that Laura took in November attest to.

Moses in November 2009

Laura describes meeting Moses:

Healthier looking Moses and his grandmother

We passed by Moses’ house on our way to a water point, so I was able to visit with him. He and his grandmother were so happy! They send New Zealand their thanks and greetings.

Moses is looking well as he has been attending the health clinic regularly. He has just had a small operation on his eye and probably needs to get glasses, which ChildFund will pay for.

Moses is receiving food at school through ChildFund.  Because he has regular food and healthcare Moses is much more active and able to concentrate in school now. He enjoys playing football and learning religious class.

His grandmother has planted maize and it’s starting to grow. When we got there his grandmother was weeding in the garden, so that’s a good sign!

It just goes to show that even in the most desperate situations there is always hope – and with a little help from generous Kiwis and the determination of our dedicated ChildFund staff and the community, we can realise that hope and build a better future for our children.

Lining up for porridge

Working Together in Kajiado – Laura in Kenya, Week 2

Continuing ChildFund New Zealand Programmes Coordinator Laura Patterson’s personal journal of her experiences in Kenya with her final week: one last day spent in Emali before heading off to visit early childhood centres in Kajiado.

Laura at Primary School in Kajiado

By Laura Patterson

Saturday – Emali
Today I planned to sleep in for a bit and catch up on some zzz but was woken at 5.30am with super loud music and then preaching. Seriously so loud it hurt my ears! It was from outside the guesthouse somewhere. Ahhhhh! Tomorrow a new law being passed will come into effect and no loud speakers will be allowed. Too late for me but I hope it makes a difference for everyone else!

I worked on reports most of the morning before heading out to one of the rural districts to relax for the afternoon.

Violet and Faith

Violet who works in the Emali Dedicated Project Office had arranged the afternoon with a couple of other staff and Faith, a 9 year old girl who is involved in the project. Violet is an incredible woman, she’s so committed to the children in the project and knows many of them by name. When visiting a school or centre she could tell me the life story of each child and I could see that the children knew and respected her a lot.

Violet tells me that Faith is an orphan with a difficult home situation and she would benefit from having a little break out of town. When both her parents died, she and her sister went to live with their grandmother who is sick. We travelled out of town and spent the afternoon exploring the rocky area – just hung out and relaxed which is an unusual opportunity during a field trip.

Faith and Laura

Faith is the same age as my niece and who seems to like the same stuff. I showed her how to use my camera and soon had about 20 new photographs on there! She got hold of someone’s mobile phone and played some popular Kenyan songs of which she knew all the words. She was dancing around on the rocks listening to pop music and I felt like I was sitting in my living room watching my niece sing and dance around.

We got back to Emali and I struggled to say goodbye. Faith’s going back to her sick grandmother and her sister where I know they have hardly anything in their house. At least I know that she is receiving help through ChildFund’s Emali Dedicated Project work. But she’s just a normal kid with a huge smile and a cheeky streak. Why does she have to suffer so much and struggle just to survive? What does her future hold? I’m so glad that she has Violet and the project near her to watch out for her and give her hope.

Sunday – Emali to Kajiado
Goodbye Emali – it’s been a busy but rewarding visit! Heading to Kajiado…. This is the area where ChildFund New Zealand is supporting a three year project that focuses on children, their needs and rights, through supporting early childhood centres – rehabilitating the buildings and installing water tanks, training teachers and caregivers, equipping the classes, monitoring the children’s health, linking the centres with health clinics, introducing savings and loan scheme, and heaps more. The centres are quite remote and I’m looking forward to seeing the progress made on their construction.

Monday – Kajiado
Lots of meetings planned for today! First up with the nutrition staff from the Ministry of Health and Public Health and then the early childhood coordinators from the Ministry of Education. Was great to talk and hear from the Ministries that the projects are in line with the local government strategy. There is great collaboration between government and other agencies. Met with the chiefs of the area and passed on many greetings from New Zealand to them. They’re also fully supportive of the work that ChildFund is doing.

Making compressed bricks

We headed out to the nearest early childhood centre. Awesome construction work going on at this place, with the foundations dug and materials collected for the building. Young guys who have been trained by the project were making compressed bricks for the construction.

I had hardly left the car before all the kids came running up to greet me. They were so funny each wanting to say hello and suss out who I was. Again the supplementary feeding programme has made a huge difference here. Mothers were telling me how it has taken some of the stress off finding food for the children.

Tuesday – Kajiado

Monitoring for malnutrition

It seems like I’m spending all my time at early childhood centres, but these are the places where it all happens. This morning I observed children being weighed and measured and having their health and nutrition status checked. They were also given Vitamin A supplements and de-worming tablets. Remember getting them at school? A few of the children were malnourished and will be referred to the health clinic and monitored regularly.

Travelled further into the area and visited a primary school with an early childhood centre attached. Training was in progress for the teachers and caregivers, assisted by the Ministry of Education and Health. The teachers and caregivers are all very enthusiastic about the training. The project is working with both early childhood centre teachers and primary school teachers so that there is smooth transition between classes and a reduction in school dropout. It’s great to see that a lot of sharing between the groups is going on.

Stampede!

I started videoing the primary school kids who were on break and then a stampede erupted as they all ran towards me. There was a stick / bush fence thing between me and the kids and I was worried all the little children were going to get crushed. I’m sure the teachers were rolling their eyes at me creating havoc in the playground!

We spent the afternoon meeting with different representatives from water and land committees. Land is a huge issue in this community as it’s become privatised in a lot of the area over the years. Individuals however have donated large areas for the early childhood centre with visions of seeing primary schools and then higher education established in the future, which is really encouraging to see.

Wednesday – Kajiado to Nairobi
Travelled over an hour to get to another early childhood centre this morning, after turning off the main sand road there was no cut road to the centre and so the driver followed his nose winding around rocks and trees until we found the place. We took a water technician with us who needed to measure up the area for pipes for the water tank. Saw impala and ostriches wandering around the place. The kids were all excited and wanting to say hello. It was extremely dusty, I was completely dirty at the end of greeting them all!

Meeting parents

Here I observed more weighing, feeding and training. I met with the management committee and talked about the challenges of living and working in remote locations. We also talked about the progress and monitoring of the project and making sure things were on target and expectations being met. It felt like we were in the middle of nowhere as for miles around could only see sparsely growing trees and brown dusty earth.

Back at the office after more meetings and debriefing, it’s time to head back to Nairobi. Not looking forward to the major traffic jams expected in Nairobi city! Should be back at the guesthouse by around 9pm or later I guess.

Thursday – Nairobi to NZ
Another full day in the ChildFund Nairobi Office, meetings, meetings and more meetings discussing everything seen and heard during my visit and looking at ways to continue improving our work.

It’s been a great visit. There are many challenges happening in both areas, but I’ve seen some great stuff including seeing children getting to school and being empowered and communities being assisted to carry on amidst this challenging drought. It really is a privilege for me to work with the ChildFund Kenya team.

Heading back to NZ at 11pm tonight…

Kwaheri from Kenya!

Challenges and Success in Emali – Laura in Kenya, Week 1

Laura in Kenya at early childhood centre

ChildFund New Zealand Programmes Coordinator Laura Patterson visited Kenya in November. While there Laura kept a daily journal of her experiences. In the first week she details her time spent in the rural town of Emali where New Zealanders sponsor around a thousand children.

By Laura Patterson

Sunday
Arrived in Nairobi late afternoon after the long flight from Auckland. Sleeeeep!

Monday – Nairobi
Today I spent the whole day in the Nairobi ChildFund office with different project staff. We had various meetings and discussed the projects that ChildFund New Zealand is supporting. Im looking forward to visiting them all this week!

Tuesday – Nairobi to Emali
Was up bright and early and ready to depart for Emali. Had a quick cup of tea and toast before leaving and met a couple of groups heading out on safari. I explained that I was in Kenya for work and was heading out to visit project sites. They were interested but surprised as they were on full holiday mode. I don’t think they quite understood what I was up to!

At 6.30am, we drove out of Nairobi, just missing the heavy traffic. By 7am I’m told that the roads will be at a complete standstill and it will take 2-3 hours to drive the stretch it has taken us 30 minutes. Crazy. Trips like this always make me realise again how small NZ is. Heading down to Emali on the highway between Nairobi and the Mombasa Coast, it’s complete chaos at times with trucks hogging the road. We pass them where possible but the road is still being upgraded and speed is not always possible. The surrounding areas have some new growth from the recent rains but the effects of the drought remain highly visible. We saw giraffe and impala a couple of times which was fun. 

Arrived in Emali. Am very happy to be back here. I’m looking forward to seeing how everyone is and how things have progressed in the year since I was last here.

At the Emali Dedicated Project Office I met up with parents, youth and community representatives which make up the Project Coordinating Committee. These community representatives are voted onto the committee and oversee the running of the projects. I gave them greetings from New Zealand and the team here. They gave me an update of where the projects are at and the many challenges being faced due to the ongoing drought.

Wednesday – Emali
I woke at 2am with rain pouring heavily on the roof. It was super loud. I snoozed for a while and then ended up getting up and reading for a bit before heading back to sleep. Slightly jet lagged I guess. It must have rained all night. I wonder what the roads will be like today.

We visited Samuli Early Childhood Centre where supplementary food assistance has really enabled people to cope in this difficult drought period.  The community here is highly motivated. Children are really keen to attend the centre and school, also knowing that they will have something to eat. Their nutritional status has improved. When the project started there were malnourished kids in the class. They were referred for health care and are now well and being regularly monitored.

Porridge tastes sweet!

The enriched porridge given at school for the children has given parents the space to provide other meals and not worry about the food in the morning. I asked the kids if they liked the food and they all yelled out ‘aayyeee’. One child said with a shy face and a very quiet voice ‘it’s sweet’. The teacher tells me she now has trouble getting the children to leave and go home, they love coming to class!

Samuli Early Childhood Centre

The centre is looking pretty good with a new roof, repaired walls and floor, a coat of paint and teaching and play materials for the children. The water storage tank and toilets have also been installed.

I met together with Early Childhood Centre management committee which is made up of the children’s parents and community representatives. They’ve recently completed training on management, child health and protection and were really happy with the training and things learned.

Considering all the rain that fell in the night, the roads were pretty good. The ground is so dry that the water runs off really quick. A couple of spots had washed out a bit so we couldn’t muck around too long at Samuli when the rain started again.

When we got back to the office I went through the 5 year community action plan (CAP) for the whole area with a representative from the committee. It was great to see what has been achieved in this year, the first year. Still lots of work to do tho! Hoping that this rain means that people can relax a little and start focusing again on some of the longer term strategies that they’ve put together.

Thursday – Emali
I woke early at 5am with light rain falling. Nice to hear. I lay in bed listening to the area start to wake up. I got up, had a shower, flushed the toilet, used bottled water to brush my teeth and then had a long drink of water. How come I am so privileged to have access to all this water when people down the road don’t have any access? How can we balance things out?

Learning is fun!

We started the day visiting an Early Childhood Centre which is part of a primary school. The children were so enthusiastic to sing and welcome us! Again, the centre is being rehabilitated with most of the construction work complete. The children were happy to share with me the things that they liked about their classes. One child about 4 years old told me the alphabet in English. A little boy told me his favourite toy was a red racing car sitting on the shelf at the back of the class. I tried to explain (probably quite unsuccessfully) where New Zealand is! The place felt fun and inviting with the walls covered in posters and the children’s artwork. The primary school Principal said that the rehabilitated Early Childhood Centres are raising the standard and therefore the grade one classes are now being worked on to improve their resources. Great to see the high standard and roll-on effect of the project activities!

We headed off to another Early Childhood Centre where the children meet for class under a tree. There are no chairs, no protection from the sun or rain, nowhere to hang posters or store their classroom equipment. The difference to the Early Childhood Centre we visited earlier in the day is quite extreme. In this area the children look uncertain and slightly unengaged as they sit in the dirt under the tree. They’re playing with newly purchased toys but they lack the spark of the other kids I’ve seen. Why is that? I observe dirty faces, skin diseases, signs of malnutrition and sickness.

Getting fed

This community has been very hard hit by the drought. They are struggling to survive. The project hasn’t been going long in this area but is now assisting parents to feed their children each morning with nutritious food. Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are also getting supplementary food to help them through but it’s a long road ahead.

Behind us the foundations are laid for a two-room Early Childhood Centre building with office and separate kitchen and toilet. The community is excited about the future and what the new building will mean for their children. It will be a meeting place for the community, a central point where the kids can receive education, food and access to health care. It’s a place where they can play, be safe from the elements and learn to look after resources for the future. It’s the starting block from which they can take on the world. I’m looking forward to coming back here in one year and to see the difference this has made to this entire community.

I met the two women who donated the land for the new centre. What an incredible investment in the future of their community!!

We stopped back in Emali town for a quick lunch before heading off to meet a water committee. This is a group of community representatives who are responsible for monitoring and caring for the water resources in the community. ChildFund has recently completed training with these groups in Emali area, teaching stuff like management, resource protection, water point care and repair. This group is working to repair the water piping in their area and the project is partnering with the committee to help in this process. It’s a water source that provides water for around 10,000 people!! It reminds me how important these partnerships are and how many lives are impacted from these project activities.

Friday – Emali
I met with the representative from the Kenyan Ministry of Water. We talked about the challenges in the area, especially with this latest drought. What does the future hold I ask him? He’s slightly hopeful but not that optimistic. The reality is that the area depends very heavily on the Mt Kilimanjaro water pipeline. There has been a considerable reduction in the amount of snow on the mountain in the last few years and the amount of water that comes through the pipeline. They estimate by 2030 that there will be no more snow. What does that mean for the pipeline and all the water that this area depends on? It means it stops! We discussed the alternatives and where our efforts should lie.

Nkusso borehole

We visited a borehole put in by the previous project where it’s made a huge difference to the community. The pump ended up breaking down but they were able to purchase a new one through savings they had made. They are selling the water to the surrounding community, watering the animals and making the most of the extra time they now have since they don’t have to walk 6-8 hours to get water. The water committee who monitors the water pump is so organised. It clearly shows how important effective committees are for the sustainability of the water system.

Up to 90% of cattle have died in drought

In the surrounding area 90% of the cows have died due to the drought, with many of the animals getting sick and not having the resilience to fight off the disease. How do you cope when you lose 90% of your assets, your livelihood, your food source?

Back at the office I sat down with the project staff and committee and discussed the budgets and went through the project accounts. We finished the week with a debriefing of the first 5 days of the visit. Time has flown! The volunteers from the Project Committee and the staff have accompanied me every day to the different project sites – they are the unsung heroes of development work who make it all happen.

The unsung heroes

Children as leaders – in the Philippines, Pt II

Day two of CEO Paul Brown’s visit to the Philippines and a visit to Infanta to see how ChildFund is helping children to get a better start in life.

Paul with a young family

By Paul Brown   

Awake as the sun breaks.  Roosters crowing.  Cats fighting outside my window… they obviously didn’t sort things out from their scrap at 3.24am.  

Our three vans break off to visit three different components of a ChildFund Philippines project at Infanta.  By breaking into three groups of 4-5 people each we won’t be so intimidating when we visit the activities.    

Infanta is a relatively new Bright Futures area, formed in early 2008. (Bright Futures is an approach to development based on the belief that families and children must design and shape the programmes that will be carried out in their communities. It is grounded in an understanding of poverty from the child’s point of view and is aimed at making a long-lasting difference in the lives of children.)    

First stop is an Early Childhood and Care Development (ECCD) centre – a 3m square mat made of nylon sacks sown together which are placed outside a family’s home to serve as a focal point for about 15 2-4 year olds.  There are jigsaw puzzles and other homemade learning aids.    

The ECCD centre is run by volunteers and village supporters (council workers).    

I read the children a story (and am amazed at how proficient their English is) about a magic mat which flies a young boy to far off places around the world.  We have lots of fun trying to spot various animals on each of the pages.   

Paul reading to children

It’s good fun and very familiar – so strange to think my two boys are doing the very same thing at play-centre back in Auckland.    

Next we visit a class run by local nurses for pregnant mums, guiding them on how to care for themselves during pregnancy.  One brave bloke sits fidgety, a nervous dad-to-be in a group of nervous mums.  Most of the group of 14 mums is young (17-21), many expecting their first child, one or two are expecting their third baby.    

The nurses are trained midwives and will attend the birth at home – but there is no delivery theatre nearby.    

Upstairs from the pregnancy class is another class held weekly for training mums in breastfeeding and using supplementary feeding.  We arrive to see 12 mums and 12 babies in various states of being fed, being hungry, and sleeping.  A nurse is explaining how to use milk formula and anchovy paste to introduce babies to solids.    

Baby being weighed

Each baby is weighed and their weight compared on a growth chart.  (Exactly like Plunket visits at home huh?)    

A very healthy baby is weighed and off the chart.  The smiley mum beams back from the weigh station.  She’s obviously proud of the result, gestures to point at her chest and gives us two thumbs up.  Yep, we understand – you’re doing well!    

Unfortunately six of the 337 under 5-year-olds in the area are not so lucky and are severely malnourished.    

After lunch we visit Banugao Elementary School, a smart looking school for around 400 students. On the road to the school we see 10 billboards, painted by students, each with a different theme on the UNCROC – the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child.    

We meet a group of eight students who run a youth-led radio show.  The group has a sophisticated committee structure, they identify topics to be covered by surveying youth in the district, they conduct interviews with people recorded on simple tape recorders, then create a one hour show every second Saturday.  Very impressive.    

Next we meet the Health Scouts, four 11-year-olds proudly wearing their bright vests (looking like road-workers), moving from class to class, today teaching about the benefits of brushing teeth and oral hygiene, by using songs.  Other topics include scabies, lice and hand-washing.  All eyes are glued to the authoritative 11-year-old girl barking out messages.  A future politician in the making!    

Finally we observe the Peer Tutors, four 11-year-olds who take a lunchtime class every Wednesday of 15 6 to 8-year-olds who have been identified by the teachers as falling behind or at risk.  Today it is an English lesson with health themes “How often should you eat fruit?”, “What is the verb in that sentence?”.    

Peer tutors teaching a class

We bid farewell to the whole school and start the slow four hour crawl home, again meeting Manila’s peak traffic.  

Once again I have time to reflect: how incredible it is to see children leading children through these projects.

Confident youth – in the Philippines, Pt I

ChildFund New Zealand CEO Paul Brown visited the Philippines for the ChildFund Alliance CEO Forum. Paul kept a journal of his experiences – here is an account of his day visiting ChildFund Poblacion 61 project, in Real, Quezon.

Paul & friends in Real, Quezon

By Paul Brown

Our group is split into six vans, departing to two different regions.  It’s an early start to beat Manila traffic, on the road at 7.15am.  We don’t beat the traffic. We were warned the drive would be four hours over some very twisty roads through the mountains, lush with vegetation. Finally we arrive at the ChildFund Poblacion 61 project, in Real, Quezon.

We meet children at the community library in Kiloron village – a small collection of stalls, shops and very basic houses.  The families are very proud of their library – the first in the area, not quite holding 600 books.

A seafood buffet is presented to us.  And chicken, I think. A fellow traveller, who like me was not a seafood fan, said “Stick to meat with bones on, then at least you know it is not offal”.  Thanks for the anatomy lesson!

Over lunch I met Ronnic, now 19, and studying a Bachelor of Secondary Education.  Ronnic is a typical cocky teenager. Hair gelled up in a Mohawk, always preening himself in any reflective surface… windows, van mirrors. He’s cool. He’s got attitude. But he wants to be a teacher and give something back to his community.

The area has a population of 30,000 in eight hamlets.  It’s on the coast and at first glance the people seem to be making a living – fishing is the main form of income.  However many of the children are malnourished, with a lack of iron (no meat) in their diet.

It is HOT, very hot and humid.  Now I know why the locals carry towels to keep mopping their brow.  Thankfully our white ChildFund shirts do a good job of concealing my geography-teacher-armpit syndrome.

Youth group using dance and drama to teach

After lunch, the youth perform a cultural show – a mix of Filipino and Spanish dancing.  There’s the inevitable ‘let’s invite one of the guests up to dance’ and yours truly is picked on to represent the group of 20 guests to take part in the most technical dance possible, complete with bamboo poles which are moved randomly around you and your partner’s ankles.  Did I mention it was HOT?

We visit the youth’s screen-printing business – they create groovy designed t-shirts which promote key health messages and sell them in the village.

On the way to the next project area we stop at a new initiative involving garbage recycling, where local families are cleaning the beach and rivers from rubbish, which is then sold or woven into bags.

By now it is 4pm and we meet more young people in an open-air rotunda, which gives little respite from the heat.  The children perform a fantastic dance depicting the four elements (wind, earth/trees, water, and fire) and it becomes very clear the dance is about the environment.  The children present this dance to the surrounding community to show the importance of planting trees and protecting the environment.

They then follow this dance (again presenting to the community) with maps on which areas are at risk from typhoons (every season) and tsunami; and which homes to head to for shelter.  The maps show red houses as vulnerable to storm surges and landslides; blue are evacuation sites.

Showing map with areas of high risk and safety

After the dance the dozen or so young people introduce themselves, and we do too; they describe how grateful they are for ChildFund and their sponsors’ support.  It is a very emotional presentation… one girl breaks down and takes a few minutes to compose herself.  Through her tears she thanks us all, she points out her mum who is also crying… there are not many dry eyes in the rotunda now.

We spend time talking with the youth group: I ask them what has the internet brought to them.  They mention both positives and negatives; they use workshops to make each other aware of risks such as pornography and how to handle negative media.

Ronnic speaks up again – I ask him what his hopes are: he wants to get all children into school, particularly his friends who have dropped out, as he sums up, “youth carry the hopes of the community”.

As we are about to close a scooter pulls up – off hops a young man and we are introduced to him.   His name is Jimmy and he was a sponsored child, who through training is now a technician at a lab for Unilever.  He has left work early to ride over 100km to meet us and say thank you.

It has been an exhausting, emotional, hot day.  Again as with all these visits it is so humbling to see such confident youth, such passionate project workers, and such committed parents.  We all reflect on this later, counting our blessings.

Christmas is a-coming

Goats, originally uploaded by ChildFund New Zealand.

Hard to believe but here we are again – a couple of weeks from Christmas. I’m still posing the big questions: what am I going to get my dad, my brother, my niece and nephew…?

Mark from Zambia in the photo above looks like he’s already received his Christmas present! He’s beaming because his family were given goats from a ChildFund New Zealand supporter – and the goats have produced healthy kids.

This means Mark is drinking nutritious goats milk daily, it means his family will be able to sell the milk and surplus goats for income. And that means he’ll be able to go to school.

Now that’s a really great Christmas present! If you’d like to give a truly meaningful gift this Christmas check out our great selection of gifts at www.childfund.org.nz/catalogue.

In addition you get a beautiful gift card outlining the benefits of the gift that you can give to your family member or friend. Show you care this Christmas and put a smile on a child’s face – like Mark.

Take care, and have a safe and happy festive season.
Kiri

Children – the heart of Sri Lanka

ChildFund New Zealand Programmes Manager Michael Vujnovich visited Sri Lanka in October to check on progress in the programmes that New Zealanders support. Here Michael gives us an insight into what happens on his annual visits.

Michael being introduced to children

When I’m in Sri Lanka I look at the work ChildFund New Zealand is supporting, meet our Sri Lankan ChildFund colleagues and with children and families who are participating in our programmes. They show me the progress of the projects to demonstrate the difference they’re making and that the funds are well spent. It’s always pretty intense, lots of serious and focused discussions about the causes of poverty, the plans to address them and how those plans are going. All rather heavy stuff, but very interesting (for me at least!) and important to ensure we bring good change in the communities we work in.

Michael meeting children

Sometimes, in amongst all this serious stuff, I have the opportunity to meet with groups of children. I prepare for this – to little kids I must look like a huge gorilla, I’m 6 feet 3 inches, so I don’t want to scare them. I crouch down so they’re taller than me, I speak slowly and quietly, I tell them a bit about my own life. I behave like this because I want them to feel safe and share with me what it’s like for them in their lives and what they aspire to, the challenges they face and how they see themselves and their futures. And sometimes, just sometimes, they really let me know.

One group of children presented a dance they’d been practising, they were fantastic! Other children sang and some showed me their art. They told me about themselves and some of the challenges they face such as the distance to school and the lack of public transport or bikes.

“It is a very long walk, an hour each way,” one very small girl told me. I thought of my own 20 minute long walks to school as a child and realised she was walking at least three times as long, this poor little child!

The children told me about how they are ensuring that their friends attend school with them instead of minding the cattle. These children know that their parents’ income is increasing and that more of their friends are getting access to healthcare and school. These children see a bright future.

Discussing progress

Arriving with a purpose in mind I went about my business, trying to ensure that the funds we raise are well spent in the fight against poverty. My purpose was to assess progress and value. And, while doing this, I met these amazing children. In their opinion the project progresses well. In their opinion there is good change happening in their community. Their lives are improving and they know what’s needed for their lives to continue improving.

This is the point of all our support and work, the point of the projects through which we seek to bring good change in poor communities – the lives and wellbeing of these children.

Why I do this

I’m often asked when I come back to New Zealand how I feel about all the poverty I’ve seen. Honestly, I feel extremely dissatisfied, angry and grimly determined to do something about the fact that children grow up in poverty, threatened and hungry. But it’s not about me, it’s not about how I feel.

So I lock my feelings away and get driven from the inside by them. It is like a huge pressure, an impatience, a seething rage against the rotten sick injustice of it. But, the veneer cracks a bit, sometimes a lot, when I see children flourishing like this… I well up with tears when I see how their lives are changed as they and their families slowly free themselves from poverty and yes, in spite of or perhaps because of my feelings, my heart breaks with hope.

From violent past to youth mentor

We wanted to share a lovely story from ChildFund International about how one child’s life can be turned around and impact so many more.

Denzel will speak the UN on Oct 19 as part of International Day of Eradication of Poverty

A 16-year-old Dominican boy who overcame a violent and hopeless past through a programme sponsored by ChildFund International will share his transformational story at the United Nations next week. The event is part of the commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and the world body’s continuing observation of the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Denzel Matthew is one of five children from an impoverished family in the Caribbean nation of Dominica. His troubled life centred on his involvement with a spate of violent activities until a photography course brought him purpose and direction.

Like so many youth in Dominica, Denzel faced a bleak future, having been involved in violent activities since a young age.

“Every day was a struggle for me to survive, as I come from a poor family and community,” he says. “I could not see my future. I had nowhere to go.”

But last year, a photography course made possible by ChildFund International donors opened an unexpected doorway for Denzel. After years of despair, he discovered how to channel his energy in artistic rather than violent ways. In addition to providing him with new skills, the photography class introduced the teenager to others with similar interests. When the programme ended, Denzel wrote in his evaluation that he no longer felt like dropping out of school or hanging out with the local gang.

“For the first time in my life, I had a way to let out my emotions without being violent,” he says.

As he shapes his own future, Denzel also wants to change the lives of those following in his footsteps. He has joined a youth group of about 20 peers who are committed to making a difference in their community. Denzel’s latest effort is to create a mentoring programme to assist children in his community with reading and writing skills.

The youth group also is developing a conservation programme to help protect an area known as Nature Island, a popular tourist destination on Dominica.

“Today, I am a happier person and am happy to tell my story,” Denzel says. “I hope I can change the future of others who may be in situations like me.”

Denzel will take part in two U.N. events on Monday, Oct. 19.

The first, “Children and Families Speak Out Against Poverty,” takes place 1:15-2:30 p.m., in Conference Room 2, U.N. Secretariat Building. This commemoration is organised by the International Movement ATD Fourth World, the NGO Subcommittee for the Eradication of Poverty and the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and co-sponsored by the Missions of France and Burkina Faso to the United Nations.

The presentation will be followed by an interactive panel: “Children: The Future and the Present — Participation in Poverty Reduction and Accountability for Rights.” This event takes place at UNICEF’s Labouisse Hall, 3-5:30 p.m. The panel is organized in partnership with UNICEF by the NGO Subcommittee for the Eradication of Poverty and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with the support of the NGO Committee on UNICEF.