UNICEF making a difference

UNICEF's achievements include:

Stopping wars.

From El Salvador to Lebanon, Sudan to former Yugoslavia, UNICEF have pioneered the establishment of ‘Days of Tranquillity’, where the guns go down and we reach millions of needy children. During the Afghan war, UNICEF negotiated with the government and other organisations for a week-long ceasefire which led to us immunising 5.7 million children against polio. Two million children caught up in the conflict in Western Sudan were recently immunised against measles.

Eradicating polio.

Since 1988, through its successful worldwide immunisation programs, UNICEF has been instrumental in virtually eradicating polio, with a 99% reduction in cases.

Ending female genital mutilation.

In 2002, UNICEF successfully lobbied the government of Benin, Western Africa, to outlaw female genital mutilation, providing protection for young girls with a single pen stroke.

Providing clean water and improving sanitation for a school in Tamil Nadu in India.

Over half of all schools in developing countries lack proper facilities for providing safe water and sanitation to students. This jeopardises the health of millions of school children and hampers their education. But in Tamil Nadu, India, UNICEF has teamed up with the local government to bring clean water and adequate facilities to boys and girls in school.

At the Arianayagipuram school in the village of Panchayat, tanks for storing clean drinking water have recently been installed, as have separate toilets for boys and girls. Education for girls can be supported and fostered by something as basic as a girls-only toilet. Parents are more likely to keep their daughters in school if they believe their child’s safety and dignity will be protected.

The school’s 230 pupils are also receiving an education in basic hygiene. They are being taught the importance of washing their hands after each use of the toilet, and are taking up the responsibility of maintaining clean toilets themselves. At the end of the school year, the children are rewarded with gold stars from UNICEF for their efforts. For many students at the Arianayagipuram School, school is their only opportunity to obtain proper hygiene education. And a child taught the link between good hygiene and good health can then become a health educator for his or her own family.

“Now our school is very clean and beautiful. We are making the best use of our toilets, we have safe water to drink, and nobody gets sick any more,” says Vinthiata, a schoolgirl at Arianayagipuram.

Bolivia
Carla’s story: Getting off the street and back into school

Eleven year-old Carla is a cheerful and talkative fourth grader who attends the 6 de Junio school in El Alto, Bolivia. Carla feels fortunate to be able to go to school – just a year ago she was working all day selling cigarettes and candy in the streets and bars of El Alto.

Carla was forced to go to work when she was seven. Her job as a street vendor was difficult and dangerous, and she was working until four or five in the morning. Many of the street children Carla is friends with inhale a drug called ‘clefa’, a type of glue, to help them to forget how cold and hungry they are.

After the adoption of UNICEF-supported Education Reform Law in Bolivia, there has been a transformation of basic education in the country. So, when educators from a girls’ residence called Casa met Carla and heard her story, she was invited to come and live with them.

Carla is the youngest of the 20 girls who live at Casa Kantuta. In the house, Carla gets up at 6 a.m., washes her clothes with friends in the courtyard and then makes breakfast. After that she heads off to school, eager to attend her favourite class – natural science. She loves learning about plants and animals.

Carla’s dream is to attend university and become a teacher. She hopes to return and help the children who live alone or who are trapped on the street, and get them into school.

Malawi
Justin’s story: Heading a household at age 14

Justin, a 14-year-old boy from the Ndirande Township on the outskirts of Blantyre, Malawi, has a lot of responsibility for a boy his age. His father died from what he believes was an AIDS-related illness in 1999. Six months later, his mother died as well and Justin found himself the head of his household, responsible for his 10-year-old brother, Ashwel, and his nine-year-old sister, Future.

Normally, children who lose their parents would be taken in by aunts, uncles or grandparents. But Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, has been so ravaged by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, that often the extended families are overwhelmed and unable to cope with the sheer numbers of orphans.

About 16 per cent of Malawi’s population is HIV-positive and every day 237 more people are infected and 139 people die from AIDS-related illnesses. The average life expectancy in the country has dropped from 45 to 39. In Ndirande Township, the prevalence of HIV is even higher, with one in five people infected with the virus.

When Justin’s parents died, he dropped out of school. “The main problem we have without our parents is finding food,” he explains. UNICEF funds a community-based group called Ndirande Churches and Community Home-based Care. The group has about 300 volunteers from nine local churches and three mosques who look after Ndirande Township’s 3,000 orphans and care for people dying of AIDS-related illnesses. Soon, more volunteers will be trained in providing home-based care and psychological and social counselling.

Every couple of days, a volunteer form the organisation visits Justin’s family to give them food and a little money. “I advise them on how to use the money and I also give them advice about their way of life: how to live and how they should look after each other,” says Mercy Sunday, a volunteer.

Please consider leaving a bequest to UNICEF Australia. Please call our Bequests Officer on (02) 9261 2811 or e-mail BEQUESTS@unicef.org.au for a copy of our brochure.