2013-06-19T07:59:06-04:00 Rosemary McCarney http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/author/index.php?author=rosemary-mccarney Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Rosemary McCarney Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3224953 2013-05-06T16:29:18-04:00 2013-05-06T17:24:23-04:00

Rosemary McCarney http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosemary-mccarney/
Timing, it seems, is everything when it comes to motherhood.


Photo: Plan International

Today I am thinking of another kind of ticking clock that's taking place on the world stage. That clock is keeping time and also counting the millions of mothers and babies worldwide that we are trying to save from unnecessary and preventable deaths by 2015 and in decades following.

For me, that world clock began ticking here in Canada back in 2009 when Plan Canada joined forces with five other international development organizations to make saving the lives of women and children a major priority for the June 2010 G-8 Summit in Huntsville, Ontario.

With nearly 1,000 women in developing countries dying daily from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, and too many of the world's children dying before their fifth birthday, we knew that maternal, newborn and child health (aka MNCH) was an issue for our time that needed global attention and action. So we voiced our strong concerns.

With the strong support of many Canadians who agreed this was an important issue, and with all-party support from the Canadian government, our nation did indeed make MNCH a key priority of the June 2010 G-8 and that leadership became known worldwide as Canada's. "With the strong support of many Canadians who agreed this was an important issue, and with all-party support from the Canadian government, our nation did indeed make MNCH a key priority of the June 2010 G-8 and that leadership became known worldwide as Canada's Muskoka Initiative.

When Canada stepped up and out on this issue, the world took notice and quickly followed suit. Together Canada and other nations committed in 2010 to $7.3 billion in new funding over five years for MNCH initiatives in developing countries. In fact, at the September 2010 United Nations Summit on the Millennium Development Goals, world leaders came together on a global action plan to address eight key goals by the year 2015 -- two of those goals are reducing child mortality and improving maternal health.

More and more countries signed on to make MNCH a priority in their country programming and health budgets. This included training for more skilled birth attendants; scaling up nutrition programs; building or refurbishing maternal health clinics; and ensuring more women and their children had access to basic procedures and medicines to address pregnancy or birth complications.

This global solidarity and commitment to action was important and felt good, but as development organizations, we wanted to put real rigour behind our efforts. For us it wasn't just about saving lives because it was the right thing to do. We wanted to hold global efforts accountable and demonstrate their value and effectiveness. So we also committed to documenting the progress, lessons learned, and outcomes that would result from these global commitments in order to inform future investments that would reach countries most in need, making the biggest impact.

Now in 2013, with just under 1,000 days to go to 2015, I can say we've definitely made progress on this issue.

4.4 million more lives have been saved in 2010 than in 1990.

More children are beating the odds and making it to the age of five. A 2011 annual report by the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation indicates an estimated 6.9 million children died before their fifth birthday compared to 12 million in 1990.

More recently Plan Canada, with the support of Canadian donors and working together with our local country partners, refurbished more than 25 family health clinics in Bangladesh and also trained over 90 skilled birth attendants in that country. In Zimbabwe, we've brought MNCH training and education to over 900 village health workers, and in Tanzania we've provided MNCH training to nearly 5,000 community health workers.

There have been challenges for sure. Mali, one of Plan's largest MNCH program countries, faced a major military and political conflict last year leaving people on the run and communities in turmoil. This situation made it difficult for us to help mothers and children and to track consistent data. The reality of working in developing countries is that there are always going to be setbacks or local conditions that may impact our work, but because we have enough partners across Canada and across the world dedicated to this issue we have found resilience to withstand those challenges and disappointments.

This Mother's Day, Canadians can be satisfied in the knowledge that when we focus on something we can actually move real global targets. We can know that even while the clock counts down to 2015 the number of lives being saved is only going up.

Some may speak about Canada's limited foreign policy clout, but we have evidence that shows when we focus and come together we can have enormous heft in terms of changing the tilt on serious global challenges like women dying in childbirth or children dying before the age of five.

There's no more magic about 2015 than there's magic about a day in the year when we celebrate mothers. But it is a good time to pause and think about how we're doing on this major issue that we brought to the world in 2010, and ask ourselves how we can do more and do better -- even while celebrating how far we've come. It's always the right time to do the right thing -- and timing is everything when it comes to motherhood.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3118200 2013-04-19T17:00:00-04:00 2013-06-19T05:12:01-04:00

Rosemary McCarney http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosemary-mccarney/ read recently that, at a population count of 2,791,140, Toronto had become the fourth largest city in North America.

Rapid population growth has always been something that interests me, especially as a development worker who has had opportunities to visit many cities across Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

In fact, Plan International Canada has done a lot of thinking about cities over the years. Especially since 2008, when the world crossed a major threshold for the first time in human history, with more than 50 per cent of the world's population now living in cities.

Which other cities rank as the largest in North America?
Blog continues after slideshow


Old-style development in rural settings

Before this increasing migration to cities, we had for decades premised our development programs on the rural model. Most of the international community's methodologies and tools were birthed in rural environments.

One principal pillar was the homogeneity of a population -- where neighbours and extended families lived side-by-side for generations. People typically trusted one another, spoke the same language, and were often related through kinship and marriage ties.

Land ownership was a second pillar you could count on in a rural setting. Even small parcels of land could be used as an asset and could be leveraged or borrowed against, much like mortgages today. In rural settings you could also count on static populations -- where people were more apt to stay in one place, making it easier to predict certain trends or outcomes like crop rotations, rains and floods, and whether or not there would be children to help cultivate the land and care for the sick or elderly in the village.

On these pillars we built programs, shared ideas, and held deep local discussions based on long-held and trusted community-based models. Then things began to shift and people started moving to cities. As a result, the international development community wasn't as well-equipped to deal with these highly mobile, heterogeneous populations.

New challenges and implications in an urban world

When people landed in cities many found that a sense of community and kinship was lacking. People found themselves in multilingual communities where they didn't always know or trust their neighbours. This led to the demolition of many rural models such as borrowing circles, where loans could be made based on good faith because you knew your neighbours. Having a landlord became a substitute for land ownership. The newly arrived lacked any assets that could be leveraged, not even the promise of a future crop.

The international community struggled with the challenge of serving the world's poor in an urban environment. In this struggle, Plan turned its attention to one of the most vulnerable groups in poor urban centres -- young girls.

In 2010, we produced a report called, Digital and Urban Frontiers: Girls in a Changing Landscape. Through this study, we found that living in cities meant girls had increased mobility and access to things they needed to build their human capital. Girls were more likely to attend school in cities and had better access to employment, health care, and other services. They had more autonomy, more independence.

On the flipside, our study also found that girls in cities were more likely to end up working in sweatshops or living in squalid and overcrowded slums. An estimated 30 million girls were forced to live on city streets, where they were exposed to the worst kinds of exploitation, violence, crime, and disease.

It became clear to us that for many people in developing countries, including girls, cities were a complex mix of opportunity and dangerous, grinding poverty.

Plan's Because I am A Girl Urban Programme aims to improve the life of girls through the creation of safe neighborhoods and communities that are free from violence. // Photo: Plan Canada

As a development agency we needed to address this complexity. So, we continued to look at the effects of living in cities for girls and pursued another study, Adolescent Girls' Views on Safety in Cities, which allowed us to speak to 1,000 girls living in five major urban centres.

In this study, girls from Cairo, Delhi, Hanoi, Kampala, and Lima told us over and over again about how they felt unsafe and vulnerable while doing basic things like going to school, visiting a public washroom or taking the bus - but that despite their fears, they had a common vision for a safe city, where they could live and move freely and safely. Something I am sure Jyoti Singh, who was raped and murdered last December while travelling by bus in Delhi, would have wanted -- and deserved -- as well.

These girls, like millions of others, move to cities because they're attracted to opportunity and hope for a better life. It's these millions of girls and so many others that we continue to watch and connect with as we test new models and ways to tackle poverty and inequality in urban settings.

We've started some of that work through our Because I am a Girl Urban Programme, a joint initiative between Plan International, Women in Cities International, and UN-Habitat to build safe, accountable, and inclusive cities with and for adolescent girls.

But building safer and better cities can not be the work of international development agencies alone.

In Canada, we need students working on efficient and safe mass transit systems. Poor water and sanitation are among the biggest gaps and cost factors affecting poor cities. In the world's urban slums, like those found in Kenya and India, water and sanitation is even more critical than in rural areas.

We need young, brilliant minds working collectively on these global urbanization challenges. This time, we must address urbanization's vast and urgent challenges so that the promise of cities is realized, for everyone, including girls who see cities as the best place to pursue their potential.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2901889 2013-03-19T12:30:59-04:00 2013-05-19T05:12:01-04:00

Rosemary McCarney http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosemary-mccarney/
Leaders like President Obama in his 2013 State of the Union address; Bono, singer/musician/activist during a recent speech at TED2013; and the European Commission in its report A Decent Life for All, have made statements that the end of absolute poverty can be achieved by 2030.

According to the World Bank, the number of people living below the poverty line, or less than $1.25 a day (2005 prices), fell to half from 43 per cent in 1990 to 22 per cent in 2008. In looking at these numbers, we see not only impressive progress but also the realization of one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Across Asia, Africa and the Americas these falling poverty numbers are a result of unprecedented economic growth in many countries.

It is an incredible thing for the world as we know it, if we are really less than 20 years away from lifting more than a billion more people out of a life of poverty and despair.

As we celebrate the last 20 years of progress, we need to also look behind the numbers at who has benefitted and who has been left behind, so we can correct this during the next 20 years. Poverty measures have become a more complex basket of indicators for countries. A measure of absolute poverty can mask what is happening on the ground. And if we take out India and China, these global numbers may not look as promising.

More than 70 per cent of the world's poor now live in "Middle Income Countries," or MICs as the economists refer to them. Side by side with smart, urban capital cities, with all the elements of comfort and convenience we are accustomed to, are burgeoning slums where food and security are priorities and rural areas where infrastructure and schools are distant dreams. If we only look at the national indicators like GNP or global numbers on poverty, we get a skewed view of what is really happening in a country.

So, who are we leaving behind?

We know that women are being left behind. Globally, women represent 70 per cent of the world's poor, are paid less than men for their work, and suffer brutal and persistent discrimination on a daily basis. Here in Canada, women continue to suffer domestic violence, physical assault and gender discrimination - 67 per cent of Canadians say they personally know at least one woman who has been sexually or physically assaulted.

Indigenous people, who make up 5 per cent of the world's population, are also not counted in these progressive numbers. And neither are young people; with more than 75 million youth worldwide looking for work, this group isn't experiencing forward movement either.

While there are other groups, the most important point is that these are all large numbers with straightforward solutions.


Youth in Sierra Leone meet regularly at a Plan-supported Village Savings and Loans Association to learn and develop skills in financial literacy. // Photo: Plan Canada

In West Africa, specifically Niger, Sierra Leone, and Senegal, we've been working together with the MasterCard Foundation on a youth economic empowerment project that is providing financial education and training to more than 70,000 young people in these countries. The outcomes are looking very promising and scaling these programs is on the horizon.

Around the world, we are advocating for and demonstrating through successful programming, that the right of every child to a quality education will accelerate national growth numbers at an unprecedented rate. We are also targeting the 66 million girls who are currently receiving no education at all and who have few prospects this will change.

Finally, with 1.3 billion young people, between the ages of 15 and 24, entering the global employment market in the next 10 years, and with only 300 million new jobs expected to be created, these numbers on poverty could quickly reverse. All the more reason we must continue to support smart economic and social policy, which will enable this youth bulge to participate in building their country's wealth and stability.

I'd prefer we wait to 2030 to really celebrate how much we did to close the gap and assure that these numbers reflect all countries and the people in them - and that no one gets left behind.

]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.2736033 2013-02-22T12:51:01-05:00 2013-04-24T05:12:01-04:00

Rosemary McCarney http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosemary-mccarney/
In recent weeks, French and Malian military forces have made their way into North Mali to reclaim territory from extremist rebels who had taken over the region months ago.

As a humanitarian worker, I know this story goes well-beyond the vast geopolitical backdrop of military forces fighting rebel extremists to the Malian people themselves -- the men, women and children -- who need our help and attention.


Photo: Plan Canada


Can we imagine something of this scale happening in Canada? What would that feel like? Imagine you are sitting at home one evening with your family, your children doing their homework. Suddenly, your door bursts open and your neighbour tells you they are coming and we must all leave now! No time to waste, you grab what possessions you can, bundle up your family and take off into the night, wondering where you will go, where you will sleep, and how you will keep your family safe. You have left behind your home, your friends, maybe even other family members.

This may sound like an extreme scenario to some, but to Malian people it's very real.

At Plan we are no strangers to Mali. We have been operating there for 37 years now, working to deliver child protection, education, health, and livelihood programs. We know the country and the resilience of its people. We also know first-hand what happens in a country like Mali when conflict breaks out -- especially to women and children.

We fear for little girls who could be forced into marriage by their parents, because they feel it's the only way to keep their daughter safe while they are on the move.

With the displacement of hundreds of thousands, we are encouraged that there is currently no need for large-scale refugee camps in South Mali since extended families and communities have opened their homes to displaced people from the north. But we do fear how this rapid influx of Malians to the south will impact food prices and disrupt already tenuous food supply chains.

This fear is warranted.

According to the United Nations and other local sources, even before the escalation, more than 2-million people were at risk of food insecurity in Mali. Today, over 650,000 Malian children are at risk of acute malnutrition.

Like children here in Canada, Malian children also deserve to feel and be safe. But during these times of conflict children are usually the most vulnerable. They often become separated from their families and are at increased risk of being abducted, abused, trafficked, or recruited as child soldiers.

With these concerns in mind, Plan has been stepping up our regular programs in Mali to help people through this period in their lives.

We are providing cash supplements to support and alleviate burdens to households and communities who have taken in their northern neighbours.

We are providing additional teachers and classrooms, as well as school-feeding programs, to accommodate the influx of children from the north. For students who have been on the move, we are providing catch-up classes and exams so they won't fall behind.

We are also creating safe, child-friendly spaces for children to play in, as well as emotional counselling and support for children dealing with the kind of trauma that comes from living in a conflict zone and living on the run.

We are also monitoring for incidents of sexual violence against girls and women and helping to mitigate that risk where we can. We are doing this because we know from experience that sexual violence is often a by-product of these conflict and emergency situations.


Children get ready to play football match at child-friendly space in Ségou. Photo: Plan Canada


For Plan, all of these efforts are critically important because we want to make sure that whenever this conflict is over the Malian people, through their strength and resilience, will be in a better position to recover. Though we know it won't be an easy road.

War and conflict can have ripple effects that last a lifetime. Children who were taken out of school may never make it back, therefore limiting their opportunity to have a successful life and to bring themselves and their families out of poverty. Family members who became separated while on the run may not find their way back to each other.

Other headlines may continue to focus on military interventions, but let's remember that wars happen to people as well as countries. Malians are very real people in the midst of a very real, humanitarian crisis. Maybe that's the other headline worth our attention.

]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2326087 2012-12-19T00:28:01-05:00 2013-02-17T05:12:01-05:00

Rosemary McCarney http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosemary-mccarney/ Giving Tuesday. Timed to follow Black Friday and Cyber Monday, America's two most consumer-driven shopping days before the holidays, Giving Tuesday is designed to transform the way people participate in the giving season, including considerations for gifts that can help people in less fortunate situations.

While "Giving Tuesday" hasn't fully migrated north to Canada, the idea behind it is appealing. With all the ads and other reminders to shop and give at this time of year, I think it's worth stepping back for a moment to consider how and why we give and also the far-reaching results certain gifts can generate.

Plan Canada is one among a number of charitable organizations that offer people ways to give gifts that go further in impact than a sweater, bottle of wine, or video game might. It's fair to say these are great gifts to receive, but when that bottle of wine is done -- it's done. What if your gift could do more? What if there were ways to sustain the positive effects of that gift not only in your life but also in someone else's?

Often called "ethical" or "socially-conscious" gifts, there are many online and virtual giving options that people can use to honour their friends and loved ones here at home while delivering lasting change in the lives of children and families in other parts of the world. The one I know best is Plan Canada's Gifts of Hope.

Whether they are gifts that meet immediate and basic needs -- like providing people with food, water, and shelter after a devastating flood -- or gifts with more long-term effects -- like supporting children's education, protecting human rights, or supporting people's livelihoods (or ways to earn income) -- these gifts have transformative impacts.

Take the gift of a mango tree, for example. We've seen how giving one of these trees to a classroom of school children provides them with a powerful incentive to come to school, nutrients (mangos are rich in Vitamins A and C), and also helps them learn how to make things grow. The children then take that agricultural knowledge back to their communities.

Or consider the gift of a goat, one of Plan's more popular gift items. People like being able to say they gave someone a goat and even find the idea kind of quirky and interesting. These animals are certainly comical and cute to look at while visiting the local petting zoo, but to poorer families in developing countries the gift of goats can mean so much more than this -- like the start of a business. Goats, and more specifically goat farms, can provide families with opportunities to build and sustain an income. They are also an important source of protein and nourishment.

And let's not forget the impact these gifts can have in the lives of the givers themselves.

Some people use Gifts of Hope and other virtual giving options as a way to teach their children and friends about issues and challenges faced by other people in the world, and as a way to engage their loved ones in creating positive social change. Other Plan supporters, like London, Ontario's Ariana and Ali Nabavieh, find their own special meaning in the gifts they choose.

For Ariana and Ali, the reason for giving was deeply personal. Their first child, Mylo, was born with a congenital heart defect that required him to have two open heart surgeries before he was seven months old. Mylo was born in Canada and was fortunate enough to receive all the care he needed to survive -- he's just under two years old today -- but his parents have never lost sight of how different their story could have turned out had Mylo been born in another place where critical and urgent health care isn't as available, accessible or affordable.

Knowing how important it was to them that other babies, no matter where they are born, be given the chance to survive, the Nabaviehs decided to give a gift in support of a maternal health clinic in Tanzania. This clinic will help to save the lives of hundreds of babies each year. It means a lot to this family that their own challenges became a catalyst for change in other people's lives.

Not every gift we give or receive results from a profoundly life-changing experience, but some gifts can have the effect of changing a life profoundly. Whatever our reasons for giving and whatever we choose to give, that's something worth remembering.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2145852 2012-11-17T00:00:09-05:00 2013-01-16T05:12:01-05:00

Rosemary McCarney http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosemary-mccarney/ United Nations, more than 200 million people are affected by "natural hazards" like floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes or fires.

Whether these disasters take place in wealthier nations, like Canada or the United States, or in poorer and developing ones, like Haiti, they produce equally sobering and tragic effects. These include the loss of homes; devastation of entire communities; costly disruptions to local business or livelihoods; suspension of people's daily routines; limited or no access to clean water or food; emotional and psychological trauma and, of course, the loss of human life.

Hurricane Sandy certainly got our attention. Billions of dollars (and counting) in damages. Communities crippled and left in the cold without electricity. Nearly 200 lives lost.

Sadly, with the stark realities of climate change and frequency of extreme weather events, this likely won't be the last natural disaster we experience or witness in our lifetime or even this decade. So, what are we to do about that?

For humanitarian agencies, confronting disasters is our way of life. We respond immediately when disasters strike with food, water, shelter, medicines and other means of support needed to save and protect human life.

These efforts are made all the more possible when news headlines and pictures of ravaged communities or hungry children become a catalyst for hundreds, thousands, and millions of dollars in donations to support relief efforts. There is no question about it -- this generous outpouring of support does indeed save lives.

But what about the work that needs to happen in communities before a disaster occurs in order to reduce -- or even prevent -- its devastating effects?

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan once said, "Hazards only become disasters when people's lives and livelihoods are swept away...we must reduce the impact of disasters by building sustainable communities that have the long-term capacity to live with risk."

Annan's words strike at the heart of that other side of humanitarian work -- also known as disaster risk reduction. In fact, while humanitarian agencies and communities have gotten better at responding to emergencies and saving lives, the lesser known fact is that risk reduction is part and parcel of this work. It's not often considered front-page news though, meaning it gets less attention and donor investments than emergency relief efforts after a disaster strikes.

But Hurricane Sandy is a reminder to us all that disaster risk reduction matters and can take on a number of forms. Like developing and putting into practice effective early warning systems so people can prepare and move to safer ground within 12-72 hours of a disaster. Cuba has followed this practice. When Hurricane Charley hit the country in 2004, up to 70,000 houses were damaged and four people died. The number of deaths could have been higher had people not been warned. When Hurricane Ivan hit that same year, two million people were evacuated and there were no deaths.

Children are often the most vulnerable in emergency and disaster situations, so at Plan we've worked hard to make child protection, and the voices and ideas of young people themselves, an integral part of our risk reduction work. For example, in Colombia, a high-risk nation for natural disasters, Plan has been supporting youth to develop disaster preparedness plans for their own communities. Part of this includes having youth meet with their community leaders to identify and address risky infrastructure and systems like poor sanitation and drainage systems, or homes built on flood plains. (See this slideshow: Children Get Hands-on with Disaster Preparedness)

Risk reduction is also about engaging the local knowledge and experiences of people who live in areas that are more prone to extreme weather events, and working with these communities to build up their own resiliency. There are unique lessons to be had from people and countries that have lived through disaster.

They are not just victims but also trailblazers who can apply lessons learned from one disaster to ensure better preparedness for the next time. For example, with support from Plan, many African farmers have been able to manage through back-to-back seasons of erratic rains and prolonged droughts through smart farming techniques, better and more effective grain storage systems, and other disaster preparedness and back-up processes.

At the core of these and other humanitarian approaches to risk reduction is the clear understanding that the degree to which people can recover from disaster depends heavily on a number of socio-economic, environmental, or even political conditions at play in their lives before disasters occur. Certainly people in poorer and wealthier economies or situations will recover differently, but it's not necessarily, nor simply, a matter of 'better versus worse.'

The fact is disasters and any emergencies will occur. Their impact however is something we can control to a considerable degree. There are lessons to be learned from some of the poorest countries in the world. Assessing risks, mitigating dangers, and small preparations all help in saving lives and reducing damage. The cost of prevention? Not much compared to its alternative.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.2005369 2012-10-24T09:49:38-04:00 2012-12-24T05:12:02-05:00

Rosemary McCarney http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosemary-mccarney/

On October 11, 2012 the world marked the first-ever International Day of the Girl.

It's a day that we at Plan Canada, along with thousands of Canadian leaders and supporters, had pushed and worked towards for two years before the day was finally declared by the United Nations in December 2011. Getting this day was truly a remarkable Canadian effort and success.

Through our Because I am a Girl initiative, we undertook the push for a Day of the Girl to focus global attention on ending gender discrimination, to promote the human rights of girls and address barriers to survival and development that girls face simply because they are young and female, and to champion the power of girls to change the world.

While this historic day was the result of Canadian leadership, October 11 also became an opportunity and collective space for everyone around the world to step into, make their own, and celebrate.

And celebrate the world did in many ways.

Twitter and Facebook came alive with messages from across the world about the significance of the day -- from passionate and outspoken young girls in Canada to Canadian and international celebrities and leaders including Nelson Mandela, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Melinda Gates, Canadian Olympic Champion Jenn Heil, Hilary Clinton, and Marcia Cross.



Across the world iconic monuments like Toronto's CN Tower, Ottawa's Parliament Hill, the London Eye, the Pyramids of Egypt, and New York's Empire State Building were lit up in pink to mark the day.

There were simple celebrations in rural villages, glitzy galas in urban centres, and the launch of scholarly research reports at the UN. In Ecuador, for example, young girls were invited to speak with members of their National Assembly and decided to turn the space pink with balloons while sharing about their challenges and aspirations.

In New York, I watched the Empire State Building turn pink and joined a gathering at the New York Public Library attended by American supporters of Plan. There, we had the opportunity to hear eloquent young girls from various countries speak passionately about what it meant to have a day focused on issues that matter to them.

As the day got underway, I also attended the UN launch of a report on which Plan collaborated with UNICEF, focused on harmful practices affecting girls, such as early marriage. Then I joined Michelle Bachelet (former President of Chile; current UN Women Executive Director) to launch Plan's 2012 State of the World's Girls Report, with this year's theme of Learning for Life.

In Toronto, hundreds of people -- young and old and representing the rich and diverse cultural fabric of the city -- came out for our Day of the Girl festivities and concert with international recording artist, and newest Because I am a Girl Celebrated Ambassador, Alyssa Reid. While at the Toronto celebration, many people also took time to "raise their hands" in support of girls' education and empowerment.

The celebration was bittersweet, though, given it occurred against the backdrop of worldwide shock and headlines concerning 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai, a young activist from Pakistan, shot in the head by a Taliban member because of her ongoing work and advocacy to ensure more girls get to go to school.

For me, the horror of Malala's story goes beyond the shooting itself because it serves as a brutal reminder of the millions of girls around the world -- not only those in Pakistan -- who are not currently in school because of their gender, and who will never make news headlines.

Our previous research showed that approximately 75 million girls of school age worldwide are not attending school. More specifically, this year's report, Learning for Life, finds that only 74 per cent of girls between the ages of 11 and 15 (or 39 million worldwide) are in school - compared to 83 per cent of boys. As the report highlights, many girls in developing countries are held back in their education by poverty, the burden of household and domestic chores and early marriage - which normally occurs by the age of 15. Girls are also more likely to experience violence and sexual abuse both in the classroom and on the way to school.

This report also emphasizes that girls need at least nine years of quality primary and secondary education to develop, succeed, and raise themselves and everyone around them out of poverty.

This latest research confirms that as much as this is a time to celebrate "girl power," it is also a time to lean in, push forward, and fight harder for the futures of millions of girls. It is a time to challenge existing systems and work together with fellow advocates, families, communities, governments, and girls themselves to make girls' education a top and paramount priority on the global agenda. The time is now, not only on international days, but every day of the year.

Photos courtesy Plan Canada]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1910190 2012-09-25T17:39:38-04:00 2012-11-25T05:12:01-05:00

Rosemary McCarney http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosemary-mccarney/ children's rights and child protection, and that means rights and protections for all children, male or female.

Nevertheless, it is true that we do have a sharp lens on how girls are faring. We heighten our gaze there because our research tells us unequivocally that in Canada and around the world girls face an opportunity gap and web of constraints of a different nature and magnitude than boys. The research also tells us that girls are key agents of social change, and that by investing in them we can not only support future generations of empowered women, but we can also alleviate global poverty.

Under the rubric of our Because I am a Girl initiative, Plan International has commissioned several reports in the last few years in order to better understand and raise awareness about, specific challenges and areas of opportunities for girls. This report series has been supported by an ongoing research study of 142 girls from nine countries around the globe: El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Benin, Togo, Uganda, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines. The study began when the girls were born and will follow them closely up to the age of nine.

Every year, researchers visit the girls and their families to learn about their health, their education, and their daily experiences, over time gaining an understanding of how their gender affects their lives. This fall, we released a report from this study called, Hopes and Dreams, which provides a detailed look into the girls' lives at the tender age of five.

Of the many themes that emerge in the report, one stands out that gives me good reason to feel hopeful about girls' futures. In a world where in the poorest households and countries parents are less likely to spend scarce resources on their daughters' education, and where only 74% of girls between the ages of 11 and 15 are in school - compared to 83% of boys - the majority of little girls in our study - 84% - are enrolled in school or pre-school.

In fact, the majority of the girls in our study have parents who have high aspirations for them and who promote gender equality in their households. More than half want to see their daughters pursue higher education and train to become doctors, nurse and teachers. Many, especially mothers, felt strongly that their own lives had been damaged by the lack of an education, and wanted more for their daughters - a sentiment that cuts across all nine countries in the study. In Cambodia, for instance, one mother recounted how she was orphaned during the Khmer Rouge genocide and never received a formal education, but was ferociously determined to see that her daughter received one.

Besides enrolling them in school, parents like these are making decisions for their daughters that give them a stronger start in life than their mothers and grandmothers had. Like immunizing and registering their daughters at birth - 93% of the girls have birth registration certificates, vital documentation to access education and healthcare, and a potential barrier to trafficking.

Fathers expressed a consistent desire to see their daughters educated, too. They were determined to invest whatever money they could from their meager budgets to pay school fees and related costs for their girls' schooling like books and uniforms. When economic circumstances forced them to make tough choices about which child could go to school, they wanted to make that choice based on a confluence of factors and not simply the child's gender.

But this report doesn't tell us a perfect story.

In fact, many families in the study find it hard to make ends meet, put food on the table, and keep their families healthy - six of the girls have died since the study began - let alone find the resources to build a better future for their daughters.

There are still many countries in which girls specifically and significantly face disproportionate gender expectations and barriers on a number of fronts. For instance, almost all of the girls have daily chores to fulfill by age five, and their primary household responsibilities still include cooking, cleaning, fetching water, gathering fuel and caring for others, while boys do few or none of these tasks.

Girls also face greater threats of gang or sexual violence traveling to school or elsewhere than do boys. In Uganda, Gloria's parents expressed worry about her walking to primary school four kilometers away, not because of the distance but because of the sexual advances that boys made to girls as they walked. And in many ways, girls still have a long way to go to fully enjoy their rights. For example, despite being outlawed in certain countries, female genital cutting is still commonly practiced. And in Togo, while 94 girls go to primary school for every 100 boys, by secondary school, that figure drops to 53 girls per hundred boys.

Clearly, there is still much work to be done. On October 11, 2012, Plan Canada and the world will mark the first International Day of the Girl, a day to draw global focus on girls' rights and the continued discrimination and barriers they face. On that day we will talk more about the world's girls and the importance of education in their lives.

For now, the 142 lives documented in Hopes and Dreams remind us that although we've got a ways to go, we're on the right track in keeping a sharp, and ever-sharpening, lens on the world's girls so that together we can change the picture for them and ultimately for all of us.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1885079 2012-09-17T00:00:43-04:00 2012-11-16T05:12:02-05:00

Rosemary McCarney http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosemary-mccarney/ trip to Burkina Faso, one of several West African countries that has for months now been grappling with a severe food crisis brought on by drought, failed crops, and rising food prices that families there simply cannot afford. Added to that is an ongoing and massive influx of refugees from neighbouring Mali, pouring into Burkina Faso to escape the violence and political conflict that has gripped their home country. Like the already food-strapped residents of Burkina Faso, the refugees don't just need a safe place to live, but they also need to eat.

Throughout this visit I was struck by many sights and sounds that will stay with me for a long time -- evidence of how the crisis is affecting lives, how people are coping, and what more needs to be done to avert a crisis from becoming an all-out catastrophe.


Photo: Courtesy of Plan Canada

I saw mothers and their babies wait in line at a local feeding centre to be weighed and measured by health workers for malnutrition and given food supplements to stay healthy and alive. Monitoring malnutrition rates is absolutely critical work for humanitarian agencies right now. There are thousands of children in the region who are severely malnourished, and therefore at high risk for stunted growth and damage to brain development.

I listened as mothers in a Malian refugee camp fervently expressed their desire to have their children receive an education, even if it means going to a school in a makeshift tent or refugee camp. These mothers travelled hundreds of kilometres to keep their children safe from being taken as child soldiers, and to escape the random violence perpetrated mostly on civilians in conflict zones today. They want to ensure the trip was well worth the risk by giving their kids a chance at a bright future.


Photo: Courtesy of Plan Canada

When we visited a Plan-supported school for Malian refugee children, a place where children introduce themselves first by saying, "I am a child refugee of Mali" before they'll tell you their names, I listened quietly as these young people shared the cry of their hearts through a simple poem in French (loosely translated here):

Pourquoi la guerre chez toi?
Why is there war in your home (where you live)?
Pourquoi la guerre chez moi?
Why is there war in my home (where I live)?
Nous, enfants du monde entier, nous voulons la paix;
We, the children of the whole world, we want peace;
Plus jamais ça chez toi; Plus jamais ça chez moi;
Never again where you live; Never again where I live;
Vive la paix, vive l'union.
Long live peace, long live unity.

These words remind me that these children and their families are no different than ours -- they too want to live in a country where they don't have to fear random violence and oppression, where there is peace, and where kids can get a good education.

I also heard stories of tremendous goodwill and action among Africans themselves. These are not a people content to sit and wait for help. Malian refugees are sharing what few food and resources they can get in the camp with local Burkina Faso residents who were themselves poor and running short of food before Malians came across their borders. Likewise, already struggling Burkina Faso families are opening up their homes to Malians. No one there chose to be in this situation but they are finding whatever ways possible to survive and help each other.


Photo: Courtesy of Plan Canada

After a season of drought and failed crops, and in a somewhat cruel and ironic twist of fate, heavy rains have now come to Burkina Faso and the countryside is looking green. Now the more apt term for this crisis is a "green hunger" because while the countryside is green, food stocks and granaries have now been depleted and the next harvest is far from ready.

Humanitarian agencies now face a critical time in the months ahead because families need more of our support and resources to carry them through this barren season until the next harvest. Otherwise, people will be forced to pursue desperate survival measures like harvesting crops before they're ready, halving their output, or slaughtering livestock as a food source when instead they could be leveraging that livestock for future and longer-term farming and agriculture production. People will be forced to sacrifice the things they need for a stable future just so they can survive today. Could anyone blame them when faced with a similar situation?

I think again of those children I met and their poem for peace. While humanitarian agencies like Plan and fellow members of the Humanitarian Coalition continue to respond to this crisis in the months ahead, continue to provide clean water, food, schools for children and other resources to help people cope and recover, I will keep the faces of these children and the words of their poem in mind. Knowing that these are the future leaders of African nations and that if we can keep them alive today, then hopefully they can grow up to plan and fulfill their visions for a world of peace and security.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1797182 2012-08-19T11:37:40-04:00 2012-10-19T05:12:03-04:00

Rosemary McCarney http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosemary-mccarney/
For months now, the region has been in the grips of a drought and food crisis spurred by erratic rains, failed crops, poor harvests, recurring drought, and rising food and fuel costs. Violence and political turmoil in parts of the region like Timbuktu have further exacerbated the crisis with roughly 300,000 Malian refugees running for their lives toward safety and food in neighbouring countries that were already food insecure long before they arrived.

While aid agencies like Plan Canada and fellow members of the Humanitarian Coalition do our best to respond and to encourage public attention and support, my biggest fear in all of this is that people will look at this crisis, roll their eyes in mock surprise or indifference, and say "Oh another Africa crisis..." or "Here we go again, another sad story about hungry African children."

Given the number of African famines and droughts I've seen as an aid worker over the last three decades, I can see how people could become apathetic over time, but I don't think it's fair, nor accurate, to dismiss this latest crisis in a "here we go again" kind of way.

I say it's not fair because I know that throughout past famines and droughts, African farmers have become more and more resilient, and have made so much headway over the years in preparedness and recovery to crises like these -- crises that are practically a way of life in countries where so many people's lives and livelihoods are intrinsically linked to climate trends and uncontrollable conditions.

In fact, like Canadian farmers who have learned how to survive the unpredictability of good and bad weather, local African farmers have been doing their best to survive extreme climate events for decades. With support from Plan, many African farmers have been able to manage through back-to-back seasons of erratic rains and prolonged droughts through smart farming techniques, better and more effective grain storage systems, and other disaster preparedness and back-up processes.

The reality is this latest drought has simply overwhelmed those hard-won systems and processes, and it has occurred in regions where families, even though they've been surviving, still struggle against poverty.

On this side of the world, farmers in the American midwest are now facing what many are calling the worst drought in 50 years and, as reported in recent news, experts are sounding the alarm on increasing global food shortages that will result and "calling for international action to avoid a repeat of the worldwide food price crisis of 2008." By many accounts, this too is a natural climate event that has overwhelmed even the wealthy U.S midwest farming industry despite the best tools, resources, and systems farmers had in place before the drought occurred.

While I fear people's indifference, I also hold on to my own hope. My hope that people worldwide, and especially Canadians who have shown compassion and generosity in disasters before, will understand that the Sahel food crisis is not just another African tragedy about political fighting and poor people.

That people will see it as much more than this -- a natural disaster that could happen anywhere in the world but is happening today in a region with no safety net left . A natural disaster that, like with any emergency, requires our urgent attention and support so that children can eat and grow up healthy and lives can be saved.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1761860 2012-08-11T07:53:00-04:00 2012-10-11T05:12:07-04:00

Rosemary McCarney http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosemary-mccarney/
Plan's Dream: No Potential Wasted
I think I'm drawn to them because in the course of my work at Plan I see so many young people with great potential of their own who have so few opportunities to explore or express it. Still, they bravely persist in striving to make their mark on the world, even in contexts of deprivation and conflict, demonstrating their own Olympic-like strength and will in tackling complex local and global problems.

On August 12, we celebrate International Youth Day. This year's theme is about partnering with youth to build a better world. We need days like this to remind the world that we can't afford to waste any of the talent, energy and ideas possessed by over one billion global citizens between the ages of 15-24. The vast majority of these, about 85 per cent, live in developing countries.

Youth as Partners in Development
In thinking about this year's International Youth Day theme, my mind went flashing back to the aftermath of the tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean in 2004. As all the "experts" flew in to direct the recovery effort, we took the time to listen to traumatized children and youth. We worked with youth to articulate how they wanted their communities and lives to be rebuilt -- what features could be incorporated into the new school, for example, to reduce their fear of being swept away should another tsunami come.

Since that experience, we've put a stronger effort on training young people to reduce the risk of disaster devastating their communities. In Colombia, hundreds of youth now understand what human actions contribute to mudslides and flood damage -- like cutting down trees on steep slopes or letting drainage ditches fill up with mud. They regularly monitor their communities, map hazards and formally report risks to authorities. In flood-prone areas of Bangladesh, youth noting that their families seldom save for emergencies set up their own savings program as a kind of "insurance" that could fund food and supplies when floods come.

Youth as Economic Contributors and Engaged Citizens
A recent report by the International Labour Organization says that global youth unemployment is expected to rise to 12.7 per cent this year and remain high for some time. In developing countries with a "bulge" of young people now entering weak economies, opportunities are particularly scarce.

Through Plan-supported initiatives, youth are working to fulfil their potential as economic contributors. In Indonesia, to cite just one example, we're partnering with local businesses in a Youth Economic Empowerment programme, which gives promising candidates the skills, experience and self-confidence they need to land a job. Numerous Plan-supported microfinance programs help young entrepreneurs turn their good ideas into income.

In Sierra Leone and other parts of West Africa, young boys and girls are learning basic journalism and technology skills through Plan's Girls Making Media project. They then put these skills to work by raising awareness about issues that are important to young people in their schools and communities like combating child labour, gender discrimination and female genital mutilation. For example, in Guinea-Bissau, the government has passed a law to make female genital cutting illegal but the practice still occurs in the country. When Girls Making Media members in the region learned this, they organized a radio debate and a football match on National Women's Day to help make sure that girls' and women's rights are respected in the country.

Youth Changing the World
Back here in Canada, we've been thrilled by the response of Canadian youth to our invitation to partner with Plan in changing the world -- particularly through our Because I Am a Girl campaign. They each find their own special way to contribute. Nine-year-old Mackenzie made up bags of candy attached to magnets bearing words that inspired her, and sold these to raise money for Plan projects. Michaela convinced her school principal to let her make a presentation on girls' issues -- and that's just the start of her personal advocacy campaign.

As I write, 16-year-old Adiba from Toronto is looking forward to travelling to Ghana to experience Plan's work there. She earned this opportunity by signing up for our Plan for Change initiative and reaching her goal of educating more than 1,000 people on girl's rights and youth leadership through her own events and fundraisers.

Imagine the incredible possibilities for change in our world -- politically, economically, and socially -- if we challenged ourselves to find more and more ways to partner with youth in creating solutions to the world's biggest problems. With their help, a better world is totally achievable.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1606472 2012-06-18T14:32:44-04:00 2012-08-18T05:12:12-04:00

Rosemary McCarney http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosemary-mccarney/
The news story I'm referring to was about an ad campaign launched earlier this month in Ottawa by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to raise awareness about the difficult choices people must make when they find themselves having to flee their country because of conflict, or out of fear for their lives. In a timely way, the campaign launched amid wide-spread debate and news coverage about the Canadian government's new legislation, Bill C-31, the Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act, which looks to bring reform to our immigration and refugee system -- or crack down on "bogus" refugee claims as some might say.

We may hear or read about stateless or refugee people from time to time in the news as people coming off a boat or when a slaughter occurs in a camp, but for the most part their realities remain worlds apart from our own.

In fact, do we have any notion of the complicated decisions refugees must make when they flee? Of what it feels like to be forced to leave your own country, your home, your possessions, and your livelihood to take a chance that somewhere else is better? Safer? Welcoming? Or to weigh what you are giving up against a completely unknown and not necessarily promising future that could bring additional harm to you and your family? What it feels like for parents who have to remove their children from their schools not knowing when their children will be able to go to school or play again? Or what about the decision to leave behind older family members who are not mobile enough for a desperate exit to safer ground?

This is the reality that refugees are facing right now in West Africa where poor harvests, recurring drought, and rising fuel and food prices have spurred a growing food and hunger crisis across the region. This is a crisis with several interconnected layers. There are serious cases of malnutrition, ongoing food shortages, and hundreds of thousands of Malian refugees fleeing conflict in their home country to go to food insecure places like Niger or Burkina Faso, where there were already crop failures and hunger before the refugees arrived. Some may never be able to go home.

In West Africa, where Plan Canada and fellow members of the Humanitarian Coalition have joined forces to provide food and health services, refugee camps are filling up daily and the months ahead look very bleak. And yet, whenever I've had the opportunity to work in a refugee camp, I have always been struck by the optimistic outlook of refugees. The sense of hope and optimism people have that says, "Yes, we will be able to go home soon," or "Soon some country will welcome us."

Many Canadians began their lives here as refugees or descendents of them. My family came here fleeing the potato famine in Ireland in the 1800s. Others came fleeing the two world wars and violence in Europe. More recently, others have come from other countries suffering conflict in Africa and Asia. Diversity of backgrounds, experiences and cultures is the very make-up of our nation's DNA. Even so, we are sometimes conflicted in our attitudes or views about our role in welcoming influxes of new people onto our shores. Certainly, aboriginal people were.

That conflict we feel within ourselves is fair. It makes sense for us to assess or examine our refugee policy -- to ask ourselves is this working? Could we do better? But on this World Refugee Day, let's be careful and conscious in that assessment. Let's take the time to imagine if we were (or again) refugees seeking hope, safety and survival wherever it could be found, what response we would hope for from Canadians? On this World Refugee Day, I believe compassion and understanding -- which has also always been a part of our nation's DNA -- will prevail.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1441117 2012-04-20T13:28:43-04:00 2012-06-20T05:12:02-04:00

Rosemary McCarney http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosemary-mccarney/
I also believe this because of what I have seen and heard from girls in different parts of the world I've visited in the past few weeks.

In India, I met with street children, including young girls, living on railway platforms. A Plan colleague there told me that if we don't get to these rural refugees from poverty within eight days of arrival in a city, they'll be victims of trafficking.

In New York, I met with young girl delegates at this year's United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. These girls shared candid stories about their lives and the lives of other girls they knew.

Maryam, age 15 and from Pakistan, a country where the average age at which girls are married is 15 or 16, brought statistics to life in recounting the story of a friend married at age 12 to a 32-year-old man. Praveen (not her real name) was a disappointment to her husband's family, more interested in playing with toys than in her husband, eating the tomatoes she was meant to be cooking. After three months, her husband divorced her and she was sent back to live with her parents. Now her parents feel she is a burden and want to marry her away again as soon as possible. She weeps and remains sad.

I also heard the story of 13-year-old Humu in Sierra Leone, married off to a 47-year-old. She explained that in poor families in her country, a young girl is regarded as an economic burden, and early marriage perceived as benefitting both the child and her family financially and socially. Pregnant after just a few months, with pre-natal care limited to untrained traditional birth attendants, Humu developed a disease called fistula -- common in very young pregnant girls -- and lost the baby. She too was divorced by her husband because of the stigma fistula carries in that community.

The girls I met in the Middle East were somewhat more optimistic, hopeful that the tremendous changes in their country will eventually benefit them, but still suffering from terrible discrimination.

Last December, the United Nations announced that beginning in 2012, October 11 will be designated the International Day of the Girl Child. A new day to bring focus and attention on girls' rights and the ways in which those rights are violated; to call the global community to action in addressing the unique challenges and barriers that girls around the world face because they are young and female; and to affirm the power and potential girls have to break the cycle of poverty in their families, communities, and nations.

On March 8 of this year, the 101st International Women's Day, I stood proudly with the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Canadian Minister for the Status of Women, and 500 Toronto girls in grades three through six as we gathered at a Toronto District School Board event to recognize and celebrate the power and potential of women and young girls worldwide. At this event, I also spoke about why we need a day for girls -- why recognizing girls as a distinct and particularly vulnerable group is important, and about how empowered girls become empowered women.

By investing in girls- -- and by that I mean focusing our collective will, attention, and resources on their survival and development -- we can we support a generation of empowered women, mothers, workers and leaders who will improve the lives of everyone around them.

If we invest in girls, especially in their education, we can literally transform lives. An educated girl will be more likely to marry later and have fewer, healthier children. She will have a better chance to stay healthy herself and remain alive. For each year that a girl stays in school, her income will rise by 15 per cent. With the opportunity to earn a living, she will pull herself out of poverty, and bring her family along with her. An educated girl will grow up to gain her rightful place in society and be a force for change.

These are among many reasons why girls need a day of their own!

This year, Plan's focus is on promoting girls' rights to a minimum of nine years of education. That's still a distant dream for so many, but with increasing global awareness and action we can make that dream a reality. On 10.11.12, I look forward to joining girls around the world in marking the first International Day of the Girl. I hope you will mark that date in your calendar too and join me in helping girls change the world!

Close to 500 Toronto girls hold up signs to honour a woman who has made a difference in their lives.The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Canadian Minister for the Status of Women, Rosemary McCarney, President and CEO of Plan Canada, and Dr. Chris Spence, Director of Education for TDSB, were on hand for a TDSB event to celebrate girls and women on International Women's Day. Photo credit: Plan Canada.

A group of young Toronto girls present the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Canadian Minister for the Status of Women, with a signed banner of congratulations for making the new UN day -- the International Day of the Girl -- a reality. Minister Ambrose, Rosemary McCarney, President and CEO of Plan Canada, and Dr. Chris Spence, Director of Education for TDSB, were on hand for a TDSB event to celebrate girls and women on International Women's Day. Photo credit: Plan Canada.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.1217381 2012-01-20T17:47:31-05:00 2012-03-21T05:12:01-04:00

Rosemary McCarney http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosemary-mccarney/ International Day of the Girl Child. In creating a day to celebrate and acknowledge girls, the UN is putting its weight and influence behind global efforts to raise awareness of girls' rights and shine a spotlight on areas where those rights are routinely violated. The message is simple: "girls rights are human rights"; the sooner in life girls know their rights, the greater the chance they will be able to exercise them.

The statistics are grim, leaving little room for doubt on why an international day to focus on girls' issues is significant and necessary. Girls are three times more likely to be malnourished than boys, because in many parts of the world where food is scarce, girls eat last. Of the world's 130 million out-of-school youth, 70 per cent are girls. Sex selection feticide denies millions of girls the right to be born merely because they are girls.

Others are forced into early marriage and pregnancy. Medical complications from pregnancy are the leading cause of death among girls aged 15 to 19 worldwide. Even here in Canada our concern over the emerging issues of "honour" killings and harmful cultural practices, and violence against young and adult women, confirm the serious need to address girls' rights on a global scale.

Besides troubling statistics, it has at the same time been proven that investing in girls boosts prosperity. By investing in girls we can support a generation of women -- mothers, workers, and leaders -- to improve the lives of everyone around them and to help break the cycle of poverty across communities and entire nations.

The Economist recently wrote, "Forget China, India and the Internet. Economic growth is driven by women." On this basis, we were compelled, and proud, to be part of a Canadian delegation who introduced the resolution for an "International Day of the Girl Child" to the UN General Assembly and argued passionately for its adoption.

All federal political parties have been enthusiastic in their support: the motion to put the resolution forward passed unanimously in the House of Commons in 2011 as a result of efforts by a grassroots movement convinced that "ordinary Canadians" can indeed bring about change on the world stage.

Fifteen thousand Canadian girls and boys, men and women signed an online petition. More than 600 joined the letter-writing campaign to advocate for the day. More than a dozen Canadian community organizations took up the cause.

Many of those who were most instrumental in promoting a Day of the Girl were young girls themselves. The tipping point came during the 55th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York, where we had the great privilege of watching 12 girls from Plan International's "speakers bureau" -- including some from Canada -- make the case for paying greater attention to girls' rights.

These highly articulate young people spoke confidently to the high-level representatives in attendance about the impact of violence and discrimination on their lives and what must be done to end it.
While the girls' stories were heart-breaking, the girls themselves were inspiring.

It was extraordinary to watch them interacting with heads of state, hosting their own breakout session, helping draft language for a UN statement of accountability. We were proud and touched by their determination when they made a formal request for the Government of Canada to take international leadership and move the Day of the Girl proposal through the UN.

Such a day, they said, would make girls feel respected, recognized, and valued, where today they feel marginalized. They said it would give them a once-a-year opportunity to hold their governments to account -- to report progress on key issues and call for action. They said they would hold rallies and conferences to educate everyone -- especially girls -- on girls' rights. A UN-endorsed Day of the Girl, they said, could attract media attention and make their voices louder.

We are thrilled that these 12 girls were so determined, that the Canadian government was able to achieve so much momentum within the UN, and that the UN General Assembly agreed to the proposal.

Many girls who helped make this day possible are also thrilled, like Saba Ghahari, 19, one of the Canadian girl delegates who actively campaigned for the Day. "On each Day of the Girl," she says, "I hope we will see steps toward progress in our world. Steps away from discrimination, seclusion, and global poverty. I really do believe this day will be the key to positive change and equality."

We look forward to marking the very first International Day of the Girl Child on October 11, 2012 and to our continued work with girls to inspire and shape real, tangible progress on issues that affect girls both in Canada and around the world.

The Honourable Rona Ambrose is the Minister for the Status of Women and Rosemary McCarney is the President and CEO of Plan Canada.
]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.1118445 2011-12-03T01:23:36-05:00 2012-02-01T05:12:01-05:00

Rosemary McCarney http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rosemary-mccarney/
In reality, and like many countries, Colombia -- one of Canada's closest partners from both a business investment and development assistance perspective -- is really a complex mix of extremes. It's something my Plan Colombia colleagues and I talked about when I was there last month.

On the one hand you have Colombia's beautiful and secure urban centres, where there is a rising middle-class and where big businesses, like Canadian banks and mining companies, are placing their bets by investing in the country. On the other hand, you have vast slums, poverty, hundreds of thousands of displaced persons left homeless after natural disasters, youth coming out of school with few career options, and children drawn into the armed conflict of the countryside. While this dichotomy of extremes has its challenges, Colombia is not a country without potential.


Okay now, everybody say, "Colombia!" Rosemary and a few children she met during her visit.
Photo courtesy of Plan Canada.


A New Generation of Hope and Change
Since 1962, Plan has been working in Colombia, helping children access health, education, livelihoods and protection. With money raised in the country and matched by the Canadian Government and Canadian donors, we directly support about 140,000 young boys and girls and as many as 700,000 families. This includes our work in Colombia's urban centres to help children who have been drawn into the commercial sex trade.

But make no mistake -- this is not about giving poor children and their families a handout. It's about creating lasting change. I saw some powerful and pragmatic examples -- as vast and complex as Colombia itself -- of how Colombian youths are leveraging our support and working together across communities to improve their own lives, and the state of their entire country:

... Like the youth I met in Padilla who are running a Plan-supported village savings and loans program. Through this program, youth have accumulated savings and have established a social fund for emergencies in their village. Of their own will, and despite their own personal needs, these youth have chosen to designate their savings to replace the sagging roof on their local community health clinic and pay for other repairs...

... At a Plan school and agricultural training centre in Jamundi -- equipped with a model farm and real livestock -- youths are learning about crop production, food processing, the business of modern farming and agriculture, and about what profits can be made in smart approaches to farming. It may not be the typical career choice for many youth today, but the Colombian youth I visited were quite excited about this career path. They could see a whole world of opportunity opening up for them, and a way out of the long-time poverty that affected their families...

... In other parts of the country, youth are developing disaster preparedness plans for their communities, a vital exercise as Colombia is high-risk for natural disasters. Using media training and other resources provided by Plan, these youth are becoming photojournalists, travelling across communities to "map" areas for vulnerabilities to future disasters. They are also meeting with community leaders to discuss and remedy risky systems and infrastructure -- like poor sanitation and drainage systems, and homes built on flood plains -- that pose harm and danger to both children and adults in emergency situations....

... In 2010, and with Plan's support, a group of youth produced a rap music album,
Rap Paz Joven to spread the message of peace to other youth through the driving beats of Colombian hip-hop. Today, in Tumaco, where Canada has invested heavily in youth programs, youth continue to lead peer-to-peer peace-building initiatives to stem the tide of violence and conflict that has troubled the country.

Colombia's Lesson for All of Us
The Colombian youths I met represent a new generation of change in the country. The passion and potential I saw in all of them affirmed for me how important it is that we not turn our backs on them. Their work demonstrates what development assistance is really all about: investing in people to build their own capacity for sustainable change and development in their communities, and to become their own agents of social change.

More broadly, Canadians should know Colombia better. They're our neighbours. (Air Canada has direct, non-stop flights!) It's in our hemisphere, our own backyard. We vacation there, we do business there, and we invest our charitable dollars there -- but how well do we know it? Look a little closer, not just at Colombia but other places we support or visit for business or pleasure. There's much to know about a country -- and its people -- beyond cruise ship stops and newspaper headlines.
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