When disaster strikes, we act immediately to reach those in need. So, when Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe were swept up in one of Southern Africa’s most devastating recent disasters, Cyclone Idai, we were there to help.

Plan International was on the ground to protect children’s rights through this devastating time: from immediate needs like food and water to important ongoing opportunities like education. Through the kindness of our donors, we were able to provide critical emergency aid to help communities begin to rebuild in the aftermath of catastrophe. Over 631,000 people were reached through our Canadian donors alone.

You also helped us reach:

• 34,887 affected people with items such as tents, blankets, and solar lamps
• 19,124 residents with water storage and purification tablets, hygiene kits, and Damp-Proof Membrane and Damp-Proof Course (DPMs and DPCs) to repair damaged homes
• 6,000 girls and women with menstrual hygiene/menstrual hygiene management (MHM) kits

With our Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) program in effect, no cases of cholera were registered – setting a new precedent.

Plan International has made tremendous progress in our global mission to end HIV, but around the world, girls and young women are still twice as likely as boys to be HIV-positive. Why is that accepted as normal?

At Plan International Canada, we’re committed to ensuring that every girl and young woman are equipped to combat HIV. With your support, we’ve implemented innovative HIV interventions in Malawi and around the world that defy the gender inequalities and stereotypes that leave girls behind.

Girls like 22-year-old Milika from Malawi: orphaned at 8-years-old, unable to afford school and a victim of gender-based violence and stigma. That is, until a transformative turning point of her life: receiving access to critical health services – made possible by our generous donors.

Thanks to your support:

• 111,000 in-school girls have received comprehensive sexual health education
• 97,000 out-of-school girls like Milika have been able to harness their sexual and reproductive health and rights through peer groups
• Over 1,700 girls have been empowered through sanitary pad enterprises
• Nearly 1,000 community and religious leaders across Malawi have been influenced to tear down traditional, and limited, gender-based practices to decrease girls’ likelihood of contracting HIV

“Girls can become leaders too.”

This is the first thing 15-year-old Mercy said when she was elected Deputy President of her school in Kenya. At Plan International Canada, we’ve always known that the inherent power and leadership potential of girls and young women is limitless. Thanks to our Because I am a Girl program supporters, now girls like Mercy know it too.

Plan International’s Tulinde Tusome project – which translates to ‘Protect us and let us learn’ – is creating safe spaces for improved learning.

With your support, 15,580 children were educated on their right to protection and education.

Through strengthening school governance and informing children of their right to education and protection, Plan’s programming is helping children, especially girls, access their rights to education, and true power to raise their voices in school and beyond.

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Plan International Canada is committed to protecting the rights of children amidst civil unrest and disruption. The effects of war and conflict can seem insurmountable, especially on children.

It is essential that we recognize that children are incredibly resilient and should be able to survive and thrive. They need the right environment, which includes protection, care, education, and support.

In 2016, after more than 50 years of armed conflict, a peace agreement was signed in Colombia. In light of this historic moment, Plan International Canada, with support from the Government of Canada and the generous support of Canadians, implemented Leading for Peace, a project that supports the children and youth in the country who have been the victims of this conflict.

To this day, you have helped:

• Over 4,000 women and girls kickstart their career journeys by forming nearly 300 savings and loan groups
• Over 1,750 youth answer their entrepreneurial calling with business trainings
• Over 150 trained community leaders strengthen leadership skills, identify needs and promote peaceful coexistence in their communities

Together, we are working to transform the lives of young people affected by decades of armed conflict, striving to empower them and create strong, resilient citizens.