A sacred quest to save the forests in Kenya

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“I will be like Mekatilili Wa Menza [a historic Mijikenda female warrior]. A great woman who will conserve the forest.”

 —Caroline Kiti, Kenya

Caroline Kiti’s bond with the Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests runs deep. These 10 forests stretch across 200 kilometres of Kenya’s coast, and when loggers threatened them, Caroline refused to stand by.

Watch how she has helped change gender norms and rallied her community to protect these forests with support from our Conservation and Sustainable Management of Coastal and Marine Ecosystems (COSME) project, a partnership between Plan International and the Government of Canada. In the first two years of this four-year project, we’ve reached 3,000 women who are rebuilding coastal ecosystems: They have planted 80,000 mangrove trees and 19,000 indigenous plant seedlings – and they’re only just getting started.

POV: You’re a child forced to flee your home due to crisis

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“I see suffering which is unprecedented, and I see it almost every day.”

 —Dr. Unni Krishnan, global humanitarian director, Plan International

Regional conflicts, famine, and floods have triggered a surge in humanitarian crises around the world. From Gaza and Ukraine to Sudan and beyond, the scale can feel overwhelming.

For World Refugee Day, we asked global experts to help us see these emergencies through the eyes of children living in crisis. This video offers a glimpse into their world, where conflict and disaster reshape their daily lives and school becomes a lifeline to a better future.

Our Children in Crisis Response Fund enables front-line workers to deliver aid to children surviving war, conflict, or natural disasters within days. Learn more about the fund: https://plancanada.ca/en-ca/donate/children-in-crisis.

Su’s wheels of change

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“I kept reminding myself I could do it. I was getting better with time and I gained confidence.”

 —Su, 20, Myanmar

Su’s story begins with uncertainty and isolation, as a teenage girl spending her days online during the pandemic. Her father worried she might become timid and not find her place in the community after the isolation. Everything changed when Su discovered Plan’s Thanaka project, which helps young women like herself become leaders and build skills to earn a living.

Today, Su is a bold youth leader whose words carry confidence – as we can very well hear in the video. She is now a facilitator who runs sessions of Plan International’s Champions of Change clubs about the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls. She even learned how to ride a motorbike so she can get around independently. Her journey shows how family support and opportunities like job-skills training can help young women become changemakers in their communities.

The Thanaka project launched in 2022 and has now reached more than 6,000 young people in Myanmar, helping them grow their skills and resources for leadership, confidence, and employment.

Bobsledder Cynthia Appiah takes the heat – off-ice!

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It’s not every day kids get to interview an Olympic athlete! When we gave some of our youngest determined optimists the chance to chat with our newest Celebrated Ambassador, Cynthia Appiah, the questions were practical, curious – and absolutely adorable. In this video, Cynthia shares insights about her sport and her journey, sparking conversations about courage, resilience, and dreaming big. It’s proof that sports and play can open doors to powerful life lessons for children everywhere.

Ending child marriage through small acts of courage

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At just 15, Ngân dreamed of studying and singing – but her future had already been arranged. In northwest Vietnam, where child marriage remains common and dowries still decide destinies, Ngân dared to ask for something different: to return the dowry and choose her own path.

Directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Hà Lệ Diễm, The Price of Dreams unfolds in Ngân’s own words – through diary entries and reflections – as her teacher and Plan staff join her in a high-stakes conversation with her mother. The film captures how big changes happen through small acts of courage: a student’s plea, a teacher’s visit, a mother’s reconsideration.

Ngân participates in Champions of Change, a youth-led club where girls and boys speak out against child marriage and support one another. She is one of more than 8,000 children who have been sponsored in her region through Plan International.