‘Roundtable: Child Safeguarding Policy in Sports Setting’ Nearly 60 Practioners Attended the Event to Exchange Views
Children are our future. It is everyone’s responsibility to safeguard our children. Children’s best interests should be taken into consideration in all aspects including education, life, activity design and interest development. Plan International Hong Kong understands that every child is unique. All children have the right to be protected under the United Nations Convention on... Read More
【Coronavirus Emergency Relief】 Sharing is Caring! Save Girls from Child Marriage
In light of the outbreak of coronavirus, Plan International has provided 880 grassroots children and their families with more than 40,000 masks and other antiviral supplies to meet their urgent needs. (Details of local relief work). In developing countries, the children have to face the threats from virus, they also have to deal with poverty... Read More
Plan international hong kong – City University of Hong Kong ‘Girls Get Equal’ Youth Conference 2020/21
Since 2015, Plan International Hong Kong and the Department of Asian and International Studies of City University of Hong Kong have jointly organised the ‘Girls Get Equal’ Youth Conference, which is an annual occasion for local young people to meet, reflect and exchange ideas on international issues, particularly girls’ situations in low-income countries, by conducting... Read More
Girls Are Suffering Now- COVID-19 Aggravates Female Genital Cutting in Somalia
While coronavirus is raging across the globe, another evil is hurting girls door to door in Somalia. The pandemic has already raised the number of drop-outs, domestic violence and child marriage cases in many developing countries. Some girls even have to face another threat, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Somalia is the country with the world’s... Read More
Pandemic Cannot Kill Intelligence- A Vietnam Mother Delivers Vegetables to Your Door!
As the COVID-19 pandemic emerges, food delivery services are flourishing everywhere. This business has also brought income to people who were struggling to sustain a living under the virus outbreak in developing countries. In Vietnam, whenever Yen Nhi, a 7-year-old little girl, hears the sound of motorbikes, she runs excitedly to welcome her mother at... Read More
Roundtable: Child Safeguarding Policy in Sports Setting
Introduction Plan International Hong Kong is committed to promoting the principles of Child Safeguarding within our local community. We firmly believe that Child Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and that all child-related organisations should exercise their moral and legal responsibility to provide a safe and positive environment for all children and young people. Sports institutions and... Read More
Introductory Workshop on Child Safeguarding Policy
Introduction Child Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, but more importantly as educators and professionals, it is our duty to safeguard the highest bar of standard to keep children safe in our every interaction. Child abuse cases are on the rise and many of these acts are carried out by people whom children trust. Plan International Hong... Read More
Coronavirus Relief Developing Countries Come Close to a Food and Safety Crisis
In light of the outbreak of coronavirus, Plan International has provided 880 grassroots children and their families with more than 59,000 masks and other antiviral supplies to meet their urgent needs. (Details of local relief work: https://bit.ly/34kFRLI) In Hong Kong, we often have our gaze on the situation in Europe and America; however, developing countries... Read More
當「氣候不公義」遇上「性別不公義」 女孩在氣候危機中淪為犧牲品
17歲的瑞典女生格蕾塔.通貝里(Greta Thunberg)是去年時代雜誌的年度風雲人物,她努力提倡環境保護主義,為喚醒全球關注氣候暖化曾發起國際性罷課,代表新一代發言,誓要打破氣候變化的命運。在截然不同的成長環境中,有一個17歲的女孩像通貝里一樣聰明伶俐、同樣關心和她生活息息相關的大自然。蘭莉絲一家在中非贊比亞的中央省居住,是個高材生,每次考試都拿得高分,理應有一個美好前程,或者有天可像通貝里般有一番成就,可是氣候問題令她的理想變得遙不可及。贊比亞時而旱災、時而水災,五年只有一次正常收成,導致蘭莉絲一家田產失收,陷入財政危機,為了確保家人有充足糧食,蘭莉絲不得不輟學以減低家庭開支,同時四處打工幫補生計,失去教育機會,要追尋夢想談何容易呢! 氣候變化是一個影響全球的議題,但為甚麼我們需要特別關注發展中國家女童的情況呢?正是因為這些女童要承受兩個「不公義」,受盡苦楚。 蘭莉絲因旱災而輟學,除了需要在家中照顧妹妹,亦要扛起家務和生計,失去應有的童年生活。 發展中國家在「氣候不公義」中成了代罪羔羊 2015年聯合國氣候峰會通過了巴黎協議(Paris Agreement),195國簽署條文,聲明共同努力遏阻全球暖化,目標包括把全球平均氣溫升幅控制在2℃之內及提高適應能力等。然而,正當全世界都說要為地球未來揹起責任,很多時候是發展中國家承受了發達國家種出來的惡果。 在過去數十年的經濟競賽中,英美法、中日韓等地在工廠濃濃煙霧的襯托和化石燃料的支撐下提升了國際影響力。反之,發展中國家因天然資源貧乏、內戰等,發展進程落後,形成經濟技術水平的差異。多年以來在最高溫室氣體排放排行榜中名列前茅的較發達國家,固然無法推卸推高平均氣溫和污染環境的責任,而當天災來臨,發達國家能夠輕鬆調配大量資源應對,利用科技預測風暴走向、建水壩防洪;發展中國家卻顯得徬徨無助,未能預防及應對災害,因而變成競賽下慘烈的犧牲者。這就形成了第一個「不公義」—「氣候不公義」。 南非的莫桑比克受強烈熱帶氣旋伊代吹襲後,大多農作物壞死,造成糧食短缺。 受戰火摧殘的南蘇丹同時受水災威脅,村落一下子成了澤國,居民無處容身。 女孩走在對抗氣候變化的最前線 去年年末,國際培幼會一項針對氣候問題的研究報告揭示巴黎協議簽署國忽視氣候危機導致女孩權益被剝削的問題,更沒有提供空間,讓女孩參與關乎她們未來的決策。女性佔了全球人口的一半,然而她們的需要往往在氣候政策中被忽視。在160個訂立了減排目標的簽署國中,只有一個國家的政策提及「女孩教育」,另外兩個的政策提及「女性」。 報告亦說明氣候問題加劇了發展中國家女孩面對的挑戰。傳統文化中重男輕女的觀念原本已令童婚、童工、輟學及早孕數字高企,現在這些問題發生的機率更大增。就如蘭莉絲的故事,很多家庭因自然災害收入下跌,未能承擔學費而強逼女兒輟學,因為女生地位較低、賺錢較少。女兒只可負責家務、照顧家人、當童工幫補收入或是盡快嫁出去。有些父母會把女兒嫁出去以減低家中支出,同時換取禮金,但女童婚後可能面對早孕難產的危機,因為她們身體發育尚未成熟,加上在天災下,居住、醫療衛生環境變得更差,分娩時危機重重。 即使逃過童婚命運,可以繼續學業,因女性地位低微,她們往往是家中最後可以吃飯的人,幸運的時候會有剩餘飯菜,在失收饑荒時就可能要餓好幾天了,亦有一些在難民營的女孩外出時遭受性暴力對待,影響一生。更甚的是,她們要冒着極端天氣為一家人外出打水、尋找食物,很多女孩一去便沒回頭。可見,因著女性的身份,女孩在氣候危機中承受更多的苦果,這就形成第二個不公義 —「性別不公義」。 在柬埔寨田產收入大減,很多兒童被逼輟學以從事農務或是到街上擺賣,幫補家計。 柬埔寨亦是重男輕女的國家之一,在天災下,女孩仍要冒險外出,走很遠的路程去打水,供家人所用。 氣候問題逼在眉睫 從生活中的每一步與女孩同行 氣候問題日益嚴重,每時每刻都有女孩受苦。培幼會在多個發展中國家推行不同工作,幫助兒童,特別是女孩應對氣候變化的挑戰,例如在贊比亞的學校提供高蛋白營養食物,支援農民的生計發展,並且提供更多就業方式,若家庭生計得到改善,女孩便有機會繼續接受教育及避免成為童婚的受害者。此外,我們亦會為女孩充權,協助她們在家庭、社區、國家層面為自己的需要發聲,也在社區宣傳天災應對方法,使天災對女孩的負面影響減至最低。在發達國家的宣傳和游說工作亦不能停止,我們期望在各國各方的聯手應對下,氣候變化得以減慢,女孩亦可得到更多資源和時間應對挑戰。 此時此刻,我們未必感受到氣候變化帶來的莫大衝擊,但我們可以一同為發展中國家女童除去「雙重不公義」,我們可以從生活中實踐環保,減少製造垃圾;更可以向身邊的朋友推廣環保意識和在環保政策及議題上提出意見,以及積極為受影響地區的女孩充權,讓她們的聲音被聽見,能夠爭取應有的權益,就讓我們一起為女孩和地球的將來努力! 您亦可以透過國際培幼會的「愛.女孩」基金,以一次性或每月捐款全力支援在氣候危機中的弱勢女孩,幫助她們改善生活、接受教育和免受不平等對待,讓她們掌握未來。 培幼會在贊比亞開展食物援助計劃,在受氣候問題影響的地區為學童提供高能量高蛋白的膳食,讓他們得到在發育時期必需的營養,不至營養不良,可以繼續上學。 培幼會相信知識可以改變命運,孩子若可以接受教育,會更清楚如何保障自己的權益,亦有更大機會脫貧。 面對因氣候問題而日益嚴重的糧食短缺及難民潮,培幼會在非洲多個國家,包括贊比亞、馬拉維、肯民亞等為孩子及其家人提供食物、教育、住所、衛生包,以解他們燃眉之急。 婦女為了照顧家人,獨自拿着幾個水桶排隊等待培幼會分發清潔食水。
‘Climate Injustice’ Converges ‘Gender Injustice’ Girls Sacrifice in Climate Crisis
17-year-old Swedish girl Greta Thunberg was elected Person of the Year 2019 by Times Magazine. This new-gen advocate of environmental protection drew overwhelming awareness on imminent need to curb climate change through initiating a global school strike. In the Central Province of Zambia, Central Africa, where 17-year-old Liness calls this unique place her home, is... Read More








