ActionAid Action Magazine Summer 2013

The hunger issue

Summer 2013 • The hunger issue • www.actionaid.org.uk

DEAR SUPPORTER

CONTENTS 3 DEAR SUPPORTER 4 READY FOR ANYTHING

RAISES £2.7 MILLION 5 SAVING LIVES WHEN

DISASTER STRIKES 6 SIX MONTHS

OF ACTION

AGAINST HUNGER 8 EIGHT YEAR-OLDS

TELL G8 WHAT TO DO 10 THE BIG PICTURE 12 GROWING UP

HUNGRY IN KENYA 14 BRINGING HOPE TO

SYRIAN REFUGEES 16 NEWS SHORTS 18 ACTION STATIONS

ActionAid 33 – 39 Bowling Green Lane London EC1R 0BJ 01460 238 000 action@actionaid.org ActionAid is a registered charity, number 274467.

Design: www.thomasmatthews.com Print: Brightsource

Image of the moment A mother from New Delhi celebrates the birth of her daughter with ActionAid India staff as part of a programme that encourages families to celebrate the births of baby girls who are often unwanted.

Photo: Florian Lang/Actionaid

Nyoshe George, 3, with her porridge at Ufulu Learning Centre, Malawi.

Photo: James Oatway/Panos/ActionAid

Summer 2013

The first six months of this year have been highly significant for international development. In March, the Chancellor confirmed that the UK would become the first G8 nation to spend 0.7% GNI on international aid. I’d like to thank so many of you for contacting your MP and helping to achieve this huge campaigning victory.

In the same month I visited Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan, a desert home to over 100,000 Syrian refugees. Everyone I met had been deeply affected by the crisis, but I also witnessed the crucial role that international aid can play during a humanitarian crisis. Please read our report on page 14 to see how our appeal funds are supporting the physical and emotional wellbeing of families who have lost everything.

It was fantastic to meet many of you at the Big IF London Rally in June. The IF campaign tackled the root causes of hunger, not just the symptoms. With your support, we helped put hunger and tax dodging at the centre of the G8 agenda. Look out for the highlights on pages six and seven, and for an inspirational story from our hunger campaign ambassador Joy Mwakisambi on page 12.

Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who donated to our Ready for Anything appeal. Despite the recession, your outstanding generosity helped raise £ 2.7 million, so we can prepare for disasters before they strike. With your continued support, we hope to make our new Global Hunger Appeal, featured on page 13, equally successful. There’s still so much to be done and your commitment is what keeps us going.

Thank you.

Richard Miller Executive Director 3

READY FOR ANYTHING RAISES £2.7 MILLION How the money was raised 10,698 donations were made.

RFA tweets reached 2.6 million supporters.

LIKE

997 of you liked Ready for Anything on Facebook.

How much money was raised

On 4 February, ActionAid launched Ready for Anything – an appeal to support people in some of the world’s poorest and disasterprone countries to be more prepared when natural disasters strike.

Our target was to raise £550,000, which the UK government pledged to double through its UK Aid Match scheme. Supporters ran marathons, leapt from planes and baked cakes at fundraising events up and down the country. We smashed our original target and raised £1,361,149 which was doubled by the UK Government to make a whopping £2.7 million.

Thanks to each and every one of you for helping us to raise this fabulous sum.

£1.36 million from the UK public.

This was through

How the money will be spent The money you raised will help 152,200 people in 157 communities build their resilience to natural disasters and climate change by:

£162,577 raised at Call My Wine Bluff fundraiser.

£691,340 donated by major donors and ActionAid ambassadors.

£125,000 was the largest individual gift.

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£39,717 London Marathon sponsorship.

• Strengthening houses and schools to withstand cyclones and floods.

• Training people in the skills they need to rebuild their communities.

£121,000 Gift Aid was reclaimed.

SAVING LIVES WHEN DISASTER STRIKES

• Providing tools and seeds for community gardens that will feed local families.

Locals watch cyclone Mahasen approach the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh.

Photo: AP Photo/A.M. Ahad/Press Association Images

Bangladesh is one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries. Being prepared makes a huge difference in saving lives and protecting people’s livelihoods. In this eye witness account, ActionAid Bangladesh’s Norul Alam Raju describes how the nation coped with Cyclone Mahasen this May.

Although Mahasen damaged a lot of crops, the number of casualties was lower than in previous disasters. This success has come as a result of the steps taken before the onslaught of the storm.”

“When the cyclone hit, uprooted trees and wreckages of houses were everywhere.

Many areas were completely submerged.

There was total electrical failure, most areas remained in the dark for days.

At least one million people living along the coast were evacuated and record numbers of people sheltered. During cyclones, taking shelter in safe, designated buildings is the ultimate preparedness measure.

Schools, NGO and government buildings were used to shelter women and children.

Before the storm, there was a massive programme to raise awareness. Thousands of volunteers worked along the coast.

There were continuous announcements from community radio.

ActionAid.org.uk

In the past 20 years, 135 million people have been affected by different disasters, and 16,513 have lost their lives.

Summer 2013

Norul Alam Raju, Senior Programme Officer, ActionAid Bangladesh.

Photo: ActionAid

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THE IF CAMPAIGN: SIX MONTHS OF ACTION AGAINST HUNGER

From 500 George Osbornes marching on parliament to 50,000 people demanding an end to hunger in London and Belfast, during the IF campaign, over 1.4 million of you took action. Thanks to your tweets, calls and lobbying the government kept its promises on aid, put land grabs on the G8 agenda and world leaders finally acknowledged the need to tackle corporate tax dodging, which affects poor countries most. There is still a long way to go, but what we’ve achieved this year is incredible.

JANUARY: IF CAMPAIGN LAUNCH January saw the launch of Enough Food for Everyone… IF, a joint campaign calling on world leaders to stop one in eight people going hungry every day. We called for promises to be kept on aid, tough action on companies dodging tax in poor countries, use of land for food not fuel and greater transparency from governments and companies.

APRIL: CAMPAIGNERS DEMAND FOOD NOT FUEL Despite the weather, a field of wheat sprang up outside the UK parliament in April.

Each grain represented a campaigner demanding an end to food crops being burned as fuel. Many MPs came out and were photographed to show their support.

ActionAid UK campaigners protest outside parliament.

Photo: Kristian Buus/ActionAid

FEBRUARY: TAX DODGING EXPOSED Thanks to our exposé of food giant Associated British Foods – owner of Silver Spoon sugar and Kingsmill bread – hunger and tax dodging were headline news.

The company uses a variety of tax haven loopholes and tax breaks that virtually wipe out its tax bill in Zambia.

48,000 extra children could go to school if the company paid its fair share.

MAY: END UK TAX HAVENS

UK tax havens were the elephant in the room at the G7 finance meeting.

The UK is responsible for one in five of the world’s tax havens, yet at the G7 Finance Ministers meeting the issue wasn’t on the agenda. So we held stunt outside the UK treasury telling George Osborne to stop ignoring the elephant in the room.

Thousands of us tweeted and called the Chancellor telling him to clamp down on UK tax havens.

Photo: Claire Donner/ActionAid

MARCH: MASS LOBBY OF MPS

Bill Nighy at the IF campaign launch.

Will the real George Osborne please stand up! In March, 50,000 of you lobbied your MPs to make the government keep its promise to commit 0.7% of GNI to aid, and make tax rules fairer for developing countries. We sent 500 George Osbornes to parliament to make sure the Chancellor got the point.

JUNE: THE BIG IF On the eve of the G8 summit, more than 45,000 people gathered in Hyde Park and another 10,000 in Belfast to urge the government to act to end hunger. Throughout the campaign, 1.4 million of you took action. Thank you to everyone who took part, and don’t stop now.

Campaigners at the Big IF Rally, Hyde Park, London.

Photo: Tim Whitby/Getty Images/IF Campaign

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EIGHT YEAR-OLDS TELL G8 WHAT TO DO

Ziyada Nakabugo Uganda

Sadhna Pathan Naimuddin India

I’m Ziyada Nakabugo from Uganda. I live with my mum, dad, seven brothers, little sister and my dad’s second wife. My parents are farmers.

I’m Sadhna from Delhi in India. I live with my mum, dad, three brothers and four sisters in a one room house. A wooden plank divides our house into a bedroom and kitchen.

They farm beans, cassava, plantain and maize. We used to live in a thatched house with a grass roof. Now we live in a brick house with an iron roof. I’m doing well at school. My favourite subject is maths and I like playing football.

My family hope I will go to university. I want to be a teacher or a nurse. We eat two times a day, mostly bread and porridge.

But we don’t always have enough to eat.

My favourite food is rice and meat. I want G8 leaders to help us have more food.

Four children born in 2005, the year of the last G8, tell us about their lives and what they would like the G8 to do for them.

May Myat Naing Myanmar

Leen Syria

I’m May Myat Naing from Myanmar. I live with my mum, four brothers and sister in a bamboo hut with a palm leaf roof.

I’m Leen (not her real name) from Syria.

For six months I’ve been living in a refugee camp in Jordan.

We have a little room on the terrace that we rent to another family. Life at home is crowded, but we’re ok. In the winter we keep close together under blankets to stay warm. My mum and dad aren’t very well, so my siblings and I help to look after each other.

My favourite thing about our home is the outdoor table, where we eat together.

The worst thing is sleeping on the floor.

My mum sells fried vegetables. I wake up at 5.30 every morning to help her deliver them to customers in the village. After that I cycle to school. My favourite food is fried watercress and cake.

My family fled here to escape the conflict in Syria. I miss home a lot.

I like drawing and studying Hindi. Sometimes, in winter, it’s too cold to go to school. I would like world leaders to visit us and see how life is for us.

When I grow up I want to be a schoolteacher.

My brothers work in Thailand and China and send money to help us. I wish the G8 would help families to stay together.

Photo: Florian Lang/Actionaid

Photo: Stephen Kelly/ActionAid

We used to have a three bedroom house on a farm. Now we live in a caravan. I go to school in the camp. My favourite subjects are maths, Arabic and science.

I think the G8 should help us and Syria.

Photo: Dalia Khamissy/ActionAid

Photo: James Akena/ActionAid

Sadhna and May are sponsored children with ActionAid. 8

ActionAid.org.uk

To find out what you can do to support a child visit: actionaid.org.uk/child Summer 2013

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THE BIG PICTURE

Digging ‘zai-pits’ to irrigate the soil in drought prone Garba Tulia, Kenya.

Photo: Kate Holt/Shoot the Earth/Action

Donate to our Global Hunger Appeal: actionaid.org.uk/globalhunger

Food to survive Mariam Yaa, 10 Langobaya, Kenya

GROWING UP HUNGRY IN KENYA

In July, ActionAid activist Joy Mwakisambi, visited the UK to support the IF campaign to end world hunger.

Here she shares her story of growing up hungry in Kenya and why you don’t have to be a president to change the world.

“When I was growing up, there were times that I missed meals because there was nothing to eat. Everybody has been hungry at one point in their life; not experiencing hunger but feeling hungry. Like their stomach is empty. Here the problem is what you are going to eat. But back home the problem is having nothing at all to eat.

We have five million children every year experiencing malnutrition issues in Kenya.

I’ve seen people in desperation, children not being able to sleep at night because they don’t have anything to eat, crying to their mother. It’s very sad for a mother not to be able to provide for her kids when they are hungry.

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This is a really big calamity for my country.

Women back home are the ones who usually farm, but many of my neighbours don’t realise that women have the right to own land. I realised I don’t need to be the president of Kenya to do something about this, so I volunteered with ActionAid. We ran training workshops for women, so they understood their rights and how they could build a successful future by growing and selling food.

That’s why I came here to talk on behalf of all my people. I believe that ActionAid’s work really has an impact because it is empowering people so even when ActionAid has gone, people will be able to fight for their own rights and every child will have the right to survival.

On the next page, meet Miriam and Elizabett, just two of the many people we have been working with. Thank you for helping to make a massive difference to their lives. This wouldn’t have been possible without you, so please continue to support all the children and families who are still going hungry today.

ActionAid.org.uk

Food for the future Elizabett Isiolo, Kenya

Photo: Des Willie/ActionAid

Photo: Vicky Gould/ActionAid

Mariam is 10 and lives in a coastal area of Kenya called Langobaya. On an average day, she looks after the family’s animals, collects water and helps grow food crops like maize. Last year, Kenya had one of its driest years since 1950. Maize crops perished which had a devastating effect on farming families like Mariam’s, and also caused the price of maize to rise. Mariam was too hungry to go to school, but luckily an ActionAid school feeding programme meant she got at least one meal a day.

School feeding programmes can solve immediate needs, but to build a sustainable future, families need to grow food even in times of hardship. Elizabett is a member of an ActionAid ‘Farmer food school’ in the drought-prone region of Isiolo. Known locally as ‘schools without walls’, women and men learn simple, cheap farming techniques like digging ‘zai pits’ to irrigate the soil and try out drought-resistant seeds.

A daily lunch of maize and beans has become a lifeline to pupils like Mariam at Langobaya Primary School, says Headteacher, Moses Kazungu.

“It is heart-breaking to see children crying from hunger while I teach, but we have nearly 400 more pupils now attending because of the ActionAid feeding programme.”

“I have seen a lot of change in my household,” says Elizabett. “Now I am a very confident woman as I have food for my family with the sweet potato and onions I am growing.

But I’m not finished yet. ActionAid has given me more seeds, like black beans, which I will plant in October to take advantage of the rains. I’ve received a lot of training and am now growing enough to feed my family and send all of my children to school.

I am very proud of our farming here.”

Global Hunger Appeal 2013 Despite our best efforts, hunger is still a death sentence for millions of children.

We want to give many more children and families the chance to survive each day, the right to own land, and grow food for the future. Please help us create a world where everyone has enough to eat.

• £10 could provide emergency feeding for 20 children.

• £15 could help buy a goat to provide enough milk to keep families healthy.

• £20 could pay for seeds for two families to grow crops that will feed them and make a living, far into the future.

Donate now to our Global Hunger Appeal by calling 01460 238 023 or visit: www.actionaid.org.uk/globalhunger

Summer 2013

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CASE STUDY BRINGING HOPE TO SYRIAN REFUGEES

It’s been over two years since the start of the Syrian uprising. Eyewitness accounts paint a bleak picture of families living through fear, trauma and desperate need. Thanks to your generosity, our Syria Crisis Appeal raised £565,806 and we are able to bring hope to some of the 1.7 million Syrian refugees seeking shelter outside their homeland.

Thirteen year old Israa (not her real name) lives in Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan, with her brothers and sisters. Like many children here, she fled from Syria in only the clothes she was wearing. “Bombs fell down next to my house. There were holes from bullets all over our home. We were so afraid. We couldn’t bring anything with us, just our clothes.”

Our work here is based on listening and responding to what people like Israa tell us they need, which helps give people back some dignity and power in their lives. In Za’atari we are providing urgently needed items such as a change of clothes and soap, small things that are essential to people’s well-being.

For children living in the camps, a swift return to a normal daily routine is vital.

ActionAid brings children and young people together in a place of safety where they can support each other to recover.

“I still get to go to school in the camp,” says eight year old Leen (not her real name).

“I miss my home in Syria a lot but I love playing with my friends here. My favourite subjects are maths, Arabic and science.

Plus we go to classes run by ActionAid, like First Aid. I want to be a teacher when I grow up.”

Hannah Burrows, ActionAid’s Emergency Support Officer, reflects on some of the harrowing stories she heard in Za’atari refugee camp and why psychological support is so desperately needed:

Photo: Dalia Khamissy/ActionAid

“Women have told us that they feel hopeless and abandoned – not only have they fled the conflict, but they now struggle with feeling unsafe, far from home, without the facilities to be able to live in dignity. Israa told me: “What do I remember most about Syria? I don’t know whether to tell you the good or bad. The best thing was the roses in my mother’s garden. The bad is that I cannot forget the wounded people and scenes of blood. I saw people wounded, bodies in the streets.”

In the coming months ActionAid will provide group support sessions for refugees like Israa to help them cope with the emotional impact of the conflict. We’ll continue to distribute vital supplies for people who have lost everything and will also be introducing practical cash for work programmes.

Donate online: actionaid.org.uk/syria

Israa, 13 (not her real name) collects water in Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan.

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Bodies in the streets

ActionAid.org.uk

Summer 2013

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Joy Mwakisambi, ActionAid Kenya activist.

Photo: Nicola Bailey/ActionAid

NEWS SHORTS

FOOD NOT FUEL

THE VOICE OF YOUTH

Europe burns enough food in our cars as biofuels to feed over 145 million people every year. We want to end this madness. This autumn members of the European Parliament will vote on proposals to limit the amount of food burnt as biofuels in European cars.

We will urge the UK government and MEPs to support Food not Fuel by voting to strengthen the proposal.

A huge thank you to 29 young supporters who took part in our Creative Activism Experience. Highlights included campaigning through street stunts and ‘clean’ graffiti, and an inspirational speech from Kenyan activist Joy Mwakisambi who told us: “We are the strength of our nations. Let us be the voice for people who cannot speak for themselves”.

Find out more: actionaid.org.uk/foodnotfuel

SEND MY FRIEND TO SCHOOL: 2013

TAX JUSTICE GOES GLOBAL

Education can transform children’s lives.

But millions of children are missing out on school because there aren’t enough teachers, despite world leaders promising that all children would be in school by 2015. To reach that goal, 1.7 million more teachers are needed. So this summer, all around the world, young people are making ‘cut out’ teachers to highlight the real ones that are desperately needed.

For several years ActionAid UK has been at the forefront of the fight for tax justice and we’ve already seen real progress.

The exciting news is that the push to make multinationals pay their fair share of tax in poor countries is going global. An additional 20 ActionAid countries are taking up the campaign around the world. This will help us to crank up the pressure in rich countries and the developing world alike.

Find out more: www.sendmyfriend.org

Photo: Mark Chilvers/ActionAid

Protesters deliver a tax justice campaign petition to the Zambian Ministry.

GCE Young Ambassador, Sam, discusses the ideal teacher with a girls group in Delhi.

Photo: Owen Miyanza/Demotix/ActionAid

Photo: David Levene/GCE

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PRIORITY PROJECTS

RUN THROUGH LONDON’S PARKS AT THEIR AUTUMNAL BEST

ACTIONAID’S PRIORITY PROJECTS GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE IMPACT THAT YOUR DONATIONS ARE MAKING.

Royal Parks Half Marathon, Sunday 6 October 2013

You’ll get a unique insight into our work through regular updates sent directly from the community you are supporting.

Simply choose one of this year’s projects then a hold a fundraising activity or make a donation in support.

OUR CURRENT PROJECTS IN URGENT NEED OF FUNDING ARE:

Having fast become one of the UK’s most popular running events, The Royal Parks Half Marathon is one of the world’s most scenic routes, taking in famous London landmarks, as well as four Royal Parks.

EMERGENCY ACTION FUND: > Strengthening communities against disasters.

LESOTHO:

> Helping drought-hit families to feed themselves.

Emily Clouston running for ActionAid. Photo: ActionAid

SIERRA LEONE:

> Improving education for children.

PAKISTAN:

> Building a future for child workers and their families.

Request an information pack at www.actionaid.org.uk/priorityprojects or by calling 01460 238 000.

ACTION STATIONS GET INVOLVED AND DO MORE TO END POVERTY IN 2013

We have a limited number of places so email run@actionaid.org or visit www.actionaid.org. uk/royalparks to register your interest.

Wanted: Collection Coordinators and Emergency Fundraisers ActionAid is looking for dynamic volunteers to coordinate collections and organise fundraising campaigns in your village, town or city. Join our network of fundraisers and make a positive difference to people’s lives.

Lead a Supporter Group ActionAid has a network of dedicated fundraising supporter groups, who organise everything from cake sales to community walks in support of ActionAid’s work.

Could you help to lead a group in your area?

Get in touch for more information.

For more information about how to take action, visit www.actionaid.org/fundraise call 01460 238 000 or email action@actionaid.org.

Mission Malawi is back for 2014!

This year the event will be an exciting trekking and kayaking challenge. You will experience Malawi’s stunning landscape, you’ll climb the beautiful Mount Mulanje, and you will be able to visit HIV and AIDS projects.

Email experiences@actionaid.org or call 01460 238047.

Mahboob, 8, working in a brick kiln, Punjab, Pakistan.

Misson Milawi

Photo: Umar Farooq/ActionAid

Photo: Cameron McNee/Mission Malawi/Act

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“ We learnt that Dengue fever is caused by the tiger mosquito.

We know how to prevent it” Sopheak (L), 13 and her best friend, Richna, 12, Chambok village, Cambodia Photo: Harry Freeland/ActionAid

An amazing gift – an amazing future Sopheak and her best friend Richna live in Chambok village, western Cambodia. The area is rife with tiger mosquitoes and, until recently dengue fever regularly claimed the lives of the children in the village.

But thanks to a single legacy gift to ActionAid, we were able to fund a project that helped over 1,000 people understand how to protect themsleves and their children from the tiger mosquito and the dengue fever it spreads.

Over 500 vulnerable families received mosquito nets and we made sure that even the smallest child could identify

dengue fever symptoms early. This vital knowledge can be passed from generation to generation, helping to save many lives both now and in the future.

Would you like to make more amazing work like this possible?

To leave a gift in your will to ActionAid – or tell us you have already done so already – please call Jan Truscott on 01460 238 023.

You can also email jan.truscott@actionaid.org.

LEG1307AD ActionAid is a registered charity (number 274467)