Plan International Ireland

Meet Hiqmat 👋🏽.

She wants a world where everyone, regardless of gender, has access to education, respect, protection and opportunities 💪.

For more on what young people like Hiqmat achieved over the last year and what they are calling for, read our global at https://plan-international.org/annual-review-2023

🎉WE ARE RECRUITING YAP MEMBERS🎉

Applications for new members to join our Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) are now open to all young people aged 16-24 across Ireland.

To take action and join our group of advocates, visit https://ow.ly/yrax50QpbZG

Please help us to ⏰

The World Economic Forum estimates that it will take 131 years to achieve gender equality. 2154 is far too late.

We need collective, coordinated, committed action now to close the global gender gap. Let’s stand together with girls everywhere to help them fight for their rights.

Join Plan International Ireland today at www.plan.ie/beat-the-clock-on-gender-equality/.

🤩Smiles for School🤩

At 15, Anitha faced a gruelling six-kilometre journey to and from school daily. This demanding routine depleted Anitha’s energy, adversely impacting her ability to concentrate in school.

To support young girls like Anitha, Plan International established the Keeping Adolescent Girls in School (KAGIS) project - an initiative to prevent 49,000 girls in Tanzania from abandoning their education before they reach secondary school. Through this project, Anitha received a bicycle to ease her daily commute to school, allowing her to devote vital energy to her education.

💪Girl Power🎇

Meet Eunice from Mozambique. Her two main passions include defending the rights of girls and playing football. She is among the loudest advocates for girls’ rights in her village.

“I saw a lot of child marriages and teenage pregnancies around me, but I had no idea I could do something about it," says Eunice, who is now 18. "This was a forgotten community. I didn’t think we really had a choice. Even making decisions was hard for us girls, because we didn’t have any information.”

At 13, Eunice engaged in Plan International’s collaborative project, My Body, My Future. This initiative invited young people to participate in the Champions of Change group, where they learned about their sexual and reproductive health rights. Through this group, girls were empowered through information and collaboration to fight for their rights.

🔴Gaza / Middle East Crisis Update

Since the eruption of fighting on the borders of South Lebanon following the Gaza conflict, tens of thousands have been forced to flee their homes due to ongoing hostilities. Many have sought refuge in safer areas further north, leaving their homes and lives behind.

🤝 Plan International Lebanon is supporting internally displaced people in South Lebanon. We're distributing essential supplies—mattresses, blankets, food, hygiene products, baby kits, first aid kits, and fire extinguishers—to those in need across nine villages on the borders of South Lebanon.

🙏 Now more than ever, these families need our help. Join us in providing relief and support. Visit https://ow.ly/BHwj50Qnk7N to donate. Your support can bring hope and essential supplies to those who have lost so much. 🌟

🔆The Sky is the Limit🔆

We are working towards a world where every girl's potential knows no bounds.

Heydi, Lesly, Yoselin and Vidalía met through Plan International's girls' movement, a collective of adolescent girls and young women from rural communities in Guatemala. The initiative has increased the girl’s confidence and offers them hope for a better future for girls and young women in Guatemala.

✨Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with compassion and progress. Here's to another year of girl empowerment.✨

From all the team at Plan International Ireland

🌟✨ As we approach the New Year, will you help make a lasting impact? Every day, mothers like Hoodo face the heart-wrenching struggle to provide food for their children, fighting desperately to keep them alive. 💔

Your generosity can be a lifeline for families in need. Join us in making a meaningful difference in the lives of mothers like Hoodo. Click the link below to donate and bring hope to those who need it most as we enter the New Year: https://ow.ly/CBaF50Qkv7I.

🎉 As we approach 2024, start the New Year on a compassionate note, standing in solidarity with those facing unimaginable challenges. Your support matters.

🎄✨ Merry Christmas from Plan International Ireland! ✨ Today, as we celebrate the spirit of joy and togetherness, we remember the children whose rights you help champion every day.

Thank you for helping create a world where every child, especially girls, can dream, learn, and thrive without barriers. Your support has made such a difference throughout the year.🎁

Let's continue to stand together for equality, education, and a brighter future for all. Until we are all equal. ✨

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported us over the last year and happy holidays to all those celebrating across the world.

🚨HAPPENING NOW 🚨

On December 18th, people worldwide are uniting to call for a sustained ceasefire in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Humanitarian organisations and individuals from 90+ countries are coming together to protect civilians affected by the conflict.

The Global Day of Action amplifies our collective voice, urging political leaders to prioritise peace. In the face of a dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, a ceasefire is essential to save lives and provide vital aid.

Will you join us? Sign and share the petition and demand a ➡️ https://chng.it/SxNdmDBwCG

𝗚𝗮𝘇𝗮 / 𝗠𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲

In response to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Plan International is supporting the Egyptian Red Crescent to deliver much-needed supplies to children in Gaza and their families, supplying first aid kits and ready-to-eat food to carry on their aid trucks, which are due to enter Gaza via the Rafah crossing.

🛑 Palestinians have suffered food and water shortages with very little aid allowed into Gaza since the start of the conflict. Since 7 October, up to 1.9 million people (or over 85% of the population) have been displaced across the Gaza Strip, some multiple times. Families are very vulnerable as they are forced to move repeatedly in search of safety.

Every contribution counts, and you can still help. Visit https://ow.ly/snor50Qj2VE to learn more.

🌍 Exciting news! The Global Refugee Forum begins today in Geneva, offering a crucial platform to make impactful pledges for the well-being of refugee children, especially girls and young women.

🤝 We stand strong in advocating for youth refugees to have access to essential services in their host countries. Our mission? Ensuring refugees can access education, child protection, food, and economic security. Together, let's empower refugee girls and their families to build new lives.

🌟 Young people are the driving force of change, and their innovative visions for the future deserve to be heard. Our Youth Manifesto is a call to action for world leaders to support . Read the full manifesto at https://ow.ly/wXoF50QihHY.

📸 After years of conflict and the effects of climate change, thousands of families now live in displacement camps across Somaliland. To help children share their stories, Plan International is piloting a child photography project where 50 children from two camps in Togdheer region were provided with cameras and trained in the skills needed to document their daily lives. Engaging children through photography helps them develops their voice and self-expression.

Two members of Plan International Ireland’s Youth Advisory Panel are making their presence felt at in Dubai. As part of a 16-strong youth delegation representing a number of Irish NGOs, Jessica Gill and Aoibhínn Nevin-Ginnetty are using the opportunity to voice the need for gender-responsive climate finance to be prioritised along with highlighting the link between girls’ and effective At , youth leaders give their perspective on and

✨ to our recent trip to Cameroon! 🌍

Our first stop was a pre-school in the Minawao refugee camp, in Northern Cameroon. This school, funded through our SQRIBE project with Irish Aid provides children aged 3 to 5 with crucial support during their most critical developmental years. 🧱📖

We then continued to Koza, Cameroon, where we explored the accelerated education program, another incredible facet of SQRIBE. Witnessing the dedication to helping out-of-school children catch up on education and reintegrate into the formal system was truly inspiring. 📚💙

Meet Eido, an 8-year-old living in Toghdeer, Somaliland, facing unimaginable challenges.

When the harsh drought in the region killed her family's livestock, her parents moved her family into a displacement camp, hoping to find work. But with no income and no food, Eido's parents decided to marry off her sisters, aged 15 and 16, for dowries to help the family survive.

Yet, hunger persists. In Eido's words, "We eat sometimes and sometimes not." The struggle affects her studies and playtime. "When I'm hungry, I can't do anything in school," she shares, highlighting the harsh reality many face.

📚 Despite hardships, Eido dreams of education and a brighter future. "I want to be educated, to read and do everything," she says with determination.

Conflict and climate change are working together to destroy the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in Somalia. The latest analysis shows that around 4 million people - one-quarter of the population - will experience high levels of acute food insecurity.

Meet Esther, 24, a force for change in Sierra Leone! 🌍💪

As a gender and development studies student, she's standing strong against climate change's harsh impacts. Living in a slum, she's witnessed the struggles firsthand - from girls facing harassment to communities grappling with floods.

Now, as one of two youth delegates for the Plan International She Leads Climate Change Cohort at COP28, Esther is amplifying girls' voices and advocating for justice. "It's time to unite for sustainable solutions. Climate issues are global challenges, and together, we can make a difference. 🌟✨

Children are dying. They are scared. They are sheltering wherever they can and have seen unimaginable horrors. Now, they are running out of food, water and time. In war and conflict, children are always innocent and must not be targeted. All children have the right to a life free from violence and fear and it is the collective responsibility of the global community to protect that right.

Girls are on the frontlines of the . At , we’re standing with young people as they call for urgent action 💪🏾🌎

Girls are disproportionately affected by the effects of as the daily inequality they face is amplified. We stand with young people demanding action from global leaders

🌍✨ Empowering change in Cameroon! 💪🏽

This , we stand with girl activists advocating for a world free from gender-based violence. Let's unite and urge governments to invest in prevention. Together, we can break the cycle and create a safer future for women and girls. 💖👭

📸: Rosalie, 27, Mariama, 24 and Gabriella, 20, campaign against gender-based violence