July: Look what you helped us do!
Plan International USA eNews: July 2011
Plan in the news
World turning blind eye to 10 million child brides each year
A grateful farewell from the Camotes Islands
Cell phone text technology helps promote health in Senegal
Afghan women most imperiled, report finds
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Letter from the editor
With your support, Plan worked with 37,931 communities in 48 developing countries, covering a population of 28.2 million children. And that was just in the last year!
Your generosity allows us to work side-by-side with impoverished communities to ensure a better future for their families. And every day we see evidence that our programs are making a difference. Healthier newborns, cleaner water, better trained teachers – each demonstrating that we're moving closer toward our ultimate goal: ending the cycle of poverty for children around the world.
But what good is good news if it’s not shared?
This eNews features some of our most recent success stories – all of which would not be possible without you. We hope that you enjoy reading about all that your support is helping to accomplish.
Feel free to forward this newsletter on to someone with whom you’d like to share some good news!
Did you know...
That the national sport of Pakistan is field hockey?
Get more facts about this month's featured countries>>
Recent highlights of Plan's work
Plan Vietnam reports that before their Sanitation, Hygiene and Water Improvement Project, Quang Ngai province had few latrines (14% coverage), and very high rates of open defecation (60-80%). By using targeting, small grants, and gender equity strategies, 15,542 improvements were made, and as a result, morbidity from diarrhea decreased from 4% to 1% – and women spent 27% less time per day managing waste.
Learn more about Plan's work to improve sanitation in rural communities>> 
In the village of Gangatarey, Plan Niger supports an all-women run grain bank, which provides food for families during the lean season. Plan provided training for the women, who control all of the bank operations: sales, stock replenishment, finance and administration. In their first year, the women sold 90 200-lb sacks of grain to the village, improving food security for 536 families, nearly 3,000 people, which they hope to double this year.
Read about the all-women run grain bank in Gangatarey>> 
In Plan Bolivia’s Aiquile municipality, 39% of the total child population was suffering from chronic malnutrition. So, Plan set up a project to improve the health of children and reduce malnutrition by training 132 farmers and union members in basic health care and nutrition. They monitor the health of their community, identify problems, and refer cases to professionals. Already, the rate of chronic malnutrition in Aiquile has decreased by 11%!
Read a recent update on Plan's child survival programs>> 
Plan Indonesia uses an innovative method to teach children good hygiene habits – snakes and ladders! The game employs an edu-tainment strategy, inserting key behavior messages into a life-sized version of the popular "snakes and ladders" board game. After 8 months of implementation, the number of children who washed their hands with soap increased by 80%, and 4 in 5 children know the causes of diarrhea – double the previous rate!
See how Plan's hygiene programs have also helped children in Nicaragua>> 
Plan Kenya has used community care groups to tackle malaria, diarrhea, immunization, pneumonia, nutrition, and HIV and AIDS in 357 villages. These groups empower, inform, and encourage behavior change in favor of health-promoting action – and are credited with saving an estimated 989 lives!
Learn more about Plan's work in Kenya>> 
In the flood-prone city of St. Louis, Plan Senegal supports 11 disaster-management committees run by local youth – each of which is trained in risk management and flood control, and serves an area of 50-60 households. In 2010, these groups used sand to protect roads from flooding, and repaired school latrines and water taps, benefiting 9,000 students. They also trained 32 teachers and 4,000 pupils from 11 elementary schools to prepare for future floods – and distributed 5,100 leaflets.
More recent updates on Plan's disaster relief programs>>
