Embrace Every Momen

By Natasa NjegovanMay 22, 2013

When it was announced that I would be travelling to Malawi as an ambassador of IKEA I felt honoured to have the opportunity to visit UNICEF projects, an organization known worldwide for providing a better life to our children. I also feel privileged to be entrusted as a representative of our IKEA family.

Arriving in Canada at a young age, I grew up watching my parents struggle in this new and foreign country in order to provide for us. This upbringing triggered my interest in local charity work starting in my elementary school years. Since I began my IKEA career I have been able to bring my community involvement and passion for children’s causes right into my workplace.

I have always dreamed of volunteering in Africa to truly experience the struggle that many of our people face worldwide. As soon as I had my career established I would pursue my travels and provide first hand help in any way that I was capable of doing so. My career at IKEA is a gift as it lead me not only into a new family full of opportunities but it has helped me grow personally, professionally and is now making my all-time dream come true.

As one of the poorest countries in the world, Malawi’s children suffer a great deal with little access to healthcare withholding them from the future they deserve. Various illnesses throughout the country are life-threatening and I have a heart that is eager to reach out to those who are suffering. I believe my first day in Malawi will bring a new awareness, one that can only be lived and experienced first-hand but I plan to embrace every moment; the food, the clothes, the language, the climate, the culture and most importantly the people.

“How did we not meet any snakes?” The screenplay of our trip to Africa

By Adéla JoskováMay 22, 2013

Cut to the airport in Prague. Five excited women stand waiting. Anticipation takes flight and takes us along for the ride. Eventually we touch down in Frankfurt and find our connection. As we board, the First Officer of our Ethiopian airline asks us, „Where exactly is Prague?“ It was only a few months ago that we were asking the same about Malawi.

Cut to Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa. Our first touch with the real Africa. Now that feeling, that realization, is sinking in, becoming more tangible. We are the ones standing out now, the ones who are wearing strange clothes. We take flight once again and travel through Blantyre despite it being further away than our final destination of Lilongwe, Malawi.

Malawi from above

Cut to us, us exhausted and exhilarated five, standing in Lilongwe airport. The whole airport is one basic building, with high-tech finger and eye scanners accompanied with low-tech stamps in a paper envelope. From the very beginning, we discovered Malawi is a land filled with people who are quite simply nice, polite and humble. We are greeted by UNICEF representatives who are waiting for us with 2 Land Cruisers with massive antenae in the front. The cars look like Rhinos with wheels. They’re the domesticated kind though, and they’re kind enough to take us to our hotel. It’s during our journey to the hotel that one of our fears is put to rest. The UNICEF representatives assure us that when we finally meet that deadly snake we’re so afraid of that we take a picture, because it would be the first of it’s kind in Malawi. Relieved, we finally reach the hotel and settle in. Soon after we continue on to dinner where we meet our Canadian colleagues Viola, Natasa, and Jennifer, and our colleague from the IKEA Foundation, Jonathan. We’re here and together and everything‘s going to be alright.

The next day takes us to a meeting at UNICEF headquarters. We discover that UNICEF’s speciality is not just good will and empowering others, it is also, as acting director John puts it, „very good at providing death by PowerPoint“. With our weary eyes, but still beating hearts, we learn that providing education is much more complex than just teaching numbers to children. It is about survival, through health care and nutrition; it’s about development, through education; and it’s about participation, by taking an active role in the society. We also had the honor of meeting Mr. Michael Banda, who is responsible for education, which is in part sponsored by the IKEA Soft Toy Campaign.

UNICEF meeting

Cut to Mchuchu school, our first fieldwork. The school is introduced to us by the Head Teacher, Elise, and the Deputy Head Teacher, Anette. They tell us about the history of this school and show us around the classrooms, toilets and bareholes. Then we meet them, it’s hard not to fall in love with them. Very sweet, very curious, they love the camera, but are still shy. It’s just impossible to stop taking pictures of these amazing children.

Looking at their pictures

Later, we are invited to observe a lesson in Life skills. The subject of this lesson is regarding the barriers preventing effective communication about HIV. The topic provides us a new perspective and the only audience members more engaged than us are the ten year old pupils.

Thanks to the support of UNICEF, kids are now learning in classrooms

Cut to us now as we are being introduced to the members of a school committee and a mother’s group. They play a key role in the children’s education, especially the girls‘. These mothers are appointed from nearby villages and come together twice a month to talk to girls about their troubles. They also visit girls who dropped out of school because they had children. They are trying to persuade them to come back to school to gain an education, which would broaden their options in the future.

Meeting the mother group

As we bid farewell to the children, who were kind enough to show us a glimpse of their culture by playing music with some buckets, complete with some dancing and singing, we handed over an IKEA Family suitcase full of goodies (i.e. pencils, exercise books and footballs).

As we close the door on the first leg of our adventure we look forward to driving a few hours to our next stop, Blantyre. Weren’t we just there yesterday?

- Petra, Adela, Stazi & Maca

What kind of baggage are you carrying?

By Viola May MahMay 21, 2013

It’s May 15^th, UNICEF’s International Day of the Family and I’m packing for my iWitness journey to Malawi with UNICEF. Deciding what I will need (sunscreen, long pants) and won’t need (evening gown, heels) is turning into a metaphor for the trip. ‘Baggage’ sometimes refers to negative thoughts that we carry around with us. I suspect that this trip will remind me to stop fretting over traffic jams and bad coffee, and to start appreciating how much I have and am able to do.

I’m taking along many well-wishes from my IKEA family who are almost as excited as I am. When I come home, I’ll tell them about how our seemingly ordinary jobs affect people and families thousands of miles away. We go to work and maybe talk to a few people, hang a banner, restock a pallet. How is it possible that these small actions can change the world?

I’m taking along much love from my own family who are torn between missing me and being proud of me. When I come home, I’ll tell them about how our ordinary lives would seem quite extraordinary to these people on the other side of the world. My two children have always had a cosy bed to sleep in, food to eat, and plenty of water to drink. Can my kids even imagine struggling to be educated or healthy? I’m not even sure that I can. If only I could take them along. Maybe with a bigger suitcase?

Credit Viola Mah: Alexandra Shepherd & Benjamin Shepherd

How to never give up!

By Rasika CarlssonMay 21, 2013

After spending 3 days in Lithuania off course we had some reflections. First of all we faced a different reality and things that we take for granted is not always a part of the many people’s daily life.

In this reflection blog we really want to highlight people like Rasa Dicpetriene and her team at Save the Children. They are doing a backbreaking but so important job. And if there were more people like them engaging in both international and local issues the world would look different.

So let’s inspire each other to never give up!

The group with the kids

All the best – Gisela & Rasika

Everyone, especially children, need love

By Lynn GregoryMay 21, 2013

Well, it is the end of my IWitness trip and it is saddening to realize that we do not need to go so far around the world to find poverty and exclusion.

Save the Children are working hard to change established attitudes towards child care in Lithuania but in a country where there is no public support for alternative forms of child care and no financial support from the government, it is as much about influencing hearts as it is minds.

Girls on the swing

My feeling is that it will take a new generation of younger people to see such a culture change however it is not impossible and we can see that from the history and development of child care within our own countries.

My most lingering memory will be that of two young brothers in a state run institution who spontaneously flung their arms around me for a big hug.

Two brothers I will never forget

Everyone, especially children, need love - Lynn Gregory

Scaling it up to €7,8 billion!

By Shanti Mahabier-KalicharanMay 17, 2013

I am So proud of our partner UNICEF and in this case especially their team in China. They managed to scale up projects focused on Early Childhood Development & Education (ECD/ECE) funded for €10 million, to an investment of €7,8 billion by the government, in Early Childhood Development & Education.

I would like to give you a quick snapshot on our amazing experiences in China. Together IKEA Spain I was lucky to see how our efforts to make the Soft Toys for Education campaign, that runs in IKEA stores from November and December, contribute to amazing projects like these.

The first kinder garden we visited was with children from 3-6 years of age. The children were all happy, dancing and also exercising. Some of them really concentrated, while others got a bit distracted by us. It was just so good to see these young ones dancing, singing and receiving the attention and care, they so deserve.

Happy dancing and singing - warms my heart

After they finished their exercises they went into their classrooms and started to create little pieces of art. Most of the artwork the children made, came from materials they had used for themselves and hereby recycled them. They used the bottom of plastic bottles to dip in paint and create flowers, they coloured stones and created beautiful paintings on them.

Creativity is highly stimulated by the teachers

While they were crafting I got the chance to speak to a teacher. She was really happy to get the chance to teach these children and mainly because the children are always happy, they cannot stop laughing and always have smile on their face when they are in the garden. That is also what we experienced, there were some kids, who really had the most fun in the world when we were in their class, they just couldn’t stop giggling, it was so contagious. After they were done with their art they ran to us and gave it to us, not knowing we would carry them and their artwork in our hearts forever. It was wonderful to see how much fun they had.

Giving us their beautiful artworks

After we visited the Tibetan kinder garden, we went to visit a kinder garden which facilitated overnight stays during week days for the kids. Parents in China really believe in the pre-school training and are committed to send their children to kinder gardens. The children usually stay there because the parents live too far away to bring their children every day. So they are willing to miss their children during the week in order to fulfil their dream; that the children will be able, one day to finish college. Even though it was so nice to see the children were given the opportunity to stay overnight there, it was still clear that they need more facilities, like indoor toilets.

From little facilities to even less; we went to an area where they don’t have a kinder garden but just a room. The local teachers organize activities/workshops once every couple of months, depending on whether the parents are at home or whether they go into the mountains with their kids to search for herbs. The teachers have their normal class in primary school but also do their best to provide extra services to the younger children and their parents.

We walked 20 minutes in the mountains and experienced what “hard to reach areas” really mean. The home we visited was 20 minutes away, but the road was full of sand and stones and we could easily imagine how slippery and dangerous it would be after rainy or snowy weather.

Experiencing the hospitality of a Tibetan family in the mountains

After a debriefing in Songpan County we went back to Beijing. Here we got another debriefing from UNICEF China, where Dale, Chief of Communications showed us, how with the funding through the Soft Toys Campaign, UNICEF China was able to gain evidence of the positive impact the ECD projects have. By gathering evidence, they made their case to the government and managed to convince the government to invest 7,8 billion in the pre-school education for our most important people in the world: our children.

This is the situation in Malawi – from Clara Chindime, UNICEF

By Juli RieglerMay 16, 2013

Our next group of IKEA co-workers is on their way to visit educational projects funded by the Soft Toys for Education campaign in Malawi.

But before you can read all about their experiences during next week, get an impression of the situation from UNICEF co-worker Clara Chindime working at the Malawi office.

Clara Chindime, Girls Education Officer, UNICEF Malawi office

I am Clara Chindime and I work as a Girls Education Officer in the UNICEF Malawi office.

My passion for girls education comes from the encouragement that my father gave me. At the time I was in college many people had the belief that if one gets too educated, she’ll not get married but my dad was of a different opinion. With this, I got the drive to promote education for the girl child. I like mentoring girls, encouraging them, letting them know that they have the same capabilities as boys!

Many girls in Malawi drop out of school due to early marriage and early pregnancies and some of the contributing factors are cultural and traditional beliefs that advocate for early marriages.

My happiest moments in my work are when I see or hear that the girls I’ve mentored have been selected to secondary school. Makes me feel like a proud mother.

Currently, I am glad I am with UNICEF at this time when we are supporting the Ministry of Education in coming up with a strategy for girls education. This will entail better programming for girls education and we should be able to see improved indicators.

I thank our partners such as the IKEA Foundation for supporting UNICEF Malawi’s girls education programmes. Their support is a good and worthwhile investment.

Clara with some of "her" children

Most things remains to be done….

By Rasika CarlssonMay 16, 2013

For the third and last day we went to Save the Childrens office. There we found out that they had invited a professor, Dainius Puras as a guest speaker. Dainius works in the centre of Child Psychiatry and social Pediatrics at Vilnius University. He explained the context around the belief in Lithuania, that care institutions for children who that lack to have a good social environment, is the best option rather than finding a foster family.

After listening and learning more about Lithuanian history it is easy to understand that a change away from the system of institutional care will not happen over a night.

Children writing their future wish to parliamentarians

Artwork made of leather belts

After lunch we had the great chance to witness a special event outside the parliament. On the big square outside the parliament a big group had gathered. There was media journalist, national TV, lots of kids, Save the Children and then we. The goal was to raise awareness and that there is other options than to educate a child then with a belt. The children from the different day care centres contributed with 141 hands in paper, one for each parliamentarian. And on the hands the children wrote what they wished for in the future.

Next week there will be a voting regarding legalization against child abuse. Let´s hope that the power of the children´s many hands can make a difference.

The hands are being handed over to a member of the parliament, with Rasa Dicpetriene from Save the Children Lithuania, and Ulla Armyr Save the Children Sweden.

The hands are being handed over to a member of the parliament, with Rasa Dicpetriene, Save the Children Lithuania, and Ulla Armyr Save the Children Sweden.

We are so thankful for being able to join this trip and we have learned so much. In the same time with the new knowledge, we can also tell that Lithuania as many other countries have a long way still to go. But every small step contributes to the big change that we so hope for.

Us together with some of the children outside parliament.

Over and out…

Rasika & Gisele

Here we go! The clock is ticking and it is less than 1 week before setting off for the journey.

By Stázi JakubcováMay 16, 2013

Africa’s calling.

Why go?

Being an IWitness of the project, IKEA Soft Toys for Education campaign, which is bringing money to the children, gives me an opportunity to see how we, along with UNICEF and Save the Children are supporting a system that helps many children and gives them better start. It’s absolutely great!

Knowledge of destination?

Malawi? What’s Malawi? To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know much about Malawi so I went to the mighty Wikipedia to give me a little bit of insight. I have decided to make the conscious decision to keep myself a little in the dark about what to expect and what is there. In this way, I will not expect anything and will only be surprised. It is much more fun to learn what’s „out there“ first hand and I feel that the experience does not always have to be positive or predictable, as long as it is strong!

My feelings?

I’m experiencing a mixture of excitement, itchy feet, anxiety (as you do when, before even packing your suitcase, you need vaccinations for scary sounding troubles) and loads of questions. How do they live? What do they like to do? What are their dreams? What can we learn from them? What can I share with them? Do they laugh at the same jokes? Will we be able to understand each other? What would they change, had they be given the opportunity? How is the life with different history, culture, fashion, economy, weather…. you name it, I’m thinking about it!

So bye for now and if you want to know more, watch this space!

How to survive the practicalities…

By Petra StejskalováMay 15, 2013

Today, it has been more than a month since I was told I will travel to Malawi, Africa. I can explicitly remember those few seconds of childish happiness, which were then quickly replaced by giant worries. I thought, “What am I doing? Can I do this?”

First and foremost, I am not a great traveller and I spend all of my holidays travelling across Europe in a car. My longest flight was a business trip from Prague to Budapest or to Milan. At that time, I stepped out the plane absolutely exhausted and said to myself that that the next time I fly I will need to have a drink before the journey .

Another big issue for me was getting vaccinated. The last time this happened was when I was 3 years old. I was worried but I thought about what that 3 year old Petra would have told me and imagined it would have been something like, “Don’t worry, you’re going to see Africa in person!” So I put my fears aside and started to look forward.

It was only a bit later, when I talked to Adela, another IWitness traveller, when I realized that everyone has the same fears and it is appears to be a normal and essential part of the trip. So we did all we could do, which was make some jokes, imagine what will happen and think of how we will enjoy our time there. I also started to discover lots of photos and information about Malawi through Google. Also, it was only very recently that I found out my passport was not valid any more but I was able to manage it just in time!

When I obtained my first round of vaccine injections for hepatitis and typhus I was so afraid that I thought that I would collapse directly at the doctor’s office because I absolutely hate injections! But, everything went quiet well. The doctor was a really friendly lady who recommended and gave me an appropriate vaccination plan. It hurt a bit in my shoulders, where the drug was injected, but otherwise I felt just a little bit tired. Two weeks later I got a vaccination for yellow fever and meningitis. Hopefully this prevention will be enough to put my mind at ease and enjoy my stay at Africa!

IWitness Global Citizens Blog