My final blog – last day in Vilnius

By Kate BrownMay 23, 2013

May 16, 2013

I am the last co-worker to be in Vilnius as my trip was the longest. I am taking the day to regroup my thoughts, walk the city and experience a culture I may never be privy to again. I have enjoyed all my learning’s, felt some emotional anxiety over abandoned children and I am hopeful that IKEA will make a difference in the children’s lives who are at risk. I only wish I could give them all the safe environment they all so desperately need.

Group of children singing

Thank you IKEA for giving this opportunity to me. I will remember this trip always and know that we are doing the right thing by supporting Save The Children Lithuania. I noticed the IKEA store being built outside of the Vilnius airport and hope to hear stories one day of Lithuanian young adults getting a fresh start in life with a career at IKEA.

Group of children at the Lithuanian parliament

Girl at parliament

A warming smile

Girl

We built a what?

By Viola May MahMay 23, 2013

When I imagined the results of the Soft Toys for Education campaign in Malawi, I thought, “Great! I wonder if we built schools! We probably bought books! Maybe we supplied some uniforms!” You know what you get when you put together a building, some books, a teacher and students? You get a building, some books, a teacher and students. But when we layer in UNICEF’s Child-Friendly Schools Framework, ah, then the magic happens.

Viola Mah and Stazi Jacubcova meeting Mchuchu primary students - by Jennifer Huang

There are over a dozen specific characteristics of a Child-Friendly School (CFS). Mchuchu Primary School near Lilongwe, Malawi is one of the schools supported by UNICEF’s Schools for Africa program with a full CFS package. One of the highlights of our tour was the brick outbuildings which were Mchuchu Primary’s well-maintained latrines. Because proper latrines and hand-washing facilities promote physical health (CFS point 9) so that learners do not miss school. Plus, segregated latrines acknowledge that girls also attend school and must be provided for (CFS point 4). And menstruating girls are less likely to miss school or drop out if the school has private facilities (CFS point 4).

Two Mchuchu primary students using the school's hand washing taps - by Natasa Njegovan

Beyond the classroom, teacher and books, the whole community plays a part in educating a child. Mchuchu Primary’s Parent-Teacher Association collaborates to be family-focused (CFS point 12). Additionally, the school has the input of a Mother Group: 10 women nominated from surrounding villages to advise girls especially on remaining in or returning to the schooling system (CFS point 2). These women act as the eyes, ears, voice of the school in the village, and represent their village when they meet at the school. It is a community partnership focused on the well-being of the children (CFS point 13).

Listen to your elders - Mchuchu Mother's group and PTA members await us - by Viola Mah

The saying goes that it takes a village to raise a child. I’m learning that it takes so much more to educate that child.

Nseba a young Malawian - by Viola Mah

Change?

By Madelene KahnbergMay 23, 2013

Here I am, back in Sweden. Back in routines, back to work, back to my old self?

When I came home in the middle of the night the first thing I did was to go to my sons room, give him a kiss and tell him that mommy loves him. This is what I wish that all the children in the institutions or at the day care centre gets every night and every morning. To hear that mammy and daddy loves them. I have been faced with the facts that my wish is far from the reality.

Madde

I have also been told what we are doing, what IKEA’s Soft Toys for Education campaigns contributes to, how Save the Children International is helping Save the Children Lithuania and what Save the Children Lithuania is doing. And I am proud. Proud that I can still say that there are people who care! People who put their heart and soul into changing children’s rights and lives. Children themselves writing on paper hands, how they think parents should discipline them without violence, and then giving the paper hands to parliamentarian members.

Proud of IKEA and the IKEA Foundation. Because of what we do, we are changing the world. IKEA Foundation’s money goes to Lithuania and they are really making a difference. They are empowering communities and families so they get the possibility to keep their children and are able to give them a safe environment. They are educating community leaders so they also know children’s rights and that they need to have social workers and child psychologists for example.

Maybe the children that live at the institutions today only notice a small different but I truly believe that the children tomorrow don’t even need to go into institutional care. They are going to stay with their mothers or fathers, being told that they are loved. This is because of the massive work that IKEA, IKEA Foundation and Save the children are doing.

So, back to Sweden, back to routines, back to work and am I back to my old self?

No, I am never going to be my old self, I am always going to be a better version of myself. I am going to work harder than ever for the next campaigns, I am going to tell the world about what we do and how they can help. And I am always going to fight for Children’s rights!

Thank you for this opportunity, now it’s my turn to do some good hard work!

With love, Madelene

Embrace Every Moment

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

IWitness Global Citizens Blog