Birthdays are a wonderful chance to celebrate. They can also be an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children experiencing disadvantage and hardship.
Here are 10 gifts that can change the life of someone in need and make your birthday unforgettable.
1. Help a family earn a living with chickens
Chickens can lay more than 200 eggs a year, providing families living in poverty with a regular source of protein for nourishment. And that’s not all. Families can sell any surplus eggs to supplement the household income. Donating a dozen chickens to a family in need is a gift that provides both food and income.
Price: $24
2. Gift a goat to provide nutrition and income
A glass of fresh milk is something we can easily take for granted. But for families living in poverty, dairy products are a rich source of nutrition, but can be a luxury! In addition to regular milk, breeding goats is a sustainable way for families to earn an income. So gifting a family a dairy goat can serve as a gift that keeps on giving.
Price: $99
3. Encourage schooling with basic supplies
Attending school can be a challenge for some children, who are unable to afford basic items like pens, pencils and notebooks. By gifting a school supplies set, you can support a child in the classroom, giving them the chance to stay in school, and benefit from skills and knowledge that can help them break the cycle of poverty.
Price: $76.00
4. Help prevent malaria with a mosquito net
Malaria is a life-threatening disease that affects over 200 million people around the world, according to the World Health Organization. Unfortunately, children under the age of 5 are most vulnerable to the disease. A mosquito net is the one of the simplest and most effective preventative measures against malaria. For as little as $10 you can help prevent the spread of malaria. Price: $10
5. Stem the spread of disease with a handwashing station
The importance of washing our hands was reinforced during the COVID-19 pandemic. But this simple act can also prevent the spread of many other illnesses. From keeping their hands clean, to maintaining good dental health, a handwashing station can keep children in developing communities safe from infectious disease.
Price: $149
6. Sow the seeds of a better future with a gift that grows!
Fruit and vegetable seeds are a gift that keep growing and giving. Fruit and veggies are an important part of a balanced diet, and can help prevent malnourishment. In Ethiopia, for example, generous ChildFund donors have made it possible for families to grow their own fruit and earn additional income by selling surplus produce. Salamo Baloso, a farmer, says: “This has allowed me to educate my children and even build a new house for the family.” For as little as $32, you can also bring about incredible change.
Price: $32
7. Provide emergency food in times of crises
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many families living in poverty lost their jobs and income, making it incredibly difficult to afford basic things like food. Displaced children and their families fleeing conflict or disaster are also often without adequate food. Your donation of $70 could help feed two families for a month during a crisis. What a life-changing difference your gift could make!
Price: $70
8. End exhausting walks to school with a bicycle and helmet
In the remote villages of some developing countries, children have to walk more than 10 km to school. Along the way, many have to brave the scorching sun or pelting rain. By donating a bicycle and helmet for just $125, you can help children reach school safely and on time. This ultimately plays a vital role in keeping children, especially girls, in school.
Price: $125
9. Keep a child safe and help them sleep with a warm blanket and pillow
Imagine having to sleep on a concrete slab or hard dirt floor. That’s the reality for many children living in poverty. Every child needs a comfortable bed to sleep on. You can make this happen by donating a warm blanket and pillow for just $23 (that’s probably less than the cost of your birthday meal). Wouldn’t it be nice if you could be the reason a child sleeps securely at night? Price: $23
10. Contribute to building a clean water system for an entire community!
Imagine your impact when you give the gift of clean, safe water that a whole school – or even an entire community – can rely upon.
Your gift could be combined with others to fund drilling, construction and maintenance of a complete deepwater borehole system.
Price: $350
Make your birthday celebration more meaningful
This year, go beyond the customary birthday cake, flowers and candles to make a real impact on the lives of children the world. No gesture is too small to make a difference.
You can read all about these unique gifts and how they’ve improved lives on our Gifts for Good page.
Don’t forget to make your unique gifts even more special with an ecard carrying a personalised message, or a postal card with a beautiful photo and description of your chosen gift. If you’re short on time, you can also choose a PDF card that you can print anytime to make your Gift for Good unforgettable.
For many Australians, access to education is something we take for granted. But what if education was a luxury rather than a right? Unfortunately, this is the reality for many young girls living in disadvantaged communities. This has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to UNESCO, 11 million girls may never return to school after the pandemic, with many experts fearing the cycle of violence and poverty will continue to impact the lives of millions of girls and young women for generations.
We’ve put the microscope on the lives of girls and young women and examine how COVID-19 is threatening the education of girls in poverty.
Children want an education
In 2010, a ChildFund Alliance global children’s survey, Small Voices, Big Dreams polled 3,000 children aged 10-12 from 30 developing countries across the world as well as children from Australia. Aimed at understanding what children deem important in their lives, the poll found that education, food and water were the three priorities children valued most.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the most vulnerable children around the world, says ChildFund Myanmar’s Country Director, Win May. Win May says that being out of school impacts children in many ways, including their health and wellbeing.
“Many children are becoming isolated because of the lack of social connection,” she says.
In April 2020, the Malala Foundation reports that almost 90% of the world’s countries had shut their schools in an effort to curb the rising transmission rates of COVID-19. Early data indicates that as of November 2020, 5-10% of children previously enrolled had not yet returned to school.
Attending school not only offers girls and young women skills and knowledgebut can help protect them from gender-based violence, abuse, human trafficking and early marriage. It’s more important than ever to help get vulnerable girls and young women return to school.
Girls leave school first and return last
Malala Yousafzai, an advocate for girl’s education, says that during a crisis, such as COVID-19, girls and young women are the first to be removed from school and the last to return. While studies have shown that men are more likely to die of COVID-19 than women on average, studies are also showing women are bearing the brunt of the social and economic fallout of the pandemic.
Even prior to COVID-19, for many families in developing countries, schooling can place a financial burden on the household. Girls and young women must often take responsibility for household and familial duties, while their male peers are given access to education.
The economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, can mean that for many girls and young women who were previously attending school, families may no longer be able to afford the costs.
What changes when girls have access to schooling
When girl’s have access to education, the long-term benefits are significant. In addition to learning vital literacy and numeracy skills, when a girl is education, she is more likely to:
have children as an adult: 59% fewer girls below the age of 17 would become pregnant if all girls had secondary education;
earn a higher income: every extra year of primary school boosts girls’ eventual wages by up to 20%
save lives: a child born to a mother who can read is 50% more likely to survive past the age of five
have a greater chance of ending the cycle of poverty. Most women invest 90% of their income into providing food, clothing and education for their children and community.
Girls who stop going to school
When a girl stops going to school, she is more likely to:
experience abuse and exploitation as a result of practices such as child marriage: in many countries with the highest prevalences of child marriage, girls with no education are up to six times more likely to marry as children than girls with secondary education
have fewer job opportunities in the future and work in low-paid, unskilled jobs as an adult
have children who suffer from inadequate nutrition. Research shows that where mothers have completed secondary school, stunting rates for their children are reduced by more than 30%
have children early; adolescent pregnancies and births have a greater risk of health complications for young mothers.
Homeschooling made a little more difficult
For those girls and young women whose schools were closed down, online learning became the substitute for many. But what happens in rural communities where this is no access to technology?
For young girls like thirteen-year-old Alisae who lives in Cambodia, a lack of internet access meant she was unable to participate inremote learning, and eventually dropped out of school. To help her financially struggling family, Alisae stopped going to school to care for her younger brother and undertake household chores while her parents looked for work.
Alisae faces a real risk of never finishing her education. She hopes her younger sister Rosany does not follow in her footsteps and can be the first in their family to finish school and have a brighter future.
You can help girls and young women get back to school
At ChildFund we know the importance of education for girls and young women. Attending school gives female students a range of skills, and can help break the cycle of violence and poverty.
ChildFund’s education programs are focused on keeping girls and young women in school, and we are also providing additional support those students who face obstacles in returning to their education.
ChidFund hasalso launched a $32 million global appeal to support the children and families who are most impacted by the COVID-19crisis.
You can help by donating to the COVID-19 crisis appeal or by sponsoring a girl in a developing community to help ensure that they have opportunities for a brighter future.
