UNICEF Works: March 2015

Providing life-saving care in Syria, Child Labour in Burkina Faso, Join H&M and UNICEF in celebrating World Water Day

IN THIS ISSUE Providing life-saving care in Syria, Child Labour in Burkina Faso, Join H&M and UNICEF in celebrating World Water Day

Providing life-saving care in Syria As the conflict in Syria enters its fifth year, the situation continues to worsen for children and their families who are affected by the violence. At least 60% of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance – more than 12 million people, over half of whom are children. The impact of years of conflict has been devastating: from limited access to clean water and sanitation to disrupted education to lack of basic health care, this is one of the worst humanitarian crises facing children today. Displaced and refugee Syrian children are enduring a particularly brutal winter. Lebanon, where many Syrian families have sought refuge, has been hit by some of the worst snow storms in years. UNICEF has been working to provide winter items to nearly a half-million refugee children living in Lebanon, including clothing, blankets, tarpaulins and fuel for heating. Read more »

Did You Know… Around the world, an estimated 150 million children are forced to work. A global movement in response to child labour began to gain momentum in the mid-1990s. The number of children involved in child labour declined by about one third between 2000 and 2012, but progress in eliminating the practice has been slow. In Burkina Faso, 20,000 children labour in gold mines to support themselves and their families. 80 percent of them have never been to school. To tackle this issue, UNICEF has undertaken an extensive effort to get children out of the mines and into school, as well as to provide counselling and other forms of support. UNICEF, in partnership with NGO Terre des Hommes and the Government of Burkina Faso, has been working in five regions where child labour rates are highest to place children in career training centres and schools. While vocational training cannot replace years of lost education, it is a way out of the mines. So far, 200 children have benefited from this program. Watch this video to learn more »

Focus on Partners: H&M Give Water. Give Life. Join H&M and UNICEF in celebrating World Water Day. Every day, 1,600 children die from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation. Just $1 can provide 150 water purification tablets that can mean the difference between life and death for a child. Visit an H&M store between March 19th – April 2nd and make a donation at checkout or donate online at unicef.ca/hm.