Plan International
| Charity | |
| Industry | NGO |
| Founded | 1937, Spain |
| Headquarters | Woking, Surrey, UK |
|
Key people
|
John Langdon-Davies, Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen (CEO). |
| Revenue | €633.8 Million (2012) |
|
Number of employees
|
8000+ (worldwide) |
| Website | plan-international.org |
Plan International is an international organisation or development which works in 51 countries across Africa, the Americas, and Asia to promote the safeguarding of children. It is a nonprofit organisation and is one of the world's largest organisations based on children, it works in 58,000 communities with the help of volunteers to improve how 56 million children live. The charity also has 21 national organisations who have been given the responsibility to oversee the raising of funds and awareness in their individual countries.
The organisation puts an emphasis on communities working together in order to address the needs of children around the world. The NGO focuses on child participation, education, economic security, emergencies, health, protection, sexual health (including HIV), and water and sanitation. It provides training in disaster preparedness, response and recovery, and has worked on relief efforts in countries including Haiti,Colombia and Japan.
Plan International also sponsors the Because I Am a Girl campaign, which has published many stories focusing on the struggle of young women in the developing world.
Plan International was founded during the Spanish Civil War by British journalist John Langdon-Davies and aid worker Eric Muggeridge. When they witnessed the conflict change the lives of children, they founded ‘Foster Parents Plan for Children in Spain’, which would later change its name to Plan International. Set up in 1937, the organisation provided food, shelter and clothing to children whose lives had been destroyed by the war.
During the Spanish Civil War in 1937, as many as 11,000 refugees a day were passing through the railway station at Santander in Spain. Many were orphaned children. Among them, was a little boy whose father had pencilled this note:
"This is José. I am his father. When Santander falls I shall be shot. Whoever finds my son, I beg of him to take care of him for my sake."
John Langdon-Davies met the orphaned boy with this note and was inspired to found ‘Foster Parents Plan for Children in Spain’ to help children whose lives were disrupted by the war. The organization expanded to help children from all over Europe who were displaced by the war, listening to their dreams and aspirations while equipping them with the skills and knowledge to improve their lives and make a better future.
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Wikipedia