UNICEF UK Achievements 2009

Babalu, age 15, was to be
married to a 45-year-old man in
rural Rajasthan, India. She wanted
to stay at school. A community
educator persuaded Babalu’s
parents to cancel the wedding.
Beaten at home, Essam
resorted to living on the
streets of Cairo, where he
found help from a UNICEF
UK-supported centre.
Apsara [name changed], age 11,
has special needs. She lives in
a camp on the Thai-Myanmar
border. Her parents tie her up
to stop her wandering around
the camp, where sexual abuse
is common.
IN FOCUS : CHILD PROTECTION IN THAILAND
Thailand’s economy has developed rapidly, resulting in a reduction in child
mortality and improvements in children’s health and education. However,
not all children have benefited equally. Almost one million children of primary
school age are not in school. Most of these children belong to ethnic
minorities, migrant families or poor families in Thailand’s border provinces.
UNICEF UK helped more than 350,000 of the most vulnerable and
marginalised children by establishing a Child Protection Monitoring and
Response System. The system will help to ensure that these children
receive emergency care, medical treatment, counselling and family
support services.
Since 2005, UNICEF has also helped around 70,000 children in nine refugee
camps along the Thai-Myanmar border to go to school. In 2009, UNICEF
UK helped to develop child-friendly schools in the camps, provide education
materials for the children, and train more than 1,500 teachers.
Please help more children be treated fairly, visit unicef.org.uk/achieve
“We were not poor, so I
don’t know why they sold
me. Maybe they didn’t
want to look after me.”
Nida is an orphan. She was
sold by her aunt. Nida is
now at school.
UNICEF UK
ACHIEVEMENTS 2009 17