This year we invite your school to help change the lives of children affected by climate change in Guyana, South America, by taking part in Day for Change.
Every child has the right to an education, to health, to a childhood, to be treated fairly, and the right to be heard. These fundamental rights are being denied by climate change. In Guyana, flooding is making it difficult for children to go to school. Children’s rights are harder to achieve, as changing temperatures and an increase in disasters make food and water scarcer.
Day for Change will raise money to help communities in Guyana adapt to these changes, and help ensure that children are able to realise their rights. UNICEF is already helping children and communities deal with the effects of climate change but we need your help to do more.
Your school can be involved in all sorts of exciting and creative events to mark Day for Change, such as fancy dress or cake sales. In exchange for making a change for that day, parents, children and teachers make a donation to help children and communities deal with the effects of climate change.
Day for Change 2011 officially takes place on February 4 2011, but you can hold your event at any time in the school year that suits you.
Every school that registers receives a free resource kit packed with fundraising ideas, assembly and lesson plans, real life stories, stickers, posters and much more to make their Day for Change a success. Schools can download additional resources or print out extra copies which will be available in September.
Schools across the country are taking part, so make sure you don’t miss out on a chance to make a change for children!
As we are sure you are aware, UNICEF is currently responding to the devastating flooding in Pakistan, and we urgently need your help. You don’t need to wait until February to fundraise- you can hold a fundraising event in the autumn term to raise money for the children in Pakistan.
This is a humanitarian disaster of unprecedented scale. Funds are urgently required to provide clean water and sanitation systems to safeguard against the threat of disease, and deliver other life-saving supplies. According to data gathered so far, nearly 11,000 schools have been partially or completely damaged in the floods, while over 6,000 schools have been converted into shelters for people who have been displaced, accommodating 1.4million people. Over 1 million children could be denied access to education. The number of people in need of urgent assistance is bigger than the 2004 Tsunami (5m), Haiti (3m), and the last Pakistan earthquake (3.5m) combined. Over 18 million people have been affected by the flood, including nearly 8.6million children, and over 2 million children under 5.
Fundraise now to help our work in the wake of this emergency. For more information about the situation in Pakistan, and how you can help, please go to www.unicef.org.uk/emergencyfundraising
