What else did the study tell you?
MU: I guess the most significant finding is how climate change is likely to aggravate malnutrition and food security. In Indonesia, malnutrition is largely ascribed to compromised infant feeding practices, and there was ready evidence that, with crop failure and freak weather events, people were moving, they were being displaced and that food security is already presenting itself as an issue. Problems with food security mean that more compromises occur within a household. We heard stories of early weaning of infants from breastfeeding because it’s much faster for a mother to ask the grandmother to feed the baby a banana while the mother goes back to work in the field. That was one of the concerning findings. In terms of migration, it was more that the study triggered conversations on the impacts for children.
I think the most important finding from the conversations with children is that they feel they have very little information – and this is in a country where school enrolment levels are good. There is confusion and a disconcerting outlook among children who know that they’re walking into this future of climate issues but they don’t have a good understanding of it.
What were your interactions with children like?
MU: The two things that struck us as a research team in both sites is that children could speak about the issue immediately, it wasn’t an obscure topic. You have to find the right language to speak about it but they could then talk about it readily. They were very observant about what’s going on, and they had a lot to say. Some young people are having contact with NGOs or discrete projects in their schools where they’re encouraged to grow plants or turn off the lights. But these are almost surface environmental things. The children we met were experiencing bridges being washed out at a time of year when there shouldn’t be a rainy season. Their fathers’ corn crops are failing for the third time in a row because its dry season and the rains have returned too early. Children in Surbaya City were more complaining about the inconvenience of the flooding and how it changes their course to school. The rural children in Madura Island and in NTT were describing more hardship, change, displacement, damage to their school and their home – very direct impacts.
They’re observing these things but they don’t fully understand the big picture. They kept asking us for information. Some of the young people expressed that they were scared and yet determined to do something about it, but they’re not sure what they can do. This kind of thing was at the forefront of our conversations with them.
Based on specific data, how are children’s worlds likely to change?
MU: With Indonesia being a chain of islands, large and small, but with such coastal exposure, I think the inevitability is going to be displacement. It’s already happening. Unmanaged displacement means that these families or communities move to marginal land, like on the fringes of cities, with all the unfavourable environmental conditions that that will bring families and children. I don’t want to be alarmist – I feel the picture is bleak globally and this concern is not specific to Indonesia. The same response is required in all countries to make sure that children are included in what gets attention. Here in the Asia-Pacific region, with the youth bulge (the huge proportion of the population that is younger than 24), the population size alone merits attention.
What needs to be done to further this work?
MU: I know it sounds very self-serving coming from a university-located person, but I think it’s to make the link between data sources and to do more research, including qualitative research. One of the great initiatives we heard about is the UN family, with the World Health Organisation included, supporting the Government of Indonesia to link surveillance and provincial data on weather information, disease outbreaks and the nutrition situation and to monitor it. It’s an incredible step forward because this year we heard accounts of the spike in dengue cases, with a greater case fatality rate for children. Public health officials could connect it to the rains but there was no confirmation through surveillance. I also think that longer-term research on migration patterns and child care in the household is needed. There will be some beneficial outcomes for children; we found that education outcomes were generally better among children who migrated with their parents to a better livelihood site but health impacts are variable, and child protection information is limited.
There needs to be a roll out of education and information to children on these issues, with constructive things they can do and some of the simple basic science of what’s happening in their own land.
What needs to be done for children?
MU: We asked in our survey, “What would best help you to cope with climate change?” We had a range of answers but the top response was almost unanimous – it was help us to do something about it in our communities. We were staggered by that response. They could have demanded more from the government or NGOs, but they came back with this altruistic response.
If you were at the table in one of the adaptation discussions with a few minutes to speak, what would be your main message?
MU: I’d draw on the groundwork done by Sheridan Bartlett at the International Institute for Environment and Development. She talks about the repetitiveness of the impacts felt by children – more malnutrition, more under-five death, more risk of injury, more risk of neglect, abuse and exploitation. While there is a lot to grapple with in a climate change response, children’s survival and protection absolutely depends on being included and acknowledged in what a country does. There’s the intergenerational justice dimension to this as well – they absolutely deserve to be equipped with the information to cope with this themselves and to support their families and communities to cope with this but also to understand what lies ahead. Children don’t yet figure into the conversation and adaptation is not getting the full weight of attention it deserves. Community survival really depends on adaptation support and it trickles right down to the lowest levels where children are supported.
"I'm a UNICEF supporter, and I'd love you to join me."
Those who can, do. Those who can do more, volunteer!
It’s International Volunteer Day! So it’s a fitting time to thank all the people around NZ who’ve given their time for free to help UNICEF NZ out. Cheesy but true: lots of what we do just wouldn’t be possible without some of our fab volunteers.
Here are just a few people who’ve done something spectacular for us this year.
Michael De Leener. Intern.
Michael De Leener, 'Manager of Changing the World for the Better’
Michael came all the way from Belgium to help out at our office in Wellington. Actually, it was NZ that was part of the attraction (nature, adventure etc.) not just UNICEF NZ. But still, he’s pretty dedicated.
A 23 year old grad with a Masters of Political Science, Michael’s yet to decide on his future career, but is pretty happy “helping people, not working for the self or the economy” with his current internship with UNICEF. Michael self-defines his intern position as ‘Manager of Changing the World for the Better’, and helps us with media monitoring and social media research. Good stuff.
Julian Gillespie. Volunteer.
Julian Gillespie, Volunteering for 10 years plus!
Julian has been volunteering with UNICEF for so long, she can’t even remember how many years it’s been! “It’s somewhere around the 10 year mark”, she says. What a dedicated lady.
The work she does here is “all pretty good. It might seem boring to some people, but it’s necessary work.” With self-confessed “computer illiteracy”, Julian takes a more hands-on role and is in charge of stuffing the all-important donation receipts into envelopes. But most importantly, she’s also chief proof-reader, making sure we don’t send any letters to ‘Mr A. Sample’. Nothing escapes her beady eye!
Julian regularly brings in snippets of development news from the UK newspapers, keeping us up to date with movements in international journalism, and likes to hear the latest about our work in the Pacific and Africa.
Morgan Hanks. Intern.
Morgan Hanks, Star Intern
Morgan is just 3 days into her internship with us. She’s barely had time to work out where the kitchen is, but was happy to pose with the lovely logo and be featured for this blog!
Morgan is working on a research paper with UNICEF on how the NZ Aid Programme has implemented children’s right into its policies and programmes, a great match to her recently-completed Masters in Development Studies at Vic Uni. An American who’s been in NZ for 4 years, Morgan keeps herself busy writing publications from her thesis and contributing to the NZ Aid Development Dialogue (NZADDs). Phew!
Worst thing about interning with UNICEF: “Not having a window next to my desk.”
Best thing: “Working with amazing people [we didn’t make this up, promise] and being involved in the NGO community.”
Sidra Khan. Intern.
Sidra Khan, A Newby to Wellington
Sidra is very new to Wellington, having just moved here from England with her husband. She sought out an internship partly as a way to meet people. She says, “there’s quite an eclectic mix of people here at the UNICEF office, people of all ages and from lots of different backgrounds.”
Sidra comes from the banking and corporate world, and finds the atmosphere and working style at UNICEF quite hands-on, fluid and innovative in comparison. Sidra is writing materials for UNICEF’s community fundraisers, and enjoys having the freedom to use her own ideas in the work.
Although the slog up the steep hill to the UNICEF office is not the best way to start a working day, Sidra’s internship with us could be the start to a career in the NGO sector for her! Good luck Sidra!
Thanks
This blog could be hundreds of pages long if we featured all our volunteers, so we’re going to round off with a selection of photos of just a few of the people who’ve been part of our work for children.
It can be easy to take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. So today we want to thank and celebrate the fantastic people who give so much of their time, energy, thoughts, ideas and passion to UNICEF.