The crisis in Afghanistan claims the most attention at the moment. Twenty-four Unicef flight have left Copengaen since September. While we were here, a 25th flight was loading up. But while other countries that need emergency support are off the front page, the continual flow of supplies to them doesn't stop.
The campaign for "awareness" goes on. With the photographer, Tom Craig, and Alison Tilbe from Unicef UK, we are being shown the works - it's extremely impressive. Our host is Deirdre O'Shea; her natural warmth and enthusiasm have made us feel extremely welcome.
I know she receives many visitors and is well practised at reeling off information and statistics. I feel a little dizzy trying to unravel facts and figures, trying to make a picture of them. Of course, it's very clear - all over the world, not just in Afghanistan, thousands of children suffer and are neglected. Poverty, disease, Aids, war and natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods are the culprits, one often linked to another.
Ralph Fiennes in Unicef's Copenhagen warehouse, surrounded by the aid boxes that offer hope for children. 'Somewhere, a child's ideas can live,' he says
Unicef's education initiative does not
seek to impose, but to initiate and integrate. It does, however, aim to
address the huge bias towards education for boys at the expense of girls
in so many cultures. It begins with the "school in a box". This is a
40lb aluminium trunk containing pencils, pencil sharpeners, erasers,
exercise books, slates, paper scissors and blackboard paint.
In Copenhagen, we admire a display version of the box; each costs $285. Within an hour or so of receiving it, a teacher can turn a piece of wood or metal into a blackboard and take the children through their first words or sums - perhaps their first ideas. When the contents of the box are depleted, or have run out, the teachers are supposed to replace them with local supplies. Communities are encouraged to become independent.
After the school in a box, there is Unicef's "fun in a box". This is more sport oriented: skittles, footballs, volleyballs, powdered chalk to mark out a pitch. So, this time, instead of the blackboard, I imagine a dusty piece of turf marked out for a game of football. Will the girls join in? Are they allowed to join in? To my mind, this recreation box has a slight male bias - but not everyone agrees.
"Girls play soccer," Deirdre insists. But she goes on to illustrate the terrible bias against education for girls and women in so many countries. One statistic is that two out of every three children not in schools are girls.
In Copenhagen, we admire a display version of the box; each costs $285. Within an hour or so of receiving it, a teacher can turn a piece of wood or metal into a blackboard and take the children through their first words or sums - perhaps their first ideas. When the contents of the box are depleted, or have run out, the teachers are supposed to replace them with local supplies. Communities are encouraged to become independent.
After the school in a box, there is Unicef's "fun in a box". This is more sport oriented: skittles, footballs, volleyballs, powdered chalk to mark out a pitch. So, this time, instead of the blackboard, I imagine a dusty piece of turf marked out for a game of football. Will the girls join in? Are they allowed to join in? To my mind, this recreation box has a slight male bias - but not everyone agrees.
"Girls play soccer," Deirdre insists. But she goes on to illustrate the terrible bias against education for girls and women in so many countries. One statistic is that two out of every three children not in schools are girls.
http://www.ralphfiennes-jenniferlash.com/ibtcmw.htm
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