Children in Crisis Fund

Your donation to the Children in Crisis Fund will support Plan Australia's response to disasters impacting Plan International's global operational areas, with a focus on protection and care for children.

Plan is currently accepting donations to support our Haiti Earthquake Appeal.

When a crisis hits, children are particularly vulnerable. Usually protected by their communities and families, this first line of defence is under stress and needs support. In emergencies, Plan (in partnership with national governments and other agencies) works with communities to ensure they are supported to protect and care for their children in a tense and difficult time.

Plan’s emergency response aims to lessen the impact on the most vulnerable, and to provide long-term, sustainable support with a strong focus on rebuilding and rehabilitation.

Donations to the Children in Crisis Fund will help ensure that our work in emergencies not only helps children and families at the time of the disaster, but also well into the future.

Donate online to the Children in Crisis Fund or phone 13 7526 or +61-3-9672-3600.

Current Emergency Programs

Plan in Australia is currently financially responding to the Earthquake in Haiti and disasters in the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. We expect we will need to respond in Ethiopia and Kenya in the coming weeks and months as famine conditions worsen for over six million people.

Haiti - Earthquake

An earthquake measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The epicentre was about 15 kilometres from the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Plan staff in Haiti are moving quickly to assess the situation, and will soon be initiating emergency response plans. They have so far reported severe damage in Jacmel and Croix-des-Bouquets two of the areas where it operates.

Learn more about the situation and Plan's emergency response in Haiti

Indonesia - Padang Earthquake

According to news reports, two earthquakes hit Sumatra in Indonesia within 24 hours on Wednesday 30 September and Thursday 1 October 2009.

The first quake was recorded as 7.6 on the Richter scale and hit just off the island’s west coast, and the second quake of 6.8 magnitude occurred on land about 225 kilometres from the epicentre of the first.

The first quake left many dead in the regional centre of Padang, home to about 1 million people.  According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the death toll as at 18 October is 1,117.

Plan International has announced a $US2.8 million ($A3.15 million) recovery program for earthquake-ravaged Padang, Indonesia.

A six-month relief effort to reach those in immediate need has already begun. This will followed by a rehabilitation and reconstruction program expected to last a further 18 months.

Learn more about Plan's emergency response in Indonesia.

Philippines - Typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy)

Typhoon Ketsana (known as Typhoon Ondooy in the Philippines) made landfall on Saturday 26 September, causing massive flooding in Manila and other parts of Luzon.

So far the death toll has been reported as 295, with five injured and 39 people missing. 

The latest reports say the typhoon has affected more than 800,000 families and more than four million people thousands currently in evacuation centres.

Plan is working in one of the hardest hit provinces – Rizal Province - to provide children with access to their right to Education following the typhoon. Education is a vital aspect of emergency response as it provides children with protection as well as psychosocial support and the opportunity to resume normal daily activities such as learning with their friends.

Learn more about Plan's emergency response in the Philippines

Vietnam - Typhoon Ketsana

Typhoon Ketsana hit the central coastal provinces of Vietnam causing significant damage to the region’s infrastructure.

Over 21,000 houses collapsed, almost 5,500 school classrooms have been damaged, and at least 100,000 hectares of agricultural land has been affected. Lowland areas suffered from heavy flooding and the upland areas such as Kon Tum were hit by both flooding and landslides. Families will likely face significant food shortages for up to 6 months.

As of 8 October, the Govertnment of Vietnam is reporting that the death toll has climbed to 163 people with 95 of the reported deaths in Plan provinces. No sponsored children have died because of this storm.

Plan will look to support relief and rehabilitation activities covering 315,880 people in Quang Tri, Quang Ngai and Kon Tum provinces.

Learn more about Plan's emergency response in Vietnam