Staying safe when disaster strikes

BY ANDREW DUBOCK More than 3,000 children and 200 families in the Philippines’ province of Eastern Samar are now better prepared for the next natural disaster to hit the country, thanks to recent training provided by Viva and our partner network, PCMN. Around 20 typhoons affect the Philippines each year and, following the devastation of […]

Empowering Patna’s girls

  BY ANDREW DUBOCK It leaves a lump in my throat and a knot in my stomach. Poverty at its most raw: unstable shelters deep in stagnant water, malnourished babies, hundreds of people accessing one well of unclean water, children with leprosy. It’s particularly hard to hear about the situation for girls, who are most […]

Girls make a journey of self-discovery

BY ANDREW DUBOCK “I wish I was a boy.” Akansha’s words stuck in my head, as I grappled with the question: ‘how could any girl think like this?’ Yet Akansha’s thoughts are not isolated – according to a survey by the government’s Ministry of Women and Child Development, almost half of girls in India have […]

More than a dowry: India’s girls’ real value

In India, almost two-thirds more girls than boys die before their fourth birthday.* Jane Travis explains why such a low value is placed on girls’ lives there, how Viva is changing attitudes towards gender inequality and building confidence in India’s precious daughters. “It’s a girl!” Three simple words pronounced at birth that should evoke tears […]

Delhi reflections: Balloon Girl

I spotted the colours first. A red, a green, a yellow: illuminating the darkness of early evening. Balloons! Being held by a girl no older than my own daughters… Sitting in the back of a cab, heading back to my hotel after an exhilarating few hours in Old Delhi, I spotted this Balloon Girl whilst […]