Check list for a healthy life

By Nova Fransisca Silitonga, Corporate Partnership Officer, UNICEF Indonesia

Have you washed your hands with soap? Had breakfast? Brushed your teeth? Pooed in the loo? Cleaned your ears?

These are some of the questions pupils at Elementary School SDN 69 in Galesong village, Takalar District, South Sulawesi have to answer every morning.

Their teachers ask them to fill in a wall chart to show which activities they’ve completed, and which they haven’t. The exercise is designed to encourage pupils to be honest while also teaching them how to have a healthy lifestyle.

Preventing child neglect and exploitation through family development sessions

By: Astrid Gonzaga Dionisio, Child Protection Specialist

Yogyakarta, June 2014 - When I attended a discussion on child protection in Yogyakarta recently, one of the participants really stood out.

Ibu Prihatin is a mother of three and a graduate of junior high school from Kulon Progo District. She understands very well what is needed to provide her children with all the support they need to succeed in school – and she loves to talk about it.

“We have to make sure they have breakfast in the morning and that their uniforms are clean and in order,” she said when participants were asked to discuss how to prevent neglect.

Ibu Prihatin has been participating in the Family Hope Programme (PKH - Program Keluarga Harapan) since 2008. Through the programme, the Indonesian government provides conditional cash transfers to the poorest families to improve their access to health and education services.

UNICEF, Government of Indonesia call on media to help #ENDviolence against children

JAKARTA, 7 July 2014 – The Government of Indonesia and UNICEF have joined together to urge the media to help #ENDviolence against children by raising awareness of the risks to children and the impact they suffer, as well as showing children affected by violence how they can get help.

The call came as part of roundtable discussions between the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, Linda Gumelar, the Minister of Health, Nafsiah Mboi, UNICEF’s Representative, Angela Kearney, and the editors of several newspapers, radio and television stations in Jakarta on the coverage of violence against children.

Muslim leaders at forefront of social change to reduce stunting

 by Iwan Hasan

Kyai Subhan at the pesantren in Brebes, Central Java

© UNICEF Indonesia/2014/Iwan

BREBES, Indonesia, April 2014 - Subhan Makmun, known as Kyai Subhan, looks like a typical traditional Islamic scholar or ulama. He lives among thousands of his students in an Islamic boarding school in Brebes, Central Java. He wears a traditional sarong and a black Malay cap.  

But looks can be deceiving. Subhan’s view on Islamic Syariah is very progressive. “Islam is not narrow but broad,” he says.

Kyai Subhan is one of the most revered ulamas in Central Java thanks to his vast knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence. But classical Islamic books are not the only books he reads. He says he’s read “Facts for Life”, a book on child care published by UNICEF in association with several other UN agencies.

Unilever extends support to cut down on open defecation

JAKARTA, 4th July 2014 – The Unilever Indonesia Foundation and UNICEF are further strengthening their collaboration in addressing the country’s challenges in terms of safe water and sanitation.

After a first contribution of €100,000 in 2013, the Foundation has now donated €200,000 to the UNICEF WASH programme which aims at ending open defecation and improving hygienic practices in Indonesia.