Foreign Affairs committee  That's a great question. Interestingly, I think people everywhere do want to send their children to school. There are barriers that remain for all children, but more so for girls. Just raising awareness about the importance of education has been tremendous work. This whole gend

Foreign Affairs committee  I think those were great points that were raised. The old-fashioned radio came in very handy in West Africa. For many of our programs, whether they're in Mali, Senegal,Burkina Faso or northern Nigeria, the radio is very popular and we have used it a lot. In places that Mr. Ayoub

Foreign Affairs committee  We had to pivot, like many of my colleagues mentioned earlier, very quickly within the pandemic. That was where the NGO's agility really worked, because within months we were able to change and pivot all our programs. For the girls, the biggest one we were focusing on—and contin

Foreign Affairs committee  Perhaps I will start. Thank you for that excellent question. In this time of crisis, more than ever Canadians actually understand what it means to have—

Foreign Affairs committee  I'll try to speak closer to the mike. It is true that during this time of COVID crisis, Canadians, more than ever, understand how the world is connected. Someone is [Technical difficulty]. Canadians are also seeing what it means to have kids at home, which we talk about at inter

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you so much for giving us this opportunity to speak with you again. COVID-19 is a child rights issue and the challenge is staggering. The situation is getting worse, so it's wonderful to talk about all of these issues. As you heard in the previous panel, Plan Internation

Foreign Affairs committee  We truly believe, and we are seeing from data that's come out recently, that COVID has exponentially affected girls and women much more. This is no different in developing countries. As Michael said about school closures, people can see it here, but when that can put millions of

Foreign Affairs committee  I think our program targeting girls and women actually is everywhere, because this is our basic strategy. In the over 50 developing countries where we work, it is critical to empower girls and give them a voice and work with them to provide all kinds of empowerment overall for th

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes, education is, I would say, definitely one of the best, most powerful programs ever, not just for poverty alleviation for girls, but also for empowerment and agency.

Foreign Affairs committee  Do you want me to respond?

Foreign Affairs committee  Like the other two speakers, I can say that our staff on the front line are all local. They have been impacted, because in the countries where the COVID cases are rising, it's quite difficult to provide aid, so there have been some restrictions. The programming oftentimes continu

Foreign Affairs committee  May I answer as well? It's a great question. Thank you for that. Following up on what two of my colleagues have responded with, it's really important that we are not doing it piecemeal. It's not just the amount. It's how we actually deliver the aid, because some of these issue

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you so much for inviting me to speak to the committee today. COVID-19 has really increased the vulnerability, especially for children and girls, in situations of conflict and displacement. Plan International is one of the largest international child rights organizations. W