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Communications Handbook

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Background

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Where we have beenIn tracking the trajectory of public perception of Australian Aid over recent years, there has been a disheartening pendulum swing in the popularity of aid on the social, political and media agenda. While the campaign has had some peaks, there has been a recent decline in support for aid, both politically - culminating in massive aid cuts of $7.6 billion that are broadly supported across the political spectrum - and by the Australian public. Below is a brief history of Australian aid in recent decades.

During much of the Howard administration, aid was not seen as an issue of high importance on the political agenda. Rather, it was seen as a ‘fringe’ or ‘leftist’ issue. The majority of Australians lived in a prosperity bubble with low awareness of the living conditions of even our closest global neighbours.

Under Howard, Australian aid spending fell to the lowest percentage level in Australian history; 0.24% of Gross National Income (GNI) in 2002-2004, or just 24 cents in every $100.1

Aid was also not on the media agenda during this time. Journalists rarely asked questions about aid or global poverty in interviews with politicians or at federal budget time.

On the rare occasions when aid was spoken about, it was usually framed around Australia’s national interest - seen through the lens of regional security, or anti-terrorism measures.

There was very low public aid awareness and public aid literacy during this period.

The 2004/05 response to the Boxing Day Tsunami saw an overwhelming surge in support for private, public and corporate aid donations in response to the disaster.

The Howard administration committed $1 billion dollars of Australian Aid to supporting Indonesia with their rebuild. The green shoots that led to the wide support for Make Poverty History began to break through the Australian psyche.

1. http://aid.dfat.gov.au/Publications/web/australias-international-development-assistance-program-2013-14/Pages/appendix.aspx (See table 7).

The majority of Australians lived in a prosperity bubble with low awareness of the living conditions of even our closest global neighbours.

The Forgotten Years: Late 1990s-2006

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With the rise of campaigns such as Make Poverty History, Micah Challenge and The Oaktree Foundation in the early 2000s, aid became seen as something that was ‘cool’ to support. Celebrities put their names to the cause.

Young Australians wanted to be seen wearing the MPH band. Voices for Justice and the MPH road trip were established, feeding into the political perception that there was a significant groundswell of support for aid. There was a widespread perception that aid deserved political and media attention.

In the lead up to the 2007 election, aid became an election issue for the first time in a long time. In fact, aid was one of the policy issues that made the Rudd administration stand out from the Coalition in the minds of progressive voters.

Kevin Rudd became a champion for Australian aid, and aid community leaders, such as Tim Costello, had the ear of the Prime Minister.

Aid also started to cut through onto the media agenda during this time. Journalists start to ‘Ask the Poverty Question’ (The title of the 2010 Micah Challenge/MPH election campaign).

Labor and the Coalition both committed to bi-partisan support for the goal of increasing aid spending to 0.5% GNI by 2015 and aid saw encouraging annual increases and projected forecasting in federal budget estimates.

During the Make Poverty History era, aid was largely framed around the notion that as a ‘wealthy nation’ we have a ‘responsibility’ to ‘help’ the ‘poor and vulnerable.’ We found a compelling message of moral obligation and benevolence as motivation.

There was high public aid awareness, but low public aid literacy, and many people’s engagement was short term and shallow due to appeals to extrinsic values.

The Golden Years: 2006-2012

In the early 2000s, aid became seen as something that was ‘cool’ to support. Celebrities put their names to the cause.

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Where we are going?A growing body of research from the fields of psychology, linguistics and cognitive science points to the need for the non-profit sector to start taking ‘values’ and ‘frames’ seriously. Below, we unpack values and frames, and how they impact on this campaign, and the global development sector in general.

In 2012, both Labor and the Coalition walked away from their bi-partisan commitment to increase Australian aid to 0.5% GNI by 2015.

Since that time, the aid budget has suffered consecutive cuts under the guise of “aid deferral” or a “freeze” on aid. These cuts amount to a massive $7.6 billion.

While aid dollars remain in the billions, as a percentage of Gross National Income, aid is projected to fall back down to just 0.29% of Gross National Income in 2017-182.

Undermining public and political support for aid is the current widely held belief that Australia has fallen on, or created for itself, tough economic times. Aid communication has become somewhat defensive in response, framed in opposition to the argument that Australia can’t afford to be generous because of our budget deficit.

The aid community attempted to counter this argument with rational rebuttals, but this defensive position has sometimes had the opposite effect - reinforcing the argument that ‘We should look after our own backyard first.”

Public aid literacy remains low, with many Australians holding misconceptions about what aid is and does and how much we, as a nation, spend on overseas development assistance.

The Frozen Years: 2012 - Present

2. http://www.micahchallenge.org.au/blog/n/low-blow-joe-140513

Undermining public and political support for aid is the current widely held belief that Australia has fallen on, or created for itself, tough economic times.

Values and Frames

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Values and framesValues

Values are the core of our human motivational system. They influence the goals we set ourselves, the attitudes we hold and the behaviours we exhibit. We know, for example, that so-called intrinsic values - such as equality and social justice - are associated with greater concern about global poverty, human rights and the environment, as well as with important behaviours such as volunteering and advocacy, ethical purchasing habits and political activism. Meanwhile, so-called extrinsic values - those centered around money, image and status - actually tend to suppress these pro-social and pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours.

Frames

One of the key ways in which we engage values, is through framing. Frames are pieces of information stored in memory that relate to one another. They include words, images, characters, actions, relationships, emotions and – importantly – values. We use frames as a shortcut to understanding the world around us. When we come across something new, we subconsciously look for an existing frame to fit the new information or experience into.

So how does this apply to the Campaign for Australian Aid?

Though the global development sector has often attempted to appeal to image or self-interest to motivate concern or action (e.g. Framing support for global poverty as ‘cool’), evidence indicates that activation of extrinsic values actually leads to shorter and shallower levels of engagement.

Campaign for Australian Aid aims to avoid such attempts to motivate people to support aid through activating extrinsic values - including image, status and wealth. Instead, the campaign is based on intrinsic values - such as a sense of fairness, equality and social justice.

In practice, this means we avoid justifying aid on the basis of self-interest. We shouldn’t increase aid because it will increase market opportunities for Australian business or because it makes us look good on the world stage - we do so because we believe in fair and just world in which everyone should have the opportunity to thrive.

Sure, aid also serves our self interest - for example by increasing the stability of our region - but that’s not why we should do it. We want Australians to support

foreign aid because it’s a small, but instrumental way in which we can support people with promising potential to remove the barriers that prevent them from living a life of dignity, and because the work supported by Australian aid is something we can all be proud of.

Only by appealing to people’s intrinsic values will we build a strong and lasting movement in support of foreign aid.

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As such, Campaign for Australian Aid is very deliberate to avoid tapping into unhelpful frames - such as the notion that poverty is somehow ‘natural’ and that people are poor simply because of their own lack knowledge, skill or effort. The implied solution to poverty is, therefore, simply charity - the transfer of wealth from those with knowledge, skill, ability and effort, to those without it. Absent from this frame is any notion that poverty is actually the result of systemic exploitation through tax dodging, exploitative labour, unfair trade rules or debt. This frame also keeps public aid literacy at a low base.

The core narrative of Campaign for Australian Aid reframes “poor and vulnerable people” as “promising people”. People who are being denied opportunities to thrive. These promising people

are positioned at the very centre. It is they who are shaping a better and fairer future through their autonomy and self-determination. They are not poor for lack of knowledge, skill, or effort. They are not needy or helpless. They are strong. They are smart. They are capable. They are proud.

The role of Australian Aid is to support these promising people to break down the obstacles that prevent them from building a better future.

More information about values and frames by can be found on the Common Cause website: valuesandframes.org or in the Finding Frames report which explores values and frames in relation to the development sector at findingframes.org.

Pitch PropositionCampaign for Australian Aid brings together our nation’s aid and development community to demonstrate the importance of public funded aid and to celebrate the instrumental work that is done in our name.

Our Australian aid must continue to work with communities, assisting them to break down the barriers, preventing them from building a better and fairer future, free from poverty.

We are for Australian Aid because it makes a world of difference.

Australian Aid helps the world’s most promising people as they break down the barriers of poverty that prevent them from realising their potential and shape a better and fairer future.

It is the name we give to the many instrumental ways that we work together with communities as they build a brighter tomorrow.

In the last 20 years, humanity has made great progress towards a more just and equal world. Together, through Australian Aid, we have played a part in that story.

This campaign encourages Australians to come together and celebrate our important contributions on the world stage, and ensure that as a nation we are for Australian Aid.

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In the last 20 years, humanity has made great progress towards a more just and equal world. Through Australian Aid, we have played a part in that story.

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Boilerplate

A. Organisations who are members of the Make Poverty History and/or Micah Coalitions will also include the following in the ‘Golden Sentence’: For more information, go to www.makepovertyhistory.com.au (and/or www.micahchallenge.org.au for Micah agencies)

B. Agencies may also add the words, “supported by [Insert agency name].”

C. When talking about ourselves, we should be careful to use elitist/ exclusive language or jargon. Wherever possible, we should refer to ourselves as an ‘aid community’ or ‘movement’ rather than ‘sector-wide campaign’.

Version 1

Campaign for Australian Aid is a joint initiative of the Make Poverty History and Micah Challenge coalitions, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - for all Australians who believe we can and should do more as a nation to end extreme poverty around the world.

Version 2

Campaign for Australian Aid is a joint initiative of the Make Poverty History and Micah Challenge coalitions - for all Australians who believe we can and should do more as a nation to end extreme poverty around the world.

A Note on Using the Golden SentenceCampaign messaging and resources in all forms, online and offline, will be accompanied by the ‘Golden Sentence.’ There are two versions of the ‘Golden Sentence.’ Version 1 will be used on the websites of Campaign for Australian Aid, MPH and Micah, as well as all formal communication from and about Campaign for Australian Aid. Version 2 can be used by NGO members with consideration of points A, B and C below:

How we talk about aid

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How we talk about aidWhat, simply put, does it mean for us?

This document seeks to provide a guide to shifting the conversation around aid, both in the aid community and in the broader Australian discourse, from one that is motivated by benevolence or moral obligation, to one that positions aid as intrinsic part of the Australian identity.

1. We need a new way of talking about aid; one that doesn’t rely on the variability of the economic and political climate, but that positions aid as a core part of the Australian national identity.

2. We need to transform the way we, the aid community, talk about ourselves and our work and we need to provide a new frame for grassroots aid advocates to communicate their support for aid.

We also need to tell stories of the beautiful and instrumental part Australia plays in helping promising people in poor communities break down the obstacles that limit them reaching their potential.

We recognise that ‘fairness,’ synonymic with equality and justice, is a strong motivator for Australians that can be harnessed in reframing the aid narrative.

“We support aid because it’s what we do as Australians. It’s one way that we play our part in making our world a better and fairer place.”

As such, Campaign for Australian Aid seeks to reframe aid;

While the argument that Australians should support foreign aid because we have a responsibility as a wealthy country to ‘help those less fortunate’ has seen some success for aid campaigning in the past, this sentiment has been drastically undermined by the insidiousness of the message that Australia has fallen on ‘tough economic times’ and therefore can’t afford to be ‘generous’.

“We support aid because we have a responsibility as wealthy nation to help the poor and vulnerable.”

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The new narrative for Australian aid should focus on the people not the circumstance - We should emphasise the autonomy and self determination of the ‘promising people’ who live in poor communities and the role Australians, through Australian aid, get to play in partnering with them to help them remove the barriers that limit their potential. Rather than focusing on the problem (i.e. poverty), we need to tell the story of the solution and deliberately celebrate the success of Australian aid by telling good news stories about development work that we get to play a part in.

Australians have a core sense of fairness and this can be harnessed in support of Australian aid. We need

to highlight the fact that Australian aid is one part of the bigger story of how we can build a fairer global community. Over the past twenty years, Australia has partnered with governments and communities to make great progress towards ending global poverty - achieving beautiful and lasting change.Together, through Australian aid, we have been part of that story.

We can also recognise that there are many factors that play a significant role in global international development and we need not shy away from efforts to improve aid literacy in Australians, so that they can begin to understand the story beyond ‘aid’.

We need to reframe the narrative that paints aid recipients as ‘poor and needy’ and position them as people who are already moving towards their own development, but are impeded by obstacles that Australians can play a part in breaking down, through Australian aid.

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Campaign MessagingCampaign for Australian Aid proposes a new narrative Framework that:

Rather than positioning people in poor communities as vulnerable, needy, weak and passive, we should speak of them as people of dignity with resilience, ingenuity, determination and strength.

People aren’t poor because they’re lazy or lack knowledge and skill, they’re

poor because human-caused systemic injustice creates barriers for people to fulfill their potential. When we speak about the people we partner with in paternalistic and pitying ways, we disempower them.

Aid communicators know that that aid interventions, and Australian aid specifically, is one part of the larger story, and we should be inviting our supporters to learn more about the broader issues that impact global development, such as tax justice and corporate corruption, debt forgiveness, fair trade and ethical purchasing. We have responsibility to improve global

development literacy, so always provide gateways for people to learn more.

Instead of only talking about aid as a solution, we should speak about aid as one small, but significant way in which Australians support promising people to break down the obstacles that prevent them from building a better future.

1. Gives agency to ‘promising people’

2. Represents aid as one part in a bigger story

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When communicating through new narrative frame for Australian aid, we should always point first to the self-determination and autonomy of people as agents of their own future.

When communicating about global development issues, we must be careful not to position aid as a ‘silver bullet’, overemphasising the role in poverty reduction.

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Emphasising common/ shared experiences for all humans, such as providing for a family or caring for a sick relative, is helpful in personalising the issue of poverty. This takes poverty from the realm of the abstract in people’s minds and makes it relatable. We might not all be poor, but we’re all people.

The frame of universalism also helps us strike the right balance of

communicating aid as part of our national identity as Australians - i.e. We’re for aid because ensuring fairness is what we do as Australians. Pointing to our universal humanity helps us avoid stepping over to the realm of ‘nationalism’, where the danger is that the message of Australian Aid becomes about how heroic Aussies are in helping the “weak and needy”.

Wherever possible, we should create opportunities for promising people to tell their own stories. Hearing from people is always more powerful than hearing about them.

Some examples about how to use these frames in telling development stories can be found later in this document.

3. Focuses on a frame of universalism

4. Shares stories of people ‘breaking down barriers’ of poverty

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Rather than communicating about ‘Us’ the rich, and ‘Them’ the poor, everything we communicate about poverty and development should be told through threads of the connectedness of humanity. Our role as aid communicators is to help Australians feel their relation to other people in the global family. When we do this well, people should walk away feeling like “That could be me” or “That could be my little girl or boy.”

In giving agency to the promising people, we should celebrate examples of people having success in breaking down the barriers to their own potential, in order to shape a better future for where they and their communities can thrive. Point to the progress that is being made and the small, but instrumental ways that Australians get to partner in the work, through Australian aid.

How to use key campaign messages

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How to use key campaign messages The following key campaign messages serve as identifiers of the campaign. Below is a guide for when and how to use the key campaign messages and how and why they fit in the new narrative frame we using to change the conversation about Australian Aid.

“Campaign for Australian Aid”:• The official/formal title for the aid

community campaign.• Used when the campaign speaks about

itself, or in reference to the name of the campaign.

• Replaces the use of ‘foreign’ or ‘overseas’ aid - phrases that distance aid from the Australian identity, thereby removing our responsibility.

• Useful for political campaigning as it seems more formal and less colloquial.

“The world’s most promising people”:

• “The world’s most promising people”.• This line is key to re-positioning people

living in poor communities as valuable, self-determined and empowered, rather than poor or vulnerable.

• Using this line from the outset allows us to speak to potential, rather than circumstance and paint a positive image of the future.

“As they break down barriers”:• The idea of human-caused barriers standing in

the way of people and communities’ chance at development is fundamental to the narrative framework.

• This message removes the idea that poverty is somehow a natural state, and therefore can’t be changed.

• It helps people understand that people are poor for systemic reason - not because of their own lack of effort, skill or knowledge.

• Positions poverty as something that can be solved/ overcome - brings hope.

• Supports the idea that development is achieved through their agency, with our support.

“We’re for Australian Aid”:• Used as the identifier for the campaign,

such as when NGOs use it.• A final statement on collateral -

Wordmark/ logo.• Welcomes people into the campaign and

invites them to self-identify as supporters of Australian Aid. Lends well to a Call to Action: “Are you for Australian Aid?” “I’m for Australian Aid.”

• Speaks to a sense of pride in the good that’s achieved through Australian Aid.

• May be used on campaign supporter collateral such as t-shirt.

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“Instrumental work of aid”:• This offers a simple and positive way of

talking about the important interventions of aid, while giving agency to people in developing contexts.

• Not “the life-saving work of aid” - we don’t want to overemphasise the role of aid in the wider story of development.

“Global community”:• Gives personality to the partnerships

Australian Aid has with developing communities.

• Emphasised the connectedness of humanity.• Feeds into the frame of universalism/

common human experience which helps personalise poverty.

“It makes a world of difference”:• This is a bit ‘salesy’ but nice for general public.

It should follow ‘we’re for Australian Aid.’• Speaks to the progress that’s being made

- emphasises that aid works and supports the telling of stories that celebrate the development successes that Australian aid gets to play a part in.

• Don’t use out of context e.g. “We can make a world of difference.” Always emphasise the point that Australian Aid should be celebrated as something we already do and not something we can do.

When self-identifying with the Campaign for Australian Aid, there are a variety imperatives that can be harnessed by individuals and groups in support of the campaign:

Using campaign imperatives and identifiers:

“We’re for Australian Aid.”This branded visual wordmark for NGOs (see above) can also be used by in text by groups when talking about their support.

“I’m for Australian Aid.”Used by individuals when self-identifying with the campaign. “[List ways that aid is working]. That’s why I’m for Australian aid.”

“Are you for Australian Aid?” Call to action. Invites others into the conversation. Potential for social media campaigning.

“[Insert name of generic group] for Australian Aid.” E.g. “Mossvale Mums for Australian Aid.” “Sydney Anglicans for Australian Aid.” “Moustached men for Australian Aid.” Note: This should NOT be used in the case of established development brands such as World Vision, Tear, Oxfam etc, as they should be using the Australian Aid branded wordmark.

Lends well to actions in support of the campaign, e.g. “Stand for Australian Aid”, “Walk for Australian Aid”, “Swim for Australian Aid.”

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Language tips

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Language tipsWhat language to keep and what to discard

As aid communicators, we need to be careful with the words and metaphors we use in our communications. Many of the phrases we commonly use, or are commonly used by media and the general public, to describe poverty are based on outdated notions that ignore the role of injustice and oppression in creating poverty.

Some ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ for positive framing of aid are outlined below. Many of these may already be implemented within your agency, but these guidelines give us an opportunity for consistency across the campaign.

Don’t DoUse the phrase ‘Foreign aid’.

The word Foreign, by definition, positions people as different or ‘other’. It distances ‘us’ from ‘them’ and supports the belief that global poverty is not our problem. Many people also associate foreign with something to be wary or even fearful of.

Use ‘Australian Aid’ whenever possible.

This term links to the idea that aid is something inherently Australian. When not directly referring to Australian Aid, use the label ‘Global development’ in place of ‘Foreign aid.’ “Supporting global development” adds an implication of partnership rather than intervention or imposition.

Label people or communities as “the poor”, “the vulnerable”, “the needy” or “impoverished”.

This disempowers and dehumanises people and feeds into the benevolence mentality that we are trying to reframe. It adds to the misconception that poor people are ‘damsel in distress’ types, awaiting rescue by a rich white hero.

Refer to people as people, rather than “the poor”.

“People from poor communities,” or “People who live in poor communities” is better than “the poor”. Emphasising our common humanity is helpful in personalising the issue of poverty. We might not all be poor, but we’re all people.

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Don’t DoRefer to the nations Australia partners with as ‘Third World Countries’ or ‘The Third World’.

This label establishes a hierarchy of importance, where people in poor communities are in last place behind the more valuable people of the ‘First World.’

Refer to ‘communities’.

This also helps humanise and give dignity to people, as we all consider ourselves to be part of communities. It emphasises the banding together of people to break down barriers.

Use phrases like, “Lift themselves up”, “Stand on their own two feet” or “Hand up not hand out.”

These commonly used, paternalistic metaphors subtly imply that poor people are sitting or lying down before they are given aid, which feeds into the notion that people are poor because they are lazy, or lack the knowledge or skill.

Talk about the role of Australian aid in partnering with promising people who face barriers to reaching their potential.

Emphasise their self-determination to transform their communities.

Emphasise our moral obligation as a wealthy nation to help those in need - the majority of Australians currently don’t hold the perception that Australia is a rich nation.

They think our moral obligation is to our ‘own backyard’, and that ‘Charity begins at home.’

Talk about fairness.

This is a core value and motivator for Australians. Like in the iconic film, The Castle, Australians will think things are ‘right’ and ‘just’ if they perceive them to be fair. E.g. “We support aid because ensuring fairness is what we do as Australians.”

Use jargon or overwhelm people with complex policy information or development terminology.

Present the information simply and clearly and layer it with invitations for more engaged people to learn more.

Enable people in communities we partner with to tell their own stories whenever possible.

Hearing from people in poor communities, is more powerful that hearing about them, and giving voice to these people emphasises their humanity.

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Don’t DoUse metaphors that make poverty sound like a natural state and therefore outside of human control.

While some barriers to overcoming poverty relate to nature, such as Geography and natural disasters, the majority of barriers are human-caused; systemic political and economic injustices.

E.g. Don’t talk about “lifting people out of poverty” as if its a gaping hole in the ground, talk instead about “removing barriers” and point out how those barriers are human-caused.

Focus on shared experiences and the universality of humanity common to people everywhere, such as in raising children and providing for a family, caring for a sick relative or desiring a decent life and to be agents of our own futures.

This takes poverty from the realm of the abstract in people’s minds and makes it relatable.

Talk about “The fight against global poverty” or the “War on poverty.”

This defensive position feeds the perception that poverty is out of control and suggests that we’re ‘losing’. Setting up ‘sides’ prevents a sense of unity in Australians moving forward together to support the removal of obstacles to success.

Share stories where aid is working.

Celebrate the development successes that Australia plays a proud part in. Tell stories of promising people breaking down these barriers with the support of Australian Aid. Many Australians are vague on what ‘aid’ actually does, however the vast majority of people - even those who are ‘aid skeptics’ - would agree that getting more kids in school, seeing more babies vaccinated, better healthcare and clean water and sanitation in communities are all good things to spend money on.

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Don’t DoEmphasise the reliance of people from poor communities on our generosity or frame people as passive victims of poverty and position NGOs as saviours here to fix the problem.

Choose stories that demonstrate examples of promising people being denied opportunities because of human-caused obstacles.

Some examples would be girls denied an education because of their gender, companies kicking farmers off their land, hospitals being underfunded because of lack of revenue from multinational companies avoiding tax.

Reference bilateral aid without the context of a specific example, in general communications, as this may speak to assumptions of wasted spending and corruption.

Talk about the role we get to play, through Australian aid, as a partnership with the communities where Australian aid is working.

Position aid as the silver bullet, rather, aid is one small, but significant way in which Australians support promising people to break down the obstacles that prevent them from building a better future.

Layer information and establish clear gateways for people to learn more if they desire to.

If you overwhelm people with complex policy information from the outset, they will opt out of engagement. Strike a balance between a starting point of clearly presenting the information and then welcome them into deeper engagement through opportunities to learn more.

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The narrative framework

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The narrative frameworkWhat is the plan for a story of Aid?

In the course of the Campaign for Australian Aid both the campaign and individual agencies will share their own stories, and stories that they themselves resource. We want to provide a framework, by which you can put the messages and tone of Australian Aid into practice.

Our stories are focused on the agency of the world’s most promising people as they work to break down the unnatural obstacles of poverty.

1. Begin with people, who they are, where they are from and find a way for the audience can connect; maybe in their life stage, their dreams or their concern for family.

2. Point to their agency as promising people. They are individually and in community, working to find opportunities to thrive.

3. Show their progress, and the unnatural barrier that stands in their way, as they strive to reach potential.

4. Celebrate the small, but instrumental way that Australian Aid partners with and supports them individually and in community to overcome barriers to reaching their potential.

As the campaign develops, and advocacy asks become clearer in the lead up to key opportunities, we can begin to layer onto these the opportunity cost of frozen or cut aid budgets.

Themes:AutonomyProgressOpportunityEmpowerment

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Narrative ExamplesBelow are some specific narrative examples that take the framework of the campaign, and apply it to specific development areas.

Wash

Gavi

Lina is young mother who cares about her elderly parents, her three sisters and about helping to create a hopeful future for her daughter and small son. Lina’s husband passed away when her son was just a baby and, like any single Mum, she worries about her employment situation and whether she’ll be able to provide for her family. Lina is a gifted seamstress and the clothes she makes for her neighbours may not be showy, but are made to last.

But Lina has been getting sick with terrible stomach bugs too often lately and has had to spend weeks in bed, exhausted by dehydration and unable to work. Because Lina’s community in Sudan doesn’t have access to a safe water, she and her neighbours are prone to water-borne diseases that cause vomiting,

diarrhea and painful cramping. Although these illnesses are easily preventable, the absence of effective sanitation infrastructure in Lina’s community means that sickness quickly spreads.

Recently, a community development group working in the area consulted with local community leaders about the needs of their neighbourhood. Together, they identified that building a simple water pump would have huge benefits to the health of their community. Australian Aid partnered with the project, supporting Lina, her family and her community so that they could build a water pump, access clean, safe drinking water, and ensure that she will be healthy enough to run her sewing business and provide for her family.

Janet prayed for her unborn daughter, Promise, every day of her pregnancy. She prayed that she would have a safe delivery and a healthy baby and that her daughter would do well in school and maybe one day go to university.

Janet worried because she heard there had been a measles outbreak in a town not far from her home. Because only half of all children in Vanuatu are immunised against measles, a measles epidemic

could spell disaster and even death for expectant mothers and newborns.

Thankfully, Australian Aid and the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, partnered with a health clinic in Janet’s community, offering free measles vaccinations and health checks. Janet gave birth to a healthy baby girl and Promise is full of potential, learning to walk and talk.

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EducationSarah is eight. She loves to play soccer with her friends and write stories and she’s good at reading, but doesn’t like maths much. Sarah’s teacher says that if she keeps trying her best at school, she might be able to go to university one day. Sarah thinks it might be fun to become a teacher and help inspire the children in her community.

But Sarah almost missed out on her chance to go to school. Of the 5.1 million primary aged children who don’t attend school in Pakistan, 63% of them are girls, and Sarah’s community only offered education to boys.

Then a community development project started a women’s self-help group in Sarah’s neighbourhood. The women saw that if girls like Sarah could get an education, they would have more opportunities to thrive and reach their full potential.

Partnering with Australian Aid, the women were trained, mentored and eventually succeeded in advocating for the local government to establish a school for girls. Now Sarah can go to school and pursue her dream to become a teacher.

PolioNothing holds more promise than a newborn baby. All children, regardless of where they are born, hold incredible inherent potential that can transform their communities and the world.

But Polio poses a serious threat to the potential of promising people who live in countries with low levels of vaccination, such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of West Africa.

In 1988, when the international community first came together to tackle Polio, the disease paralysed

more than 1000 children worldwide every single day. Since then, more than 2.5 billion children have been immunised against polio, thanks to the cooperation of more than 200 countries, including Australia, and Polio has decreased by 99% as a result.

The remaining 1% has proved difficult to overcome, due to conflict, political instability and hard-to-reach geographical locations in Polio affected communities.

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Prepared by Agency | Australia’s leading creative studio for social change

For more information, please contact Tim Middlemiss: tim@agency.sc