Plan International also provides training in disaster preparedness and recovery and has worked on relief efforts in countries including Haiti,[3] Colombia[4] and Japan.[5]
Plan International's country office in Niamey, Niger
Plan International was founded in 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, by British journalist John Langdon-Davies and aid worker Eric Muggeridge. Eric was one of five brothers, including journalist and satirist Malcolm Muggeridge. Plan International was founded as "Foster Parents Plan for Children in Spain".
During World War II, the organisation became known as "Foster Parents Plan for War Children" and worked in England. After the war, Plan International extended aid to children in France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece and briefly in Poland, Czechoslovakia and China. Plan International gradually moved out of these countries. It became "Foster Parents Plan Inc.".
In 1974, the global name became Plan International, as programs now spanned South America, Asia and Africa. In the 1980s, Belgium, Germany, Japan and the UK became donor countries. Plan International was recognised by the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
In 2017, Plan International launched a new "International Global Strategy 2017–2022". The traditional blue logo was updated.[6]
According to Plan International's report, the income comes from supporters; the remainder is raised through donations and grants. An average of 80% of this money goes to Plan International’s work.[7] The remainder is spent on initiatives and maintaining an international network of support staff.[8]
Notable endorsers associated with Plan International include Jacqueline Kennedy, David Elliot, Beau Bridges, Dina Eastwood, Scott Bakula[16] and Nicholas D. Kristof.[17] In 2015, Mo'ne Davis teamed up with the brand M4D3 (Make A Difference Everyday) to design a line of sneakers for girls, with some of the proceeds going toward Plan International’s Because I Am a Girl campaign.[18]Suman Pokhrel worked for Plan International Nepal as an employee joining the organisation in 1998.[19]
Anil Kapoor, who starred in Danny Boyle's film Slumdog Millionaire, is an ambassador for Plan India.[20] He donated his entire fee for the movie to the NGO's Universal Birth Registration campaign.[21]Slumdog Millionaire stars Dev Patel and Freida Pinto were among the cast members who attended a screening of the film at Somerset House in London,[22] where over £2,000 was raised for Plan’s work in Mumbai, the setting of the film.
The organisation was featured in the 2002 film About Schmidt.
^Bania, Pravin (September 26, 2015). मेरो दोस्रो अम्मल कविता - सुमन पोखरेल [Poetry is My Second Passion – Suman Pokhrel]. nagariknews.com (in Nepali). Retrieved August 3, 2017.
Media related to Plan International at Wikimedia Commons
