Micah Challenge
Survive Past Five
5th Birthday Action
In 2008-9 Micah Challenge campaigned for child and maternal health- and saw an encouraging increase in aid spending towards meeting MDG 4 and 5
But last year, 8.8 million children still died before their 5th Birthday, most from easily preventable causes. For example, 22% of these children died from diarrhoea and 21% from pneumonia. So we want to make sure these issues stay on the minds of our leaders into 2010.
Click here to send a 5th Birthday e-card to Stephen Smith
What Australia needs to do:
Spending on health in the aid budget should increase to $1.18 billion by the 2011-2012 financial year. This will represent $1 for every four aid dollars based on government promises to increase the aid budget towards 0.5% of Gross National Income by 2015. This increase would save the lives of an estimated 240,000 children and 26,000 mothers in our immediate region each year.
Millennium Development Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality
MDG4 aims to cut infant and child deaths by two-thirds by 2015 from 1990 levels. In the Asia-Pacific region 18 of 29 developing countries are not on track to achieve this target.
Click Here for more information on child and maternal health.
SURVIVE PAST FIVE 5th Birthday Party campaign
Micah Challenge wants to see a ‘Survive Past Five’ 5th Birthday Party held in every electorate before the 2010 Federal Election. This will show our leaders that communities around Australia want our Government to meet our commitment to the MDGs, to halve global poverty by 2015.
A 5th Birthday Party is a great way to engage your church, school or wider community, your local media, and your MP, to encourage our Government to do its fair share towards making sure that every child can survive to their 5th Birthday – and beyond. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the progress that has been made to reduce poverty, while also highlighting the urgent need to do more.
If you would like more information on the Micah Challenge ‘Survive Past Five’ or would like to register a Birthday Party Click the link below.
How to run a 5th Birthday Party
Below are some ideas on how to run a SURVIVE PAST FIVE 5th Birthday Party, but you might come up with more creative ideas; the sky’s the limit!
1. Plan early
- Register your 5th birthday party using the online party registration form or by emailing info@micahchallenge.org.au.
- Get a team together to organise the party and brainstorm ideas together.
- Talk to your church leaders/ school teachers to get their support for the event.
- Plan a date for your 5th Birthday Party well in advance to fit in with your church/school calendar and your MP’s schedule. Do your best to make it happen before the 2010 Federal Election (it is likely to be anytime after mid-2010)
- Contact your MP to ask them to be involved and find a date when they are available.
- Tell your church, school or community about the party early.
- Optional extra: Use the Micah Challenge 40 Day Fast with your whole church or small groups to learn, reflect and act on poverty in the lead up to the 5th Birthday Party.The 5th Birthday Party could be a way of breaking the fast.
2. Get creative!
Brainstorm creative ideas about how your party can make the most impacton your community and your MP. Here are some ideas to think about:
- Hold a cake baking/cake decorating competition. Advertise thecompetition at your church, your youth group- or go wider – get local schools, mothers’ groups and other community groups involved too. Possible criteria for the winning cake could be the cake using the mostfair trade ingredients or low food miles, or the cake that communicates something about MDG 4 (Reduce Child Mortality).
- Organise kid’s party activities that educate people about MDG 4 and include your MP -for example, play “Pin the baby on the mother” to reunite children with their mothers.
- Give out lolly bags at the end of the party with five facts about child health in them.
- Blow up balloons to decorate the room and write facts on them about MDG 4 and campaign achievements. Ask people to find these and read them out to celebrate progress to reducing poverty so far.
- Ask party guests to light candles on the cake as a prayer for children around the world.
3. Involve your MP
- Click here to find out who the Federal MP is who represents the area your church, school or group is located and find their contact details. Read about their background at www.aph.gov.au.
- Email and then phone your MP to invite them to come to your 5th Birthday Party well in advance. You may need to negotiate the date of your party to fit your MP’s schedule.
- Ask your MP to speak at the event about why they care about global poverty and where their Political Party stands on the issue. You may like to give people the chance to ask your politician some questions or incorporate a MDG forum as part of your event.
- Give your MP some symbolic things to do at the party, e.g. lighting five candles on the cake or reading out five facts about child health.
- Ask your MP to make a speech in Parliament about MDG 4 and to mention your 5th Birthday Party – contact info@micahchallenge.org.au if you would like speech notes for your MP.
4. Show your MP how many people care
- Present signed 5th Birthday Cards to your MP at the party to show support to reduce the number of deaths of children under five who die from preventable causes. The more signatures from your electorate your MP receives about this, the easier it will be for them to speak up in Parliament in support of the campaign. Order 5th Birthday cards from info@micahchallenge.org.au.
- Or make your own 5th Birthday cards at the party, using the text provided here and have a card decorating table with craft materials or coloured pencils/ textas.
- Ask community groups, churches, schools, doctors’ surgeries etc in your electorate to get on board with asking people to sign cards.
- Ask your MP to deliver your cards in person to Stephen Smith, Minister for Foreign Affairs.
5. Spread the word
- Write an article for your local paper or denominational publication/website. The Micah Challenge Action Toolkit includes a guide to engaging your local media.
– Make sure you take lots of photos of your event! Try to include your MP, party-goers and something visually interesting in your photo.
- Ask your MP to provide a quote you can use in your article.
- Send a photo of your event to info@micahchallenge.org.au to be part of a collage of 5th Birthday Party photos that will be presented toStephen Smith, the Foreign Minister.
- Register your party using the online registration form here.
6. And a little child will lead them…
- Make sure you include children (and people of all ages) where possible in the event. Give them a chance to present something to theMP or read out prayers or facts. Make sure they feel valued and an important part of the event.
7. After the party
– Send your MP an email to thank them and follow up on anything you asked them to do!
- Send a photo and article of your event to your local paper. Click here to download a guide to engaging with your local media. Also send your stories and pictures to info@micahchallenge.org.au.
