Annabelle, 12, looks to guide Prime Minister on aid policy

YOUNG Southport campaigner Annabelle Howard was in Downing Street delivering a petition to Number 10 calling for a fairer deal for girls the world over.  The member of 14th Southport Guides unit is 1 of 5,000 people backing the Because I am a Girl campaign run by children’s charity Plan UK.  It calls on the government to do more to halt age and sex discrimination against girls in some of the world’s poorest countries.  Greenbank High School student Annabelle, aged 12, from Birkdale, says:- “I was so excited because I’ve never been to London before. It’s a really good charity to support because it’s about giving everyone an equal opportunity.”

The Because I am a Girl campaign runs until 2015 with a new report on a fresh topic published each year to highlight how governments are neglecting girls’ potential. Often last in line for school places and health treatment, girls get little protection from violence or trafficking and rarely get to contribute to their communities’ development.  This condemns their countries to a cycle of poverty as educated girls are more likely to encourage their own children to attend school and better themselves.  The issue addressed in this year’s report has been how girls in war-torn countries like Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa suffer discrimination.  An estimated 20 million girls in war-torn countries are not in school and the report calls on Gordon Brown to help:-

· Break-down barriers preventing girls from getting safe and quality education

· Ensure that all developing countries produce statistics on how many girls are out of school

· Exert influence to maximise international aid and ensure that girls, as well as boys, can receive a good and safe education.

Rachel Blain, Plan UK’s campaign co-ordinator, says:- “Educating girls is vital to ending discrimination that causes and deepens poverty in many parts of the world.  This is even more essential in countries that have been affected by war where girls have often been reduced to sex slaves for soldiers and are then left out of post-conflict rehabilitation programmes.  The UK government made a commitment to help these girls and thereby help their countries build and maintain peace.  They need to keep their promise if they want to see prosperity and stability in the world’s poorest countries.”  More information about the campaign is available at www.becauseiamagirl.org.

Public rank carers alongside emergency services

UNPAID carers rank alongside the emergency services in terms of their contribution to society, according to new YouGov research, commissioned for Carers Week.  In the survey, 83% of people in the North West believe that carers make a valuable contribution to society, behind only nurses (89%) and firefighters (86%).  Plumbers are valued by 40% of the public, the Royal Family receive the support of 21%, with politicians (15%), bankers (11%) and footballers (7%) bringing up the rear.

The research was commissioned for Carers Week 2009 that runs from 8 June to 14 June 2009, which is organised by 10 national charities to support those who provide unpaid care to a relative or friend who is ill, frail or disabled.   Despite being valued almost as much as nurses and firefighters, the main benefit for carers, Carer's Allowance, is the lowest of its kind at just £53.10, which equates to £1.52 per hour. According to the survey, 75% of the public in the North West believe this level of Carer's Allowance is unreasonable.

Broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby, who has been a carer himself, supports the public's view of the essential role they play. He said:- "Just imagine for a moment what would happen if carers ceased to care and simply gave up. There would be no-one to look after millions of frail, elderly and disabled people. It would be nightmare: chaos, panic and much worse.   Of course carers would never behave like that. They are motivated by love, duty and compassion. But those of us who have been in that role, even for a short time, know how testing and draining it can be. That is why Britain's 'secret service' must not be forgotten, ignored or exploited."

Carers Week manager, Paul Matz, said:- "In many instances carers can be equated to the emergency services - because they do step in when there is an emergency, often becoming a carer literally overnight. As the public has recognised, the level of Carer's Allowance simply isn't adequate, particularly when the work they do saves the UK economy an estimated £87 billion every year.    Carers Week is calling on the Government to do more to support carers, along with other organisations such as the NHS, which can do so much to improve carers' lives. Carers shouldn't have to struggle on alone when they contribute so much."

Carers Week campaigns for greater recognition and support for carers – the 6 million people in the UK who provide unpaid care to a relative, friend or child who is ill, frail or disabled. Carers can find out what events are happening in their area by visiting carersweek.org or by calling:- 0845 241 2582.

Other celebrities supporting this campaign, all of whom have had experience of caring, include Sir Geoff Hurst, Fiona Phillips, Arlene Phillips, Tony Robinson, Paul O'Grady, Gloria Hunniford, Sir David Jason, Pam Ferris, Phyllida Law and Miriam Margolyes.

Letters to editor:- "The Arkanes at the Wellington"

"I have been looking for the Arkanes photos you took, but spotted you have taken them off line. Will they be back online again?" Sam from Southport

Editors note:- "Thank you for looking. Yes we will be adding the page back again soon. The problem is that we have had a error that affected the display of the photos.  A number of IE users who wanted to read the page spotted the error.  We still not 100% what happened, but it is not fixed.  When we looked in to it, we took the page offline.   It is now back online and can be seen at:- southportreporter.com/397/397-10.shtml"