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Last time you were here, you were looking to help vulnerable children and families. Your support can save and change lives.

The efforts of Australian aid and development organisations are integral to alleviating poverty in a number of ways. Some important examples include reducing the rates of gender-based violence in the Pacific, enabling more girls and women to access education and employment opportunities, assisting vulnerable communities to cope with the impacts of climate change and disasters, and providing access to vital basic health and education services to give children the strongest possible start to life.

But this work is now under threat, with the Australian Government decimating the aid budget since coming to power. More than $11 billion has been stripped from the aid program in successive cuts announced over the past year. This will see the 2015-16 aid budget slashed by 20 per cent – around $1 billion – the largest single-year cut in history. By 2017, Australian aid will be at the lowest level ever recorded at a mere 0.21 per cent of Gross National Income.

These cuts to the aid budget have been met with strong backlash from the Australian development NGO community because it will dramatically set back efforts to deliver effective aid. NGOs including ChildFund Australia have already had to axe crucial education, health and child protection projects in some of the world’s poorest communities, and more blows will follow this year.

In light of these setbacks, a fresh, innovative and unified response to the budget cuts is needed to increase public support for aid. While the outcry from NGOs has been loud, support for aid in the Australian community appears to be at an all-time low, with the cuts to aid being the most popular saving in the recent budget.

A good step in this direction is the newly launched Australian Aid campaign, an initiative supported by over 50 organisations working to end poverty around the world. Although still in its early days, the campaign strives to shift the debate on aid from what we should be doing to what we already do, highlighting the vital role of Australian aid in our region and beyond, and the massive achievements that have occurred over the past 20 years. Half as many people today are living in extreme poverty than 20 years ago. Half as many young children are dying needlessly each year. Through the contributions we make, Australian aid is part of this success story.

The overarching message of the campaign is that we have much to be proud of about the aid program. But it’s also about reconnecting aid with our national identity. New research has found young Australians overwhelmingly view ˜fairness` as our most important national value (42 per cent), yet one in three feel this iconic Australian characteristic is under threat. Helping children and families wherever they may live is surely the definition of giving everyone a fair go.

Working together, Australian NGOs are in a good position to inspire people and increase understanding of aid. A unified effort will help garner public support and show the Australian Government that Australians are truly proud of the aid program, and consider aid to be a priority in the lead-up to the next election. In turn, this will enable NGOs to keep on doing what they do best: helping children and families overcome poverty and stand on their own two feet.

Children enrolled in ChildFund Kenya`s programs near the capital, Nairobi participated in an art exhibition featuring photos and paintings they made, often depicting their surroundings.

Weslyne, who is 13, shows a photo he took of the Dandora dump near his home. Covering an area of only about 400 square metres, the dump accepts about 850 tons of solid waste generated daily by the 3.5 million inhabitants of the city of Nairobi, Kenya. The dump, which is the largest in Africa, was once a quarry that the City Council of Nairobi sought to use temporarily. But it still exists, 40 years later, despite having been declared full.

Residents have to live with the stench, trash and dirt. Waste pickers pounce on trash once it is offloaded by incoming trucks. Birds, pigs and people scavenge heaps of rubbish for food, scrap metal, polythene bottles and bags, which are often sold.

Weslyne explains that the dump also attracts children and youth who would rather scavenge than go to school. His photo shows a boy drinking water from a bottle that was probably scavenged from the trash.

Dennis, 14 (pictured left), also lives in Dandora. He explains that many children in his school smoke. Because of a lack of parental guidance and peer pressure, boys will begin to start smoking to “fit in, be cool and be adult like.”

Regina, 14 (pictured right), comes from Mukuru`s fuata nyayo (the Swahili term for outskirts). Mukuru is a slum on the eastern side of Nairobi. It is one of the largest slums in the city, with a population of around 700,000.

Mukuru is sub-divided into eight villages and is located in the middle of the main industrial area of the city, bordering the Nairobi River. It is characterised by congestion, narrow alleys, poor drainage, lack of sanitary facilities and open sewers.

Regina explains that her photo shows children walking alone and dangerously close to the edge of the river, which concerns her.