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Meet Ludvin from Guatemala
When you Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, it’s like you’re making new friends all over the world! They may live a little different, but they have families and friends, they go to school, they do chores and play games. And just like you, sometimes they need a little help. When you Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, you get to be a good person and send them that help. And doing something good for a friend—whether you’ve met them or not—makes you feel good!
Title: Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF: Guatemala
A spinning globe zooms out from the United States, rotates to the south, and lands on the Central American country of Guatemala. There are cities and lakes and mountains and green jungles.
A UNICEF Guatemala staffer in blue UNICEF vest, Ana Lucia Morales, speaks to camera in front of a lush, forested garden.
Ana: Hola! You’ve come to Guatemala.
Interspersed are shots of UNICEF staffers talking with people and very young Guatemalan children being weighed and measured to check their health.
Ana: Welcome! I’m Ana Lucia Morales, a UNICEF staff person here. I’m so glad that you’ve come on a Halloween visit. I’m excited to show you some amazing work UNICEF is doing here for and with children in our country. Here we go!
Cut to a small rural village in a jungle high in the mountains.
Ludvin: Hi, I’m Ludvin. I’m 12 years old and I’m from Guatemala. I live in Chajxucub, Coban, Alta Verapaz. Every morning, I get up at five a.m. and I wash my face, I go to the bathroom, eat breakfast and brush my teeth. My mom gets my backpack ready. I have beans and little tortillas for breakfast.
Ludvin get out of bed, brushes his teeth in an outdoor wash basin. At breakfast, with his mother next to him by the open-fire stove, Ludvin sits at breakfast with his little sister and eats beans and tortillas. He hugs mother before school while wearing a blue UNICEF backpack.
Ludvin: I go to school, I say goodbye to my mom.
Ludvin walks through the forest to school.
Ludvin: I live near the school. Thanks to God I only walk for 20 minutes. Other friends of mine walk for about two hours.
Ludvin enters school and says hello to his classmates before sitting at his desk in the classroom.
Ludvin: When I arrive at school, I greet my classmates, my teacher. And I leave my backpack on the desk. My favorite class is Science and Technology because there are many assignments.
Ludvin works at his desk during class, working on math problems in his notebook.
Cut to Ludvin standing in the forest talking to camera: I play soccer with my friends at school and we play chess. When we go out for recess, we play chess, soccer.
Students play a game of soccer outside in a light rain. Ludvin heads the ball away from the goal.
Cut to a sheet-metal-built outhouse latrine with a UNICEF sign on it. Ludvin opens door and shows off the inside view.
Ana’s voiceover: Since students spend most of their time at school, safe WASH services can improve their healthy by preventing diseases. It is important for boys and girls to have clean bathrooms in their house and in their school. That is why UNICEF is working with families to help them build clean and dignified bathrooms in their communities.
Cut to several students washing their hands at a wash station at their school.
Ludvin: At school we have learned that it is very important to wash our hands before eating and after going to the bathroom. It used to be difficult to do, because we only had one dirty sink, but now we have several sinks and a bathroom. And that makes me very happy because it helps us to avoid getting sick.
Ana to camera: Thanks for visiting Guatemala and getting to know us. You can help UNICEF do good things here in Guatemala and around the world. From everyone in UNICEF and here in my country, we are excited to make new friends. Bye!
Ludvin smiles and waves to the camera: Happy Halloween!
Cut to a Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF box. A doorbell rings and children yell, “Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF!”
Meet Safiatou from Mali
When you Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, it’s like you’re making new friends all over the world! They may live a little different, but they have families and friends, they go to school, they do chores and play games. And just like you, sometimes they need a little help. When you Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, you get to be a good person and send them that help. And doing something good for a friend—whether you’ve met them or not—makes you feel good!
Title: Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF: Mali
A spinning globe zooms out from the United States, rotates to the east, and lands on the west African country of Mali. Souleymane Traore, Mali UNICEF representative, in a blue UNICEF t-shirt, stands in a rural village and speaks to the camera.
Souleymane: Hello and Happy Halloween. My name is Souleymane and I work for UNICEF in Mali. Mali is a beautiful country, and I’m excited for you to meet people and see what UNICEF does here.
Aerial scenes appear of green vistas in Mali, and young school girls happily clapping and waving.
Souleymane: Let’s have a look.
A 12-year-old girl, dressed in a headwrap and lace dress, waves hello.
Safiatou: My name is Safiatou Samaké. I'm from N'Djila, and I go to school in Foulaboula. I'm 12 years old, and I am in 6th grade.
Her rural village has cement-block buildings and mud huts, surrounded by farm fields. She does chores, reads a book and dances with friends, all outdoors.
Safiatou: I've lived with my grandparents since I was a child. When I wake up in the morning, I wash up, fetch water and sweep the courtyard at the house.
Inside a clay-brick home, Safiatou watches her grandmother cook over a fire.
Safiatou: My grandmother makes breakfast for me to take to school.
She walks through the fields with her friends, all carrying UNICEF backpacks.
Safiatou: We walk to school. The distance between my home and the school is three kilometers. My friends and I would like to have a means of transportation to get to school. Even better, it would be wonderful to have a school where we live.
In the school compound, the girls enter the classroom and begin their studies.
Safiatou: Once we're there, if it's our turn to sweep the classroom, we do it. Then we start lessons. I like the quick learning methods, because students learn while having fun. That's why I sought to get into this school.
She listens intently in class, asks questions, and reads from the blackboard.
Safiatou: I really love grammar and conjugations, biology... When it comes time to read our compositions, I learn a lot, which is a pleasure for me. At recess, we buy sweets and play ball.
She poses with her friends from school, sweeps, then studies on her own at home.
Safiatou: On the way home, we have fun. When we get home in the evening, we light a fire to heat the water, and we help with the housework. I like studying to leave ignorance behind and take part in my country's development. After my studies, I'm planning to become a doctor so that I can care for people.
Safiatou smiles and waves goodbye: Goodbye, thank you! Happy Halloween!
Cut back to Souleymane in the village.
Souleymane: Thanks for visiting Mali and getting to know us. You can help UNICEF do good things here in Mali and around the world. From everyone at UNICEF and here in my country, we are excited to make new friends. Bye!
Cut to a Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF box. A doorbell rings and children yell, “Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF!”
Meet Seanglen from Cambodia
When you Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, it’s like you’re making new friends all over the world! They may live a little different, but they have families and friends, they go to school, they do chores and play games. And just like you, sometimes they need a little help. When you Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, you get to be a good person and send them that help. And doing something good for a friend—whether you’ve met them or not—makes you feel good!
Title: Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF: Cambodia
A spinning globe zooms out from the United States, rotates to the east, and lands on the Southeast Asian Kingdom of Cambodia. There is a quick aerial montage of cities, palaces and temples. Cut to a UNICEF Cambodia representative in a blue UNICEF t-shirt, standing on the bow of a wooden boat in a wide river. He speaks to the camera and greets people in Khmer.
Sidh: Hello! And Happy Halloween! Welcome to the Kingdom of Cambodia. I’m Sidh. I work at UNICEF Cambodia office. Today, I’m very excited to show you around the country, introduce you to the people who live here, and share some of the amazing work that UNICEF is doing to help children and families adapt to and mitigate climate change through education and life skills. Come on, let’s go!
Cut to the yard of a single-floor high school with students in white shirts and black pants school uniforms standing in rows in front. Then, cut to a teenage student sitting outside at a table. He presses his hands together in greeting.
Khemarak: Hello! My name is Khemarak. I’m a Grade 9 student Thmor Ta Prom High School.
Cut to a teenage girl classmate, wearing her school uniform, in front of a riverbank.
Seanglen: My name is Seanglen. I’m a Grade 9 student Thmor Ta Prom High School. I am very interested in the topic of the impact of plastic waste.
Members of the class discuss the impacts of plastic using visual aids and flash cards.
Seanglen: Our teacher assigned our class to gather information from the community about this issue, so we went out and brought back real insights to discuss.
The students visit a nearby community, walking into the village.
Khemarak: When I went to the community, our teacher supported us.
Cut to their schoolteacher, speaking to camera.
Pen Sokountheary: Hello, my name is Pen Sokountheary. I am the School Director of Thmor Ta Prom High School. The local Life Skills subject, which is supported by UNICEF through the Ministry of Education, is essential for our students.
Cut to an aerial shot of plastic waste in a river, clogging up the waterway.
Seanglen: We discovered that plastic waste was definitely having a big impact on our community.
Khemarak: Many residents did not understand waste management. They used to throw garbage bags into the Mekong River, which is their water source.
Cut to the students in the village, greeting community members and giving a presentation.
Khemarak: We conducted presentations to educate and raise awareness about the impacts of waste and proper waste disposal methods.
Cut to the village chief, outdoors in front of several dwellings, speaking to camera.
Sai Sa: I am Sai Sa, village chief of Ko Chruem village, Ou Mreas commune, Siembouk district, Stung Treng province. Recently, students came to raise awareness among people in our community about plastic waste issues and to clean up along roads and around houses. It’s made a big difference.
Sai Sa disposes of a bucket of waste in a proper waste bin.
Seanglen: After these awareness raising activities, Khemarak, my team members and I feel truly proud. I, a young girl, can help spread this information in the village, encouraging residents to support our proposed project.
Seanglen smiles, a bit sheepishly, but proudly.
Cut back to Sidh.
Sidh: These skills are crucial for our students. They help them take climate action and become changemakers in their communities.
Do you know that as part of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, you can help them, too? If you complete the activity after this video, you will unlock resources to help children like Seanglen and Khemarak and access quality education they deserve, so they can fight climate change, protect their environment and build a brighter future.
I hope you will join us. Thanks for visiting Cambodia, and Happy Halloween!
Cut to a Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF box. A doorbell rings and children yell, “Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF!”