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One Mom’s Quest to Save Mother’s Lives in Laos

For over three years, I have been a part of World Moms Blog, an amazing group of women writing about motherhood around the globe. These women have become some of my closest friends and I have been incredibly honored to work with them as a part of World Moms Blog, ONE Women and Girls, and Shot@Life. This week we are supporting CleanBirth.org, an organization started by one of our contributors, Kristyn Zalota, to make birth safer in Laos, one of the worst places on earth to give birth. 

In the rural areas of Laos where almost 70% of the population live, access to life-saving health care is sparse and many people live in remote, mountainous areas that are hard to reach posing challenges for expectant mothers. Per the World Health Organization, Laos ranks 21st out of all countries in the world in terms of the highest maternal mortality rates. The 2010 statistics are 470 maternal deaths out of 100,000 live births which is worse than Afghanistan. Infant mortality rate is not much better. Laos comes in as the 33rd highest with a rate of 54 deaths out of 1,000 live births (2014).

Mother and child in Laos. Photo Credit: Kristyn Zalota

Mother and child in Laos. Photo Credit: Kristyn Zalota

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The 2015 Gates Annual Letter: The Biggest Bet for the Future

Last night, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation released the highly anticipated 2015 Annual Letter outlining their hopes and dreams for the future. As a social good advocate and blogger, I greatly admire Bill and Melinda’s amazing work at making the world a better place for the people who suffer the deepest in the world due to poverty, hunger, lack of health care and education. The Gates are amazing advocates for the millions of voiceless people around the world and their work has already made an enormous impact in saving lives. Their annual letter is a key report that highlights where they are heading and I always am eager to read it.

Photo credit: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Photo credit: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

This year’s annual letter is extremely hopeful. Inside the letter, Gates is making a big bet for the next 15 years predicting that the lives of people in poor countries will improve faster in the next 15 years than at any other time in history thanks to amazing breakthroughs in health, farming, banking, and education. Gates is envisioning huge advancements in the following key areas that will improve the lives of millions:

  • Half as many kids will die, far fewer women will die in childbirth, and people will live healthier lives because we’ll beat many of the diseases that sicken the poor.
  • Africa will be able to feed itself.
  • Mobile banking will help the poor radically transform their lives.
  • Better software will help all kids, no matter where they live, receive a world class education.
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An Afternoon Volunteering at Feed My Starving Children

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one”. – Mother Teresa

I have always been committed to volunteering and giving back either locally or around the globe. Since having children my focus has been more on them and volunteering at their  elementary school. Yet as they get older, there is less volunteer work needed so I decided it was time to branch out and find more volunteer opportunities locally.

One place I’d been longing to volunteer at is a fabulous non-profit faith-based organization called Feed My Starving Children (FMSC). Founded in 1987 in Minnesota by a Christian businessman, FMSC has produced nearly 900 million meals and shipped them to over 70 countries around the world. Last year alone, FMSC donated 191.6 million meals!

I had the pleasure of accompanying a good friend to FMSC November Gala and made a promise that I’d set aside some time to volunteer at one of their three packing plants here in town. I was inspired by their mission and their business model of volunteerism. Not one person is ever paid to pack a meal and no machines are used. Every single meal that goes out is hand-packed by volunteers around the United States (they have packing sites in Illinois and Arizona and mobile packing sites anywhere in the US). Furthermore, all meals are funded by donations.

Just to get an idea of the vastness of hunger, it is important to step back and look at the numbers. 1 in 8 people in the world go hungry every single day. That means almost 1 billion people do not eat each day. To me, it is utterly unimaginable.

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SutiSana: Helping Survivors of Prostitution in Bolivia

Whenever I travel, I try to ensure I’m fitting in a little bit of time to learn about some of the social issues that impact a country I am visiting. Through my work as a social good blogger and advocate for various non-profit organizations, I have learned about many of the issues that negatively impact women and girls around the world. From poverty and hunger to lack of education, safe water and health care services, each issue has its unique set of challenges that keeps women and girls from thriving. Human sex trafficking is one of the darker topics I have touched upon, and sadly it is often one of the most tragic especially when it involves young girls.

Bolivia is a country that is notorious for prostitution as well as child labor. Child labor (children can work independently as young as ten) and prostitution are actually legal. Although it is not legal for girls under the age of 18 to be prostitutes, sadly the law is often overlooked and disregarded. As in most places around the world, a life as a prostitute is not one that most girls or women would choose and the majority of girls who end up in prostitution have been sexually abused as a child.

Despite being legal in Bolivia, it is often not very well-regulated and bribes are common ways to get anything done under the table. Women who are registered as prostitutes are required to have regular medical check-ups but it is easy to let it slide. Furthermore, there is much corruption within the prostitution industry. Women and girls are abused by their pimps and their customers, and are paid very little for the services they provide. The average “trick” is about $3 and in order to pay enough to cover rent at the brothel women must multiple tricks a night. It is not uncommon for some women to do up to 40 tricks a night.

On my first day in Bolivia, I met with SutiSana to learn about their amazing work in helping women leave prostitution and change their lives. Founded five years ago by the faith-based non-profit Word Made Flesh, SutiSana helps women in El Alto, Bolivia leave the lives of prostitution by providing them with training, support and guidance to become self-sufficient and gainfully employed.

The name SutiSana comes from Aymara and Spanish, the two languages that the women speak, and was chosen for its beautiful meaning. In Aymara, Suti means name. In Spanish, Sana means healthy or healed. As women leave prostitution, they often leave behind a name they used there and find a new identity – a Healed Name.

SantiSana El Alto Bolivia

Since SutiSana is a Christian-based non-profit organization, they have a small room for prayer. In this room, as you look outside the window you will see the row of nondescript buildings that are the brothels. The largest brothel is the building on the right edge of the photo. It has four floors with 100 prostitutes working a night.

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World Bicycle Relief Zambia
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Spread Joy and Opportunity – The Power of A Bicycle

This is a guest post written by Ruth-Anne Renaud who recently joined the team at World Bicycle Relief as director of global marketing. Her bio is located at the end of this post. 

I distinctly remember the Christmas I received my first bike. It was sparkly blue, with a banana seat, training wheels and a basket. I knew it would take me everywhere once the snow melted. This fall, new memories have been imprinted on my heart on what it means to receive a bike.

Destination: Zambia, Africa. I had just started my new role as Director of Global Marketing at World Bicycle Relief (WBR) and I participated in one of our immersion trips called Africa Rides. Together with about a dozen supporters and partners – I spent a week learning how a bicycle can transform the lives of students, healthcare workers, entrepreneurs and their communities.

At the outset of the trip, we spent a day at WBR’s Zambia headquarters to learn about the scale of the bike distribution program, the criteria for selecting field partners and recipients, and the deliberate, yet simple rugged design of the innovative Buffalo Bike. In fact – we had to assemble our own Buffalo Bike.

Here is a Bufollo Bike

Here is a Buffalo Bike (with a holiday bow that can be given to children and health workers in need via World Bicycle Relief).

It was a daunting task since I’m not particularly mechanically inclined. But I am proud to share – after a successful quality control check – I rode that bike over the next several days with our group of Africa Rides travelers visiting villages and schools. I physically experienced the searing mid-day heat, the distance and rugged dirt paths that felt like they were never quite going to end – to get to school, back home or to get water from an isolated well. I felt what it meant to be constantly chasing daylight.

World Bicycle Relief Zambia

Here I am helping a young girl ride her new bike.
Photo credit: World Bicycle Relief

World Bicycle Relief Zambia

Here I am helping Grace learn about her new bike. 
Photo credit: World Bicycle Relief

World Bicycle Relief Zambia

And she’s off!
Photo credit: World Bicycle Relief

World Bicycle Relief Zambia

Riding through the gravel roads of Zambia
Photo Credit: World Bicycle Relief

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Too Young to Wed launches Girls Empowerment Campaign in rural Ethiopia

Too Young to Wed, a non-profit organization, that employs visual media, photography exhibits and campaigns to educate and engage the global community to demand an end to the practice of child marriage, has launched a new Girls’ Empowerment Campaign in rural Ethiopia. I wrote at length about Too Young to Wed in a must-read post last week and wanted to introduce their new campaign today in honor of Giving Tuesday (Giving Tuesday is a day that asks people to consider giving back to their favorite charities and always falls on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving in the United States).

By partnering with local nonprofits, Too Young to Wed supports income-generating projects, literacy classes and girl engagement groups where the girls in their stories live. One such project is in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, a place that I actually had the pleasure of visiting myself this past June as a fellow with the International Reporting Project.

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world. It is estimated that around 80-90% of Ethiopia’s population live in rural, remote regions and over 30% of the population lives under the international poverty line of $1.25 per day (1) and the majority live under $2 a day. Child and maternal mortality health rates are falling yet still remain quite high, while life expectancy and education rates are low.

Two young girls near Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Photo credit: Stephanie Sinclair

Two young girls near Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Photo credit: Stephanie Sinclair

The status of women is also low and Ethiopia has one of the most severe crises of child marriage in the world today. Although the legal age of marriage is 18 for both males and females it is widely ignored.

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Stephanie Sinclair
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Too Young to Wed: Photojournalist Stephanie Sinclair’s fight to end child marriage

“Stephanie Sinclair has spent the last decade documenting some of the world’s most controversial subjects, from Yemen’s child brides to Texas’s polygamists. But her goal is simple: to record what is in front of her and pass as little judgement as possible”. Her beautiful photographs take us in and make us want to help change the tragic realities we are seeing. Her work also inspires hope that change is possible. 

In October, I had the honor of attending the ONE Women and Girls inaugural AYA Summit in Washington DC. The summit was an inspiring two days filled with some of the world’s leading speakers and do-gooders who advocate the rights of women and girls in the developing world.

On the first morning of the summit, I had the fortuitous opportunity to met a woman who has inspired me for years, award-wining photojournalist Stephanie Sinclair. Sinclair’s famous photo of Nujood Ali, who stunned the world in 2008 by obtaining a divorce in Yemen at age 10, graces the cover of National Geographic’s “Women of Vision” which I have sitting next to me in my office as inspiration.

Stephanie Sinclair

Ten-year-old Nujood Ali, two years after her divorce. Nujoud’s story caused parliament to consider a bill writing a minimum marriage age into law.  Photo credit: Stephanie Sinclair

I had the pleasure of seeing Sinclair’s work on display at the National Geographic’s “Women of Vision” exhibit at their headquarters last fall and left mesmerized by her beautiful, thought-provoking photography. Little did I know that a year later, I would find myself sitting right next to Sinclair at the AYA Summit. Talk about fate.

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New Vision Partners with 3M to Deliver Solar Lights to Ethiopia

Sometimes life has a funny way of connecting people in rather random ways. The more I blog and use my voice on social media, the more amazing connections I continue to make and it always astounds me. One connection I made recently was with Pamela O’Brien, Director of Business Development and Communications of New Vision Renewable Energy. Through Twitter, Pam saw the work I was doing, contacted me and eventually our relationship has led to partnership where I share the amazing work that New Vision is doing to provide solar lights around the world.

Last week, I had the honor of learning even more about New Vision’s work by a face to face meeting with Abdujabar (Abdul) Dire, a senior technical service engineer who works at Minnesota-based diversified technology company 3M and is part of the 3Mgives Team Africa. Over lunch at a local Ethiopian restaurant, Abdul shared his story of how he came to America as a teenager from Ethiopia and how years later he is working to give back to his village by bringing the children light. It is an amazing, inspiring story that I am excited to share.

Most Ethiopians (around 85-90%) live in Rural areas without electricity.
Most common form of transportation.
A tukel. No electricity.

A big part of Africa lacks electricity. In Ethiopia alone, it is estimated that over 80% of the population live off the grid without electricity and there are many negative consequences*. First of all, without electricity children are not able to study at night and are kept further behind in their education. Families are forced to cook inside their homes usually with unsafe cookstoves creating enough smoke inside the home to cause health problems and dangerous conditions.

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To the Market: Empowering survivors around the world

During the ONE Women and Girls AYA Summit I attended in mid-October, I had the pleasure to meet Jane Mosbacher Morris, Founder and CEO of TO THE MARKET | Survivor-made Goods. Jane presented on her social enterprise TO THE MARKET | Survivor-made Goods (TTM) an amazing, creative organization that combines the powers of commerce and storytelling to empower the world’s most courageous survivor populations.

To the Market showcases handmade goods made exclusively by proud and passionate artisans who have overcome the perils of abuse, conflict, and disease. By assisting local partners around the world in bringing these goods “to the market,” TTM takes an active role in equipping the survivor’s they employ with economic independence, while raising awareness of the challenges that they face.

I was so impressed by Jane and the organization that she founded, that I invited her to do a guest post on my blog to introduce you to her work and To the Market. Here is her story.

This is taken in We are in the slums of Dehra Dun, India and shows Jane talking with a mother of a polio survivor. Her son, the polio survivor, is able to work, allowing the family (including the mother pictured) to be supported. Photo credit: Neil Ruskin

This is taken in the slums of Dehra Dun, India and shows Jane talking with a mother of a polio survivor. Her son, the polio survivor, is able to work, allowing the family (including the mother pictured) to be supported. Photo credit: Neil Ruskin

To the Market: How and Why it Began

Guest post by Jane Mosbacher Morris is the Founder and CEO of TO THE MARKET | Survivor-made Goods

Whether working domestically or abroad, I am consistently reminded of how crucial it is, especially for women, to have some form of economic independence. This economic independence helps to ensure that we are not left at the mercy of others when we unexpectedly find ourselves in a dire situation.

This point was hammered home to me during my time working for the U.S. State Department on women and security. I began studying the approach that many governments and non-profits were taking to provide assistance to vulnerable populations, many of whom were women. What I observed was a major focus on social service provision—administering things like medicine, housing, and pro-bono legal assistance.  Social services are extraordinarily important, particularly in emergency situations, but they are generally not available to the beneficiary for the duration of his or her life.  What seemed to be lacking was a plan to support those in need after they received the emergency assistance.

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The Fight to Replenish the GAVI Alliance for Vaccine Fund

Shouldn’t a child be given the same shot of life no matter where he or she is born? I believe that children everywhere deserve the chance to live and reach their full potential. The availability of life-saving vaccines for every child is critical.

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For those of you who have followed my blog for years, you know that besides blogging I am also an active advocate and activist for a number of important causes. I advocate for the ONE Campaign to eradicate global poverty, ONE Women and Girls to help elevate the status and well-being of women and girls around the world, RESULTS (another advocacy group that works to advocate with our members of Congress to affect policy on ending poverty) and the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life Campaign, a grassroots organization aimed at providing global vaccines to the developing world. All of these causes are truly important to me and I am amazed how much I’ve personally grown by being a part of each organization and using my voice to effect positive change.

As an advocate for global vaccines, I’ve worked hard as a Shot@Life Champion since the campaign launched almost three years ago. Working with Shot@Life has taught me many things about the value of vaccines and the importance of their availability around the world in saving lives. Before I joined Shot@Life, I had no idea that every twenty seconds a child dies from a vaccine-preventable death. Every twenty seconds!

The tragic statistics combined with the reality that this is a fixable, solvable problem that truly does not cost much, invigorated me to join the cause and fight for funding of global vaccines.

Young girls in Mozambique show off their newly updated vaccination card. All photos : Shot@Life--UN Foundation, Mozambique, Wednesday, June 1, 2011 (Photo/Stuart Ramson)

Young girls in Mozambique show off their newly updated vaccination card.
Shot@Life–UN Foundation, Mozambique, Wednesday, June 1, 2011 (Photo/Stuart Ramson)

This January, world leaders are meeting to discuss the replenishment of the GAVI global fund for vaccines. This meeting comes at a critical moment in time. A time where we have seen amazing progress in the reduction of under age five deaths thanks to the provision of global vaccines.

At the meeting,  global leaders and private donors will make commitments for the next five-year plan of GAVI’s funding (years 2016-2020). The goal is to achieve 7.5 billion, and the United States, one of the top four funders of the GAVI Alliance, is being asked to commit to 1 billion dollars. It is an ambitious and reasonable goal. (In case you are wondering, the top donor last year was the UK, followed by the Gates Foundation and Norway. The US came in fourth).

We have made significant progress in combatting preventable deaths in children under age 5 by providing access to vaccines.

We have made significant progress in combatting preventable deaths in children under age 5 by providing access to vaccines. Photo credit: Gavi Alliance

Before I dive into GAVI and their great work, I’d like to tell a story. In early September I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Namala Patrick Mkopi, the Secretary General of Tanzania’s Pediatric Association. I met Dr. Mkopi for lunch and he shared firsthand stories about what he has seen as a pediatrician in Africa. The two leading killers of children under age five are diarrhea and pneumonia. Together they kill one in every four children in the world, and both are preventable by vaccines.

Me meeting Dr. Mkopi in Minneapolis.

Me meeting Dr. Mkopi in Minneapolis.

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Project Mercy’s Community Development Model is Improving Lives in Rural Ethiopia

“In order to fight against poverty, you have to attack it from many different directions and then pluck it out, ” said Marta, co-founder of Project Mercy, as she described their Community Development Model. “We cannot educate children if the only outcome is to make them discontented with the limited job opportunities currently available.”

Project Mercy Yetebon Ethiopia

A beautiful flower within the gardens at Project Mercy

Back in June, when I was in Ethiopia as a fellow with the International Reporting Project I spent my last full day there visiting Project Mercy. Project Mercy is a special not-for-profit organization as it was created in 1993 by two Ethiopian exiles, husband and wife team Demeke (Deme) Tekle-Wold and Marta Gabre-Tsadick. Deme and Marta left Ethiopia and repatriated to the United States during the heart of Ethiopia’s repressive government. Wanting to help their fellow countrymen at home, they established Project Mercy as a way to help Ethiopians rebuild and lift themselves out of poverty.

Today, Project Mercy is run by Desalegne “Lali” Demeke , Marta and Deme’s son who manages the 52- acre compound that houses a school, a home for orphans, volunteer housing, a hospital, a new Health Science College and agricultural, cattle breeding and handicraft training services, to help empower the local community and improve their lives. Project Mercy is an incredible organization and I was excited to visit it in person.

Getting to Project Mercy was half the fun and required a land cruiser, a driver and a full day of adventure. We left Addis Ababa early in the morning heading for about three hours south into the heart of the Yetebon to arrive at the bumpy, gravel road that brought us to Project Mercy.

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New Vision’s Lights for Liberia Is Helping Fight Ebola

This is a guest post written by Pamela O’Brien, Director of Business Development and Communications at New Vision, a Christian Community Development Organization working to develop innovative, sustainable and renewable energy solutions in developing communities all over the world.

Screen Shot 2014-10-28 at 11.56.42 AM

Did you know that 90% of Liberia does not have access to electricity?

After 14 years of war that left behind many widows and orphans, Liberians were just getting back on their feet once again when disaster struck: Ebola. Can you imagine the implications Ebola has had on an already fragile health care system and infrastructure? Can you imagine trying to help and treat patients let alone go to school, give birth and run a business if you do not have access to electricity? It is unimaginable.

With 90% of Liberians living without electricity, small clinics must shut down at dark or try to administer IVs and medications to fight the fevers as they spike at night, using just the light of candles or kerosene lanterns that emit toxic fumes. It is not a good situation at all.

Children waiting in line to get food and supplies. Photo credit: New Vision

Children in Liberia waiting in line to get food and supplies. Photo credit: New Vision

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