Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises Archives

May 18, 2014May 21, 2014

— 22 Comments

Time to Support the Global Partnership for Education

Roughly one year ago I was seated inside a three-story building in the heart of one of Delhi’s many slums, on the floor of an all girls school, one of the first in the slums that focused on helping girls who have been sexually abused, to emotionally heal and go to school. As a mother and a global advocate, the scene inside the school was heartbreaking. For these girls were the same age as my own daughter yet had already seen more hardship than imaginable. Yet somehow these girls had one common dream: The dream of an education and lifting themselves out of the poverty and daily struggles of life inside a slum.

As we entered the Protsahan school, girls were meditating to help them prepare for their day of school.

My experience in India reminded me of the uttermost importance of education especially for girls. The statistics around the world are dire yet also full of hope and opportunity for the future. More than 57 million children worldwide are denied the basic right to go to school (33 million of which are girls) and Nigeria where girls have recently been violently kidnapped from school, is home to the most out of school children in the world.

What is even more shocking is that 250 million girls and boys – nearly 40% of the world’s children of primary school age – can’t even read a single sentence.

This is a tragedy but there is hope. World leaders will be convening this June to discuss the replenishment of the Global Partnership for Education, a international fund that has already helped support quality education for 22 million children in some of the world’s most challenging environments.

Education in Afghanistan
Girls at Ayno Meena Number Two school in the city of Kandahar, Afghanistan, which was built in late 2008 with support from GPE funding. Photo Credit: GPE/Jawad Jalali

May 7, 2014October 3, 2017

— 24 Comments

Save the Children Releases 2014 State of World’s Mothers Report

Just in time for Mother’s Day, Save the Children released its 15th annual State of the World’s Mothers report this week revealing the best and most difficult places to be a mother. This year’s report focuses on saving the millions of mothers, newborns and children living in fragile communities due to conflict and natural disasters, and their everyday struggle to survive.

Being a mother is a tough job. I can attest. But imagine what it is like being a mother in a war-torn country or in a place that has been struck by a natural disaster. Caring for your family becomes a daily race for survival. It is something that no parent should have to imagine. I applaud Save the Children for their amazing work and dedication to saving the mothers and children of our planet. These are the voiceless. It is time to give them a voice.

A mother holds her baby suffering from spina-bafida malformation in the special Baby Care Unit at Turai Yaradua maternal and children Hospital, Katsina, Northern Nigeria. Photo Source: Pep Bonet/Noor for Save the Children

Following is a summary of the highlights in the report and five key urgent actions required to help save mothers and children around the globe. All information below is taken directly from Save the Children’s 2014 State of World’s Mothers report.

Save the Children’s 2014 State of World Mother’s report

2013 proved to be a challenging year for mothers and children faced with an extraordinary amount of humanitarian crises. Sudan, Syria, The DRC and the Philippines have all experienced severe hardship while even here in the United States families have been displaced and children threatened after the Oklahoma tornadoes and dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The 2014 State of World’s Mothers Report documents the progress we’ve made as well as the critical steps that must be taken to ensure that all moms and children are safe.

Global Health Global Issues Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises SOCIAL GOOD Women and Girls

April 16, 2014October 3, 2017

— 22 Comments

La Alianza Ayuda: The Fight to End Sexual Abuse of Girls in Guatemala

As a mother of two children ages 7 and 9, there are times in life that my heart breaks when I hear about tragic injustices being done to children. This is one of them.

Last week I was contacted by a new powerful campaign called “La Alianza Ayuda” spearheaded by LatinWorks and La Alianza, the Central American branch of US-based Covenant House to raise awareness about the unspeakable: The rampant sexual abuse that is plaguing young girls across Guatemala. Tragically, the issue of sexual abuse committed against girls in Guatemala has become one of the most serious social issues in the country as thousands of adolescent children are sexually abused by relatives.

Child Labor, Marriage, Education and Survival Global Issues Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises SOCIAL GOOD Women and Girls

March 20, 2014October 4, 2017

— 9 Comments

World Water Day 2014: My #WaterStory

Author’s note: A modified version of this post was published today as well on Elephant Journal. To see this post click here.

This Saturday, March 22, is World Water Day – a day delegated by the United Nations to recognize the importance and need of safe water around the world. In honor of this important day, I am thrilled to be working with the Mom Bloggers for Social Good and WaterAid to help raise awareness of the desperate need for safe drinking water and sanitation around the world. Safe water and sanitation transforms lives and is one of the keys to bringing people out of poverty.

What it’s all about. A Day. A Message. A Vision for Change. “Every drop Every Day”.

Every day, millions of women walk miles to fetch water, often carrying a child too. When the child gets too heavy to carry, they are left at home, often unsupervised. Photo credit: WaterAid.

Did you know that 783 million people do not have access to safe drinking water?

Step back and think about this statistic for a moment. What would you do if you were not able to simply turn on your faucet and fill up your glass or pot with clean, safe water? How would you manage and care for your family?

To most of us in the Western world, the thought of not having instant access to clean, safe drinking water is literally unimaginable. However, for 11 % of the world’s population, this is a tragic reality. When you combine having unsafe drinking water with poor sanitation, it leads to diarrhea which kills 2,000 children every single day. Something completely unthinkable to many of us.

Millions of people are trapped in a world in which clean, fresh and safe water is not even a remote option and sanitation is also lacking. In fact, 1 in 3 people worldwide or 2.5 billion people – do not have access to a safe, private toilet. Not having safe water and sanitation lead to dire consequences and sadly reinforces illnesses, disease and death while significantly contributing to poverty.

In honor of bringing attention to the importance of safe water and sanitation for all, WaterAid has asked that we share our #WaterStory. When I was in India this past May with Mom Bloggers for Social Good, I saw firsthand how safe drinking water and sanitation needs impact people living in extreme poverty. I spent a scorching afternoon with temperatures climbing almost to 120 degrees Fahrenheit touring one of WaterAid’s work sites. Here is my story.

My Water Story:

Behind the beautiful, lavish parts of Delhi always lies the most abject poverty imaginable. I have read several books on the slums of India and thought I’d know what to expect when I saw them in person. Yet nothing I’d ever seen in all my years of travel could have prepared me for the stark reality of desperation, misery and despair of walking through a real live slum in the heart of India’s capital.

Women sitting outside the American Embassy near the Vivekananda Camp, an unauthorized slum in Delhi, India.

In the background of the lush green, beautiful grounds of the American Embassy lies the Vivekananda Camp, one of many unauthorized slums that surround every single part of Delhi. We visited this slum as part of our tour with WaterAid, a global NGO that provides safe drinking water and sanitation to areas around the world that do not have access to it.

The stark contrast between the neighboring American Embassy and the Vivekananda Slum were almost too hard to morally comprehend. These two places represent the immense contradictions and inequalities that can be found all throughout Delhi and India as a whole. One of the greatest inequalities ever seen anywhere in the world is right there staring into your face, making it impossible to not feel deeply distraught.

In the Vivekananda Camp, a slum of approximately 500 households, there is no running water, no sewer lines and people live in absolute dire circumstances. Thanks to WaterAid, improvements to sanitation have been made by the building of a Community Toilet Complex (CTC), a compound containing 20 toilets for women, 20 for men and a few for children as well as a couple of showers, providing some sort of dignity in a place where dignity hardly exists.

The Community Toilet Compound (CTC) inside the Vivekananda unauthorized slum.

The entrance to the CTC which is a pay per use system costing 1 Rupee ($0.02) per use for women, 2 Rupees per use for men and free for children. The charge is used to maintain the facility.

Inside the women’s CTC. This one is a clean facility. Others have run into problems with clogged sewers. Each CTC is managed and monitored by a community worker from FORCE, a local NGO. Therefore, when there are issues with a CTC it can be resolved.

This concrete wall was added to the women’s toilet and shower area to provide privacy from the peeping Toms.

A Vivekananda women using the CTC (left) and a FORCE Project Coordinator on the right.

Vivekananda Slum.

Less than a third of people ( 772 million people) have access to sanitation in India, and 90 million people in India do not have access to safe water per WaterAid. Over 186,000 children under five die from diarrhea every year. With 17% of the world’s population (over a billion people), the water crisis in India is only getting worse and is becoming life or death for millions of people.

This post was written on behalf of my meeting with WaterAid India and our tour of the Vivekananda Slum. All statistics are sourced from WaterAid. All photos are mine.

What you can do:

Just in time for World Water Day, WaterAid is teaming up with Mom Bloggers for Social Good and Global Team of 200 member Jennifer Barbour March 16 – 23 to get a firsthand look at community involvement around water, toilets and hygiene education stands to revolutionize life within the Latin American Caribbean region.

We’ll be meeting up with inspirational women and girls who are eager to share their own #waterstory: a telling example of how smart investments around safe water and toilets can drive entrepreneurship, empower women and improve the health and wellbeing of entire communities.

Follow the journey on Jennifer’s blog and on social media using #WaterAidNica, then join us for a special World Water Day Twitter chat on Friday, March 21, 1pm ET, where Jennifer will be sharing her experience and welcoming your questions about all that she’s seen.

Global Health Global Issues Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises SOCIAL GOOD

March 13, 2014October 3, 2017

— 16 Comments

The Palm Oil Controversy

As a mother and advocate who cares deeply about our planet and is extremely concerned about global climate change, the debate about palm oil is extremely important to me. Earlier in the year, I wrote about palm oil on behalf of Rainforest Action Network in the following post here and argued that large food manufacturers must put an end to using conflict palm oil in their food. Sadly, palm oil is found in nearly 50 percent of the packaged foods on our grocery store shelves, and it is also the leading cause of orangutan extinction and rainforest destruction in Indonesia and Malaysia.

After learning about the negative impact of conflict palm oil, I made a personal choice to ban buying any products or brands that use conflict palm oil in their products. Like my issue with chocolate (read my post “The Dark Side of Chocolate”), ethically I feel it is a decision I had to made. I said goodbye to my favorite peanut butter and also stopped buying Cheese-Its for my kids. When they asked me why I explained what conflict palm oil is doing to our environment and why it is critical that we speak up about it.

Speaking out against conflict palm oil has definitely lead to some exciting changes. Earlier this week, Mars Inc. a 30 billion dollar US snack food company, heeded the pressure of advocacy groups such as Rainforest Action Network and announced a sweeping new responsibly palm oil procurement commitment plan that promises to eliminate rainforest destruction, human rights violations and climate pollutions from their supply chains or be dropped by 2015. (Read full press release here).

Given the new developments in the palm oil debate, I wanted to feature a guest post about palm oil along with a recent US Scorecard released by the Union of Concerned Scientists about the recent push for debate about conflict palm oil.

Infographic courtesy of Rainforest Action Network

Conservation/Environment Global Issues Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises SOCIAL GOOD

February 22, 2014March 13, 2014

— 3 Comments

Whole Planet Foundation’s Annual Prosperity Campaign

Win a trip to Mexico to see Whole Planet Foundation’s work! See details at bottom of post.

Whole Planet Foundation, the social good arm of US-based Whole Foods Market, launched their 8th Annual Prosperity Campaign last week. With the goal of alleviating poverty by providing microcredit in communities around the world that supply Whole Foods Market stores with products, this year’s Prosperity Campaign aims to raise enough money to help 250,000 people and runs from February 20-March 31st. The Prosperity Campaign is Whole Planet’s largest fundraising drive providing 80% of their revenue that is given back to their suppliers.

Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises SOCIAL GOOD

February 12, 2014November 13, 2018

— 25 Comments

“Miss Representation”: How Women are Truly Viewed in Society and Why it Damns us

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any”. – Alice Walker

A few months ago I watched a brilliant documentary called “Miss Representation“. Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the award-winning film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. I have been meaning to write about the documentary for months yet had left it in the back burner until the Olympics began and some of the media coverage of the women althetes outraged me.

Two recent articles in particular (“Medals aren’t enough: Women athletes still have to sell sexiness” and “Scantily Clad Russian Olympians Are Making Us Uncomfortable“) made my anger flair and made me realize that as a society if women’s rights are ever going to improve, me must stop looking at them as sex objects. Certainly one can argue that it is in our biology and nature. Men will always covet and admire women and their bodies. Yet what I want to argue is that it is fine to admire a woman’s beauty but our powerful media does not need to continue to objectify women. It has come to the point where it is so commonplace that one often turns a blind eye to it. Let’s face it sex sells.

Global Issues Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises SOCIAL GOOD Women and Girls

February 10, 2014

— 30 Comments

Typhoon Haiyan: 3 months later through the eyes of a child

The devastation of Typhoon Haiyan was almost unprecedented: It was the deadliest rapid-onset disaster globally in 2013. Nearly 6 million children have been affected, 4.1 million people remain displaced and over 6,000 people lost their lives.

James, 11, stands on the floor of what once was his school, the primary school in Binon-an, Batad, Iloilo province, Panay Island. Photo credit: Hedinn Halldorsson/Save the Children

James, 11, stands on the floor of what once was his school, the primary school in Binon-an, Batad, Iloilo province, Panay Island. James says “That day I was taking care of my younger siblings, I was thinking about my family’s survival. During the height of the typhoon, we all stayed in a single room. Then roof sheets were being torn like paper, and window’s shattered.” Photo credit: Hedinn Halldorsson/Save the Children

Long forgotten by the media and the world but not forgotten by the countless people impacted by the devastating Typhoon Haiyan which struck the Philippines three months ago, Save the Children has released a three-month report written all through the eyes of the most vulnerable: The children. The report cleverly titled “See me, Hear me, Ask me: Children’s recommendations for recovery three months after Typhoon Haiyan” focuses on the perspective of children and their recommendations of building their communities back and preparing for future disasters.

Children wait outside a mobile Child Friendly Space on the remote island of Talingting, which has been targeted as part of the Save the Children Boat programme, which visits remote islands off the coast of Panay that have been heavily affected by Typhoon Haiyan / Yolanda. Photo credit: Save the Children

Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises SOCIAL GOOD

February 5, 2014October 3, 2017

— 17 Comments

CleanBirth.org in Laos: How $5 can save two lives

This week as part of World Moms Blog where I am a writer and editor for our social good column, we are participating in our second annual campaign to support fellow World Moms Blog writer Kristyn Zalota’s non-profit organization CleanBirth.org which saves lives of mothers and their newborns in Laos. Partnering with Multicultural Kids Blog and Girls Globe, we are coming together to help CleanBirth.org launch their crowd funding campaign to raise $7,500 to help train more midwives and provide sterilized birth kits to mothers in Laos.

What is so amazing about Kristyn’s story is how she saw a problem half-way around the world and decided to change it. As an avid traveler and a doula, Kristyn saw firsthand through her visits in the developing world how many mothers and children die during childbirth from simply lacking a safe, sterile birth. Inspired to make a difference Kristyn began CleanBirth.org and two years later she has seen remarkable results and has saved many lives.

Global Health Global Issues Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises SOCIAL GOOD Women and Girls

February 4, 2014

— 32 Comments

World Cancer Day 2014: Why we can never give up the fight

I normally try not to be too personal on my blog as I understand there are certain things I can and cannot share. Yet today, I must open up about something near and dear to my heart. The fact that the last six months of my life, I’ve experienced firsthand what it is like to be impacted by a loved one fighting cancer. My family has been part of the startling figure: There are one million new cases of cancer diagnosed in the United States every year.

I will not lie. The initial news of my loved one’s cancer diagnosis was devastating. My life fell apart as I was buried in fear, shock, anger and despair. But one thing never ever left us after hearing this cruel news. Our love for one another and our hope that we would help our loved one fight this awful disease and win.

Today ironically enough, on World Cancer Day we heard incredible, amazing news. That for now, the cancer is in remission, something we did not think would at all be possible so soon. Although the news is the best possible, we will continue to fight this battle to the end and never lose sight of hope and gratitude for our lives. For that is the best we can ask for. The time we get on this Earth is sacred and it is short. Every day is a gift. That is why they call it the present.

One thing I have learned so far through this entire ordeal is that I am not alone. In fact, everyone I know has been impacted by cancer either by a family member or close friend. But the diagnosis of cancer is no longer a death sentence. In fact we have made remarkable progress in fighting cancer which is a cause to celebrate.

Per the American Cancer Society, 60 years ago 1 out of 3 people diagnosed with cancer would survive. Today, 2 out of 3 people will survive.

What if the entire world joined forces to fight cancer?

Today, Tuesday, February 4th is World Cancer Day, a time when organizations and individuals around the world send a message: Ending cancer should be a global health priority.

According to the latest data released by the World Health Organization, an estimated 14.1 million new cancer cases and 8.2 million cancer-related deaths occurred in 2012, compared with 12.7 million and 7.6 million, respectively, in 2008. World Cancer Day, an initiative of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), unites the world’s population in the fight against cancer. This year’s campaign will focus on reducing stigma and dispelling myths about cancer.

– American Cancer Society

What you can do today to help fight cancer? Color your Facebook or Twitter profile purple to celebrate cancer survivors on World Cancer Day by clicking here. For every purple profile, Chevrolet will contribute $1 to the American Cancer Society for every purple profile, up to $1 million.

For more information on cancer, World Cancer Day and support, contact the American Cancer Society’s website which has an abundant amount of resources.

Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises SOCIAL GOOD

January 22, 2014October 3, 2017

— 21 Comments

“Three Myths that Block Progress for the Poor”: The 2014 Gates Annual Letter

For the past year and a half I’ve been honored to be a part of an exceptional group of women bloggers using our voices on our blogs and through social media to help try to change the world. As a proud member of the Global Team of 200 and Mom Bloggers for Social Good, I’ve had the opportunity to learn about and share with you some of the amazing things different non-profits are doing around the world to save lives and end poverty.

Kibera slum, Nairobi, Kenya
Boys sit on a boulder overlooking the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya. Photo credit: Gates Foundation

Jennifer James, founder of our social good team, has worked particularly hard with The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It has been fascinating to be a part of some of the work this amazing foundation is doing at changing the world and saving lives.

INDIA / Bihar / Jamsaut village / 23 March 2011
Bill and Melinda Gates with children at an Anganwadi centre in Jamsaut village near Patna. Photo Credit: Gates Foundation

Yesterday, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation released their co-authored 2014 annual report which contains some exciting findings and predictions in the world of social good.

2014 Bill and Melinda Gates Annual Letter

This year’s letter, “Three Myths that Block Progress for the Poor,” addresses three misconceptions about the global effort to end extreme poverty: Poor countries are doomed to stay poor, foreign aid is a big waste, and saving lives leads to overpopulation.

In fact, life is better for more people around the world than it has ever been. People are living longer, healthier lives and poverty rates have been cut in half in the last 25 years. Child mortality is plunging. Many nations that were aid recipients are now self-sufficient. Bill and Melinda want to tackle these myths because too often they give people a reason not to act.

-Bill and Melinda Gates, 2014 Annual Letter

Global Health Global Issues Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises Poverty SOCIAL GOOD Women and Girls

December 15, 2013October 3, 2017

— 8 Comments

UNICEF’s “Passport to Protection”: The Importance of Birth Registration

On Friday I participated in a Google+ Hangout with the UNICEF’s #ENDViolence Team to learn about the importance of birth registration. Thursday, December 11th marked UNICEF’s 67th year anniversary as one of the world’s leading non-profit organizations focused on the rights and protection of children. In honor of this important milestone, UNICEF released the report “Passport to Protection” which highlights the importance of birth registration in protecting children and giving them an overall basic human right. The right to exist.

Birth registration is the first step in securing a child’s rights to health, education, and freedom from things like trafficking, violence and abuse. It is a passport to protection. Yet around the world, an astounding 230 million children under the age of five – one out of every three children in this age group globally – have never been registered at birth. Tens of millions of more children are without a birth certificate.

Global Issues Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises SOCIAL GOOD

Thirdeyemom

Traveling the World and Doing Good

Category: Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises