Meeting with Frontline Health Care Workers in The Indira Kalyan Camp
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Save the Children’s 2013 REAL Awards: Honoring the real heroes

Back in May, I had the unique opportunity to see Save the Children’s work on the ground in India. A big part of Save the Children’s strategy is the employment and training of Frontline Health Care Workers on the ground where oftentimes access to health care is severely limited.

On a steamy hot day in late-May, Jennifer James (Founder of Mom Bloggers for Social Good) and me got to visit The Indira Kalyan Camp, an unauthorized slum inside Delhi to meet with some of the amazing Frontline Health Care Workers providing hope, care and saving lives.

The beautiful colorful dresses worn by Indian women captured my attention.
Listening to one xxx
Meeting with Frontline Health Care Workers in the Indira Kalyan Camp
Global Health Global Issues Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises SOCIAL GOOD
The children of Indira Kalyan Camp
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UNICEF on “Committing to Child Survival”

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One area of development that is near and dear to my heart is child survival. As a mother of two children and a world traveler, I’ve seen firsthand the poverty and pain that many mothers around the world face by protecting their children and giving them everything they can to help them survive.

Often when I work with these children and their mothers, and I learn more about some of the devastating obstacles that stand in the way to raising a healthy, happy child, my heart gets broken. You see, my children were born in the United States to two educated parents who have the ability to ensure they receive good nutrition, safe drinking water and proper sanitation, education, immunizations and health care. Sometimes I scratch my head in disbelief realizing how lucky we are to live in a place where we take these fundamental rights for granted.

The children of Indira Kalyan Camp
Smiling and hopeful Indian girls within a Delhi slum are sadly thin.
Volunteering in Honduras
Children at a day care center in Honduras where I volunteered last January.
Lovely Nepali girls smile at the camera.
Children in a Delhi slum are able to attend school thanks to the support of NGOs like Pratham.

I believe strongly that it is our moral obligation to ensure other people around the world have the same opportunities at a healthy life as we do. Yes, the task is incredibly daunting and immense. But we can change things.

Child Labor, Marriage, Education and Survival Global Issues SOCIAL GOOD
The children of Indira Kalyan Camp
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UNICEF India’s #ENDViolence Campaign

Over the past year, I have worked hard to build awareness and share the stories with my readers on some of the biggest social issues in the world. I have written about global health, poverty, education, safe water and sanitation, human rights, and most of all, how all of these issues have especially impacted women and girls in the developing world.

The beautiful girls at Protsahan finally getting a better future for themselves.

The beautiful girls at Protsahan finally getting a better future for themselves.

One topic that is near and dear to my heart is violence against women and girls. It is absolutely horrifying that in today’s world women and girls are being physically and sexually abused on a daily basis. Sadly, it happens everywhere. Yet violence against women and girls is even a greater problem in countries of poverty where the status of women is often so incredibly marginalized that women and girls have little or no say in the matter.

Living in the slums of India can be a dangerous place for a young girl.

Living in the slums of India can be a dangerous place for a young girl.

Traveling last May to India brought the issue of violence against women and girls to the forefront. I had just arrived after the horrendous rape and killing of a young Indian girl on a moving bus. The country was still in an uproar over the event and justice against these young men who took her life is still being sought. Today, I read the surprising news that these men have been convicted of the highest penalty possible: The death penalty and perhaps marked a change in the way law fighting these atrocities will be handled.

Yet has anything really truly changed for the millions of women around the world who are faced with violence, discrimination, harassment, intimidation, neglect and unworthiness every single day of their lives? Not much. There are laws in India against physical and sexual abuse but seldom are they enforced.

Child Labor, Marriage, Education and Survival Global Issues SOCIAL GOOD Women and Girls
Newtown: Sandy Hook Memorial
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Save the Children’s “Get Ready. Get Safe”.

In honor of remembering one of the greatest tragedies to hit our country, September 11th, it is important for us as a country to protect some of the most vulnerable citizens of all: Our children.

Please read the post below and learn more on what we as a nation can do to ensure that no children are forgotten in times of tragedy. Also, please share on Facebook and twitter with your friends and family. This is something we can all work together to easily change. 

Newtown: Sandy Hook Memorial

A memorial in honor of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementarry School shooting. Photo credit: Save the Children

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Last week Save the Children released their 2013 National Report Card on Protecting Children in Disasters, a study showing where our nation is at when it comes to protecting children in times of emergencies. The report titled “Unaccounted For:  A National Report Card on Protecting Children in Disasters” comes after a heartbreaking year of disasters and tragedies such as the elementary school massacre at Sandy Hook as well as the Hurricane Sandy and Oklahoma tornado. Unfortunately, the report clearly demonstrates that we have a long way to go in protecting our children against disaster.

Out of the four standards that states must implement to protect children in the face of disaster – (1)states must require all schools and child care centers to have an evacuation and (2) relocation plan, (3) a family reunification plan and (4) a plan for children with special needs – only four states took action to meet all standards this year.  Furthermore, 28 states still lack basic measures to safeguard children in child care and schools. It is apparent that something needs to be done.

Child Labor, Marriage, Education and Survival Global Issues Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises SOCIAL GOOD
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Guest Post: On the Ground in Madagascar with WaterAid

Clean water and sanitation are a worldwide problem that impacts millions around the globe. The figures are startling and unimaginable. Per WHO/UNICEF estimates, 783 million people  (11% of the world’s population) in the world do not have access to safe water. 2.5 billion people (35% of world’s population) in the world do not have access to adequate sanitation. Tragically, around 700,000 children die every year from diarrhea caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation – that’s almost 2,000 children a day.

WaterAid is one of the world leaders in providing clean water and sanitation throughout the developing world. I have been honored to see their work on the ground during a May trip to India and have been sharing stories about their amazing work around the globe on my blog. Earlier this summer, I shared a story about the work WaterAid is doing in Madagascar to provide toilets and taps to school children.

Over the summer, WaterAid has worked to to reach 12,000 children in 31 schools by providing 150 taps and 100 toilets in Madagascar. Ernest Randriarimalala a field officer with WaterAid visited one of the projects in mid-July and I’m honored to share his update of the progress that has been made on the ground below.

Per Randriarimalala, “A key element of the photos here is about the hopes, dreams and potential for the future of the children in this primary school in Tsimahavaobe village. Some photos show children drawing and presenting their drawing of what they want to be when they grow up“. I hope you find this report inspiring of the the good we can do by giving people the simple luxury of safe water and sanitation.

WaterAid Madagascar

Children who have been helped by WaterAid’s work in Madagascar. Photo credit: Ernest Randriarimalala/WaterAid.

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END7
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END7: One group’s mission to fight 7 neglected tropical diseases

The end of summer means back to school for millions of children around the world. Tomorrow my two children will be starting school and as a parent it is in my uttermost interest to ensure they are healthy and ready to learn.

We all understand that education is critical to improving our lives and future. Yet tragically education is not an equal opportunity for millions of children around the world. Per Education Envoy, an estimated 61 million children are shut out of primary school, an astounding number.

Indian children learning

Children in a Delhi slum are able to attend school thanks to the support of NGOs like Pratham.

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#Moms4MDGs: What it means to me

Do you know what the word MDG stands for? 

MDG stands for Millennium Development Goal. It may sound like some kind of fancy jargon however in my opinion MDGs are pretty amazing.  Established at the start of a brand new millennium in 2000 by world leaders at the United Nations, the 8 MDGs represent what we should strive for to make the world a better, more equitable place.  The MDGs build upon years of global teamwork and partnership in the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration and aim to achieve 8 major measurable targets by 2015. These 8 targets are shown in the infographic below.

The 8 UN MDGs (Source: www.un.org)

The 8 UN MDGs (Source: http://www.un.org)

“The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions. They have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest.” (Source: United Nations)

To learn more specifics about the MDGs please click here.

“In 2000, 189 nations made a promise to free people from extreme poverty and multiple deprivations. This pledge turned into the eight Millennium Development Goals.” (UNDP)

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Water for the World

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, an unauthorized slum named the Vivekananda Camp.

Vivekananda Camp.

Women living outside the Vivekananda Camp, an unauthorized slum that ironically is located right behind the walls of the American Embassy in Delhi.

At this one location, the people had been fortunate to finally receive somewhere safe and hygienic to use the bathroom. A community toilet compound. Although the slum did not have running water, at least it had somewhere people could go to take care of their bodily needs and help eliminate the spread of deadly diseases and the horrible humiliation of open defecation.

As I stood outside the Community Toilet Complex (CTC), I couldn’t help but rest my eyes on a painfully slow-moving woman. A woman who had undoubtedly spent her entire life living within the confines of a slum. She was hunched over and bent on her cane and slowly dragged her feet across the ground, one step at a time, as she left the Community Toilet Complex we had just toured.

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Fountain of Hope, Zambia
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Fountain of Hope: Bringing hope to Zambia’s street children

Over the past ten days, Jennifer James, founder of Mom Bloggers for Social Good and Global Team of 200, has been in Zambia as an International Press Reporting fellow covering HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and how these diseases impact mothers and children. She was selected to report in Zambia along with nine other new media journalists, who have all covered these topics from different perspectives. It has been amazing reading all the stories about their work and learning more about the conditions in Zambia.

One of the places that Jennifer and the fellows visited that I found truly inspiring was the Fountain of Hope center in Lusaka, Zambia. The Fountain of Hope was founded in 1996 by a group of local Zambians as a way to help rehabilitate the growing population of street children in Zambia’s capital. In a country of 14 million, it has been estimated that there are 75,000 street children throughout the country and 2,000 alone in the nation’s capital Lusaka. Oftentimes these children spend their days on the streets, not going to school and doing whatever they can to feed themselves and stay alive.

Fountain of Hope, Zambia

Fountain of Hope Center (Photo thanks to Jennifer James).

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Delhi Street Photography
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The tilted view of the streets of Delhi

“It is impossible not to be astonished by India. Nowhere on Earth does humanity present itself in such a dizzying, creative burst of cultures and religions, races and tongues”. -A Rough Guide to India

A trip through the streets of India brings humanity to her knees. No place on earth is quite like India. When asked by friends “What is India like” I seem to suddenly become silent as no words can fully describe the place unless you’ve been there.  Through all her culture, her craziness, her unbelievable sights and her charm, India remains perhaps one of the most intriguing places in the world. I don’t think any place on earth can quite compare.

Getting around India is one of the most knuckle clenching, heart racing things you can do. Oftentimes there are cows in the streets, traffic coming at you in every direction and people everywhere. Many times you get awfully close to an overpacked car and the two dozen pairs of eyes seem to stare into your soul.

Inspired by the views seen through the streets of Delhi I compiled a post of my favorite street shots, many taken from inside a moving vehicle as I was tilting or craning my neck. Just taking a ride through the streets of Delhi is bound to capture your attention and your camera. I remembered to take my third eye along on this trip and it is a good thing I did. Everything and anything is possible in India.

Here are some of my favorite captures.

Delhi Street Photography

View outside the car at the over-crowded streets of Delhi.

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Pregnant mothers class at Indira Kalyan
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How Save the Children is Saving the Unborn Child in India

Author’s note: This is the third post documenting my visit on behalf of Mom Bloggers for Social Good to see Save the Children’s work at the Indira Kalyan slum in Delhi, India. To read the first and second post click on the links. 

Indira Kalyan

Heading to our next visit within the Indira Kalyan Camp

Having a baby should be one of the most joyous times of a woman’s life. Yet tragically throughout the developing world childbirth is also one of the most deadly times of a woman’s life as well as the life of her newborn child.

Per Save the Children an alarming 3 million babies died globally in their first month of life (2010) and India continues to have a persistently high rate of newborn mortality accounting for 29% of all first day deaths globally or 309,000 a year.

India is not an easy place to be a mother either. A decade ago close to 75,000 women died during childbirth every year. Although that number has been reduced to 56,000 in 2010, it is still way too high, especially given the tragic fact that many of these deaths are preventable.

In India, there is no place that it is more dangerous to be a woman giving birth than in the slums where woman lack access to basic health care services, midwifes and hospitals. Yet organizations like Save the Children are making remarkable progress in educating women about prenatal and postnatal care as well as the importance of delivering their child in a hospital.

Global Health Global Issues Global Non-Profit Organizations and Social Good Enterprises India SOCIAL GOOD TRAVEL BY REGION
Meeting with Frontline Health Care Workers in The Indira Kalyan Camp
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India’s Frontline Health Care Workers: Working door to door to save lives

Author’s note: This is the second post documenting my visit on behalf of Mom Bloggers for Social Good to see Save the Children’s work at the Indira Kalyan slum in Delhi, India. To read the first post click here. 

India has made a tremendous amount of progress over the last two decades fighting to save the lives of mothers and children. A decade ago close to 75,000 women died during childbirth every year and this number has been reduced to 56,000 in 2010. Significant progress has also been made in newborn survival. Since 1990, India has reduced the rate of deaths of children under 5 by 46% or almost in half. Despite the major achievements, newborn and maternal dealths are still way too high given the tragic fact that many of these deaths are largely preventable. The situation is especially dire in India, the second most populous country in the world, with a hugely disproportionate percentage of maternal and newborn deaths.

The Indira Kalyan Camp Delhi

Inside The Indira Kalyan Camp, an unauthorized slum in Delhi

The Indira Kalyan Camp

Women inside the indira Kalyan Camp

Per Save the Children’s 2013 State of World’s Mother’s Report:

  • Nearly 1 in 5 deaths of children under age five are in India. (1.6 million children or 29% of the global total ).
  • 19% of these deaths take place on the day a child is born and 53% occur within the first month of birth.
  • Large scale inequities within India continue to persist today in terms of wealth disparities, rural-urban divide, education, age of mother, caste, which means that not all babies born in India have an equal change of survival.
Children within the Indira Kalyan Camp

Children within the Indira Kalyan Camp pose for a picture

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