“We are starving for education. For us it is like a precious gift, a diamond” – Malala Yousafzai
The story of Malala Yousafzai, a young Pakastani girl who was shot at point blank range in the head a year ago on a school bus by the Taliban has become one of the most powerful stories of our time. A girl of a mere 15 years old, who had the courage and bravery to stand up to the Taliban and risk her life for her simple belief that girls should be able to go to school, has captured worldwide attention to her cause. Today at 16 years old, Malala’s voice is being heard all over the world and people are listening.
Her voice and bravery has lead her to become the youngest ever nominated to receive a World Peace Prize and her fight for girls education has created an international global movement and a day named after her. In honor of “Day of the Girl” today, I wanted to talk about one girl who is by far one of the most amazing, inspiring young activists in the world. Malala whose life is a gift to the world and who proves that anyone can make a difference.
Cover of Malala’s new book “I Am Malala” which was released this week.
“People have prayed to God to spare me, and I was spared for a reason — to use my life for helping people” — from ” I Am Malala.”
As a nature lover and someone who cares deeply about all human beings and animals, I am honored to share today a guest post written by Laurel Sutherlin of the non-profit group Rainforest Action Network (RAN). Today RAN has released a new video discussing the impact of palm oil on orangutans in honor of their new campaign that aims to remove “Conflict Palm Oil” from America’s snack foods by convincing major food companies to implement responsible palm oil policies. The companies who were publicly announced at the Chicago Board of Trade are being called “The Snack Food 20” and include some of America’s most popular brands such as Pepsi, Heinz, Hershey’s, Kraft and Smuckers. Here is the story.
Photo credit: Rainforest Action Network
The facts are clear: Orangutans are going extinct for palm oil. Palm oil is a cheap product used in much of the Western world’s snack food products. Take a look at the label on your food and you will see for yourself that palm oil is often a main ingredient because it is cheap and plentiful.
Photo credit: Rainforest Action Network
Yet have we ever stopped to take a look at what our use of palm oil is doing to the environment and more so, to some of the most precious wildlife we have on Earth?
“In the 21st Century customers don’t want to buy crackers and cookies that are responsible for pushing the world’s last wild orangutans to extinction and for horrifying child labor violations. That’s why Rainforest Action Network is putting these top 20 snack food companies using ‘Conflict Palm Oil’ on notice that it’s time to develop responsible policies and create products that reflect the values of their customers and the needs of our planet,” said Lindsey Allen, the Executive Director of Rainforest Action Network.
Photo credit: Rainforest Action Network
Before I present the facts in a guest post below, please take a moment to watch this beautiful short two-minute video on what palm oil in our snack food is doing to threaten the orangutans. The video is a touching exchange in sign language between a young girl and an orphaned orangutan whose home has been destroyed by palm oil. You are sure to be very moved by it.
“The world has stood and watched as the children of Syria have been shot, shelled and traumatized by the horror of war. The conflict has already left thousands of children dead, and is now threatening their means of staying alive.
We understand there is a political debate over what to do next in Syria, but we believe everyone can agree on the critical need for safe humanitarian access across the entire country. There is no room for delay or argument: Syria’s children must not be allowed to go hungry.”
-Roger Hearn, Save the Children’s regional director for the Middle East.
Save the Children distributes bread to residents of Za’atari refugee camp. Photo credit: Nicole Itano/Save the Children
Last week at the Social Good Summit in New York City, I attended a small panel discussion hosted by Save the Children, ONE and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It was a rare opportunity to hear some of the top social advocates and leaders speak about some of the pressing developments in social good involving eliminating extreme poverty, using technology for activism, and the current crisis in Syria.
One of the most touching conversations at the roundtable that day was listening to the President and CEO of Save the Children Carolyn Miles discuss the growing crisis in Syria and its tragic impact on its children. A week after returning from New York, I am still reflecting hard on these children and wondering how on earth I can help spread the word and raise awareness of their plight.
Rami*, two, at her home in a tented refugee settlement in Lebanon, near the Syrian border. *All names have been changed to protect identities. Photo Credit: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children
A child plays in the dirt at a tented refugee settlement in Lebanon, near the Syrian border. Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children
Maya * 11 months, at her home in a disused industrial building in Lebanon near the Syrian border *All names have been changed to protect identities. Photo credit: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children
The war in Syria is one of the largest humanitarian crisis of our time and sadly Syria’s most vulnerable citizens, its children, are paying the price.
On September 23rd, coinciding with the gathering of global leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York for UN Week, Save the Children released a startling report titled “Hunger in a War Zone: The Growing Crisis Behind the Syria Conflict“. I read the report and could not put it down. The images of Syria’s children still haunt me and I had to do something to spread the word about what is going on and how we can help.
Here is a summary of the key findings of the report. All information below as well as images being used with permission from Save the Children. To read the report in full, click here.
Zeina *, two, at her home in a tented refugee settlement in Lebanon, near the Syrian border. Zeina and her family are living in a small tent on the Syrian border. The father, Ahmad, has been part of Save the Children as Cash for Work programme, and used the money on food and water for the whole family. Thousands of children and their families continue to stream into neighbouring countries. Most of those who have escaped are living in makeshift shelters, unsuitable buildings or in overcrowded camps, amid growing shortages of food, medicine and water. * Names have been changed to protect identities. Photo Credit: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children
Pictures tell a story. They show the world the people who are really suffering in Syria. Its most innocent and vulnerable: Their children.
This is the photo that struck a chord in my heart. She could be my own daughter. Same age. Same love for stuffed animals. But no smile to greet the day.
Refugee child in Iraq. Most of the refugees did not manage to bring any belongings with them when they fled Syria. Some children managed to save their favourite teddy bear or doll. Others have received new toys after moving to the camp. Photo Credit: Rob Holden/Save the Children
It is hard to look at these photographs and not feel some inherent urge to jump on a plane and save them. As a mother of two children, ages 6 and 8, I cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like for these parents and their children.
In mid-September, it was estimated that there are over 4 million displaced families living inside of Syria’s borders in temporary housing with little access to food to feed their children and barely a drip of water. Another two million have fled the country pouring into neighboring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt at a rate of nearly 6,000 day*.
Some families are living in abandoned industrial buildings while others in makeshift refuge camps. The World Health Organization has deemed the crisis in Syria “to be one of the worst ongoing humanitarian crisis on earth”. As the sun begins to turn cold and food becomes more and more scarce, what will these families feed their growing, hungry children?
Zeina *, two, at her home in a tented refugee settlement in Lebanon, near the Syrian border. *Names have been changed to protect identities. Photo credit: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children
Per Save the Children, “More than four million Syrians — more than two million of them children — are unable to produce or buy enough food, with many thousands living under fire and with no access to all but the bare minimum foodstuffs needed to survive. Save the Children is already seeing reports that one in 20 children in rural Damascus is severely malnourished”.**
One of the biggest issues right now is the fact that most of Syria’s families are trapped in dangerous locations where they have little or no access to food. They are faced with making the unimaginable decision. To stay inside their homes and starve or to face bullets and death by leaving the safety of their homes to get food for their family. It is a choice no parent should have to make.
“A message to the World”
“This is a message from the Syrian people to world leaders. I am 13 years old and I am Syrian. I am Ali. I want to talk about the tragedy that we have in Syria. In Syria, we have no good food and not enough water. We only have lentils. So we ate lentils every day. We would see wounded people and dead bodies every day in the street, and many children who did not have homes. They are living in schools. But now they don’t even have a school to live in. I am asking the leaders of the world to provide us safe shelter, food, water, medicine – this is all we ask. Please, please, please – help us”.
-Ali, 13 years old***
Maya * 11 months, at her home in a disused industrial building in Lebanon near the Syrian border *All names have been changed to protect identities. Photo credit: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children
Another issue is that the war has destroyed Syria’s economy pulling a once relatively prosperous country into shambles. The United Nations “now estimates close to seven million inhabitants have been plunged into poverty since fighting began. In addition, Syria’s agriculture and infrastructure are collapsing, with grain production falling to less than half of what was typical before the war”**. Furthermore, “after two and a half years of war, the conflict has set Syria back 35 years and imposted an economic cost of more than $84 billion, equivalent to over 140 % of Syria’s pre-war GDP”. *** Once the war ends, rebuilding is going to be a long and painful journey.
A child plays in the dirt at a tented refugee settlement in Lebanon, near the Syrian border. Photo credit: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children
What Save the Children is asking world leaders is to secure humanitarian access to the people per Save the Children’s Carolyn Miles. There are 7 million people in need of assistance and 5 million people stuck inside the country. Save the Children strongly believes that regardless of the political situation in Syria, we must do something about this enormous humanitarian crisis. We must act and we must act now. Time is running out for the millions of children and families who are suffering and facing extreme hunger and malnutrition. The world must listen and help.
The fight to save Syria’s children is far from over. We need to act now and spread the word. We need to voice our concern.
This is what is at stake: Children.
Suhad * six, lies on the floor of her home in a tented refugee settlement in Lebanon, near the Syrian border. *Names have been changed to protect children’s identities. Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children
Nadia *, one and a half, is carried by her mother Roula * outside their home in a tented refugee settlement in Lebanon, near the Syrian border. *Names have been changed to protect identities. Photo Credit: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children
Rami*, two, at her home in a tented refugee settlement in Lebanon, near the Syrian border. *Names have been changed to protect identity. Photo Credit: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children
Save the Childrenis the leading independent organization for children in need, with programs in 120 countries, including the United States. We aim to inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives by improving their health, education and economic opportunities. In times of acute crisis, we mobilize rapid assistance to help children recover from the effects of war, conflict and natural disasters. Follow us onTwitterandFacebook.
As some of you may know, I’ve been advocating for the United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life Campaign since its launch in 2012. It is a fabulous program that provides immunizations to children in the developing world. Since a child dies every 20 seconds from a vaccine-preventable death, immunizations are the key to saving countless lives around the world. It is a simple, cost-effective way to giving children the shot at life they deserve.
From now until October 14th, Shot@Life is partnering with US pharmacy chain Walgreens to help save children’s lives. For every flu shot or immunization you receive at a Walgreens Pharmacy, Walgreens will immunize one child with a life-saving vaccine through Shot@Life. It is a brilliant campaign and I’m honored to be a part of it.
12/2025 Minnesota has one of the largest populations of Somalis (over 80,000 and most are either legal residents or U.S. citizens) in the United States, and our Somali population has been represented wide and far in our local, city, state and National governments, in business, in education and more. Somalis are a vibrant part of our culture here in Minnesota and I stand behind our local government, our Mayor and our Governor, in standing up against ICE. As Jamal Osman, our Minneapolis City Council member says: “Many Somalis that live in this community are working at your groceries, working at your hospitals, delivering your babies. They are very successful individuals. ” Osman, a Minneapolis City Council member, came to the United States from Somalia.
It is hard to fathom what is happening in the US as quite frankly we are ALL immigrants except the Native Americans who land we stole, whose culture we decimated and whose lives we have ravaged. It is the beauty of all our cultures that makes us great, not the hate.
NM
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Last Tuesday on my flight home from LaGuardia I had the most exceptional experience. In fact, days later after an incredibly inspiring three-day visit to New York City where I attended the 2013 Social Good Summit, I still cannot stop thinking about my plane ride home. Sitting next to me on the window seat was a new American.
I really wanted to capture her beautiful, kind face but she was sleeping by the time I thought of it. Here is the New Minnesotan, a mom just like me.
For all that I’ve traveled, I have never actually been on a plane with someone immigrating to the United States. Seeing this middle-aged Somali woman sitting tentatively next to me wearing her U.S. Immigration Tag and holding her white plastic U.S. Immigration bag, simply blew me away. I couldn’t stop thinking it was a strange coincidence that she happened to not only be on my flight but was sitting right next to me after I had just spent three extremely intense days at the Social Good Summit learning about a vast array of global issues.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A memorial in honor of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementarry School shooting. Photo credit: Save the Children
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.
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.
Children who have been helped by WaterAid’s work in Madagascar. Photo credit: Ernest Randriarimalala/WaterAid.
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.
Children in a Delhi slum are able to attend school thanks to the support of NGOs like Pratham.
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 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)
