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.
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.
India, the second most populous country in the world, is known for her rich, vibrant culture and civilization that has spanned thousands of years. Over the last two decades, India’s economy has grown at breakneck speed becoming the world’s 10th largest economy in 2011 and is projected to be among the fifth largest by 2050 (per a recent report by economic think-tank Centre for Economics and Business Research). Yet despite the enormous economic success of the “Elephant“, as India has been sometimes called, tragically a large percentage of the Indian population have been left behind.
Millions of Indians live in dire poverty especially the people who have left the villages and have come to the urban centers searching for a better life. According to the World Bank, rural and urban poverty in India remains painfully high, holding the unfortunate record of having the largest concentration of poor people in the world: 240 million rural poor and 72 million urban poor. With poverty, an immeasurable suffering has also taken hold. Hunger, malnutrition and a high level of preventable diseases and death have struck India’s poor and have unfairly impacted women and children.
Smiling and hopeful Indian girls within a Delhi slum are sadly thin.
Traveling the world with a third-eye has always been the way I prefer to experience life. It means to view life openly and see everything – good or bad- with an open mind and heart. The world through my eyes can be contradictory and complex. Seeing both good and bad can bring so much immense joy and happiness while also such deep sadness that it makes your heart ache. Yet in my humble opinion, you cannot go through life with a blind eye. Otherwise nothing will change.
On my most recent trip through the Delhi slums as part of Mom Bloggers for Social Good, I saw a tremendous amount through my eyes. If I could look beyond the immense poverty, destruction, destitution and disease, I could also find beauty and hope. Beauty in the lovely warm smiles across the children’s eager faces whenever I pulled my camera out to snap their photo. Hope among the innocent faces of the girls in schools finally being given a chance to learn.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The world through my eyes sees so incredibly much.
This post was written in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge: The World Through My Eyes. To view more entries, click here.
The last three days in Delhi have been a complete whirlwind. We have been on the move visiting our NGO partners for Social Good Moms to learn more about their work on the ground. Being in Delhi is like being at the forefront of humanity. The buzz of mass civilization frenzies around you and engulfs all your senses. There is so much going on at any one moment that it is hard not to blink your eyes in amazement. To make the experience of being here even more surreal, the temperature has been dizzyingly high averaging around 114 degrees F/46C. In a crowded city of over 20 million people, the heat just adds to the intensity of the place.
Our first day was spent resting and recovering after our long journey to India. It took us over 30 hours to finally arrive in Delhi and the time change (Delhi is 11.5 hours ahead of Minneapolis time) has been hard to adjust to. Day two was spent visiting a small Delhi-based NGO called Protsahan that provides a unique approach to education for street children in the urban slums by using the arts. Day three was spent visiting India-based NGO Pratham who also works in education for underpriviledged children in the urban slums of India. Both visits were amazing and we learned a lot about how these NGOs are working with these children to give them a future.
I will go into the specific details of each visit and what we learned in a future post. However, in the meantime I wanted to share a small selection of instagram photos I’ve taken over the past three days in India to give you a feel for our trip so far.
Sometimes getting there is half the fun. Traveling half way across the world is no easy feat and as long as you maintain a positive attitude and sense of humor than it can actually be quite an adventure.
I began my journey to India at nine am on Sunday, May 19th and four flights and 36 hours later, I finally arrived at my final destination, Delhi. As always, there were lots of bumps along the way, a few which began before I even left. The physical journey was long and arduous, yet the mental journey has literally just begun.
As much as I love to travel, leaving is always the hardest thing. The days before a big trip are always jam-packed with preparation as I run around in a mad dash trying to get everything done. I’m always stressed and always feel mixed emotions about leaving. A lot of excitement, anticipation tagged along with that not so pleasant anxiety I feel about leaving the kids. I know it is the mother in me. But leaving home for a long trip always unsettles my nerves. As soon as I’m on the plane, I’m fine. It is just that terrible goodbye and a little bit of worry.
Sunday morning was no different than before. After a stressful couple of days, I woke up with those usual pretravel jitters. By nine am the car was loaded with my suitcase and we were off to the airport. As we neared the terminal, my six-year-old daughter began to cry. “Mama, why do you have to go to India” she asked between sobs. My little girl always has a way of getting right inside my heart. I felt my stomach tighten. “Because I’m trying to save the world” I answered steadily. “But why do you have to do it?” she questioned. And for a moment I was speechless and stunned by her question, coming from a kindergartener. “Because someone has to do it” I responded.
Two and a half years ago a life-changing trip to Nepal and India opened my mind. I have traveled all my life but for some reason this trip in particular was like nowhere else I’d been. I had never seen poverty like I did in India and Nepal. I had just finished reading Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s “Half the Sky” which educated me on so many issues about women and poverty that I never understood. The book has a strong message that anyone can do something to change the world. No matter how big or small, you can make a difference. This belief prompted me to start my blog and use my voice as a way to share my experiences around the world and educate others on what is happening sometimes behind the scenes.
Last fall I began writing as a member of the Global Team of 200, a group of mom bloggers trying to change the world by using their voice to educate others on maternal and infant health, education, children, nutrition, human trafficking, water and sanitation and other important issues that relate to poverty. The more I learned about these issues, the more passionate I’ve become about trying to help make the world a better place.
I’ve learned that you cannot travel with a blind eye. You must always have a “third-eye” so you can see everything – good and bad. So many times people choose to ignore the bad because they don’t want to see it. The world will not change and become a better place for all if we continue to ignore fixable problems. As a global citizen, it is our duty to help the millions of voiceless people who are suffering silently.
As I embarck on this journey, I intend to do whatever I can to have an open-mind and take everything in. I am sure it will be yet another life-changing, eye-opening experience. I look forward to sharing my journey with you all.
Stay tuned…. We have started a tumblr blog at to follow our trip. You can also follow us along on Twitter at hashtag #SocialGoodMomsIndia.
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world”. -Mahatma Gandhi
“Building global connections both online and offline is the cornerstone of Mom Bloggers for Social Good” says founder Jennifer James who heads up one of the world’s largest social good sites for moms who blog.
On Sunday, I am honored to be traveling to India along with Jennifer James, founder of Mom Bloggers for Social Good, to meet face to face with some of our partners as well as meet fellow Social Good Moms who live in India. Our time in India will be spent learning about the issues we cover: Maternal and newborn health, food and water poverty, sanitation issues, and education for women and girls.
It’s going to be an amazing time, full of lots of insight into the advocacy work we do as well as the culture, people and situation in India. I have visited India briefly in 2010 when I was en route to Nepal and found India to be one of the most dynamic places I’ve ever been. It will be truly fascinating to see India once again through a different set of eyes and mindset. I will have my “third-eye” waiting and ready to capture and soak in as much knowledge as I can.
During our stay, I’ll be sharing my journey via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and of course on my blog. I hope you follow along on this journey! It is bound to be eye-opening!
I would like to thank Sevenly for being a trip sponsor. They are an amazing organization. Check our their website here to learn more about the fabulous things they do.
It is a huge honor for me to be invited to go on this social good trip as I’m certain I will learn so much more about the work I’m so passionately advocating for. I am so excited to share what I learn with you. As I’ve mentioned many times before, I don’t think we can see the world without learning about the issues each place we visit face. It is up to us to not only be a good tourist, but to be a good citizen and help change the world we live in to make it a better place for all. Thanks for your support!
Last Friday I decided to test out one of the volunteer opportunities I’ve had the pleasure of writing about on my blog: Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build. After interviewing Lisa Marie Nickerson, Associate Director of Women Build (to read post, click here) I was inspired to see what this program and experience was all about. I signed up for a time slot and was able to help out for a few hours on Friday morning.
The week before Mother’s Day, May 4-12th marks the 6th Annual Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build Week, a week to celebrate and empower women around the nation to help improve their communities by building homes for those in need. Women Build is an opportunity for women from all walks of life to come together and address the severe housing crisis facing millions of women and children around the world. According to the Census Bureau, more than 16 million children are living in poverty in the United States and nearly 48 percent of the children reside with women as head of the household. Women Build is a way for women to help other women and work together to build a stronger, more stable community.
Sometimes you get one of those emails in your inbox that make you smile and burst with enthusiasm. Last week, I received just that kind of exciting email from a woman named Hannah who reads my blog, and asked if I would be interested in sharing her friend Gavin’s story. Without hesitation, I instantly agreed as Gavin’s adventure to the North Pole rates right up there with the kind of amazing travel and giving back philosophy that prompted me to start blogging in the first place.
I asked Hannah to put together a brief write-up and send me more details on Gavin’s trip which I edited below. I can already tell that this is going to be an amazing journey that I’m betting some of you will love to follow along. I know I will be!
Today is not only International Women’s Day but also the launch of an amazing initiative put together by some of the most influential players in journalism, social good, business and the non profit world to create the Global Mom Relay, a 60 day relay connecting mother’s around the world.
Here is the press release on the event and what you can do to help. It is going to be an amazing 60 days so be sure to follow along!
“Global Mom Relay” Connects Moms Everywhere through the Power of Social Media to Help Women and Children
Arianna Huffington, Elizabeth Gore, Jennifer Lopez, Lynda Lopez and other leading voices join global “virtual relay” to help improve the health and well-being of mothers and children worldwide
Washington, D.C. (March 7, 2013) – Mothers around the globe are mobilizing their voices and their social networks as one of the most powerful forces for positive change for women and children in today’s world. Starting tomorrow, on International Women’s Day, moms and their friends will come together as part of a groundbreaking series of online conversations to share advice, stories, and inspiration about motherhood as part of the Global Mom Relay, a first-of-its-kind virtual relay with a goal of improving the lives of women and children around the globe.
Created by the United Nations Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, BabyCenter, The Huffington Post, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Global Mom Relay combines the power of moms with the power of social media to raise awareness and raise funds to improve the health and well-being of mothers and children worldwide. This “virtual relay” brings together 60 days of online conversations, rallying networks of people around the world to join in the relay by commenting, sharing stories, making donations and taking action. It represents a movement of people who refuse to sit by in the face of startling statistics about women’s and children’s health: nearly 7 million children under the age of 5 will die from preventable diseases each year and every two minutes, a woman dies from complications related to pregnancy. The Global Mom Relay will connect people to take action and change these statistics.
According to BabyCenter.com, 75 percent of moms say they have used social media to promote a charitable cause, and 82 percent would be more likely to do so if they knew their contribution could result in a donation to support families in need.
The Global Mom Relay will take place from March 8 to May 8, 2013. Here is how it works:
Each day, a mother, expert, celebrity, or advocate will use a blog post, video, or online interview to discuss motherhood and inspirational moms and to highlight important issues and causes. Readers and viewers will be asked to share that day’s post and to donate to the featured cause. That day’s Global Mom Relay contributor will then “pass the baton” to the next day’s relay participant. Participants lending their voice include: Lisa Belkin, Barbara Bush, Randi Zuckerberg, Dr. Harvey Karp, Reema Nanavaty, Rocky Dawuni, Ann Geddes, and Bobbie Thomas.
Each time a person shares a relay post on Twitter, Facebook or Email, or donates $5 or more as part of the relay, a $5 donation (up to $8,000 per day or $500,000 total) will be donated by Johnson & Johnson and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to one of four innovative efforts that are helping women and children lead healthy and happy lives – Girl Up, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA), and the Shot@Life campaign.
The global discussion will culminate on May 8 in honor of Mother’s Day with Mom+Social, a one-day global summit held at the 92YTriBeCa in New York City. The summit will connect mothers to each other, worldwide experts, and leaders to inspire action that leverages the unique power of social media to improve the lives of families, of communities, and our world.
The Global Mom Relay will include perspectives from its co-chairs, Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group; Elizabeth Gore, the United Nations Foundation’s Resident Entrepreneur; Jennifer Lopez, Actress, Singer, and Co-Founder of the Lopez Family Foundation; Lynda Lopez, Journalist and Co-Founder of the Lopez Family Foundation; and Sharon D’Agostino, Vice President, Corporate Citizenship for Johnson & Johnson.
“Moms are often the glue that holds humanity together. At home, in their neighborhoods, at work, and online, moms are working hard to support each other and our communities,” said Elizabeth Gore. “The Global Mom Relay will unleash this passion and help moms pay it forward to change lives around the world.”
“My sister Lynda and I had children around the same time and both feel strongly about helping other mothers who are in need so that they have the chance to experience a healthy start as a new mom,” said Jennifer Lopez. “It is an honor to be part of this important global conversation and I hope others will join us.”
“As a journalist, I know the power of the voice to inspire others and create change,” said Lynda Lopez. “As a mother, I also know the unique power of a mom and her voice to help her children, family, and community. The beauty of the Global Mom Relay is that a mother anywhere can use her voice to share these stories of motherhood to help improve the lives of women and children everywhere.”
“A mother’s love is the most powerful force on Earth and wherever she lives, a mom wants nothing more than the health and safety of her children,” said Sharon D’Agostino. “During this celebration of millions of moms around the world, we are excited to help unite and empower them to improve the lives of other women and their children.”
The Global Mom Relay is in support of Every Woman Every Child, a movement launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to save the lives of 16 million women and children by 2015. Healthy families promote healthy communities and a healthier world. By learning and taking action online through the Global Mom Relay, moms and other participants will help mothers like them around the world.
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The United Nations Foundation, Johnson & Johnson, BabyCenter, a member of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, The Huffington Post, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation created the Global Mom Relay, a global conversation among mothers and their friends to create change. From March 8, International Women’s Day, to May 8, in honor of Mother’s Day, today’s leading global and local voices will discuss the importance of strengthening the health of mothers and children around the world. Each time a person shares a relay post on Facebook, Twitter or Email, or donates $5 or more as part of the relay, a $5 donation (up to $8,000 per day or $500,000 total) will be donated by Johnson & Johnson and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to one of four initiatives that are helping women and children lead healthy and happy lives – Girl Up, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA), and the Shot@Life campaign. For more information, visit http://www.unfoundation.org/globalmomrelahttp://www.unfoundation.org/globalmomrelay.
As an avid runner, I was thrilled when I first heard of a new app called Charity Miles. Charity Miles has partnered with a lot of fantastic non-profit organizations and allows you to donate your miles after a run, walk or bike ride to one of their partner charities. All you have to do is download the free app, hit start, and you are on your way to doing good while you work out. Brilliant isn’t it?
This month, Charity Miles has partnered with the UN Foundation who I am honored to work with as an advocate and volunteer. Together the UN Foundation and Charity Miles is running a #VDay10k Campaignwhere people can exercise for a good cause using the Charity Miles app. How does it work? Simple.
I wanted to share a great post today on World Mom’s Blog, where I’m a writer and contributing editor, on a fantastic organization founded by Kristyn Zalota called Clean Birth. We all know that in developing countries having a safe birth for mother and child is not a given. In fact about 800 women die around the world every day due to complications during and after childbirth.
Photo credit: Wikipedia Free Commons.
Here are some facts from the World Health Organization that demonstrate how unacceptably high the numbers are:
99% of all maternal deaths occur in developing countries.
Maternal mortality is higher in women living in rural areas and among poorer communities.
Young adolescents face a higher risk of complications and death as a result of pregnancy than older women.
Skilled care before, during and after childbirth can save the lives of women and newborn babies.
Between 1990 and 2010, maternal mortality worldwide dropped by almost 50%.
However, In 2010, 287 000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth.
Almost all of these deaths occurred in low-resource settings, and most could have been prevented.
Please stop by and check out the post today, “$5 Saves 2 Lives” as well as our mission to raise enough money to fund 1000 clean birth kits. Let’s give all women the chance for a healthy and safe birth!
