In November 2011, a team from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) visited Zambia to produce a video on vaccination efforts -– their value, their implementation and the challenges they face. In the current global environment of austerity and ever-decreasing budgets, immunizations represent one of the pillars of global health that is a cost effective, proven intervention.
Jeffrey Boyd is the Executive Director of the Hovde Foundation, which builds homes for children in Africa and Latin America. In this personal essay, he describes finding his passion for protecting vulnerable children.
Growing up, I often imagined running a home for orphans and helping kids in need, but little did I know that I would someday come face-to-face with children who are victims of slavery and targets for sexual predators.
My quiet Christian upbringing in rural Pennsylvania sheltered me from the reality of modern day sex trafficking — even uttering the word “sex” seemed too racy! But that upbringing also imbued in me a deep conviction to help my neighbors near and far. At the time, I didn’t know that slavery still existed, let alone an entire industry thriving on the sale of children for sex. You can imagine my shock and outrage when, as a 28-year-old living and working in the Dominican Republic, I befriended a 13-year-old boy who was regularly victimized by visiting pedophiles.
In 2004, that boy courageously helped with an undercover investigation by International Justice Mission (IJM) that led to the country’s first arrest and conviction of a child trafficker. I was so proud of my friend and our success with that case. That year, I spent a lot of time with him and several other former street kids in a home that offered them a safe and loving environment. During that time I befriended two young sisters, Susana and Francesca, whose single, prostitute mother left them alone on the streets when she went to work. And my heart broke when a couple of years later, she demanded they return with her to the streets.
Our friends at Stop TB Partnership share a story about a TB patient on his way to recovery to mark World TB Day, which takes place on Saturday, March 24.
Meet Saleem, 28. A year ago he was staggering from doctor to doctor with a raging fever, a weakening body and a fear that he would never get an accurate diagnosis for his illness.
Today, as we prepare to mark World TB Day, this photo of Saleem is evidence that he’s on track to making a full recovery.
To help people connect with water projects in the developing world in advance of World Water Day on March 22, our friends at Water.org have launched #24HoursOfWater. Every hour, the organization is tweeting a new, brief video clip that illustrates the severity of the water crisis and how much people benefit from accessibility to water sources. It started last night at 1:00 a.m. ET and will go to midnight tonight. And just to give you an idea of what to expect, here’s two of our favorite videos from the series that have been posted so far.
One video showcases women in India washing their hands and their vessels before collecting water. This simple action helps eliminate bacteria:
I attended a celebration of International Women’s Day in Austin, Texas a few weeks ago. We had an incredible line up of attendees, including County Commissioner Margaret Gomez, District Clerk Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza, and women from World Vision, Nuru International and Congressman Doggett’s office who joined ONE members to discuss women’s impact in local and global communities.
Guest speakers included Dr. Carolyn Heinrich from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas, Austin, who showed us one of the first Millennium Development Goal maps and discussed the important pursuit of the MDGs as well as her first experiences as a ONE member back in Wisconsin.
George Clooney isn’t the only actor-activist making a splash this week. In honor of World Water Day coming up on Thursday, March 22, Matt Damon, actor and co-founder of Water.org, released a video today urging people to “take action by donating your voice to the cause.” He reminds us of the tragic reality that “almost 1 billion people are forced to spend countless hours scavenging for even the smallest amount of water.” But Damon’s co-founder, Gary White, brings good news: “There are solutions for this,” he says. “We just need to have the resolve to get this done.”
Watch his video below:
Something “so basic and so simple” should be accessible to everyone — and you can help. Visit the organization’s World Water Day page and learn about how to spread the word through social media.
Action: 34. Time: 15 minutes. Level of difficulty: Easy.
Tuberculosis has always felt like an old-fashioned disease to me, right there with cholera, polio and dysentery. But unfortunately, it’s not. Today, about one-third of the world is infected with tuberculosis, a disease that attacks the lungs. If left untreated, it can be deadly, and in fact it is the leading cause of death for people infected with HIV/AIDS.
Not enough people know that. But next week, you have a chance to make it right. Saturday, March 24, is World Tuberculosis Day, which marks the day that Dr. Robert Koch discovered the cause of tuberculosis in 1882. We want you to help our friends at the Stop TB Partnership raise awareness around this disease by making a customized Stop TB poster.
Right now, some of the world's biggest oil companies are fighting to keep some of their deals with foreign governments secret. Let's tell big oil we won't be bullied.
Cuts to poverty-fighting programs won't balance the budget, but they will set back progress on Canada's development priorities and risk jeopardizing existing investments.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
