Logging Miles

Why Women Hold the Key to Development—and Peace

By Carolyn | Published September 24, 2014

My latest revelation on development came in an unlikely place: not a refugee camp for Syrians or a small hut in Nepal but in a beautiful building in Venice built in the mid-1700s—Scoula Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista—which was the site of a ceremony for the Pilosio Peace award. Pilosio is an Italian construction company that helps to build structures all over the world. Their young, innovative CEO Dario Roustayan developed the Building Peace awards four years ago to honor the spirit of building by bringing together the construction industry and the making of a better world. This year’s winner, Samiya Nkrumah, the daughter of the iconic former President of Ghana Kwame Nkrumah, is building an impressive library for her country’s children in honor of her father. She and I got a chance to meet and talk a bit about the prime importance of education in a child’s life—and in a country’s future. She’s an amazing woman that you may one day see as a future President of Ghana (if I had to bet).

I also had the honor to join a very eclectic and interesting panel of women, each building peace in a different way. There was Betty Williams, Nobel Peace prize winner from 1976 for her breakthrough work on speaking out for peace during the “troubles” in Northern Ireland. Siba Shakib, an Iranian filmmaker and best-selling author, spoke passionately about her work documenting the plight of Syrian refugee children who have fled the violence and chaos of their home country for over the past three years. Khalida Brohi, a young Pakistani woman and leading advocate against honor killings in Pakistan, told her incredible story as the child of a 9-year old Pakistani “bride” and even announced her own engagement at the event. And Italian businesswoman and entrepreneur Luisa Todini spoke of the challenges of being a woman in the male-dominated world of construction and how her leadership style helped her make a difference through work and her personal life. I focused on the role of mothers as builders of peace (which often starts with stable families), the founding of Save the Children by Eglantyne Jebb, a woman way ahead of her time, as well as my own path to working as a leader and the key role of women in development inside countries today.

I was struck by some key similarities in our very different stories. There was a common thread for each of us on the importance of strong role models and family members who supported us. Whether fathers, mothers, colleagues, founders or bosses, we all had help along the way in our efforts to help make the world a little better. It also struck me that frequently, the source of our passion came from seeing injustices against children. Whether it was Siba’s work to capture the heartbreaking drawings of child refugees or Betty’s witnessing of three Irish children killed by a car driven by an IRA member shot dead at the wheel, children were a consistent theme that drives all of us in our work.

The audience was made up of a handful of people working on these issues full-time, but primarily of those working in the construction sector, including many of Pilosio’s customers—from boat builders to leading developers in Dubai. Former Secretary General to the UN Kofi Annan gave a wonderful keynote speech that focused again on the importance of women in driving stability and peace, starting with greater economic equality for half the earth’s population, who today own only 1% of its wealth. And I think the light bulb went off for many of these leading business men and women when they saw what a significant role the private sector can play in making sure the playing field is leveled and bringing their skills to development challenges.

A final highlight was the unveiling of a new shelter developed by Pilosio in conjunction with the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, allowing Syrian refugees to build their own homes. Giving dignity back to refugees that have lost everything is a key challenge as the world experiences one of the biggest displacements of people in history. From Syria alone, 3 million have fled their homes, half of whom are children. Save the Children Italy will exhibit the new structure in Rome at Expo 2015, giving eight million people a chance to see it and we are looking at testing the shelter in Jordan in our work with Syrian refugees there.

It was a night when women of peace, the private sector, and those intent on building a better world came together and a night I was happy to be a part of. It also illustrated two trends that I think will become even more important in the years to come—the role of women in driving a country’s future and the convergence of the private sector and development agencies to bring together the skills of both to make the future better for children.

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It’s Back to School– Are Your Kids Safe?

By Carolyn | Published September 17, 2014

As of this month, American parents have sent 69 million children back to school and child care. But many have no idea what protections exist to keep kids safe in the very places they’re supposed to be protected.

According to a new Harris Poll online survey, 63 percent of U.S. parents with children in school or child care are not very familiar with emergency plans in those locations. Forty-two percent don’t even know where to meet up with their children in case of evacuation. This is disturbing, because disaster can strike anytime, anywhere — a point reinforced by the national parents’ poll included in Save the Children’s 2014 Disaster Report Card, out today.

More than half of U.S. families (54 percent) with kids in school or child care have been personally affected by hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, school shootings or other types of disaster. In the past year alone, our nation has experienced at least 20 school shootings and 50 natural disasters requiring a federal response.

Two thirds of the 1,012 parents in the nationally representative poll said they were concerned by risks their children face from national disaster. Seventy percent worry about school shootings. Yet, 67 percent of U.S. parents don’t know if their child’s school or day care practices emergency drills frequently, or at all. And — here’s the kicker — basic emergency plans aren’t even required in 21 states and Washington, DC. (You can check your state here.)

Parents don’t do much better at home. While three in five say they have an emergency plan in place, many of those parents haven’t taken basic actions to protect kids. For instance, nearly a third of these parents don’t have a family meeting place. More than a third of them don’t even have two days’ supply of food and water. A five days’ supply is recommended.

The majority of parents who say they have emergency plans also don’t know where to find shelter locally or have an agreed upon out-of-town contact, which is critical should disaster affect communications. Parents should also make sure all schools and caregivers have key contact information, and that younger children can identify themselves if they get separated.

There are simple actions everyone can take to better protect our children should disaster strike. Packing a “go kit” for each member of the family is a good start. It should include essential toiletries and medical and contact information and — for kids — a favorite activity and a comfort item that can help them cope if disaster upturns their young lives. If you agree that children’s safety should be a priority, please take our pledge to protect children from disaster. Then act on it. To learn more about the 2014 Disaster Report Card and find resources to better prepare your family and community, go to www.savethechildren.org/US-Disaster.

Posted in General, United States | Comments Off

How A Silent Girl Named Serenity Finally Found Her Words

By Carolyn | Published September 8, 2014

This blog originally appeared in The Huffington Post.

An early start on learning means everything when it comes to a child’s future. Yet too many children living in poverty in America and around the world don’t have access to a quality early education. In fact, children from low-income homes hear an average of 30 million fewer words by age 3 than their peers from well-off families, putting them at a disadvantage before they even start school. These are children like Serenity from Nebraska, who at 3 years old wasn’t able to speak in sentences that consisted of more than two words. One of three siblings, Serenity lives in a remote community in a rural part of the state, where families struggle to make ends meet. Often, when parents have to worry about putting food on the table, books and reading take a back seat.

What’s more, quality early childhood education is not an option in many poverty-stricken communities. As a result, by the time she is 4 years old, Serenity was at risk of being 18 months behind other 4-year-olds who are lucky enough to be born with more opportunities. But like most parents, Serenity’s mom and dad want the best for their kids and they see education as the only way out of poverty. “We know we are in the situation we are in financially because we did not take education seriously when we were younger,” Serenity’s mother, Diane, told Save the Children. “We don’t want our children to have to live through the constant struggles that we are living.” That’s why her parents enrolled Serenity in Save the Children’s early childhood education program, which consists of weekly home visits by a program coordinator who brings a bagful of books for the kids. The program encourages parents to continuously interact with their children through stimulating conversation and daily reading.

After only three months, Serenity found her words — and scored impressively high on her development assessment test. Not only that, but her parents also discovered her hidden talent for singing! She can sing “The Wheels on the Bus” tune without missing a beat — or a word. “I know her language skills improved because of the books Save the Children gave us each week,” said Diane, amazed at her child’s transformation. “She is so excited to have me read to her and then she has to tell me a story too.” Together we can help kids like Serenity find their words. And what better day to start than today, International Literacy Day?

Teaming up with our artist ambassador Jennifer Garner, we launched our 30-day #FindtheWords campaign last month to bring attention to this early learning gap affecting millions of children. Today, to mark the culmination of the campaign, other celebrities will join us in a day-long virtual word-a-thon by sharing their favorite word with their social media networks and encouraging their fans to do the same. Our goal is to start a conversation and spread the word far and wide. Leading up to the big day, 30 of the top influencers in the blogosphere have been riling up their audiences and garnering support through Save the Children’s 30 Days/30 Words blogger challenge. To raise awareness, each blogger has written a post highlighting a specific, meaningful word. The 30 posts in 30 days symbolize the 30 million words too many kids miss out on. You can read some of their inspiring posts here.

But you don’t have to be a celebrity or a blogger to get involved. Each and every one of us can make a difference in the lives of all those children who continue to fall behind and are at risk of never catching up. We all have a favorite word, so post yours and tag it #FindtheWords. Thanks to social media, everyone can join our campaign and give voice to the 250 million school-age kids around the world who are unable to read, write or count.

Save the Children provides kids from poverty-stricken communities in the United States and around the world with access to books, essential learning support and a literacy-rich environment, setting them up for success in school and a brighter future. Our early learning programs receive support from a variety of corporate funders, including Johnson & Johnson.

To learn more about Save the Children’s #FindtheWords campaign and how to get involved, check out this video featuring Jennifer Garner and visit www.SavetheChildren.org/FindtheWords.

Posted in Education, General, United States | Tagged children, children's education, education | Comments Off

Gaza’s Miracle Tomatoes

By Carolyn | Published July 8, 2014

Crossing through the Israel’s Erez Crossing checkpoint and seeing the bleak landscape as you pass through the Fatah and Hamas checkpoints inside Gaza, it’s hard to imagine anything growing at all—let alone a flourishing garden. As we walked down the narrow pathway enclosed in wire mesh in the “no man’s land” of the Access Restricted Area, all we saw were donkeys pulling carts filled with rubble and surrounded by men and boys along harsh, rocky earth. The boys and men salvage concrete, wire and metal from bombed out factories. Others herd sheep and camels through dusty barren patches with little vegetation in sight. And it goes on like this for miles from the wall separating Gaza and Israel. But just 20 minutes away, a farmer and his extended family met us on the dirt path and took us to see something entirely—and amazingly—different.

Outside a lush green field of healthy looking beans, spinach, and other vegetables and inside a simple greenhouse, he proudly pointed to row after row of beautiful red tomatoes literally falling off their vines. This is the result of a recently-concluded project by Save the Children and other partners and funded by USAID, which helped farmers in Gaza feed their families and make a living. The project provided help through improvement of water access and irrigation, as well as through technical training and provision of materials like plastic greenhouse sheeting. The grandfather we visited had clearly benefited and was now running his small farm with much higher productivity and vastly increased ability to not only feed his family with his own vegetables but to take his crops to market. There, he could sell it for needed income for additional food, school supplies for his children, and improved shelter for his large extended family, including several of his sons and their wives and children. The miracle tomatoes and beans and spinach were truly supporting them all.

As we drove through the streets of Gaza and heard from residents about the impact of border crossing restrictions on children there—the rising rates of malnutrition and resulting stunting, the lack of basic medicines and care when children became sick, and the severe circumstances disabled children were in—I kept a hopeful thought in my head: those bursting red tomatoes we tasted on our visit.

They give me hope that children inside Gaza might see better days ahead, with good food to eat so they can thrive and grow like the magical garden that has been able to flourish the middle of dust and dirt.

Posted in Foreign Travel, On the Road | Tagged children, Gaza, tomato, USAID, vegetables | Comments Off

Time to stop talking….

By Carolyn | Published June 21, 2014

I spent last week at the Clinton Global Initiative and the UN General Assembly meetings in New York. There was much talking about issues of international development, about the rights of children to an education, about saving children dying from preventable things like pneumonia, about making sure that the world is free from hunger. But with all this talking maybe there was simply not enough of one thing – not enough shouting. We need louder voices to make changes on what really needs to be done for poor children and families around the world. Perhaps simply put, we need more people to care and speak out about the issues we talked about there.

Leaders from many countries, CEO’s from big companies, and NGO leaders like me converge on New York every September for these events. We have endless meetings on international development issues, we make commitments to change the world, we go to long dinners honoring those who have done good works around the world. But does the rest of the world pay much attention to what we discuss endlessly among ourselves? I don’t think so and perhaps the most important thing for me coming out of the week is the realization that it will take something different to make real change. It will take regular people caring about what the desperate reality is for poor people around the world and wanting to change it.

Making that happen is a much harder task than attending the whirlwind of CGI and UNGA week, as they are affectionately called. We need to interrupt people’s lives and get them to pay attention to how the poorest people on earth live their lives – lives without health, lives without education, lives without the basic dignity of a means to support themselves and their families. Most importantly, we need people to not only pay attention but to do something once they do.

One way Save the Children is trying to get people to take notice is to interrupt their normal lives in the places they spend them. You can now download a new song called “Feel Again” on I-Tunes and make a difference for children dying of preventable causes. You can sign a petition on-line to stop the atrocities happening to children in Syria. And you can donate to the famine in Sahel while you play on-line games. Will all this be enough to get people to really understand how different our lives are from the millions of poor people who survive every day on less than $2? I’m not sure but I do know that if I can’t get the world to pay more attention, we’ll never make the headway we need to for the millions of children who won’t survive and thrive unless things change.

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Living in Limbo

By Carolyn | Published June 18, 2014

Syrian children across the region have it very tough. There are now almost three million refugees who have fled Syria since the war started more than three years ago and an estimated 50% of them are children. They spread across five countries, with the highest number in Lebanon—nearly 1 million refugees living there in informal camps and in towns and cities. The country with the second highest number of displaced Syrians is Turkey, where most refugees live along a border that has not only geographic but cultural, historic, and economic ties with Syria.

Children here face many challenges, including the fact that most older children cannot go to school because they don’t speak Turkish. Families move constantly, trying to find work to make enough to feed themselves. But the children who have it toughest are those who are orphaned or are unaccompanied and living with extended family. Being a Syrian orphan means your father has died and thus you and your mother likely do not have any support unless family members or aid steps in to help.

We found a special kind of support for these children when we visited a local school. An amazing woman we met, Rana*, runs a school for orphaned Syrian children living in Antakya, giving them a bright and cheery school in which to spend their time with instruction in their native Arabic and, importantly, tutoring in Turkish and English as well. The school swells with up to 300 children in a tiny three-story house when school is in full session. When we visited, it was the start of summer vacation so there were about 60 children ages 4 through 13. Most of the children were smiling and playful, though painfully there were a few who hung back and only looked at us with sad eyes when we tried to play and smile with them. All of them had lost at least one parent—some both—and had been taken in by aunts, uncles or neighbors coming from Syria.

Save the Children is supplying some emergency aid to the school in the form of summer clothes and shoes, as well as school materials, but it’s not enough. Rana struggles to find support for the school, needing to pay the rent, teacher salaries, cost of instructional materials, and transportation costs to allow the children to get across town to attend. She is also raising two disabled boys as well as two other children and, despite those challenges, she raises much of the funding for the school herself. Her selflessness makes her school a bright spot for children who have been through so much, and still face so many challenges.

As we ended our visit, one of the youngest girls posed proudly outside the school as the bus pulled up to take her home. Rana and her teachers stood on the curb ready to help the children onto the bus. It was an ideal picture of happy student and steadfast teacher—but the circumstances are far from ideal. I hope on my next trip back to Turkey I can see Rana’s work with children grow even stronger thanks to greater support for the Syrian refugees now living in Turkey.

*Names have been changed.

Posted in Foreign Travel, On the Road | Tagged children, school, Syria, Turkey | Comments Off

Moms are the Heroes

By Carolyn | Published March 28, 2014

We’ve all heard it before in one form or another: “Don’t get between a mother and her baby,” “There is nothing better (or worse depending on your position!) than a fired up mom” or “Mothers are their kids’ best advocates. However you phrase it, I see evidence of this everywhere I go for my work as Save the Children’s CEO and, I guess, Mom-in-Chief. It plays out whether I’m in Washington, DC or Lexington, Kentucky or the Bekka Valley of Lebanon. And during my trip last week to rural Nepal, I saw it again in full force.

Posted in Foreign Travel, General, Health, On the Road | Tagged breastfeeding, children, Health, maternal health, Mothers Day, Nepal, save the children, USAID | Comments Off

No Birth Should Be Left Up to Chance

By Carolyn | Published February 26, 2014

This blog first appeared in the Huffington Post

Giving birth ranks among the scariest moments for any mother. It certainly was for me. I was living in Hong Kong at the time when my second of three children was born. And he was born in a hurry. He came so fast that I actually thought I’d give birth in our car on the way to the hospital! Fortunately, that didn’t happen and I safely delivered my son Patrick surrounded by a team of well-trained doctors and nurses, not to mention my loving (and relieved!) husband by my side.

But I’m one of the lucky ones.

As new research released today by Save the Children reveals, 40 million women give birth without any trained help whatsoever. What’s more, 2 million women give birth entirely alone.

I met one

Posted in Health | Tagged babies, delivery, Health, newborn | Comments Off

From the Philippines, With Love

By Carolyn | Published February 14, 2014

The following blog first appeared on The Huffington Post.

_______________________

I met with amazing students at an elementary school in Tacloban, which suffered extensive damage during Typhoon Haiyan. Classes are now conducted in tents adorned with the children’s artwork. Photo credit: David Wardell for Save the Children

Love. If there is a single word that best describes what I witnessed during my visit to the Philippines last week, then that’s it. Love of family. Love of community. Love of people. Love of life.

So what better day than Valentine’s Day to celebrate the dedication, perseverance and, of course, love between the communities, families and children in the parts of the country that were devastated by Typhoon Haiyan? I would also like to mention a specific passion that came up over

Posted in Education, Emergency Response, Foreign Travel | Tagged children, education, Emergency response, Philippines, reading, school | Comments Off

Guatemala: Heroes against Hunger

By Carolyn | Published February 7, 2014

It’s hard to reconcile the beautiful highlands of Guatemala, where I was in mid-January, with this stark fact: the child malnutrition rate here is the highest in the Western hemisphere. Roughly 5 out of every 10 Guatemalan children suffer from chronic malnutrition. All

Posted in Foreign Travel, Nutrition | Tagged children, early childhood development, goats, Green Mountain Coffee, Guatemala, Starbucks, USAID | Comments Off