Finding Hope in Haiti

By Carolyn | Published February 8, 2013

 

I expected to be disappointed. Disappointed that more had not been done; disappointed that there were still families living in squalor in tent cities; disappointed that there was still no

Board Member Bill Haber visits with children in Leogane

education or health system; disappointed that there wasn’t more progress. And while I saw things that made me frustrated and angry on my fourth trip to Haiti since the January 2010 earthquake, I also came away with a real sense that there is a chance for this country. A chance that wasn’t there before. A chance for a better future in a place that never seems to catch a break, whether from natural disasters or bad governance. There was a very different feeling, a palpable sense of hope in the air this time—especially from Haitians themselves.

 

While it’s far from the most important thing, the streets are finally mostly clear from rubble (80% now cleared, according to the UN) and the listing or crumbling buildings are finally down, from the Presidential Palace to the Ministry of Finance to many of the flattened apartment buildings. Even though families are still far from housing secure, more than 70% of those displaced by the earthquake are no longer living in tents. Importantly, small businesses are booming, with most average Haitian citizens working in small local enterprise. The economic growth is not as robust as we all would have wanted, but it’s expected to be close to 3%—which, in the current global slowdown, is better than many countries.

 

But what’s most promising to me is the state

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Sign our Petition to Keep America’s Kids Safe

By Carolyn | Published February 4, 2013

 

In 1987,  Congress created a National Commission on Children tasked with assessing the status of children and families in America.  This three-year Commission created some of the most meaningful and influential policies for children in modern American history, including the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and the creation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

 

But 1987 is no longer “modern”—and while the policies crafted 25 years ago are still helping millions of children, they aren’t sufficiently meeting the needs of children growing up in America in 2013.

 

Today’s kids are facing new kinds of challenges including threats of violence, increasing natural disasters and persistent poverty.  These should not and must not be hallmarks of the modern American childhood.

 

That’s why we’re calling on President Obama and Congress to establish a new National Commission on Children, along with First Focus, Children’s Health Fund and other partners, to ensure the safety and well-being of every child. 

 

I hope you will join us as you sign our petition and add your name to a growing list of Americans who are demanding a better future for our kids.

 

Today, The Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart echoed our call in this article, urging President Obama and Congress to establish the Commission, take a stand and make children—so often referred to as our most precious resource—a national priority.

 

Sign our petition here.

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And the REAL Award Goes to…

By Carolyn | Published January 15, 2013

 

The following blog first appeared on The Huffington Post.

_______________________

 

Awards season is in full swing.

 

On Sunday night, Hollywood’s elite came together and celebrated last year’s accomplishments on the Big and Small screens at the 70th annual Golden Globe Awards. While millions from around the world tuned in and debated whether the most deserving winners were chosen, a smaller, but no less important, awards program was about to take place just a short drive south of the action.

 

The inaugural REAL Awards honorees were announced last night in Laguna Niguel, Calif., where nine U.S.-based health workers were named for their extraordinary service in health care. They may not be household names, but they matter enormously to the patients they serve. People like Carri Butcher, our winner in the hospice care category, who created a day spa at her own home in Arkansas for her dying patients so they could be treated to a little pampering before they passed. Or Esther Madudu, a midwife in rural Uganda, who is one of the nine global honorees we named last September. Esther’s clinic often has no power, so she delivers babies in the middle of the night by the light of her mobile phone screen.

 

The REAL Awards is a chance to shine the spotlight on the men and women who go to work every day to perform the greatest role of all — saving the lives of others. They may not grace the covers of magazines, but their work still deserves to be celebrated, especially since they’re needed now more than ever.

 

We’re currently experiencing a severe shortage of doctors in this country. While we can’t ignore this crisis, one way to address it, at least in the short term, is to rely more on other health workers — nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, community health workers, pharmacists — to perform the tasks that don’t require a doctor, as a recent New York Times editorial suggests.

 

No one knows the importance of health workers more than those in the developing world, where the dearth of doctors is even more stark. By some estimates, the world is short more than millions of health workers, including one million frontline health workers, who deliver care in some of the hardest-to-reach communities, oftentimes with limited resources. In fact, frontline health workers are the first — and often, only — point of contact to the health care system for millions of people.

 

Their role is invaluable. It is estimated that every three seconds, a child death is prevented thanks to care provided by a

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Sandy Hook Elementary School Tragedy: Coming Together to Protect Children

By Carolyn | Published December 21, 2012

 

Save the Children has worked to ensure the safety and well-being of children around the world for nearly 100 years. We work with children all over the world who have been dramatically affected by war, crisis and violence. We believe that every child has the right to a safe and vibrant childhood. We applaud President Obama’s efforts to curb gun violence in the United States, and we join him and others in advocating for tighter laws, particularly around the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips.

 

We recognize that this is a complex issue requiring a comprehensive approach. We are working with the Administration and Congress to increase access to mental health services and begin a national conversation about the glorification of violence in our culture. It is urgent we come together as a nation to prevent more tragedies like the one at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. continue reading »

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Talking to Your Kids about Sandy Hook

By Carolyn | Published December 15, 2012

 

We are all shocked and saddened by the tragedy of the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, yesterday. Our thoughts are with the affected children and families.

 

Save the Children staff is now on site in Newtown, offering assistance if needed. We have set up a Child Friendly Space, where children who are receiving community-assisted crisis counseling also have a safe area to help them deal with the uncertainty and stress they are experiencing. While their parents get grief counseling, our Child Friendly space is also working to identify kids who need some extra care.

 

For parents across the country struggling to talk to their children about this tragedy, we have posted our Top Ten Tips to Help Children Cope with a Crisis at www.savethechildren.org/cope. Many parents, teachers, grandparents and caregivers are concerned about how dramatic images of the tragic crisis can affect the emotional well-being of their children. We hope that these tips can help you have those important

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Ready and Able in Vietnam

By Carolyn | Published December 12, 2012

 

Today’s entry is a guest blog from Le Thi Bich Hang and Nguyen Van Gia, my colleagues in Save the Children’s Vietnam Country Office. I met Hang and Gia during my last trip to Vietnam when, alongside Country Director Huy Sinh Pham and

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A Visit to Vietnam Uncovers Progress, Challenges—and Joy!

By Carolyn | Published December 5, 2012

 

Vietnam has made progress by leaps and bounds in the past decade, improving economic growth, boosting newborn and child survival rates and getting more kids in school. As I traveled throughout the country last week, I could see that this progress was rooted in the determination and industriousness of the Vietnamese people. They have worked so hard to make a better life for themselves and their children, and their hard work has paid off in an increased per capita income and an active economy. continue reading »

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The Tough Got Going: Managing a Disaster, Inside and Out

By Carolyn | Published November 29, 2012

 

You know that old cliché: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” I recently saw evidence of this in spades when Hurricane Sandy not only hit the Northeast—but also hit the Save the Children headquarters and, what’s worse, many of our staff members’ homes. It’s fascinating to see how people react when their lives are upended by a disaster, especially when they spend so much of their own lives helping others though crises. So when calamity struck in their own backyard, I saw over and over again what my Save

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Ten Reasons to Be Thankful This Thanksgiving

By Carolyn | Published November 21, 2012

 

The following blog first appeared

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Keeping Kids Safe…Before and After Sandy

By Carolyn | Published November 5, 2012

 

After my visit to a Red Cross shelter in New Jersey yesterday, I am more convinced than ever that we must urgently do a better job protecting kids in natural disasters than what we have done so far.

 

Save the Children began emergency work in the US in a much bigger way after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, just over 7 years ago. I clearly remember the day of the storm when we made the decision to send a small team to Baton Rouge,

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