From well-known conflicts in Syria to less commonly discussed issues in Afghanistan and South Sudan, the global refugee crisis seems to be getting worse every day. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) records that an average of 28,300 people are forced from their homes every day.
Overall, 65.6 million people have been forced from their homes, 22.5 million of which are refugees, and over half of these refugees are younger than 18. Only 189,300 of these 22.5 million people have been resettled. These figures may feel overwhelming and disheartening, but this situation is not hopeless. As the refugee crisis gains more and more attention, many people find themselves asking a similar question: How can I help refugees?
Though it is a complicated issue, there are many ways that individuals can help and make a difference in the lives of refugees.
Donate
Donating money—as well as time and skills—is an effective, simple way to help. There are various good charities and organizations to look into when considering donations. A few include The White Helmets, UNICEF, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, Kiva.org and the International Rescue Committee. Each of these organizations addresses a different facet of the refugee crisis, and they can always use financial support.
If donating money is not a financial possibility, consider donating time or individual skills. Refugee resettlement offices function across the globe, and these offices can usually use a new volunteer or intern. Another way to offer personal skills is to work as an English tutor to help refugees learn English. This can help increase refugees’ chances of employment, and it will also facilitate their adjustment to a new country. Those who have proficient legal knowledge can offer assistance with legal documents and provide other legal services. These are just a few of the ways to give time and skills to aid refugees’ transitions.
Be Welcoming and Kind
You may be asking, “But how can I help refugees if I cannot provide skills or money?” Simply be kind and welcoming. Violence or natural disasters have forced refugees from their homes, and many of them report feeling lonely and isolated when they move to another country. If you have refugees in your neighborhood, make them feel welcome by introducing yourself or even getting them a housewarming gift. Host a dinner party or barbecue and make them feel part of the neighborhood. Introduce your new neighbors to people in the community so that they can begin to develop their own place within the existing social structure. It’s difficult being the new person, and kindness can go a long way.
Support Them
You can also go out of your way to support refugees and their businesses. If possible, employ them and make them an active part of your company. If you are not in the position to hire people, patronize businesses that do employee refugees. Better yet, patronize refugee-run establishments. This supports their livelihood and increases their financial stability.
Educate Yourself
At first, this may seem like a strange response to the question, “How can I help refugees?” However, knowing the complexities of the refugee crisis can help one better address the struggles that refugees are enduring. Instead of spreading what friends or family say, do your own research. Learn about the different causes of displacement. Refugees can help dispel ignorant, and possibly harmful myths, about the crisis. Once people know more about refugees, they are able to better educate others as well.
Don’t Stay Silent
No one is entirely sure who once said that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Regardless of whoever first said it, the meaning remains true. In times of crisis and peace alike, it is important for people to take action and speak out. Make calls and send emails to congressional representatives and senators urging them to support refugees. Additionally, speak up if you witness an act of ignorance or hatred. Finally, use social media to spread your newfound knowledge, share refugee stories and struggles and gather support for others to speak out. Even just talking about these issues among friends and family makes a difference. Be an ally and an advocate, and make it known that refugees are not alone.
“How can I help refugees?” At first, this question can feel impossible, but individual actions do make a difference. Though these five methods above may seem small, what you do to help others makes a meaningful and lasting impact.
– Rachael Lind
Photo: Flickr
The End of Malaria in Sri Lanka Brings Hope for Other Nations
In the mid 20th century, Sri Lanka lied among the most malaria-stricken countries in the world. However, in September 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) certified the successful elimination of malaria in Sri Lanka. A remarkable public health achievement, Sri Lanka is the second country in South East Asia to eliminate malaria (the Maldives being the first).
Eighty percent of Sri Lanka’s population lives in rural areas– the ideal environment for the mosquito species Anopheles culicifacies, the main vector of malaria in the region. The Plasmodium falciparum parasite causes the disease and is carried by Anopheles mosquitoes that feed on the blood of humans.
For seven decades, the country prioritized making the nation malaria-free. Malaria in Sri Lanka soared in the 1970s and 1980s, and the nation started an anti-malaria campaign in the 1990s. A strategy targeted the parasite in addition to the mosquito.
In 1991, the country’s number of cases of malaria reached up to 400,000. The country’s civil war put soldiers in the most vulnerable positions, with 115 people dying from malaria in 1998.
At the end of the war in 2009, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Health launched a malaria elimination program, funded in part by the Global Funds to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The campaign included mobile malaria clinics in high transmission areas with effective surveillance, community engagement and health education.
This program enhanced the ability of the authorities to respond. Ever since the implementation of this campaign, the introduction of high surveillance maintains the elimination of the parasite in Sri Lanka.
The eradication of malaria in Sri Lanka raised the hopes of 30 other nations to end the disease that kills 400,000 people every year. As the director of the WHO’s Global Malaria program stated, the island country demonstrated that any government can eliminate malaria with improved efforts.
– Aishwarya Bansal
Photo: Flickr
Engineers Without Borders Creates Accessible Drinking Water
Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is an organization of 16,800 volunteers who hope to give worldwide communities the opportunity to sustainably meet basic human needs. They install footbridges to accommodate travel, solar panels to facilitate energy and light and, in a world where one in 10 people don’t have accessible drinking water, Engineers Without Borders is implementing technology that can help. Here are six places where EWB is bringing water to those who need it most.
Cyanika, Rwanda
This northern community rests near the country’s border with Uganda, and for many villages, the closest accessible drinking water is kilometers away. Women and children make multiple trips to collect water, and when they arrive they must pay for their water, often leaving them with the decision of choosing between hunger or dehydration. They wait in line, sometimes only to realize that the well is dry. Engineers Without Borders has installed three unique community rainwater catchment systems, two single tank systems and one system of four tanks in the larger town of Munini. In Gasebeya and Nyarotosho, the single-tank systems save an average of 11 hours that would usually be spent collecting water. The saved time leaves community members with opportunities for raising more livestock and developing more income, and the saved income and time also means that they can maintain the systems on their own.
Mugonero, Rwanda
Along the western border of Rwanda, Mugonero was hit incredibly hard by the 1994 genocide, with 3,000 people killed in the community. Rebuilding continues slowly but surely in this small community accessible only by a small dirt road of switchbacks. Engineers Without Border worked with L’Esperance, a local NGO in Mugonero, and despite the NGO closing in 2013, EWB’s efforts in the region have been maintained for years and continue to benefit the community. Engineers Without Borders installed three rainwater catchment tanks, a UV water treatment system and an irrigation system that drastically improved the conditions of accessible drinking water.
Amayo, Nicaragua
In Nicaragua, 800,000 people do not have access to safe drinking water, leaving 37 percent of rural communities reliant on contaminated sources. EWB partnered with Potters for Peace, a U.S. nonprofit that uses clay pottery techniques to create water filters, to install 30 water filters. Accessible clean water means safer health conditions for the community, which uses the clay filters for both drinking and cooking. In addition, Potters for Peace educated locals (often rural women) on how to reproduce the water filters. This element of community engagement left Amayo highly self-sufficient and far healthier.
Jinotepe Hogar de Ancianos, Nicaragua
The Hogar Board of Directors, a local municipal body, benefitted from the reserve water system installed in Jinotepe by gaining the respect of their community. The reserve uses gravity in a 2,500-gallon tank to bring a fresh water supply to the community. Unfortunately, the tank itself has been in need of repairs since 2015, but the community feels that the current emphasis on health and the faith in the Hogar Board would be impossible without the EWB project. Accessible drinking water is now a priority of the community, thanks to the (albeit temporary) system provided by EWB, and the Board of Directors has a new confidence and dedication to provide it. Funding will remain a challenge.
Pueblo Nuevo, Nicaragua
Reaching clean water required long and frequent trips for the community members of Pueblo Nuevo. Engineers Without Borders cite the benefits of their integrated water distribution system as providing men with more time to tend to crops, children with more time to make it to school, and women with the liberation from five to six daily trips to the river. The distribution system does rely on rainwater, and so the impact it has can vary from serving 150 to 350 people. It pumps water from a hand-dug well to a holding tank, which then is distributed to three different districts. The rationing and maintenance required to benefit from the distribution system mean that the community has not only benefited from increased accessible drinking water but from increased community organization.
Guatemala
Seventeen projects are in the “implementation” phase in Guatemala, and 15 are considered “complete,” but most are still under review to evaluate their impact. The involvement of Engineers Without Borders in Guatemala is incredibly concentrated on potable water projects. These efforts comprise 58 percent of EWB’s Guatemala Project. At least five systems are considered functioning, each reaching between 350 and 1,500 people depending on the size of the community. The largest system involves 26 kilometers of pipe, and the projects have brought flowing water to every tap in the community. In addition to putting this infrastructure in place, the Guatemala projects focused on whether it was necessary to introduce a circuit rider (water technician) to the community to maintain the system. As implementation continues with new systems, Engineers Without Borders has placed an emphasis on training for pump maintenance, so that Guatemalan communities can be self-sufficient and continually have accessible drinking water.
– Brooke Clayton
Photo: Flickr
The Role of AHGOs in Providing Humanitarian Relief
In the wake of the Syrian refugee crisis, a new form of relief organization has emerged, known as Ad Hoc Grassroots Organizations (AHGOs). In a study that explores their role in Lesvos, Greece, the Public Library of Science (PLOS) identified 41 AHGOs and interviewed 13 of them.
AHGOs are helpful at providing quick humanitarian relief. They are particularly potent when governments are not able to respond as quickly to disasters. According to the report done by PLOS, in the future, AHGOs should be recognized as new humanitarian actors.
These groups are created specifically to provide relief for a particular cause. AHGOs previously provided relief during the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. In this instance, the 13 that were contacted were formed in 2015 with the intent of assisting refugees that fled the crisis in Syria, made their way over the Mediterranean, and landed in Lesvos.
Organizations are different than nonprofit organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). After they serve their purpose they are rendered ineffectual. Their expiration date might make the notion of them seem unnecessary. How might temporary ad hoc organizations be more effective at providing relief than other pre-existing organizations?
PLOS explores this notion in its article. Because of their lack of infrastructure, AHGOs provide ordinary people who want to help by responding to disasters. Many volunteers working in Lesvos were there because they expressed a simple desire to help and were surprised that more aid had not already been sent by the United Nations and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs).
Volunteers working with AHGOs in Lesvos expressed that their lack of structure could also be negative. The volunteers tended to take the form of paramedics, nurses, and those experienced in the wilderness. Despite the skills that the volunteers brought with them, many were ill-prepared for refugee care.
However, on the positive side, AHGOs have the ability to reach surge capacity quickly. Surge capacity, in a humanitarian context, is defined as “the ability of an organization to rapidly and effectively increase its available resources in a specific geographic location.” The Humanitarian Practice Network defines surge capacity as the ability to “scale operations [people, money, and materials] up swiftly, smoothly and productively.”
Reports on standard INGOs express their inability to reach surge capacity. Therefore, the AHGO’s ability to reach surge capacity is favorable. It further demonstrates the speedy effectiveness of grassroots movements. Humanitarian aid can benefit from the buffed and nuanced structure of longstanding INGOs as well as the small-scale potency of AHGOs.
– Rebeca Ilisoi
Photo: Flickr
Poor Living Conditions for Those Who Live in Slums
Between 2000 and 2014, the percentage of the urban population in developing countries who lived in slums decreased from 39 percent to 30 percent. While these statistics are encouraging, the bottom line is that the number of people living in slums continues to grow. Globally, 828 million people live in slums today. This fact means that one in eight people in the world suffers from poor living conditions.
A slum, as defined by United Nations Habitat, is a household that may suffer one or more of the following conditions: lack of access to water protected from outside contamination, lack of access to sanitation facilities that separate human waste from human contact and lack of adequate living area (more than three people living in one room of four square meters minimum). These conditions also include a lack of housing durability (the structure must be on non-hazardous land and must be able to withstand extremes in climate) and a lack of security of tenure (protection by the state to ensure the unlawful eviction of inhabitants of homes).
For the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities. However, urban areas only account for three percent of the earth’s land. Over 90 percent of urban growth is occurring in developing nations. The increase of people living in cities can predictably rise to 60 percent in 2030 and to 66 percent by 2050.
There are approximately 200,000 slums throughout the world. Mexico City is the home to the largest slum in the world. The Neza-chalco-Itza province began developing in the early 1900s and today houses roughly four million people. A younger slum in Karachi, Pakistan is only ten years old and houses 1.5 million citizens over 22 square miles.
Some other large slums include Mumbai, India, where Dharavi houses one million people in one square mile. The slum of Khayelitsha began after abolishing apartheid in South Africa and grew since the 1980s to 2.4 million people. Fifty percent of its inhabitants are under 19 years old. Kibera, the second largest slum in Africa, has the highest population of more than 200 slum dwellings located in Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi. 2.5 million people dispersed amongst these 200 slum dwellings represent only six percent of the land in the city. Kibera houses 250,000 of these people.
Urbanization is a key focus under the United Nation’s Sustainability Development Goals. The eleventh goal on this list is to make cities and human settlements more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The task of establishing anti-poverty measures and reducing global poverty can improve the urban areas where the slums reside. When the poor no longer have to live in slums, their quality of life will improve.
– Jene Cates
Photo: Flickr
A Global Issue: 5 Ways Climate Change Impacts the Poor
According to reports by the World Bank, climate change could send 100 million more people into poverty by 2030. Although climate change impacts people regardless of their socioeconomic status, people living in poverty are hit the hardest. Here are five ways climate change impacts the poor.
5 Ways Climate Change Impacts the Poor
The most important fact about how climate change impacts the poor may be the preventability of these issues. Tools such as heat-resistant crops, improved warning systems for disasters, emissions reductions plans, international aid, carbon pricing and universal health coverage are only a few of the many ways to fight climate change. With policies such as the Paris Climate Agreement and what the World Bank calls “rapid, inclusive, climate-smart development,” informed decisions about climate change today can decrease sources of poverty in the near future.
– Cleo Krejci
Photo: Flickr
Radio Used to Gain Support for Women’s Education in Malawi
The need for developing education in Malawi is continual. For example, in 2010, around 10 percent of primary aged children were not in school, and the primary school repetition rate reported in at 24 percent for boys and 29 percent for girls.
Girls in Malawi are exceptionally more vulnerable to a lack of education than boys. In fact, 32 percent of girls aged 14 to 17 are not in school compared to 23 percent of boys this age. Additionally, while 72 percent of boys 15 and older are literate, only 51 percent of women in this age group can read and write.
Part of this gap is caused by the high child marriage rate in Malawi, which is 11th highest in the world. UNICEF reports that approximately 50 percent of Malawian girls marry before they turn 18. Fortunately, this year the Malawian government moved to make marriage legal only after a woman is 18 years old.
Marshall Dyson, founder of the Girl Child Education Movement, is one of many Malawians who recognizes the need for resolution of the educational gender disparity. Dyson’s idea incorporated broadcasting an open discussion of child marriage and girls’ education over the radio. Both men and women of a variety of ages and backgrounds participated in the talk.
The discussion about girls’ education in Malawi broadcasted over Radio Islam, the only Islamic radio station in Malawi. Dyson strategically chose this platform since Muslims rested at risk of discrimination.
Dyson got his start in radio via an internship with Kumakomo Community Radio Station in Zimbabwe. There he served as the content manager of 12 volunteers.
The impact of this position is especially significant, considering that radio acts as the main source of news for most Malawians. According to USAID, the two-hour broadcast “was a collaboration across the YALI and Mandela Washington Fellows networks, and with Regional Leadership Center participants — young leaders between 18 and 35 enrolled in USAID-supported leadership training programs in sub-Saharan Africa.” Around three million people tuned in.
USAID states that “the Muslim Association of Malawi, who attended the event, agreed to open new offices in rural areas where communities can access up-to-date information about education and scholarship opportunities for girls.”
Education in Malawi still has much room for improvement, and humanitarians like Marshall Dyson act as major catalysts in that process. Through work such as his, Malawi is destined to achieve higher standards of education than ever before.
– Emma Tennyson
Photo: Flickr
Water Quality in Azerbaijan
Energy-rich Azerbaijan has recently begun to provide its citizens with reliable access to gas and electricity. However, the government is lagging on one key front: potable water. A large percentage, if not a majority, of Azerbaijan’s 8.2 million citizens lacks easy access to drinkable water. Water quality in Azerbaijan is thus a major issue.
Several factors have transformed Azerbaijan into a country where there is dynamic progress in all regions. Successful implementation of public programs and further improvement of infrastructure have all had a positive impact. Incoming modern enterprises have also been a boon to Azerbaijan’s economy. Unfortunately, these improvements come at the expense of environmental sustainability and water quality.
Groundwater pollution from oil spillage and leakage from pipeline and storage tanks results in petroleum, heavy metals and possibly radiation contamination spoiling the water in Azerbaijan. Furthermore, runoff from heavy usage of fertilizers and pesticides, as well as factory waste dumped into rivers, has heavily polluted the water. Finally, the salinity of the water table due to sea water intrusion, rusted water pipes and obsolete and broken equipment in water treatment plants has further reduced the water quality.
Azerbaijan has the reputation of being an environmental disaster zone. Many scientists consider Absheron Peninsula, where 50 percent of Azerbaijanis live, to be the most ecologically devastated area in the world due to severe air, water and soil pollution. Decades of pollution have created medical concerns. Poor water quality in Azerbaijan can facilitate the transmission of bacterial diseases such as cholera and hepatitis. Additionally, traces of heavy metals in the water lead to health complications such as cancer.
The country’s government is motivated and has made efforts to improve the environmental situation in the country. Ten years ago, the centralized water supply system in Baku, the capital, covered only 1.56 million people. Now, 2.366 million people have access. The volume of water usage has also increased. In the last ten years, the volume of water supplied from various sources in Baku and the Absheron Peninsula increased by 23 percent, the U.N. reports. As a result of various projects between 2011 and 2013, 600,000 more people have gained access to an uninterrupted water supply.
The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources also installs modular sewage treatment plants in villages along rivers. More than 200 villages see the benefits of these projects. In the future, it might be possible to acquire drinking water from the Caspian Sea.
Despite these obstacles, Baku’s new water pipeline and the government’s interest in expanding regional water purification facilities suggest that there is a desire to bring about positive change with the water quality in Azerbaijan.
– Yana Emets
Photo: Flickr
UNDP Nursing Schools in Afghanistan Graduate Female Nurses
Two hundred female nursing students recently graduated from six nursing schools in Afghanistan. Now, the students will return to their communities to offer medical assistance in areas most in need.
The women participated in a two-year medical training program including accommodations, three meals a day, transportation and a living allowance. Their days included both time in class and practical work in city hospitals, where the women learned how to perform basic surgery, how to advise pregnant women regarding basic care and nutrition, studied the treatments for various ailments and filled prescriptions.
After completing two years of study, the women work in their village clinics; some reside 100 kilometers or more away from the school. If they perform well, they receive a diploma.
The UNDP, in partnership with the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, set up six nursing schools in Afghanistan. The Global Fund provided a grant for approximately $8 million, allocated to strengthening the health system in Afghanistan through training nurses and improving access to medical care in the community.
Primarily, these nurses provide medical care to two populations desperately in need: people in rural areas and women. However, healthcare professionals from outside a specific area will often avoid rural villages out of fear for their safety.
Women, in particular, lack the ability to receive quality healthcare due to certain cultural norms: women are often not permitted to be treated by a male doctor, and female healthcare workers are few in number. According to WHO, 40 percent of health care facilities in Afghanistan do not have any women on staff.
Women also lack both privacy and the ability to make choices about their treatment. Additionally, healthcare workers often have limited knowledge of women’s health issues. As a result, in 2015 the infant mortality rate in Afghanistan at 45 percent and the maternal mortality ratio of 1,291 per 100,000 live births are among the highest in the world.
Thankfully, having trained female nurses increases the potential to address many of these issues. However, these women must face unique obstacles; it is not customary for women to live or study away from home. In a country in which, according to 2015 USAID statistics, only 8.6 percent of women received a degree in secondary or higher education, and only 14.8 percent of women are literate, these women set a very powerful precedent.
– Emilia Otte
Photo: Flickr
How Can I Help Refugees?
From well-known conflicts in Syria to less commonly discussed issues in Afghanistan and South Sudan, the global refugee crisis seems to be getting worse every day. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) records that an average of 28,300 people are forced from their homes every day.
Overall, 65.6 million people have been forced from their homes, 22.5 million of which are refugees, and over half of these refugees are younger than 18. Only 189,300 of these 22.5 million people have been resettled. These figures may feel overwhelming and disheartening, but this situation is not hopeless. As the refugee crisis gains more and more attention, many people find themselves asking a similar question: How can I help refugees?
Though it is a complicated issue, there are many ways that individuals can help and make a difference in the lives of refugees.
Donate
Donating money—as well as time and skills—is an effective, simple way to help. There are various good charities and organizations to look into when considering donations. A few include The White Helmets, UNICEF, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, Kiva.org and the International Rescue Committee. Each of these organizations addresses a different facet of the refugee crisis, and they can always use financial support.
If donating money is not a financial possibility, consider donating time or individual skills. Refugee resettlement offices function across the globe, and these offices can usually use a new volunteer or intern. Another way to offer personal skills is to work as an English tutor to help refugees learn English. This can help increase refugees’ chances of employment, and it will also facilitate their adjustment to a new country. Those who have proficient legal knowledge can offer assistance with legal documents and provide other legal services. These are just a few of the ways to give time and skills to aid refugees’ transitions.
Be Welcoming and Kind
You may be asking, “But how can I help refugees if I cannot provide skills or money?” Simply be kind and welcoming. Violence or natural disasters have forced refugees from their homes, and many of them report feeling lonely and isolated when they move to another country. If you have refugees in your neighborhood, make them feel welcome by introducing yourself or even getting them a housewarming gift. Host a dinner party or barbecue and make them feel part of the neighborhood. Introduce your new neighbors to people in the community so that they can begin to develop their own place within the existing social structure. It’s difficult being the new person, and kindness can go a long way.
Support Them
You can also go out of your way to support refugees and their businesses. If possible, employ them and make them an active part of your company. If you are not in the position to hire people, patronize businesses that do employee refugees. Better yet, patronize refugee-run establishments. This supports their livelihood and increases their financial stability.
Educate Yourself
At first, this may seem like a strange response to the question, “How can I help refugees?” However, knowing the complexities of the refugee crisis can help one better address the struggles that refugees are enduring. Instead of spreading what friends or family say, do your own research. Learn about the different causes of displacement. Refugees can help dispel ignorant, and possibly harmful myths, about the crisis. Once people know more about refugees, they are able to better educate others as well.
Don’t Stay Silent
No one is entirely sure who once said that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Regardless of whoever first said it, the meaning remains true. In times of crisis and peace alike, it is important for people to take action and speak out. Make calls and send emails to congressional representatives and senators urging them to support refugees. Additionally, speak up if you witness an act of ignorance or hatred. Finally, use social media to spread your newfound knowledge, share refugee stories and struggles and gather support for others to speak out. Even just talking about these issues among friends and family makes a difference. Be an ally and an advocate, and make it known that refugees are not alone.
“How can I help refugees?” At first, this question can feel impossible, but individual actions do make a difference. Though these five methods above may seem small, what you do to help others makes a meaningful and lasting impact.
– Rachael Lind
Photo: Flickr
Celebrity Dads Support UNICEF’s Super Dads Initiative
In honor of Father’s Day, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) celebrated the role that fathers play in a child’s early life, especially fathers raising their children in extreme poverty or armed conflict, with its Super Dads initiative. From June 6 to June 18, UNICEF’s social media spotlighted super dads who ranged from notable celebrities to refugees.
UNICEF encouraged its more than six million Twitter followers and nearly two million Instagram followers to learn more about the important role that fathers play in the first thousand days of a child’s life and to share moments that showed why their dads are super dads.
Idro, a South Sudanese refugee, is one such super dad who tries to improve the quality of life for his family. Idro and his family are currently living in Uganda’s Bidi Bidi refugee settlement, which is the world’s largest. He spoke about playing games with his daughter, saying, “She must feel that I love her. If I can’t fulfill for my family, I am not happy.”
One super dad highlighted on the UNICEF Instagram account was Abraham, a father also living in Uganda. He said that when his newborn is distressed, he rocks him, sings to him and gives him kisses. When his baby boy, Angolere, becomes happy, it makes Abraham happy too.
Celebrity dads also promoted UNICEF’s Super Dads initiative. David Beckham, English soccer star and father of three, talked about the dads he’s met through his work with UNICEF “who…will do anything to give [their children] the support and love they need even when faced with huge challenges.”
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and tennis champion Novak Djokovic, whose foundation supports early childhood education, said that he is participating in the campaign because it encourages fathers to be “the Super Dads their kids desperately need.”
The Super Dads initiative is part of #EarlyMomentsMatter, a UNICEF campaign that educates the public about the importance of a child’s early years emphasizing that a child needs love, play, protection, and nutrition for healthy development. They are especially important in critical situations, and parents are the key individuals who provide these for their children.
UNICEF’s Chief of Early Childhood Development, Pia Britto, noted that good parenting can act as a buffer for youth living in highly stressful situations. This aids in childhood development in spite of poor living conditions.
The goal of #EarlyMomentsMatter is also to encourage the private and public spheres to work together to take down barriers so that parents can have more of those important and special moments with their newborns. The campaign stresses that a father’s role in early cognitive development is not only significant for the child’s present but also for the child’s future development, happiness and welfare.
– Sean Newhouse
Photo: Flickr