Fieldnotes: Blogging on UNICEF's child survival work in the field

Thanksgiving is a time for Americans to sit back with family and friends and consider what we are thankful for this year. Here at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF we are most thankful for the help we receive from our dedicated donors and volunteers.

We know there are so many priorities, so many requests for your time and financial resources. Thank you for working with us to help the world's children.

Speaking of pressing priorities, I wanted to make sure you saw Nicholas Kristof's op-ed and video from Sunday's New York Times. A reader, surely feeling pressed for time and money as the bustle of the holiday season begins, wrote Kristof. She suggested that it would be better to assist local charities rather than continuing with relief efforts in Darfur. "We have plenty of needs to be filled at home," she said.

In response, Kristof introduces us to Halima Abdelkarim. Her story is alarming and shows that while -- yes, there are pressing local and national needs that need our attention and support -- UNICEF's work in Darfur must continue. We believe many Americans can help both at home and in places that need our attention across the world.

There is some news from Sudan that we can all be grateful for. Kristof says, "In the last few days, Sudan has bowed to outside pressure and reluctantly agreed in principle to accept some U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur. That’s a reminder that pressure can work, but we haven’t applied nearly enough. For the peacekeepers to save lives and the killings to stop, much greater effort will be essential."

Happy Thanksgiving. We are so thankful for your support of our work.

The Today Show's Ann Curry sadly reported yesterday that "conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan . . . has intensified in recent weeks after a lull that followed a partial peace agreement signed in May."

In a blog post on NBC's The Daily Nightly, Curry wrote: "A new crisis is begging to be stopped."

"Attacks by Arab militia have spread to neighboring Chad, where Darfurians were seeking refuge" reports NBC. NBC created this Picture Story to show what's happening in Chad.

More than 3.4 million people have been affected by ethnic and political conflict in Darfur. UNICEF is providing desperately needed food, shelter and medicine for children and families living in overcrowded, makeshift refugee camps. To read more about UNICEF's work, click here.

Follow Ann Curry's blog and Today Show reports for more on this crisis.

A descriptive piece on the state of education in the Democratic Republic of the Congo appeared in Saturday's edition. Read it here. And if you want to support UNICEF's work in the DRC, click here.

In last night's episode of NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, fictional TV execs joked about a boring new pilot they thought would never make it in the mainstream. The topic of this fictional pilot? UNICEF. The execs laughed and said that only mimes could make the program about UNICEF's work more interesting.

Frankly, we're flattered, but just a little bit confused. Can the executives at the fictional NBS or their real-life counterparts at NBC actually think UNICEF's lifesaving work isn't ready for prime time?

C'mon! UNICEF is the world wide expert in child survival. Our experts are on the ground saving the lives of the world's children in more than 150 nations and territories. We're sitting down at tables with warlords and political leaders to keep the focus on kids, driving through deserts and jungles to deliver immunizations and clean water and healthy food, plus so much more.

NBC/NBS, a show about UNICEF seems like a good idea to us. We're ready for our close-up.

(Mime image via KimMania)