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

	© UNICEF/08-0424/Myo Thame
	MYANMAR: UNICEF workers offload 550 boxes of basic family water kits—intended for survivors of Cyclone Nargis—at the international airport in Yangon, the former capital.

For the final 12 days of 2008, UNICEF celebrity Ambassadors and supporters are posting daily blog entries about the impact UNICEF Inspired Gifts are having on children around the world. Benji Madden is a UNICEF supporter and recently returned from a life-changing trip with his brother Joel, to see UNICEF programs at work in the Central African Republic.

Did you know that everyday more than 4,000 children under the age of five die from water-related diseases? It’s so easy for us to walk into the kitchen, turn on the tap and have a glass of clean water. But for half the world’s children this is a luxury they are not afforded.

And when conflict or natural disasters hit, this bad situation becomes even worse. The risk for dehydration from diarrhea and related water-borne illnesses is magnified, and treatment can be even harder to come by as infrastructure is destroyed.

Right now, you can help UNICEF respond quickly to the water needs of children and families in emergency situations by purchasing a Basic Family Water Kit. For $147.14, you can provide 10 families with buckets, collapsible water containers, soap and water purification tablets—helping to ensure that they have access to safe water no matter what the situation.

Give a gift that really makes a difference for children this holiday season. For other gift ideas, visit inspiredgifts.org.

I am Benji Madden, and I believe in zero.

25,000 young children die every day from preventable causes—things like malnutrition, poor sanitation and lack of safe, drinkable water. UNICEF believes that number should be zero.