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| © UNICEF/06-00421/Noorani | |
| A child eats Plumpy Nut during a health monitoring session in a nutrition clinic just outside Lodwar town in Turkana District, Kenya. |
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. Marcus Samuelsson has been a UNICEF Ambassador since 2000 and has been a strong supporter of UNICEF's immunization programs.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, what kid doesn’t love that! The savory taste of the peanut butter mixed with the sweetness of jelly makes for the perfect treat…. Unfortunately many children in developing countries have never been given the chance to experience this childhood favorite.
Therapeutic Nut Spread is a high protein, peanut-based paste, very similar to peanut butter, that can revive a child suffering from malnutrition. Malnutrition—caused by such things as poverty and crop failure—can severely compromise a child’s chances at survival.
Plumpy'Nut is a theraputic food that has revolutionized the aid community’s ability to address the issue of malnutrition by placing the care of children back into the hands of a child’s mother or immediate family member. Once a child has been brought back from the brink of severe malnutrition, UNICEF doctors and nutrition specialists will give mothers a supply of Plumpy'Nut to feed to her child—rather than have her make constant visits to a therapeutic feeding center. This gesture of empowerment goes a long way into changing behaviors and educating communities.
By providing something as simple as therapeutic nut spread, you are not only giving a child a chance to be a kid again, you are saving a child’s life. For $76.73, you can provide 150 children with a life saving therapeutic nut spread (minus the jelly). There is no gift better than that! Click here to give this Inspired Gift to a child who needs it.
I am Marcus Samuelsson, 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.
Comments (2)
Marcus what a powerful message. Times are a bit tough, but i will be taking all the loose change i have and donating it to UNICEF through Coinstar....I too, believe in zero...good luck and thanks for the important reminder...
Posted by R.Foreman | December 19, 2008 12:55 PM
Posted on December 19, 2008 12:55
These blogs are a wonderful idea. In difficult economic times, when many people are reducing their charitable donations, I think it's important to realize that a lifesaving difference can be made for just a few dollars.
I am using my blog to help spread the word and will chose an Inspired Gift of my own.
My thanks to Marcus Samuelsson for this interesting blog on how Plumpy Nut can save lives and empower families.
Thanks to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF for your tireless work for the world's children.
I, too, believe in zero.
Posted by mmberkeleyca | December 19, 2008 3:13 PM
Posted on December 19, 2008 15:13