UNICEF Volunteers welcome the world’s leaders
Aarti Singh is a UNICEF Global Citizenship Fellow in Washington D.C.
June 14, 2012 will always be remembered as the day that world leaders joined forces in Washington with a renewed promise—to end preventable child deaths. But the Child Survival: Call to Action forum was about more than just that promise for the world’s children. While world leaders and dignitaries like Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah were highlights of the morning, the volunteers representing UNICEF did their part in welcoming nearly 700 leaders in government, the private sector, and civil society, from more than 80 nations.
As these leaders stepped onto the Georgetown University campus, the striking “sea of blue”—more than 90 UNICEF volunteers wearing cyan blue, some as young as two years old—enthusiastically greeted them with vibrant signs and photos representing the 21,000 children under five who die each day from preventable causes.
As each attendee entered Healy Hall for the summit, his or her commitment to child survival was recognized. Volunteers and summit participants created “wish cards” representing their wishes for the children of the world, and dignitaries and leaders spoke with volunteers individually throughout the morning. Volunteer Anne Le said: “At one point, Andrew Mitchell, the UK Secretary of State for International Development, came over to greet the volunteers, and spoke to us individually. We all felt very important at that time.”
For more than 30 years, UNICEF has been working relentlessly toward the goal of zero preventable child deaths. On Thursday, we renewed our promise to the world’s children, standing on our feet, loud and proud, donning UNICEF blue, together with toddlers, parents, children, volunteers, and nearly 700 of the world’s prominent leaders in child survival.
As I consider the magnitude of this day, I can only hope that from this day forward we will be closer to a day when no child dies of preventable causes, and a world where every child reaches his or her fifth birthday.
We are asking you to stand with UNICEF right now, at the beginning of this journey, and stand with us every single day after, until this job is done. Join us. Show that you Believe in Zero.
Hey Aarti,
What an amazing experience. You handled the whole day with such finesse and enthusiasm. It sounds like all your organization and hard work paid off, and that on top of it all the volunteers had a great experience as well. You are a rockstar! :)
Best,
Sarah
Aarti – with all your love, hard work, and dedication for children around the world, I am certain that we will reach a day when zero children die from preventable causes. A time when 365 days a year children will be celebrating their 5th birthdays.
You are an amazing individual – and your coordination of this event was proof of that – not that we needed it :)
Congratulations!
Wow! What an amazing group of young people. The wish cards really bring the point home for me. Thinking about child survival is one thing, but to mobilize and articulate one’s hopes and expectations for progress shows an accelerated level of commitment. Thank you for organizing such a great demonstration of global citizenship!