I am so fortunate to be able to do the work I do. Inspiring others, engaging my community, empowering youth, and educating citizens about children’s issues is not just a job for me, it is my passion!
As a UNICEF Global Citizenship Fellow, I did all these things and more. I gave presentations on issues ranging from water and sanitation to the importance of girls’ education, hosted events with UNICEF Campus Initiative members, and promoted Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF and TeachUNICEF. But I will never forget the day I spoke in front of an audience of 600 Rotarians at the United Nations.

Let’s hear it for the Champions! For the fourth year in a row, American Airlines flight attendant volunteers and Admirals Club staff — known as “Champions for Children” — collected donations from generous American Airlines customers that totaled more than $1 million.
In all, $1,185,739.82 was raised in 2012 through UNICEF’s Change for Good program on American Airlines. A global campaign launched by UNICEF in 1987, Change for Good converts airline travelers’ donations of currency — dollars, Euros, pesos, reais — into lifesaving services for vulnerable children. American Airlines customers have donated nearly $9 million through Change for Good since 1994.

Many of us think that the crisis in Syria is a political one. But it is not — it is a humanitarian crisis, and it is among the biggest in the world. Over 2 million children are affected by the violence in Syria, and over half a million children are refugees. While UNICEF and its partners are doing everything they can to help affected children and families, UNICEF’s efforts are severely underfunded. If funding is not received in the next weeks, millions of children will suffer. We are urgently calling on the entire donor community to support UNICEF’s emergency relief efforts in and around Syria.

Two years ago I found myself standing at an epicenter of drug trafficking — the infamous Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia — home to the hugely lucrative illicit opium trade. But I was waiting to assist the victims of a different kind of trafficking, a group of North Korean refugees. Many of the women and children I was waiting for had been trafficked into marriage or for adoption. As the refugees’ protection officer, it was my responsibility to win their trust and safely escort them to a shelter where they would await processing to go to another country. This experience had a profound effect on me and inspired me to join the U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s End Trafficking campaign.

I am proud to report that the lives of women and children are improving in Rwanda.
Recently I took part in a panel discussion at an event held parallel to the 57th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The talk highlighted the tremendous work that has been done to protect women and children from HIV and gender-based violence in Rwanda. What was truly amazing was the audience turnout, which left some without seats. Attendees had come from many different nations and organizations to gain more insight into what Zonta and UNICEF are doing in Rwanda to achieve an HIV-free generation by 2015.

Did you know there is a World Thinking Day? Well — neither did I!
World Thinking Day is a day when Girl Scouts all around the world honor each other and give thanks for their international friendships. This year’s themes for World Thinking Day aligned perfectly with UNICEF’s mission to end preventable child deaths. I was honored to be invited to speak about UNICEF’s work at a World Thinking Day event.

Last month, I had the unique opportunity to be a part of the Franklin Park Zoo’s special programming for school vacation week. As a U.S. Fund for UNICEF Global Citizenship Fellow, I can’t think of a better way to teach young and old about the importance of water, and how to get involved with the UNICEF Tap Project.
Every day, nearly 4,000 children die from water-related illnesses. Today is World Water Day—please join the UNICEF Tap Project.

On Friday, March 1, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF held the second annual UNICEF Experience at The Goss-Michael Foundation in Dallas, Texas.
A truly unique evening, the UNICEF Experience showcased UNICEF’s lifesaving work through interactive exhibits on Survival, Development, Protection, and Emergencies, allowing guests to experience what vulnerable children in developing countries have to face just to survive. With 300-plus guests, the event raised even more than last year’s Experience!

It’s World Water Month! And we are once again launching the UNICEF Tap Project. Since 2007, the Tap Project has raised more than $3.5 million to provide clean water to millions of children around the world. But this time around, we are doing things a little differently.
The UNICEF Tap Project now lives on its own Facebook app, making it even easier to join the campaign. You can quickly donate to, support, and share the Tap Project — turning your social network into a water network, and helping to provide clean water to children around the world!

Kuajok feels like the middle of nowhere.
Our journey began with an hour and half flight from South Sudan’s capital city Juba to the town of Aweil. From Aweil we drove nearly five hours on dusty potholed roads. At times our driver would slow down to 6 miles an hour to maneuver the massive craters.
I was in South Sudan to observe a seven-day immunization campaign supported by UNICEF and partners, including Kiwanis International. The Eliminate Project, a partnership between Kiwanis International and UNICEF, aims to protect women and their future newborns around the world from maternal and neonatal tetanus. The goal is to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus worldwide by 2015.