Kiwanis International members do extraordinary work in their local and global communities every day. We are excited that the White House recently welcomed Kiwanis International and honored 14 Kiwanis and Kiwanis family members from across the country as “Champions of Change.”

Calling all volunteers: You can now share your inspiring stories and experiences at the new UNICEF Action Center! Whether you are scaling the Rockies or longboarding in the Cali sun, we invite you to join us at the Action Center to connect with others and share our mission—achieving ZERO preventable child deaths.

Every four months the U.S. Fund for UNICEF puts out a terrific magazine, called Every Child. The magazine features stories on issues affecting children around the world, gives updates on UNICEF’s work, and highlights the efforts of UNICEF partners and supporters.
This issue’s cover story, “UNICEF in the Urban World,” takes place in Thailand—but it reflects the plight of many poor children in cities everywhere.

In September 2011, two months after famine was officially declared in the Horn of Africa by the United Nations, Freelance journalist Abdi Aziiz Abdi Nur was in the southern region of Somalia—the hardest-hit area. He reports on what he experienced then, and how now—almost a year later— the situation has changed. He also meets up with five-year-old Abdi again, who was being treated for severe malnutrition when Nur first met him last year.

If you’ve been visiting our website, you know we’ve written a lot about the ongoing food crisis in the Sahel. A million children’s lives are at risk, and UNICEF and partners are working tirelessly to help them survive. But if you’re like me, you’ve probably wondered what that work on the ground actually looks like.
We recently received photos from Mauritania, and we thought we would share them with you, so you can take a closer look at UNICEF’s work in the field.

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a discussion with UNICEF Uganda Deputy Representative, May Anyabolu. Anyabolu gave a passionate presentation about Uganda’s history of conflict, the realities of everyday life, and UNICEF’s various programs and initiatives.
Among many other initiatives, UNICEF and partners have created programs to reduce school drop-out rates, reach children in Uganda’s most isolated areas, and establish youth networking organizations. In addition, the installation of ‘Digital Drums’—rugged computers made from locally available oil drums—have served as a way to promote sustainability and make youth friendly content, along with games and reading materials, accessible to young people. Through mTrac, a nationwide SMS-based disease and medicine tracking system, community health workers as well as everyday citizens can text to a hotline to report theft, corruption and shortages.