When the people of Atosale, Ghana were told that a second borehole would be built in their community, they screamed and clapped, smiled and bounced their children up and down on their laps. I recently witnessed this joy when I accompanied a delegation from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to Ghana, where they met with UNICEF staff and saw firsthand the impact that the Foundation’s support for UNICEF’s water programming has had on children’s lives.

Many of us think that the crisis in Syria is a political one. But it is not — it is a children’s crisis, and it is among the biggest in the world. Over 3.8 million children are affected by the violence in Syria, and over 700,000 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.

The conflict in Syria has affected 2 million children. More than half a million have fled to neighboring countries, leaving behind family, friends and schooling. With over 375,000 Syrian refugees, Lebanon has the highest number of refugees in the region. The country is experiencing a huge strain on its resources, and it, too, urgently needs assistance to deal with an influx of hundreds of thousands of new residents. To learn more about the situation and get a report from the ground in Lebanon, watch the Google Hangout we had on May 7 with Luciano Calestini, UNICEF’s head of emergency response in Lebanon.

Many of us think that the crisis in Syria is a political one. But it is not — it is a children’s 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.

On Saturday, April 20, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the southwest Chinese province of Sichuan. As of April 22, the earthquake had killed 203 people, including 10 children, and injured 11,492 more. Some 1.5 million people are affected, and the region is continuing to experience aftershocks. UNICEF is on the ground in the province, responding to the immediate needs of emergency-affected communities.

Many of us think that the crisis in Syria is a political one. But it is not — it is a children’s 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.