Fieldnotes: Blogging on UNICEF's child survival work in the field
Entries from Fieldnotes tagged with 'Kenya'
Joel Madden: All children need safe, clean water
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| © UNICEF Kenya/00366/Noorani | |
| KENYA: Doreas Ejore (16 year old) drinks water from a UNICEF-supplied hand pump in Napeililim Mixed Primary School in Lodwar town in Turkana District. |
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. Joel Madden—lead vocalist for the critically acclaimed, platinum-album-selling band Good Charlotte—was named UNICEF’s newest Ambassador in 2008, and recently returned from a field visit in the Central African Republic.
Imagine not being able to take a bath or a shower. Imagine not being able to turn on the tap for a glass of water, or to wash your hands… your dishes… your clothes. Imagine that the water you drink everyday has the power to kill you and all those you love.
Can you imagine this? No, probably not. I know I couldn’t, but I saw it firsthand not too long ago when I visited the Central African Republic. Clean and accessible water is a luxury for more than half the world’s children. Having sat, talked and sung with, and also hugged some of the children living this nightmare, I will not stop until all children have this simple thing that we take for granted—clean water.
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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.
Clay Aiken calls for Kenya's kids to return to school
UNICEF Ambassador Clay Aiken recently visited the East African countries of Somalia and Kenya, where UNICEF provides children with health care, education, nutrition, clean water and sanitation. This is the last in a series of blog posts he has written about his experience in the field.
In early July, after visiting Somalia, I traveled to Eldoret, in Kenya’s Rift Valley, to visit camps for internally displaced people. This is where some of the worst violence took place following the Kenya elections in early 2008. Thousands of children were made homeless by the unrest.
Everywhere we went, there were the charcoaled remains of homes, schools and shops. We drove for hours and everywhere we went, we saw people trying to get their lives restored.
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| © US Fund for UNICEF / 2008 / Nick Ysenburg |
Although many schools were re-opened, far fewer children are turning up for class than before. And classes are taking place in schools that have been completely destroyed. I saw children sitting on rocks and bricks—which used to make up the foundations and roofs of their schools—using them now as desks and chairs.
NewsNet: Crises in the Horn of Africa
UNICEF and other aid agencies have warned that a combination of crises in the Greater Horn of Africa—including drought, conflict, disease and rising food and energy prices—is imperiling the lives of children and their families.
A broad array of news organizations has covered the potentially calamitous situations in Ethiopia, Somalia and other countries in the region, focusing particular attention on the threat of malnutrition. Read these reports from IRIN, AllAfrica.com and Bloomberg News.
Here's also a recent UNICEF Television report on malnutrition in Ethiopia:
Emergency appeal for Kenya
The violence in Kenya is not letting up. Since Kenya’s disputed election in late December, the people of this country have been subjected to widespread violence, including lootings, the burning of their homes, and physical attacks. 300,000 Kenyans have already left their homes and are now living in displacement camps--100,000 of them are children.
Kenya: children at risk, UNICEF in position
After four days of violence, as roads begin opening in Kenya and transport becomes possible, UNICEF is working with the Kenya Red Cross to send essential supplies to affected children.
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Welcome to Fieldnotes. Blogging gives us the ability to quickly report from the field, alert you to media coverage of interest, and share the success of UNICEF's lifesaving work around the globe.
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