When UNICEF USA agreed to take part in One Day on Earth – the 24 hour event taking place worldwide on 11/11/11 – it seemed like a great opportunity to advocate for children to be front and center in this moving picture of the earth in one day. But then, as I began to review the videos and images sent in for last year’s event on 10/10/10, I realized that children are by nature front and center on the earth on any given day.

The Day of the African Child was founded in 1991 by the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union)⎯and is celebrated every year on June 16⎯to honor the memory of those killed, as well as the hopes and needs of African children today.

Mr. Beah’s life was forever changed in 1991 at the outbreak of civil war in Sierra Leone. His parents and two brothers were killed, and he was forcibly recruited into the war at age 13. After two years, with UNICEF’s help, he was removed from the army and placed in a rehabilitation home in Freetown.

The humanitarian cargo ship docked at Misrata yesterday, carrying food, medical supplies, doctors and other relief items. In doing so it opens up a new humanitarian lifeline to civilians trapped in the Libyan conflict.

Saida arrived at the Choucha camp on the Tunisian-Libyan border on March 8. She may be only 6, but she is used to life as a refugee.

Abyei town is eerily empty. Almost all of the women and children have gone. Houses are abandoned. People left in haste. Some men return during the day to check on their homes and possessions, but they leave before nightfall. The town was quiet. Scarcely a sound, no cars, just the occasional barking of a dog. The market place was virtually empty. I saw one little boy fending for himself, scrounging for scraps of food. He said he had not eaten for 5 days. He is alone, hungry and scared.