It was a hard year, 2010. But UNICEF responded, and UNICEF defined what “responding” means

Typhoon Megi is gathering strength as it heads towards China, with winds surpassing 115 miles per hour.

Megi left a trail of destruction in the Philippines, where it made landfall on Monday as a Category 5 typhoon. Hundreds of families were evacuated in anticipation of the storm and hundreds of thousands left homeless.

Jenner Pascua is a production officer for unicefusa.org.

Here in New York the weather is less than favorable today. Rain? Isn’t it supposed to be spring? Then I thought about a recent photo distributed by UNICEF, and it made me realize how lucky we are even when the weather isn’t pleasant.

Today’s photo is from Mongolia, and shows a first grader walking home from school.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-0432/Andrew Cullen

A first-grade student walks several miles to her home after school in the district of Altai, in Khovd Province. A mountain range rises in front of her.

Last month Mongolia got hit hard with heavy snow, strong winds, and extreme cold. The weather was so extreme that 12 of the country’s 21 provinces were declared a state of disaster.

The crisis, known locally as a ‘dzud’, has killed at least nine children in one province, and has trapped many others in dormitories with failing heating systems and limited food supplies. Over 22,000 children in dormitories need emergency aid, and possibly thousands more.

UNICEF is responding by providing food, fuel, blankets, hygiene kits, medical supplies and boots to over 60,000 children, including those in dormitories and isolated villages. UNICEF is also collaborating with other United Nations agencies to supply hospitals and provide mobile medical teams in isolated areas.

Spring couldn’t come sooner for this region of the world. UNICEF is also sending blankets and supplies to neighboring China which recently experienced a 7.1 earthquake a few weeks ago.

Needless to say, I’m not complaining about the weather anymore. You can help by supporting UNICEF’s relief efforts in emergency situations.

That’s the assessment of Dale Rutstein, UNICEF China Communications Chief, about the conditions in the town of Jiegu on the 4,000 meter high Tibetan plateau. Listen to his interview with UNICEF Radio about the challenges.

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CNN is reporting a 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck the Qinghai province of China at 7:49 a.m. local time (7:49 p.m. ET Tuesday), when schools were beginning the day. The death toll has risen to 400 and could rise further.

Children are the most vulnerable population in any natural disaster, and UNICEF is there for them. UNICEF’s disaster relief in the aftermath of the 2008 earthquake reached children in the Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.

We’ll share news on the current situation for children as we receive it here on Fieldnotes. In the meantime, if you would like to make a donation to support emergency relief for children caught in disasters around the world, you can do so online here.