Last week marked my two-year anniversary at the U.S. Fund. It’s been an incredible learning experience as I immerse myself daily in UNICEF’s mission and work alongside incredibly passionate and intelligent people. After two years, I certainly have a deep understanding of UNICEF’s work but I can’t even begin to comprehend what my colleagues in the field experience as they work to help children who are at their most vulnerable—especially during a catastrophic emergency.
I got a very small glimpse of the complexity of UNICEF’s response to an emergency and the immense challenge of managing information in a crisis when I recently had the opportunity to participate in an emergency simulation exercise at our offices here in New York. Developed in partnership with UNICEF’s Technology for Development (T4D) team and Design for UNICEF at NYU, and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, the activity was first conducted at the 2011 U.S. Fund for UNICEF Annual Meeting last May and then again at the Campus Summit in October. Last week the U.S. Fund staff was invited to experience the simulation for themselves. Essentially the emergency simulation put us in the heart of an emergency scenario and, more specifically, into a key role within one of UNICEF’s emergency cluster groups—Water and Sanitation (WASH), Nutrition, Education, Health & Immunization, Child Protection, Supply Division and Communications.

Famine was declared in the East Africa in July, creating an acute child survival crisis for those caught in the drought-affected regions. My inbox was host to unimaginable updates from colleagues based in Nairobi, Mogadishu and Addis Ababa. Veteran UNICEF staff members who had experiened decades of manmade and natural disasters were reduced to tears when recounting the children and conditions they were witnessing.

If you missed Scott Pelly’s report on the situation in Kenya, where hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees are in critical need of help, watch it now. Some of the content is graphic, and devastating. All of it is happening now.

Recently, at a UN Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva, three young adults were invited to lead and make their own voices heard. The UN Global Platform provided an amazing opportunity for these youths to join in the conversation, and the extraordinary young adults Andra and Tricia, both 14 from the Philippines, and Johnson, 17, from Kenya rose to the occasion.

An earthquake in Japan centered off the coast of northeastern Japan has triggered fresh tsunami concerns, less than a month after the devastating March 11 disaster that wiped communities off the map.

Fans can join the Warriors and UNICEF’s efforts to aid Japan by contributing to the in-arena collection during these two games. Just look for your friendly U.S. Fund for UNICEF Volunteers at collection sites all along the concourse to make your donation.