Recently a team of U.S. Fund for UNICEF and Kiwanis Club members and I attended the annual “Bread and Soup” luncheon hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Fordham, Bronx.

The “Bread and Soup Luncheon” is hosted by the club at Fordham University every year during Lent. Each year the Kiwanis members invite a non-profit organization to speak about its efforts to help alleviate poverty. This year the focus was on The Eliminate Project, a joint effort by Kiwanis and UNICEF, and the work to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus.

Recently, I was honored to join our colleagues from Kiwanis International at a special event during the 2012 Kiwanis International Council in New Orleans that included more than 250 global Kiwanis leaders. UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Geeta Rao Gupta was the keynote speaker at a special fundraising dinner for The Eliminate Project. It was fascinating to learn of Ms. Rao Gupta’s background and how it has informed her life’s work to address the social injustices suffered by women and families.

This past weekend, I was honored to attend Kiwanis International’s (KI) 96th International Convention. A delegation of USF and UNICEF colleagues traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, to help Kiwanis officially launch their global campaign for children, The Eliminate Project.

On Saturday, April 2, we at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF Kiwanis Club participated in our first, but definitely not last, Kiwanis One Day. Kiwanis One Day consists of the involvement of Kiwanis club members around the world, beginning with each club’s participation and extending to the impact we have on our community. As employees at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, we are committed to the children of the world and in ensuring that we reach a day when zero children die from preventable causes. But as global citizens, we also want to be aware not only of the children around the world, but also of the children here in our own communities. That is why, on April 2, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF Kiwanis Club volunteered with KEEN-Kids Enjoy Exercise Now-right here in New York City.

It was evening when videographer Doron Schlair and I arrived at the sprawling Manila hospital. We followed directions to a small, dimly lit ward painted the sort of blue/green color so common in hospitals–no matter what part of the world you may be visiting. A male nurse met us at the ward’s entrance, helped us put sterile gowns over our clothes, and gave us a critical directive: keep your voices very low.

This woman is getting her tetanus booster in Cameroon, where an intensive immunization campaign in the north-western area is helping raise coverage rates to fight the high cost of maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT).