60 million: I keep hearing the number over and over in my mind. I can’t say it out loud without crying. It’s unthinkable. Unfathomable. Our world has 60 million refugees and displaced people.
That’s 60 million men, women and children forced out of their homes because of war, drought and political unrest. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), “Globally, one in every 122 humans is now either a refugee, internally displaced, or seeking asylum. If this were the population of a country, it would be the world’s 24th biggest.” (RELATED: Teaching Refugee Children, Insights From a Volunteer in Germany)
It is a humanitarian crisis unlike anything we’ve seen in our lifetimes. Because it is so vast, we can feel helpless and unsure how to get involved. So we shed some tears, maybe write a check, and move on: not because we lack compassion, but because we lack knowledge.
So what can we do?
- Many of our partners are on the ground in key hotspots where refugees and displaced people are gathering and doing essential work. All are worth your time and whatever you’re able to give.
- It matters that we are informed. It matters that we take the time to learn, to hear from those experiencing these trials, from those trying to solve the crises, and from those lending their names, time and talent to increase awareness and action.
Moms +SocialGood is a place to do just that: to be inspired and to learn. It is a one-day event dedicated to the power of moms and families to create a better future for their communities, and the role that social media and philanthropy can play to boost health and happiness for moms and babies everywhere. It’s a place where we can gather and learn what’s really happening, as well as find out simple ways we can take action and raise support. (Related: See photos from the Moms +SocialGood event last year.)
Hundreds of the brightest and most passionate experts and advocates will gather on May 5, 2016 at the New York Times Center in Manhattan to share ideas and inspire action for improving the health and wellbeing of women and children. The event will also be broadcast globally via LiveStream.
See highlights from the Moms +SocialGood event in 2015.
Celebrities, UN leaders, medical experts, former refugees, NGO leaders and moms and dads like us, will lead the conversation around this idea: What do you wish were true for every child everywhere? Whether it’s the child next door or the child across the planet, what do you dream about for the world’s children?
Will you join us?
Take Action Challenge
Get your Moms +SocialGood tickets here. Proceeds will be donated equally between one of five causes supporting children and families: [email protected], Girl Up, Let Girls Learn Peace Corps Fund, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, and Nothing But Nets.
Not able to get to New York? Sign up for our email list (we promise not to bombard you) and we will be sure to send you the Livestream link to watch the event live.
Lead photo of Yoo Soon-taek (right), wife of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, greeting children living at a Syrian refugee camp in the Beqaa Valley, eastern Lebanon. Photograph by UN Photo/Mark Garten