This photo was taken nearly thirty years ago. That’s me on the far right, proudly donning a pointy party hat in celebration of my younger sister’s first birthday.
At the age of three I was a healthy toddler growing up in a poor neighborhood in Austin, Texas. My parents were both in their early twenties when I was born; they were still kids themselves in college. As a result, we didn’t have enough resources for things like big birthday parties, fresh fruits and vegetables, or toys. I can remember times when the power would go out in the house and we had to call my mom to turn it back on again. But we were a resilient family. We worked hard and kept moving.
As kids we always grew up healthy and happy. We were fortunate to grow up in a family that cared about education and had easy access to medicines and vaccines.
Regardless of your view on vaccines and vaccinating your child, vaccines have helped to protect children around the world from harmful diseases. For many families, that access is limited by availability or distance. Parents want to be able to protect their family but simply cannot get to the lifesaving vaccines.
This video of a mother’s journey across Haiti to access a health clinic is a good example of the many obstacles families must face in order to support good health.
Every 20 seconds a child dies from a vaccine-preventable illness. Losing a child is simply devastating for entire communities. It doesn’t have to happen as a result of a preventable disease. Right now there’s a campaign called Blogust, run by our close partner [email protected], to help provide children around the world with access to vaccines.
Similar to our own Global Moms Relay, Blogust helps raise money through public awareness. For every like, share or comment, MAM will donate money to support [email protected] (Learn more about the [email protected] campaign.)
The purpose of the Blogust campaign is to simultaneously raise money and awareness. There are children around the world whose stories are left untold. By sharing our stories, let’s also remember theirs. Together we can make a difference.
Take Action Challenge
Help support Blogust by following [email protected] on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and support all of the posts you see related to Blogust. You can also donate directly to the [email protected] campaign on their website to help children in need around the world.