by World Moms Blog | Apr 23, 2012 | Guest Post, Motherhood, Social Good, World Motherhood, World Voice

World Moms Blog contributors and friends at the inaugural “GAVI Global Tea Party” to raise awareness for life-saving vaccinations for children in the developing world.
In January of this year, my friend, Jen Burden, the founder of World Moms Blog, invited me to attend the very first grassroots advocacy party for the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life campaign at her house, here, in New Jersey. The theme of the party was “Around the World” and featured international food served in shot-sized glasses which we purchased for a $1-$3 donation.
Now, as a stay-at-home mom of two young boys, I jump at any opportunity for a fun night out with my friends! But I soon realized this night would be very special. How often do you know your actions are actually saving a child’s life?
Shot@Life seeks to “educate, connect and empower Americans to champion vaccines as one of the most cost-effective ways to save the lives of children in developing countries.” The money raised at this party went directly to purchasing vaccinations to immunize children against four deadly diseases: pneumonia, diarrhea, measles and polio. $20 is all that is needed to fully vaccinate one child, but sadly, 1 in 5 children around the world still lack access to these life-saving vaccinations.
Jen spoke that night about why she became a Shot@Life Champion. (more…)
World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children.
World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.
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by World Moms Blog | Apr 22, 2012 | 2012, International, Motherhood, World Moms Blog Itinerary, World Motherhood, World Voice
This week we have five countries in five days!
We’re honoring World Immunization Week with Shot@Life and the GAVI Alliance!
We will start the week by running a very special social good post from a devoted reader who has attended two of our community outreach events for life-saving vaccinations for children in the developing world. It will be interesting to read Amy Pohl’s perspective from New Jersey, USA!
On Tuesday, we’re headed to Japan to hear from Hamakko Mommy. She tells us about a lovely tradition in Japan leading up to Girl’s Day, and how her plans to actually observe the tradition went awry right from the get-go.
Also on Tuesday, We also have a second social good post on Wednesday from Ghana, where the GAVI Alliance will be introducing for the first time, 2 vaccines at once in a grand effort to help save the lives of children from pneumonia and rotavirus. Dan Thomas of the GAVI Alliance will be reporting!
Wednesday, we’re in Massachusetts with Courtney Cappallo. She talks about a day every parent dreads: a child’s first sleepover. Come read about her own experiences, and learn some very useful sleepover tips! (more…)
World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children.
World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.
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by World Moms Blog | Apr 21, 2012 | Cooking, Husband, Kids, Life Balance, Nigeria, Rox is Brilliant, Salma, Saturday Sidebar, Scoops of Joy, Susie Newday, Tara B., The Alchemist

Housework is "For the Birds"
This week we’re talking about housework. MamaMzunga of Kenya asked our writers,
“How do you divide up housework? Does it fall into predictable gender divisions? And, maybe most importantly, do you think it’s divided fairly?”
Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…
Alison Lee of Malaysia writes:
“I’m lucky to have a cleaning crew come once a week to do deep cleaning. The daily chores of just keeping the place neat and tidy, laundry, cooking – well, that’s all me!” (more…)
World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children.
World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.
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by Ruth | Apr 20, 2012 | Culture, Eye on Culture, Family, Motherhood, Parent Care, Parenting, Ruth Wong, Singapore, World Motherhood
Have you ever thought about why you’re having kids?
Some have kids because they think it’s part of the “marriage progression”, they want to carry on their bloodline or because everyone around them are having children.
Others feel that they want to leave a legacy through their offspring. Then there are those who do it simply because they have a strong desire to have children.
In Asia, it’s not uncommon for people to want to have children to ensure that there’s someone to look after them when they turn old. In fact, there’s even a Chinese idiom 养儿防老 – which translates to mean “raise children to safeguard your old age”.
Indeed, in Asian societies that have been strongly influenced by Confucius teachings, such as China, Japan, Korea and Singapore, the practice of filial piety is still seen as an important social value and esteemed as virtue to be inculcated in one’s children from a very young age.
Children are not only expected to respect and obey their parents, it’s also deemed their duty to look after their parents in old age. (more…)

Ruth lives in Singapore, a tiny island 137 kilometres north of the equator. After graduating from university, she worked as a medical social worker for a few years before making a switch to HR and worked in various industries such as retail, banking and manufacturing. In spite of the invaluable skills and experiences she had gained during those years, she never felt truly happy or satisfied. It was only when she embarked on a journey to rediscover her strengths and passion that this part of her life was transformed. Today, Ruth is living her dreams as a writer. Ironically, she loves what she does so much that at one point, she even thought that becoming a mom would hinder her career. Thanks to her husband’s gentle persuasions, she now realises what joy she would have missed out had she not changed her mind. She is now a happy WAHM. Ruth launched MomME Circle, a resource site to support and inspire moms to create a life and business they love. She has a personal blog Mommy Café where she writes about her son's growing up and shares her interests such as food and photography.
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by Asha (Nigeria) | Apr 19, 2012 | Childhood, Culture, Family, Humor, Husband, India, Motherhood, Nigeria, USA, World Motherhood
At first glance, I appear to be a typical Indian-American woman. My parents immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970’s. My father is a physician. My mother holds strong opinions on the merits of silk versus French chiffon saris.Until recently, I lived in New Jersey, and really, what Indian-American doesn’t? My investment banker husband and I have 3 children who attended Hindi class every Friday night for years.
You should know, however, that there are aspects of my life that Indians frown upon.
The aforementioned husband is Nigerian, a people distrusted in this era of 419 scams by Indians and non-Indians alike. And even more damning to a subcontinent that fetishizes degrees, I walked out of a top law school after a week and never looked back.
Upon closer examination, I am NOT a typical Indian-American. From the standpoint of most Indians, truth be told, I am a dud. (more…)