by Cindy Levin | Feb 23, 2016 | 2016, Awareness, Education, Girl Child, Global Goals, Humanitarian, Inspirational, International, World Moms Blog, World Voice
My daughters and I are planning a very special party at my house. We’ve invited our neighbors over for a movie, popcorn, laughter…and even some tears, inspiration, and global activism!
On Monday, February 29, the National Geographic channel will show the commercial-free U.S. television premiere of He Named Me Malala at 8:00 pm ET/7:00 pm CT. He Named Me Malala is Davis Guggenheim’s acclaimed film that tells the story of the world’s youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner and girls’ education activist Malala Yousafzai.
This is such a perfect chance for us World Moms in the U.S. to gather together families and children in our communities for a night of awareness and action! We can learn about what education for means for girls in Pakistan and be inspired by an extraordinary young leader just in time to push our government for increased global education funding.
My girls, 10 and 12 years old, are fledgling activists for global education. Together, we have read the young reader’s edition of Malala’s autobiography, “I am Malala,” and thoroughly enjoyed it. Her voice as an activist who started speaking out against the Taliban at age 11 reaches my kids in a way they can completely relate to even though they have never visited Malala’s native Pakistan. The book was thought provoking and funny, yet nothing really compares to seeing and hearing the words of a young person coming from her own mouth.
We have invited friends to come see the movie with us – friends who have lived in the U.S. their whole lives as well as those who have moved here from India, Pakistan, and China. I asked some of our guests to share with us their personal experiences of what they have seen in their home countries when girls were not allowed to participate in classes due to gender bias or poverty.
In Malala’s acceptance speech for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, she said, “I tell my story not because it is unique, but because it is the story of many girls.”
Each of these stories is important to lift up and share.
I hope that we can come to a greater understanding of each other’s perspectives. The stories of why some of our friends have moved here are deeply rooted in a desire for education, opportunity, and equality. Our goal is to learn from Malala and each other, then write letters to our elected senators and representatives with these stories and ask for the U.S. to include $125 million for the Global Partnership for Education to cost-effectively support access to quality education for all children.
Our American leaders in power need to hear what the people they represent have gone through. Immigration stories are beautiful and part of the fabric of our local communities. They connect us to our global community and help us to understand our role in helping to promote gender equality, education, and health worldwide.
If you are living in the U.S., I encourage you to gather some friends and watch He Named Me Malala together. If you are out of the country, you may be able to purchase it on DVD to create your own watch party or read the Young Reader’s edition of “I Am Malala” as a book group with your kids. Read or watch, be inspired, and then share with us your ideas for helping all children achieve their dreams of education!
Will you be watching?
This is an original post written for World Moms Blog by Anti-Poverty Mom Cindy Levin.
Cynthia Changyit Levin is a mother, advocate, speaker, and author of the upcoming book “From Changing Diapers to Changing the World: Why Moms Make Great Advocates and How to Get Started.” A rare breed of non-partisan activist who works across a variety of issues, she coaches volunteers of all ages to build productive relationships with members of Congress. She advocated side-by-side with her two children from their toddler to teen years and crafted a new approach to advocacy based upon her strengths as a mother. Cynthia’s writing and work have appeared in The New York Times, The Financial Times, the Washington Post, and many other national and regional publications. She received the 2021 Cameron Duncan Media Award from RESULTS Educational Fund for her citizen journalism on poverty issues. When she’s not changing the world, Cynthia is usually curled up reading sci-fi/fantasy novels or comic books in which someone else is saving the world.
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by Purnima Ramakrishnan | Sep 10, 2013 | Purnima, Vaccines, World Moms Blog, World Voice
Host a GAVI Global Tea Party!
Who wants to add a spin on their regular ladies night out?
We all do!
How about throwing a GAVI Global Tea Party? It’s easy!
The GAVI Alliance is a public and private global health partnership which carries out vaccination programs in developing countries. And the GAVI Global Tea Party is a grass-roots movement of people talking around the world over tea, about immunizations for children in developing nations. There is even a documentary being made out of these international tea parties.
Want to join the movement? Here’s how to host a GAVI-WMB tea party:
- Brew some tea, get out your tea-cups, throw in some snacks, cakes or anything you prefer to eat with a cuppa!
- Next, fire up the computer and fire up some GAVI videos featuring mothers and children around the world benefitting from well needed immunization programs. These videos are great conversation starters! You can discuss what you saw in the videos and your views about spreading awareness.
- Just get talking!
Just three steps – it is as simple as that. Host a party, drink tea, talk about immunizations, ask how interested your guests are about continuing the conversation on immunizations.
Your tea party can be as varied as you want it to be. You can have a minimum of 2 people to 50 people, or however many people, talking about helping to save the lives of children. Did you know that a child dies from a vaccine preventable disease every 20 seconds? Consider helping us shout out about how important it is to have these conversations on global health.
Ideas for your own party can include your own ethnic or geographical spin on it! Or you can just do something as simple as hanging around in a coffee shop for just 5 minutes to view and discuss the videos or host a party in your child’s school for half a day along with the other parents.
There are no hard and fast rules about how you go about raising awareness to help immunize children, many who lack access to vaccines and good medical care.
Some World Moms Bloggers have already hosted their own GAVI-WMB tea parties! Jennifer Burden, founder of World Moms Blog hosted the first party. Allison Charelston of New York did a very memorable party. Lady E of Indonesia did her party in a very scenic place with very beautiful china cups. From India, I did a very informal tea party with my neighbours.
Check all the above links to see how each blogger did it her own way.
Join the GAVI Global Tea Party movement and help save the lives of children in your own fun tea-party kind of way! And…why tea? It’s available in most places on the globe, something to bring us and our compassion to the cause together.
Social Good for international mothers and children efforts are a part of our collaborative mission statement that the writers created at World Moms Blog. We are happy to volunteer this grass-roots awareness idea that we created especially with the work of The GAVI Alliance in mind!
In fact, this tea party was the first international opportunity for social good in the long list of volunteerism for World Moms Blog. We’d like to revive it and get the ball rolling again!
Do you want to be a part of the oldest and first social good initiative of World Moms Blog? Contact me, Purnima Ramakrishnan or Jennifer Burden at worldmomsblog@gmail.com, and we shall guide you in this socially conscious spin on your next gathering!
This is an original World Moms Blog Post written by Purnima RamaKrishnan in India.
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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