Save the Children Voices from the Field

Advocacy: The Road to Change

Olalla Duato

Student Ambassador for Save the Children

March 14, 2016

When people aspire to make a difference in the world, some may dream of going to faraway places. They hope to venture to the very spot where people are in need - performing good deeds firsthand. While immediately rewarding, we must remember that one does not have to travel far to make a change. It is possible to start amidst your own community - with your own voice.

Rather than focusing on the place where the struggle exists, one should examine the source of the struggle - striving to alter the policy that causes hardship in the first place. During my short time volunteering at Save the Children, an employee told me an analogy that conveyed this idea.

It is all much like a road trip. You can have the path planned out - the directions printed, the stops determined, and the tank full of gas. But with a broken car, regardless of preparation, you aren’t going to make any headway. In this analogy, the car symbolizes the policies in place. If the underlying policy is flawed, it will be very difficult to make any progress.

While at Save the Children’s DC office, I set out to learn what policy was all about. Before this experience, I did not fully appreciate the importance of advocacy. As a high school sophomore, I doubted that anything I would say would be significant or have any sort of impact abroad. Nonetheless, after advocating on Capitol Hill, I quickly realized the power of my words in making a difference.

I met with staffers regarding the Reach Act - a bill supported by Save the Children as part of a powerful coalition. The legislation hopes to end preventable maternal and child deaths worldwide by building on the strategies currently in place. The bill has gathered considerable bipartisan support in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

It was thrilling to see the congressmen that I met with signing on to the initiative. At that point, it became clear to me that my voice was valuable. And even though I wasn’t witnessing any instant results, I knew that people around the world would eventually be grateful. Advocacy, by strengthening the policies in place, is setting the foundation for long-term, effective change.

Olalla Duato is a high school sophomore at The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey

Morganne's Thank You for trip to Mozambique

Dear Sponsors,

I wanted to follow-up with you on my trip to the Save the Children Advocacy Summit in Washington in April. (I am sorry that this is so late.) 

On Wednesday, I spent the day in the Youth Summit, where we learned how to advocate, kinds of messages to use and how our voices as children advocating for children are so important. There, I met, while working in groups, a lot of very interesting people: a 17 year old ex-gang member who now supports the Boys and Girls Clubs, kids that started school clubs to help develop their small rural towns and other kids that share my experience in going into poorer countries to build shelters or work with children.  Through these encounters I learned the hard work and tools it takes to get the message out.  In the afternoon I went to the White House where several of President Obama's advisers on foreign aid and US development gave the administrations' vision of what could be done to help children worldwide and how advocacy can help.  One of the most exciting moments of the day was in the evening when I attended the Board of Trustees cocktail party, because I got to meet Vice-President Joe Biden!!

On Thursday, I spoke as part of the Youth Advocating for Youth Panel.  My mom filmed the panel discussion, but unfortunately she had her hand over the microphone so I have pictures but no sound.  I spoke in front of over 300 people and shared my opinions based on my experiences about how a 14 year old can help others.  In the afternoon, I went with a group to the Capitol to meet with three House of Representative staffers (all representing Legislators from the state of New York) to discuss why the Legislators should support setting up a National Commission on Children and also why they should co-sponsor H.RES 135 supporting frontline health workers worldwide.  

The Summit was two full days worth of learning and action.  It helped me realize that we all need to advocate for change.  It taught me how small actions can make a big difference in children's lives. I learned so much, and had an absolutely incredible experience!  

I just want to thank you again for your support for my trip to Mozambique.  While I have learned so much from the entire Save the Children experience, the most important thing is that I've seen how the money you donated is working to help children in need worldwide.  Thank you!

Sincerely,

Morganne

What can you do in three seconds?

Dave Hartman, Social Media Specialist

Washington, D.C. 

March 22, 2012

We gathered more than 90 kids this past week in Washington D.C. as part of our 10th annual Advocacy Summit. The kids met with their members of Congress and wrote blog posts, made videos and visual media to help spread the word about the nutrition crisis that children are facing around the world. Here's what they had to say:

What can you do in three seconds? You can “LOL” to your “BFF”. You can sign on to Facebook. Did you know that a healthcare worker saves a child’s life every three seconds in a developing country? It’s true.

 

 Salif is one of these health care workers who helped save the life of a 3-year-old girl named Barandje who was suffering from malnourishment. By feeding her Plumpy’nut, a high nutrient food similar to peanut butter, her health steadily improved. Thankfully, she was saved before her poor health was irreversible. Sadly, there are not enough health care workers to provide services to everyone. By clicking on this link, you can help make nutrition-based programs more accessible so that children like Barandje will not have to suffer. Make the next three seconds count.

 “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in the same room as a mosquito” – African proverb.

Is healthy an option for kids? Make it an option!

Dave Hartman, Social Media Specialist

Washington, D.C. 

March 22, 2012

We gathered more than 90 kids this past week in Washington D.C. as part of our 10th annual Advocacy Summit. The kids met with their members of Congress and wrote blog posts, made videos and visual media to help spread the word about the nutrition crisis that children are facing around the world. Here's what they had to say:

Imagine looking at a banana and not knowing what it was. This is how Colby felt before he joined Save the Children’s after school program. Colby is one of 3.6 million kids that live in “food deserts,” areas where there is no fresh food.

Thanks to Save the Children’s after school program each year, 16,500 children, like Colby, have an opportunity to be exposed to healthy foods. However, there is still more work to be done! Children living in remote and rural areas have to drive twenty or more miles to a grocery store, or have to shop for all their food at a local gas station.

 

Save the Children held their 10^th annual Advocacy Summit to inform and give youth tools to influence friends, family, and members of Congress to address this malnutrition epidemic. How can you help? Call your local member of Congress and tell them to protect funding for critical nutrition and health programs for children in the United States and around the world. Congressmen aren’t scary! Give them a call.

 

  Check out these personal messages from the authors of this post:

 

“I came to the Advocacy Day because I feel that awareness of global issues like malnutrition is the first step to making changes to how Congress responds to the massive funding needs.” ~ Chris Bertaut – Garland, TX

 

“I am interested in the issue of malnutrition in America because I feel that even though America is supposed to be this great power where everything is possible and the people are healthy, malnutrition is a preventable problem that is being ignored by this country’s leaders.  I have been taught to expect more from US.” ~Elena Crouch – Chevy Chase, MD

 

 

“I came to the Save the Children summit to be a part of the solution to ending malnutrition in children around the world.  I am being a voice to the voiceless and lending help to the helpless." ~ Helena McCraw, Chicago, IL

 

“I came to Save the Children’s youth advocacy day because I am doing work around food justice and this will give me the opportunity to learn more about malnutrition. I feel like our country is falling and there needs to be a change!” ~George Walley-Sephes, Philadelphia, PA

 Join these youth advocates, click here to urge Congress to make child nutrition a priority