Right to the Edge: Sydney to Tokyo By Any Means (40 page)

Right to the Edge: Sydney to Tokyo By Any Means
was about getting to know people and places in far off and often exotic lands, where cultures, traditions, beliefs and languages all differ from mine and from each other. These differences are often marked, but more noticeable still are the great similarities that we share; similarities that are nowhere more evident than in the children I was fortunate enough to meet.

On this trip I spent time at UNICEF projects in Sulawesi and Manila in my role as UNICEF Ambassador. I was reminded again that all children have the most extraordinary capacity for joy and for love, that they can be amazingly tenacious, resilient and resourceful, wonderfully playful and infuriatingly cheeky. But not every child has the same opportunities and the lottery of where and when a child is born can determine whether they have clean water, enough food to eat, a school or doctor to go to and even family or friends to care for them.

It is a truth (and not just because it was agreed by governments in the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child) that all children, in every corner of the world, have the same rights - to be educated, to be healthy, to be heard and treated fairly, to have a childhood. The greatest promise we can make to children is to ensure these rights are protected.

Yet many millions of children are still being denied their rights. Children, in numbers sometimes too great for us to grasp, are dying through easily preventable diseases. Millions more face discrimination, violence, abuse and exploitation, while too many others are burdened by desperate poverty.

We must never forget the child behind the statistics, or be daunted by the size of the task ahead. If we are to keep to our promise of a better life for every child we must be louder, stronger, bolder, more furious and more committed than ever before.

Whenever I have the privilege of visiting UNICEF projects, I am always aware that the work I am seeing is only made possible by the amazing generosity of UNICEF supporters - the schoolboy back in England who pledges his pocket money for a month; the mother who puts on running shoes for the first time and runs a marathon to raise money; the company that commits to help UNICEF build and equip a healthcare centre. UNICEF relies entirely on such voluntary donations.

By supporting UNICEF you become the bricks and mortar, the life-saving vaccination, the training, the knowledge and the expertise, the emergency shelter, the clean water, the caring hand, the protector of all children and their rights. You are helping children not only just to survive but also to thrive.

 

To find out more, visit
www.unicef.org.uk/byanymeans

UNICEF is the world’s leading organisation working for children and their rights. We work in more than 190 countries to build a world fit for children.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) underpins all of our work. UNICEF is the only children’s organisation that is recognised in the Convention. We work tirelessly to protect and promote children’s rights.

Our practical programmes help meet every child’s right to be healthy, to be educated, to be treated fairly, to be listened to, and to have a childhood free from adult responsibilities. We work with governments and communities to help them keep their promise to fulfil children’s rights.

UNICEF is the world’s largest supplier of mosquito nets and vaccines for children. We also save many children’s lives by ensuring clean water, nutritious food and health care for mothers during pregnancy and birth.

UNICEF works to realise every girl’s and boy’s right to quality basic education. We help build schools and classrooms, recruit and train teachers and provide education supplies.

UNICEF helps prevent the mother-to-child transmission of HIV, procures medicine for children with HIV, prevents HIV infections among young people and protects children orphaned by AIDS.

We also protect children vulnerable to violence, abuse and exploitation, especially child soldiers, street children, trafficked children and child labourers.

With a permanent presence worldwide, UNICEF responds rapidly wherever and whenever a disaster strikes, providing humanitarian relief for children caught up by war or natural disasters.

The rights of many millions of children are being denied: children still die of easily preventable causes, still lack protection, education, food, shelter and clean water, and still face poverty and discrimination. Much remains to be done.

 

We need your help to protect the rights of every child. UNICEF relies entirely on voluntary donations to fund our work. The smallest donation can make a decisive difference to the life of a child.

Campaign, donate or raise money to help UNICEF keep the promise of a better life for every child.

Log on
www.unicef.org.uk/byanymeansCall
0844 801 2414 Email [email protected]

If you are outside the UK there are still many ways you can support UNICEF. Please visit
www.unicef.org
to find out more.

VSO is an international development charity that tackles global poverty by using the skills, commitment, and enthusiasm of individuals from around the world.

Professionals with backgrounds in education, health, and business work with local colleagues to improve the public services and employment opportunities that lift many thousands of people out of poverty. Volunteers share their professional expertise so that when they return home, their skills live on in more confident and capable local professionals.

VSO volunteers are involved in a range of different activities from training teachers and health workers to teaching women farmers how to establish a small business. It does not cost individuals anything to volunteer with VSO and they are provided with return flights, basic accommodation, and an allowance for essential living costs.

Young people can also get involved in with VSO through Global Xchange. Global Xchange is a six-month exchange programme, which gives 18-25 year olds from different countries a unique opportunity to live and work together, to develop and share valuable skills, and to make a practical contribution to community development projects.

VSO also encourages individuals to think global but act local by getting involved in development issues from their own communities. We’ve helped hundreds of supporters with talks and exhibitions, action days and theatre productions, on issues ranging from fair trade to women’s equality. By raising awareness of development issues close to home our supporters are helping to tackle prejudice and misunderstanding about other people and cultures.

VSO is a charity in need of funds and there are a number of ways to support us including regular giving, Volunteer Linking schemes, fundraising events or by becoming a corporate partner.

 

To get involved with VSO, overseas or in the UK, visit
www.vso.org.uk
or call + 44 20 8780 7500

The furthest corner. The finest care
.

For locals, as well as for those travelling and working in rural and remote Australia, the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) plays an integral role in their safety and provides a true sense of security should life present challenges beyond their capacity to manage.

Every day across Australia, the RFDS treats more than 717 patients. In order to reach these patients, RFDS aircraft must fly the equivalent of 25 round trips to the moon every year.

While emergency aeromedical retrieval and inter-hospital transfers remain a primary duty of the Flying Doctor, the organisation also provides an extensive network of primary health care services such as mental health, indigenous health, children’s health and women’s health at a range of clinic locations across Australia.