I'm not sure I will adequately explain how I feel about travelling to Mozambique. I have been to several southern African countries before, but never Mozambique.
I must say firstly: I absolutely LOVE Africa. It is a wonderful place of vast open spaces, dramatic scenery and huge skies. There is no place on Earth that compares with the feeling of being here. I am reminded so clearly of how I felt when I was here last, with my son Harry, when he was just nine. He too was touched by the spirit of Africa and, like me, is determined to return one day. I once described Africa as somewhere that makes you feel as though you have left a part of yourself there and it calls you, constantly to return. Well, here I am, but this trip will be like no other.
Mozambique is a long way from Barnsley, but the welcome is just as warm. Today, we arrived in Maputo just as the school day was ending and the scene was a mirror-image of the same time of day, in the streets around schools in the UK. Kids. Laughing, teasing one another, shouting last-minute messages to their classmates before heading home; every single one of them so full of life.
These children are the lucky ones. Mozambique has one of the highest rates of under-five infant mortality in the world. A recent study gave this figure as 14 in every 100 live births. Most of these deaths are from easily-preventable diseases; diseases that our children in the UK, are routinely protected from, by immunisations that we are lucky to be able to take for granted.
I hope the trip I am on, thanks to the Save the Children #PassItOn project, with my fellow travellers, Chris Mosler and Lindsay Atkin, will help to push the vital message to world leaders: immunisation is the key to saving millions of children's lives. It is our responsibility to make sure children of all nations have access to these vital drugs.
Help us to convince David Cameron, and the world leaders he will host at the Vaccination Summit on June 13th, that the life of a child in nations like Mozambique, is worth just as much as the life of a child in the UK.
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
#Passiton: Mums in Mozambique
On Monday, I, along with two other Mums, will be flying to Mozambique with Save the Children. The reason we are doing this, is to highlight the incredible job that vaccines do, in preventing the death of so many children from easily preventable diseases. We will be tracking the journey of a vaccine, produced in the Republic of Ireland, on its long journey to the child in Mozambique who will receive it.
I have three children, all of them received vaccinations to protect them from dangerous diseases such as whooping cough and tetanus. Diseases that are easily preventable. Children in developing nations do not have the easy access to these immunisations, that we take for granted.
If one of my children becomes ill, my GP is two minutes away or hospital A & E department, just ten minutes by car. If a child in a developing country becomes ill, medical attention can be hours or even days away. This is why we must raise awareness about the importance of routine vaccinations for these children.
Over two million children die every year from easily preventable diseases. THAT is why this campaign is important. No Child should be Born to Die.
The lives of poorer children in developing countries are just as valuable as the lives of our children. A mother losing a cherished child in a country such as Mozambique, mourns that loss, just as deeply as you or I would.
On June 13th, David Cameron is hosting a vaccine summit. This summit will last for 4 hours and has the potential to save 4 MILLION lives. Please help us to get this message to the world leaders. Bridging the gap in funding for immunisations is essential to save the lives of millions of children.
To find out more about the campaign and our trip, please see: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/50_pass-it-on.htm Then...
@christinemosler
@liliesarelike
@MrVaccine
I have three children, all of them received vaccinations to protect them from dangerous diseases such as whooping cough and tetanus. Diseases that are easily preventable. Children in developing nations do not have the easy access to these immunisations, that we take for granted.
If one of my children becomes ill, my GP is two minutes away or hospital A & E department, just ten minutes by car. If a child in a developing country becomes ill, medical attention can be hours or even days away. This is why we must raise awareness about the importance of routine vaccinations for these children.
Over two million children die every year from easily preventable diseases. THAT is why this campaign is important. No Child should be Born to Die.
The lives of poorer children in developing countries are just as valuable as the lives of our children. A mother losing a cherished child in a country such as Mozambique, mourns that loss, just as deeply as you or I would.
On June 13th, David Cameron is hosting a vaccine summit. This summit will last for 4 hours and has the potential to save 4 MILLION lives. Please help us to get this message to the world leaders. Bridging the gap in funding for immunisations is essential to save the lives of millions of children.
To find out more about the campaign and our trip, please see: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/50_pass-it-on.htm Then...
- Follow us on Twitter:
@christinemosler
@liliesarelike
@MrVaccine
- Sign the petition online at: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/4-million.htm or by SMS, by texting 'jab' to 84118.
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