Daria: Working with the kids this time was especially interesting and fun because they all had such high energy. Mrs. MJ, who let us set up before bringing in the kids, graciously greeted us as we entered the school. We spoke to the children about under-nutrition and the importance of safe drinking water. Harlin Lawal and I started by having the kids draw their favorite foods on a piece of paper and then we explained to them that many children around the world do not even have a favorite food because they do not have access to proper nutrition. We had created two visual aids to help with our presentation. The posters showed many pictures of women and children, specifically in Africa, who were struggling trying to find good nutrition and safe drinking water. We had the kids identify and talk about each picture, which they did very energetically. The group of kids we worked with was very engaging and seemed to grasp the concepts very well. In fact, many times, they would guess the responses to our lead-in questions well before we had presented them with the information. It was encouraging and uplifting to see them responding so well to the material. I was very happy with their response to our presentation on two of UNICEF’s major goals: combatting under-nutrition and providing safe drinking water.
TeachUNICEF Visit on Nov. 7th
Conference Featured in the The Hoya!
International Development Conference
Preference for workshops/dinner is on a first-come, first-served basis. Open to Georgetown students only.
UNICEF-Georgetown will be holding its 9th Annual International Development Conferenceon Friday, November 4th, 2011. The conference has enabled Georgetown students to interact with representatives of prominent organizations in the greater Washington, DC area through thought-provoking discussions on various international development topics. This year’s theme is universal education, one of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, in recognition of the importance of education for one and all to empower minds and inspire ambitions that culminate in the development of future generations.
We will be offering two workshop sessions (4:00-5:15pm, 5:30-6:45pm) in White-Gravenor classrooms followed by a dinner in the Copley Formal Lounge (7:00pm). Workshop sessions provide speakers with the opportunity to present students with their perspectives on current international development topics while the dinner allows for a more intimate setting in which to further discuss such topics. We are honored to have Cynthia McCaffrey, Chief of Staff, UNICEF as our keynote speaker this year. We will also be hosting speakers from the World Bank, the U.S. Department of State, FINCA, IAEA and the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy, among others.
Dress is business casual.
We hope to see you there!
TeachUNICEF Visit on October 21
On Friday, Oct. 21, we made our first TeachUNICEF visit to the Peace Room at the Perry School, focusing on the topic of child survival, and worked with two groups – the first being early elementary, and the second being later elementary and early middle school. This is our third semester working with the Perry School. Below are reflections from some of the members who made the visit:
Ifeatu: I really enjoyed my first time teaching at the Perry School with TeachUNICEF last Friday. At times it was really difficult to gauge the children's interest, but I think the interactive activities where each child partnered with a TeachUNICEF member helped in that regard. I think the children really enjoyed receiving one-on-one interaction and it allowed us to learn about each individual child a lot better. I think for future lessons we should incorporate a lot more interactive activities or small groups and to include more colorful visuals to help the children learn better and to really get a sense of the type of challenges faced everyday by children of the same age around the world in terms of survival, education, and access to resources.
Elle: The first TeachUNICEF that I had was far from what I expected. There was more direct interaction between us and the children, which to me seemed far more engaging and worthwhile, yet at the same time raised new concerns, such as being aware of the sensitivity of certain topics and keeping their attention. Albeit a little anticlimactic, it was a rewarding experience, and I think it was a great start for the year!
Lotus: I am immensely proud of this team! We had a plan going into the Peace Room, but had to change things up a bit once we started teaching. We found the topic to be more sensitive than expected as we taught it, but I commend the team for being able to mold the lesson based on how the students were responding. The children loved interacting with us and answering questions and working with the members on a handout. They were all eager to contribute to the lesson, which was amazing. The members were also able to stay focused and unfazed despite every unexpected variable that appeared before them. Excellent job!
"Believe in Zero" Advocacy Campaign
Famine in the Horn Fundraiser
The famine in the Horn of Africa has already claimed the lives of 29,000 children under the age of five and is reported to threaten the lives of 12.4 million people in Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia. Somali refugees are flooding across the Kenyan border by the thousands. Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp, was built for 90,000 people but now houses over 400,000 making it Kenya’s fourth largest city by population size.
Join the African Society of Georgetown and UNICEF-Georgetown for a dinner, raffle, and education about the on-going famine on Friday, September 30 at 7:30pm. Tickets are only $10 and will be sold in Leavey Center until the day of the dinner. Or buy your ticket online at: http://gufaminefundraiser.eventbrite.com
All proceeds will go to UNICEF.
If you have any questions or are interested in becoming more involved, please email Alexa at amv35@georgetown.edu