When celebrities are honored and given awards for their philanthropic efforts on the surface it makes for a good celebration.  But awards such as the Americans for UNFPA* Award for Health and Dignity of Women is more than just a celebration of good deeds, it is a valuable opportunity to showcase what is being done to support women’s health issues around the world.

Recently, Christy Turlington Burns, super-model and film maker was among a select few who were recognized for her work to eliminate maternal deaths on a global scale.  Turlington believes that this is not just a woman’s issue or a childbirth issue, “It’s the smartest, most strategic investment we can make in development.  When you save a mother you save a nation.”

Consider these statistics from a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive and Americans for UNFPA as reported by Zahra Aziz

77 percent of American women believe that ‘women empowering women’ is a philosophy they live by.

91 percent of the American public believes that every woman on the planet deserves access to quality maternal and reproductive health care.

60 percent of Americans believe that investing in adolescent girls will help end poverty around the world.

Many of you reading this blog are likely part of the 77% who are empowering other women.  You refer other women businesses to colleagues.  You reach out to women as resources when you need help or guidance. You belong to networking groups that support the effort of women-owned or operated businesses.

Chances are you do all if not most of these in your daily life and you don’t even realize it.  By habit or circumstances you find yourself in the company of women who have been great role models, mentors and supporters.  You are an empowering woman who empowers others and it feels great, right?

Now imagine you could make significant changes in an entire community by supporting one woman.  It does not require you to host or attend an event.  You don’t have to commit time each week to mentor someone.  It is as easy and as habit-forming as supporting our efforts for healthcare, education and micro-enterprise to women in Uganda.  If we ever want to see an impoverished nation transformed into a self-sustaining global contributor in our life times, we have to be willing to empower the women of those communities.

With a small donation to Just Like My Child you can do just that.  The infrastructure is in place.  The resources are available.

We agree with the statistics – investing in girls and women will help end poverty around the world.  Please support our programs which are doing just that: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=26195&Itemid=108

• Project Grace – Providing innovative micro-enterprise opportunities for individuals with HIV to create self-sustaining businesses to support their families and send their children to school.
• Project Universal Education – Building self-sustaining schools with gender equality
• Project Keep a Mother Alive – Providing healthcare for all stages of life to reduce pregnancy mortality and orphan rates.
• Project Justice – Providing legal rights training for women and communities
• The Girl Power Project – Protecting the rights of girls struggling for gender equality

*UNFPA – United Nations Population Fund