shot@Life
family,  Health,  Travel

Every Child Deserves a Shot at Life #VaccinesWork

Every child should have a Shot at Life. All children have a right to health. But, in developing countries around the world many families face overwhelming obstacles to accessing life-saving vaccines. Shot@Life is an organization that helps and advocates for funding to deliver lifesaving vaccines to those in need.

shot at Life
Outside a hospital we visited in Zambia, in a rural area outside Livingstone. Here we are with Peacekeepers, nurses and our translator. In green shirts from left to right, Amelia Old, Paula Schuck (me), Purvi Parikh, Emily Roemmich, and in grey on the end Martha Rebour, of Shot@Life

I visited Zambia as part of a fellowship with Shot at Life through the UN Foundation recently. It was an  amazing experience. Over the next few weeks I will share posts about that trip and the many clinics and aid organizations we visited. Yesterday I shared my first post about Preparing for the Zambia Fellowship. But today I want to share a bit of background about Shot at Life.

A Shot for a Shot at Life

Here in North America, we often take vaccinations for granted. A simple shot protects our children from flu strains, measles, mumps, rubella, polio and all kinds of other diseases and illnesses. Many of us take our children to the doctor and follow the vaccination schedule. We know it’s an important part of a child’s health care. Our vaccines are readily available and easy to get. But, not everyone has similar access to quality health care and vaccines.

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At the Zambian headquarters of UNICEF, in Lusaka. The impact of Aid organizations such as UNICEF and Shot@Life working together for a common goal, of helping children grow into healthy adults, has been dramatic here in Zambia.

Around the world today, children are dying from 100% preventable disease simply because they don’t have access to preventative measures. This year 1.7 million children will die from diseases that have largely disappeared from Canada and the US. Why is that? Because many can’t access lifesaving vaccines.

That’s what Shot@Life is all about. Shot@Life gives children everywhere a chance at life by increasing access to vaccinations. This organization encourages education, advocacy, and fundraising to decrease vaccine-preventable childhood deaths. Shot @Life literally gives children in developing countries a chance to grow up healthy.

[tweetthis]Shot @Life literally gives children in developing countries a shot at a healthy life, no matter where they are. #vaccineswork[/tweetthis]

The United Nations Foundation started Shot at Life. The UN Foundation strives to build public-private partnerships to address pressing global problems. They broaden support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. The common goal is always to try to keep children and adults in need healthy. This is the same group that does the get a shot, give a shot program with Walgreens. Together the UN Foundation and Shot@Life work with many US aid organizations to build a better life for children in need.

shot@life
Dinner out in Lusaka with the very talented and brave Zambian blogger Lulu Hangaala

A Shot at Life. A Shot at Happiness

A Shot@Life strives to ensure that all children all get the life saving vaccinations they need to live happy, healthy lives. I believe strongly in the work they do, and I’m honoured to have been a part of it. Stay tuned for the rest of the stories about Zambia, the obstacles and progress made towards giving children everywhere a shot at life.

I received the UN Foundation Shot at Life Fellowship this fall and I travelled with the organization to Zambia, so I could share the work this group is doing globally.

Mom of two beautiful active girls, traveller, fitness junkie, social media consultant, and keeper of the sanity.

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