Category: Children and Wellbeing

Source: Save The Children

Jean Claude* checks over Soli*, 12 months with mother Gbala*, 32 in a Save the Children- supported hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Patou Dombi / Save the Children

When I dreamed of becoming a paediatric nurse, I never dreamed I would have to help so many children with malnutrition, something no child should ever have to face.

Malnutrition is a real problem here in the community. Food is in short supply, and food is no longer available in households made up mainly of displaced people.

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These people, who were originally farmers, had to flee their villages and settle in makeshift homes. Where they find themselves with nothing to eat and no way to earn money. This has a severe impact on their children.

Support to help these children is an immediate emergency. Since April 2023, the number of cases has been increasing. I can treat an average of 25 patients a day. Hunger affects children in two ways, both physically and mentally. Their ability to focus and learn is reduced, as is their health and growth.

The malnourished children who arrive here are in a very critical state. They have discoloured hair from lack of nutrients, they have swelling on their back and feet, they are very thin with severe weakness and skin rashes. Others have a lot of diarrhoea and their weight is low. The effects can be deadly for their organs – death caused by anaemia or dehydration.

Seeing all these sick children, my heart hurts a lot.

My choice to become a paediatric nurse is the fruit of a dream I’ve had since childhood. When I was growing up, I had an elder in my neighborhood who did this job. He would always tell me that he was there to serve the population, and he would leave every morning with the aim of saving lives. I was inspired by his sense of duty, and that made me decide to do this job.

We work with partners such as Save the Children. When a family is here, the organization takes charge of feeding the infant and the parent staying with them in hospital. On the day they are well enough to return home, the organization also provides them with a subsidy for transport from the hospital to their home.

When necessary, Save the Children also supplies donations of essential medicines.

A malnourished child can take an average of seven days of intense treatment. I cared for a five-year-old girl who arrived here with generalized oedema [swelling caused by excess fluid in the body] acute weakness and body aches. We treated this child for at least 21 days. Her condition didn’t seem to evolve at first, but thank God, towards the end, she was cured.

There were days when the child would sink into intense weakness and go into a coma each time, but we did everything we could until the child came back to life.

I feel a sense of joy when I see a child recovering from a form of acute malnutrition. The lesson we learned from this case is how quickly we can take charge, how courageous we can be, and how flexible we can be in the way we carry out medical procedures in an urgent case like this little girl’s. It’s a lesson we’ll never forget.

The hospital still needs a lot of supplies and more children are arriving every day. We worry that there will be a breakdown of supplies in what we received in paediatrics, which would result in children dying. 

To find a solution to this situation, we need to combine our efforts on all fronts, and your support will help us do this. We must never lose hope and always see our efforts through to the end.

Together we can end hunger. Donate now to support essential workers like Jean-Claude who work tiredlesly to care for children suffering acute malnutrition in countries like the DRC. 

Source: Save The Children

KABUL, 11 MAY 2024: Flash floods in Baghlan in Northern Afghanistan have killed at least 200 people – including children – with many more injured, according to the de facto authorities. Thousands of homes have been destroyed or damaged, with many areas still cut off.  

About 600,000 people –  of which an estimated 310,000 are children – live in the five districts in Baghlan that have been severely impacted by the floods. Save the Children is sending a ‘clinic on wheels’ with mobile health and child protection teams to support children and their families.  

Arshad Malik, Country Director for Save the Children in Afghanistan said:  

‘Lives and livelihoods have been washed away. The flash floods tore through villages, sweeping away homes and killing livestock. Children have lost everything. Families who are still reeling from the economic impacts of three years of drought urgently need assistance.   

Afghanistan is continuing to experience shock after shock. The floods are the latest of a series to hit the country in the last two months. Since the start of the year, nearly 13,000 people in Afghanistan [1] have been impacted by disasters caused by extreme weather, including floods and landslides. 

Afghanistan is one of the most climate impacted countries in the world – but one of the least prepared to cope with the climate crisis. The international community must focus more aid on addressing the immediate and long term impacts of the climate crisis in Afghanistan. More funding is needed to prepare for disasters, to mitigate their impacts and increase resilience for communities.’ 

Save the Children has been supporting communities and protecting children’s rights across Afghanistan since 1976, including during periods of conflict and natural disasters. We have programmes in nine provinces and work with partners in an additional seven provinces. Since August 2021, we’ve been scaling up our response to support the increasing number of children in need. We deliver health, nutrition, education, child protection, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, and livelihood support.    

[1] https://data.humdata.org/dataset/afghanistan-natural-disaster-incidents-in-2024 

We have spokespeople available in Afghanistan. For interview requests and further information, please contact:  

In Kabul: Rachel Thompson, Asia Pacific Regional Media Manager rachel.thompson@savethechildren.org 

Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409     

Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements, and location Vlogs.    

Source: Save The Children

Vaccines reach a remote community located in a mountainous part of Aqiq, in Red Sea State, 2024. Credit: Asrar Fadulelsied.

A year of conflict has left Sudan’s immunisation safety net frayed. Gavi and Save the Children are helping vaccinators patch it back up.

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Muhammad Saleh, the child of nomadic Beja pastoralists in eastern Sudan, was six months old and hadn’t received a single vaccine. Born into a country at civil war, and into a family on the move in pursuit of pasture and water, Saleh had slipped through the fingers of the health system.

In that, he wasn’t alone. 1.6 million children are born each year in Sudan – that’s approximately 1.6 million children born, so far, into the year-old civil crisis that has seen an estimated 8 million people displaced from their homes.

The effect of the conflict on the reach of the country’s immunisation services has been colossal. In November 2023, national figures for coverage with the third dose of the basic diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis-containing vaccine (DTP3) stood at 59%, an alarming drop from 93% in 2022.

“In Sudan, the country with the largest displacement crisis globally, immunisation remains the most cost-effective public health intervention preventing disease and reducing child mortality.” – Bashir Kamal Eldin Hamid, Health and Nutrition Director at Save the Children International in Sudan

But vaccinators like Abdul Qader, a member of the State Ministry of Health vaccination team in Red Sea state, are working hard to win back lost ground. Operating out of the Aqiq Locality Primary Health Center – home to the last fridge on this particular branch of the Sudanese cold chain – Qader and his vaccine cooler box represent the forward frontier of Sudan’s vaccine delivery effort.

Vaccine odyssey

Qader’s outreach journeys are often long and difficult. One mid-February day, for instance, he leaves the Aqiq PHC on a motorcycle, heading for the mountains. When the terrain becomes too rough to manage on two wheels, he swaps the bike for a camel, which carries him and his colleague Muhammad Hamed as far as Warhat village.

Infant Muhammad Saleh, whose family is nomadic, receives his first vaccination in a hard-to-reach part of Aqiq locality, Red Sea state, 2024. Credit: Asrar Fadulelsied.

Here, crouched on a thatched mat at the threshold of a Beja family’s tent, Qader administers a first vaccine to the baby Muhammad Saleh.

It’s a hard-won dose of safety amid pervasive danger.

“In Sudan, the country with the largest displacement crisis globally, immunisation remains the most cost-effective public health intervention preventing disease and reducing child mortality,” says Bashir Kamal Eldin Hamid, Health and Nutrition Director at Save the Children International in Sudan. “On top of a fragile health system, the violent conflict [has] disturbed health service and the vaccination programme. Sudanese children are facing risks from conflict, malnutrition and outbreak of vaccine-preventable diseases.”

Since December 2022, Save the Children and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance have been working together to enable the efforts of health workers like Qader, and help bridge the gap between the populace and the health care system. Supporting monthly operations to reach children where they are has reduced the risk to public health that threatens at the change of seasons, when nomadic groups move higher into the hills, and further out of reach of fixed health centres.

In addition to supporting the deployment of mobile vaccination teams, Gavi and Save the Children support routine immunisation, health system strengthening and community resilience in the country – that is, amid some of the toughest conditions in the world today. Gavi’s support budget for Sudan in 2023–2024 totals US$ 77.4 million, of which US$ 36 million is earmarked for the purchase of vaccines.

These efforts are making inroads.

“Supported by Gavi, Save the Children, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, has reached more than 120,000 children in two states, including displaced children in more than 400 gathering points. [The partners are] committed to ensuring service continuity, improve vaccination coverage, and to overcome the current barriers in Sudan,” reports Save the Children’s Bashir Kamal Eldin Hamid.

Truckful of hope: first shipment of vaccines arrives in Darfur since war’s outbreak

Sixty tons of vaccines arrived by truck in Darfur on 8 April, the country’s Federal Ministry of Health announced. It’s a landmark moment for the immunisation system, as the doses mark the first new vaccine delivery to the region since war broke out over a year ago.

“Gavi congratulates the Federal Ministry of Health in the success of delivering vaccines to Darfur,” said Anne Cronin, Gavi’s Senior Country Manager for Sudan. “Gavi believes that reviving the immunisation programme throughout the 18 states of Sudan will not only mitigate against the outbreak of communicable disease, but is also an opportunity to contribute to building a bridge for peace in Sudan.”

The consignment contains Gavi-funded vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP), meningitis, polio, yellow fever, rotavirus and COVID-19, as well as UNICEF-supported tetanus toxoid, BCG, measles and oral polio vaccines. The new stocks will meet routine immunisation requirements regionally for the three months.

Moving to meet a mobile population

The Gavi-Save the Children collaboration has its origins in a different crisis. Formed to support the rollout of vaccines against the pandemic coronavirus – that is, by supporting the COVAX national deployment plan for Sudan – the partnership helped vaccinate some 500,000 adults against COVID-19 in Khartoum, Red Sea state and El Gezira, before retooling to help connect children with routine immunisations.

A year ago, however, war disrupted implementation in Khartoum, the conflict’s epicentre. To protect as many children as possible amid fluid and fractious circumstances, in August 2023, Gavi and Save the Children pivoted again. El Gezira in particular, as one of the two states receiving the densest flows of internally displaced people (IDPs), is a vital fulcrum for focussed vaccination efforts in a mobile population.

Abdul Qader and Muhammad Hamed, vaccination team, during an outreach in Aqiq locality, RS state, 2024. Credit: Asrar Fadulelsied.

Just one month into the intervention in El Gezira, Save the Children-supported mobile teams had helped identify new, unregistered IDP camps. Some 486 IDP camps or gathering points were reached by vaccinators in that short span of time, and, security concerns notwithstanding, 24,320 IDP children received immunisations.

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Source: Save The Children

Source: Save The Children

A collapsed school building in Kenya. Photo by Dorothy Waweru/Save the Children

Content available here 

NAIROBI, 10 May 2024 – Heavy rains and floods have submerged or destroyed at least 62 primary schools in Kenya, leaving more than 15,000 children with nowhere to learn when schools re-open next week and raising the risk of waterborne diseases, Save the Children said.

A report released by the Ministry of Education this week has shown the extent of damage caused to schools – as well as health facilities and homes – by raging floods that have killed more than 250 people and displaced over 250,000 people since mid March. School reopening had been postponed twice already to ensure children’s safety.

Nairobi’s informal settlements have been particularly badly hit, with families losing their homes and livelihoods. More than 7,000 people have been displaced in Mathare slums alone by the heavy rains and flooding.

So far about 34 cases of cholera have been reported along the Tana River and there are fears this number could rise as children resume school. The assessment also indicated that over 20,000 toilet blocks are either sunken or severely damaged by raging floodwaters, posing serious health risks to over 1.5 million school children across the country.

Children’s psychosocial wellbeing has also been acutely affected by the loss of family, friends, play areas and familiar environments and increased the risk of child labour, teenage pregnancies, and early marriages.

The rains have been amplified by the El Nino weather pattern — a naturally occurring climate phenomenon typically associated with increased heat worldwide, leading to drought in some parts of the world and heavy downpours elsewhere. This climate disaster has also affected children and families who are yet to recover from the impacts of drought.

Save the Children’s Acting Country Director for Kenya and Madagascar, Mohamed Abdiladif, said:

“The impact of the floods on children is disastrous and threatens their rights. As a child rights organisation, we recognise the importance of coordination of efforts to ensure that children’s lives and those of their families are restored to normalcy. We are working round the clock to deliver lifesaving interventions such as cash transfers to affected households in Nairobi and Garissa Counties and are calling for support from private sector, development partners and well-wishers to scale up our response. We also advise parents and caregivers to exercise caution as schools re-open.”

Save the Children is calling for coordinated action to swiftly help children and families affected by the crisis.

Recent analysis by Save the Children found that around one-in-two out of school children and adolescents live at the forefront of the climate crisis. The calculations from last month found 62 million children and adolescents in 27 countries have had their education disrupted by climate shocks since 2020, resulting in significant long-term impact on learning, both from school closures and from increased heatwaves.

Save the Children is calling for the response to the climate crisis, including climate finance, to be child responsive, so that children’s rights – such as the right to learning – are factored into decision making about their futures. 

The aid agency is providing cash transfers, distributing hygiene kits, household kits and water treatment kits to affected families. We are also providing education kits to support the back-to-school efforts. Jointly with the Directorate of Children Services and other partners we will keep monitoring the situation while providing protection services for children including a Save the Children short message alert number, child help line toll free number and gender-based violence free hotline.

At COP28, Save the Children, the Green Climate Fund and the Global Partnership for Education launched the world’s largest investment for green schools in order to address the growing threat of climate events on education. 

Save the Children has worked in Kenya since 1950 and in 2023 reached 784,617 people including 459033 children.

Content available here

For further enquiries please contact:

Delfhin Mugo, Delfhin.Mugo@savethechildren.org; 

Emily Wight, Emily.Wight@savethechildren.org; 

Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409

Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements and location Vlogs.

Source: Save The Children

Source: Save The Children

Family arriving with belongings in Khan Younis [Bisan/ Save the Children]. More content here. 

GAZA, 9 May 2024 – Thousands of children and their families are desperately trying to flee Rafah but the so-called expanded ‘humanitarian zones’ to which they are heading have very limited space, water or sanitation, according to Save the Children staff who themselves have been forced to relocate.  

Israeli forces seized the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israeli military operations expanded to include airstrikes and ground operations. Media reported that in the last few days, dozens were injured and killed by heavy shelling on the eastern area of Rafah. 

Tens of thousands of people, many of whom have been displaced multiple times since the start of the war, have been forced to leave since 6 May when Israeli forces issued relocation orders demanding civilians in eastern Rafah move to the Israeli-designated ‘humanitarian zone’ in Al-Mawasi and Khan Younis. 

Save the Children’s team leader in Gaza Rachael Cummings said: 

“In the outskirts of Rafah, we saw scenes of chaos. Every road was full of cars, people hanging off the back of trucks, children piled high on the top of donkey carts, with all the belongings there, people’s whole lives in the back of trucks or cars. Those people who did not have vehicles were walking with whatever belongings they could carry.

”There were children everywhere, desperately trying to run along and keep up with the movement of people.” 

UN agencies have reported that the few sites to which people are being forcibly displaced are without adequate latrines, water points, drainage, or shelter, but humanitarian agencies are unable to improve conditions with no fuel or other supplies coming in. 

Save the Children’s teams have relocated from Rafah to Deir Al-Balah where they said there is open sewage in the street. The Al-Mawasi area, south of Deir Al-Balah is ‘absolutely packed’ with no more space for people to put up shelters.  

Rachael Cummings said: 

“Al-Mawasi is absolutely packed, and the streets today are busier than they were yesterday. There’s now no more space for people. There are no services, no water, no sanitation. It’s hot, there are flies everywhere. It’s not safe, it’s not clean, but people are still coming because they believe that they’re leaving something even worse behind. Children are everywhere. They look lost and upset.” 

Rachael Cummings said that what she saw on the way from Deir Al-Balah to Rafah was “extraordinary” with barefooted children as young as six struggling to carry water bottles and other essentials with them. 

“As we drove through Deir Al-Balah, we saw people trying to find space to set up whatever shelters they could find. Some were made of wood and tarpaulin, while some people had tents, but there’s very little space. People were desperately trying to get something up. We passed children crying, screaming on the side of the road, overwhelmed by the panic and chaos that they were experiencing. It really is a terrifying place for children now. 

“Our intention is to continue operations in Rafah and in Al-Mawasi, including health and nutrition, provision of dignity and shelter kits but that is very difficult, and we have to make sure our staff are not putting themselves at risk in order to provide those services.” 

Save the Children is calling for an immediate, definitive ceasefire to protect the lives of children in Gaza, and for the warring parties to adhere to International Humanitarian Law. All crossings into Gaza – the only lifeline for families – must be reopened, and unimpeded humanitarian access guaranteed across the Strip.  

Save the Children has been providing essential services and support to Palestinian children since 1953. Save the Children is taking steps to support and protect its staff and continue helping children and families across Gaza, constantly monitoring the situation in Rafah to see if and when it will continue its operations. 

Multimedia content available here. 

For further enquiries please contact:

Randa Ghazy, Regional Media Manager for North Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe: Randa.Ghazy@savethechildren.org;

Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409

Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements, and location Vlogs.

Source: Save The Children

Source: Save The Children

PORT-AU-PRINCE 8 May 2024 – Hunger is driving children in Haiti to join violent gang groups, with Save the Children receiving reports of some children killing, kidnapping and looting for food.  

The child rights organisation is hearing of an increasing number of children being driven to desperate measures to be able to feed themselves as Haiti grapples with record high hunger levels amid spiraling lawlessness and climate disasters.  

Violence involving gangs and armed groups has jumped by over 140% so far this year compared to 2021, according to Save the Children’s analysis of data from ACLED. [1] 

Between January and March this year, at least 82 children have been reported killed or injured by gang violence, a 55% increase compared to the last quarter of 2023, marking the most violent period for children in the country on record, according to UN verified data. Of the 82 children reported killed or injured, almost half were hit by bullets during violent gang attacks or clashes between gangs and the police.

Between 30% to 50% of armed groups in Haiti currently have children within their ranks, according to the UN. Many of these children have been forced to join armed groups, while others have joined willingly as a measure of survival.  

Haiti is currently grappling with record high hunger levels, with one in two children in the country facing acute food insecurity as gang violence has sparked food shortages.  

Jules Roberto, Save the Children’s Food and Livelihood Advisor in Haiti, said:   

“The hunger situation is so desperate our staff are hearing stories of children joining deadly gangs just so they can get food to eat – putting their lives and futures at risk. Unaccompanied children are at the greatest risk of recruitment. A hungry belly does not have ears – it will go where it can get food, even if that means killing and looting for it. 

“Most children and families we’re speaking to are struggling to even find one meal a day, and often eat expired food. Single mothers have also told our teams that they were considering or have done sex work to support their children. 

“If permanent support in displacement camps is not prioritised and scaled up, it will create a breeding ground for gangs to lure the most vulnerable children into recruitment.” 

With gangs controlling more than 90% of Port-au-Prince, families are struggling to find and afford nutritious food. Since January, the price of a food basket in the capital has soared by 21%.   

Save the Children is calling on world leaders to protect the most marginalised children in Haiti from recruitment and use by armed groups, and on UN Security Council members to use their power to end impunity for those responsible for the unlawful recruitment and use of children and other grave violation against children. The child right’s organisation is also calling on all parties in Haiti to allow immediate, sustained and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief, and on the international community to urgently increase humanitarian funding for the crisis in Haiti.  

Save the Children has been working in Haiti since 1978, in both urban and rural communities, providing cash so families can buy essentials, and delivering health and nutrition support, and supporting children in schools. 

ENDS 

Notes to Editor 

[1] Based on an analysis of violent events captured in the ACLED database where at least one of the named actors was a gang, armed group or militia, excluding domestic and foreign government forces. There has been an average of 131 such events per month in 2024, compared to 54 in 2021 and 93 last year.   

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For further enquiries please contact:

–          Samantha Halyk, Senior Global Media Manager, Samantha.halyk@savethechildren.org

–          Our media out of hours (BST) contact is media@savethechildren.org.uk / +44(0)7831 650409

We have Jules Roberto, Save the Children’s Food and Livelihood Advisorbased in Haiti, available as a spokesperson.

Please also check our Twitter account @Save_GlobalNews for news alerts, quotes, statements and location Vlogs.

Source: Save The Children

• The partnership will strengthen children and their caregivers’ capacity to adapt to the unprecedented impacts of the climate crisis

LOS ANGELES, Calif. and NEW YORK, N.Y., 7 May 2024 – Today at the 27^th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference, Save the Children and Sesame Workshop announced a new partnership to support a generation of children and their caregivers to cope and thrive in the face of the climate crisis. The announcement was made by Sesame Workshop President and Interim CEO Sherrie Westin and Save the Children U.S. President and CEO Janti Soeripto, with a special guest appearance from Grover.

This new climate-response initiative aims to ensure continuity of learning amid climate disruptions, protect children’s physical and emotional well-being, and improve the ability of families, communities, and governments to prepare for and adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis. As two of the world’s leading, most trusted organizations for children, Sesame Workshop – the global impact nonprofit behind Sesame Street – and Save the Children, the world’s leading child rights organization, have over 150 years of combined experience centering the needs of children. This initiative will begin as a pilot and scale over time, building on a long history of successful collaboration between the two organizations.

“Though climate change affects us all, young children are bearing the brunt of its effects,” Sherrie Westin, President and Interim CEO, Sesame Workshop. “There is an urgent need to build children’s climate resilience and help them cope with the unprecedented effects of the climate crises. We’re proud to join Save the Children and local partners to give children the skills they need to face these challenges.”

The climate crisis is exacerbating existing inequities for children and communities around the world, including disruptions to education, and harm to physical health and emotional well-being. Climate-driven disasters like extreme heat and flooding disrupt the education of nearly 40 million children annually, and approximately 20,000 children are displaced daily by weather-related disasters, according to UNICEF.

This partnership aims to leverage Save the Children’s global footprint and Sesame Workshop’s educational media reach to put climate resilience tools and practices directly into the hands of young children and their caregivers. With guidance on key priorities from trusted local and national partners, they will develop new child-facing educational media; deliver community-based programs to reach children and their caregivers; and influence governments to embed these approaches in their education systems. Save the Children and Sesame Workshop are committed to allocating at least 25 percent of program funds to local and national partners to ensure those most impacted by the climate crisis are at the center of these solutions.

“Save the Children and Sesame Workshop are uniquely positioned to drive impact through our shared expertise in early childhood development,” said Janti Soeripto, President and CEO, Save the Children. “Through the powerful blend of community engagement and mass media, we aim to enable millions of children and communities to prepare for and adapt to the increasing effects of the climate crisis. By coming together with Sesame Workshop and local partners on this initiative, we are poised to meet the greatest threat facing children today.”

Sesame Workshop and Save the Children are looking for partners and funders in solutions that can be scaled up by governments and communities around the world to help children and families adapt to the growing climate crisis.

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About Sesame Workshop     
Sesame Workshop is the global impact nonprofit behind Sesame Street and so much more. For over 50 years, we have worked at the intersection of education, media, and research, creating joyful experiences that enrich minds and expand hearts, all in service of empowering each generation to build a better world. Our beloved characters, iconic shows, outreach in communities, and more bring playful early learning to families in more than 150 countries and advance our mission to help children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org and follow Sesame Workshop on Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok.

About Save the Children

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Since our founding more than 100 years ago, we’ve been advocating for the rights of children worldwide. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming the future we share. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

Contacts:

Jordyn Linsk

jlinsk@savechildren.org

Erin Elzo

erin.elzo@sesame.org