ajo Nation. America Ferrera and I visited Chinle and Many Farms, AZ, and stopped off on the way in Laguna, NM. America is Save the Children’s Education Ambassador, and we were fortunate to visit with children benefiting from StC's home-based and center-based education programs.What really struck me was the impact StC's work was making in this very challenging environment. Paula Hale, a Save the Children staffer who lives on the reservation and guided us throughout our trip, told us that the unemployment rate on Navajo lands is 56%, and average family income is well below $20,000. Employment opportunities are limited, and due to the vast distances that separate homes from larger towns (we drove over four hours from Albuquerque), it's difficult for residents to work off the reservation.
One of the things that drew me to StC's work was the way they were able to show me how the funds I was donating had a direct
effect on children and their communities. The benefit of Save the Children's programs was readily apparent during our visit with Jordan, 2, who lives in a remote Navajo area in AZ, in a one-room house with his parents. Jordan's teacher Karen Spencer visits Jordan and 21 other families twice a month (separated by hours of driving) as part of Save the Children's Early Steps program, working with him on reading, fine and gross motor skills, and guiding his loving parents in ways to help with his development. Jordan is a bright kid who's clearly benefitting from the work Karen does with him and his parents, and it saddens me to think of the many children on Navajo lands and around the world who aren't receiving the same education and support.What's fantastic about the work StC is doing with Jordan and his family, and so many other families around the world is its extraordinary impact. Consider this information from StC's tenth annual State of the World's Mothers Report, released this week:
“Early childhood care and development is a proven and powerful investment in national well-being and future economic prosperity. Research from around the world shows that investing in quality early learning programs is one of the most effective ways to improve children's success in school, to increase incomes, and to reduce costs to society.... Research by Nobel prize-winning economist James Heckman shows that returns on investment in early childhood are greater than investment at any other stage of life.”Seeing all of this amazing work firsthand really made me present to the impact it has, and the cost of participating. By sponsoring a child for $28 per month, you can make a real difference for the child and their community. And remember, we here at Authentic will match your contribution, causing twice the impact, until we've reached our goal of sponsoring fifty kids.
For more information on our matching program check out this blog entry:
http://authenticm.com/community/stc
Thanks so much to StC's Jane Berliner, Eileen Burke, Paula Hale, Linda Askew, and photographer Joshua Roberts, for making this all possible.
