UN – United Nations

Hope and Resilience in Kakuma

Today we toured Kakuma Refugee Camp in the northern Kenya desert, home to nearly 95,000 refugees, about one-third of whom are from South Sudan. People there have walked days or weeks, or ridden buses, or flown in airplanes, to escape dangerous conditions in their home countries. They arrive exhausted, most with little or no belongings. Yet these people warmly welcomed our delegation from the United Nations Foundation and the Nothing But Nets campaign, greeting our […]

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A Different View of Mother’s Day

My wife Kate, the mother of our two young boys, understood immediately when I explained to her that I wasn’t going to be home on Mothers Day. Instead, I was traveling to Africa. She knew that my trip would help bring hope, awareness, and life-saving bed nets to refugees fleeing violence in South Sudan. Visiting these refugee families in one of the hardest-hit places in the world — and distributing the nets that we’ve worked

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Ted Turner talks philanthropy with Piers Morgan

In case you missed it, United Nations Foundation Chairman and Founder Ted Turner recently interviewed with CNN’s Piers Morgan about his career, life, and commitment to global philanthropy. We were excited to hear Ted talk about his historic gift that created the UN Foundation, our successful Nothing But Nets campaign, and his involvement in the Giving Pledge. As part of the conversation, Piers recognized Ted as a leader in philanthropy who has inspired others to

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Seeing Liberia Through Her Eyes

Liberia is a country where low literacy rates and poverty are among the many challenges in the transition from war to stability. About 85 percent of adults are unable to read and/or write and unaware of the important roles girls can play in the development of communities and societies. The girls in the Girls United program are working to improve their creative and language skills to effectively speak out to other girls. Their poetry is

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How you (and the U.S. Government) can end child marriage in developing countries

It starts with one voice.  I speak up and while, I won’t be ignored, combining my voice with yours will make our calls stronger.  Your representative in Washington listens.  If you speak up and you tell your friends to speak up, your representative, your senator will have to listen.  They need to know that we care that the U.S. needs to work with the UN to end child marriage because U.S. policies have a huge

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Thanking UN Peacekeepers on Capitol Hill

As an American, it was a proud moment for me when I watched members of Congress stand before a crowd on Capitol Hill last week and thank United Nations Peacekeepers for putting their lives on the line in the name of global peace and stability. U.S. Representatives Jared Polis (D-CO), Mike Honda (D-CA), and Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) eloquently noted that the sacrifices of UN peacekeepers mean greater national security for us all. Their words were

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Melinda Gates on #NoControversy Contraception

Access to contraception and family planning–tools to help women and families plan for the families they want and care for the families they have –is considered controversial in too many countries around the world. But it’s not. It’s why we launched our #NoControversy campaign and accompanying storytelling site–to tell the thousands of stories of women and men from around the world who absolutely do not think access to contraception is controversial. In fact, Michelle Goldberg

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Stop the Pity: Unlock the Potential

MAY 25th is AFRICA DAY: A holiday in most African nations that began as a call for freedom from colonialism, has become a celebration of African unity, potential and promise. MamaHope as an organization summed that up for us. With only two staff in the U.S. fundraising and local teams on the ground in communities throughout Africa working on projects initiated by those same communities, this small and passionate non-profit team are redefining how we

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Hero Blue | unfoundation.org

I’m painting a room in my house. Anyone who’s taken on a home project knows that picking a paint color can be a truly excruciating drill. I’ve got blue on the brain (there’s a fair amount of “UN Blue” found in our offices) but “UN Blue” isn’t an option from Sherman Williams. This exercise got me thinking about the symbolic power of the UN’s famed blue found on its peacekeepers uniform. That blue helmet (or

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