Her 'crime'? Advocating for girls' right to education in her home country of Pakistan. The attack occurred on a school bus, a few hundred yards from the school grounds. Miraculously, Malala survived and today, the world is celebrating her courage and accomplishments by observing Malala Day, announced by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

Malala Yousafzai grew up in the town of Mingora in the Swat Valley - a lush, scenic, and culturally rich region bordering with Afghanistan. Once known to tourists as the "Switzerland of Pakistan," in 2007, the Swat Valley became a Taliban territory. During their reign of terror, the Taliban insurgents imposed harsh Islamic law in Swat, destroyed more than 400 schools to discourage "westernization" of the region, beheaded policemen, whipped criminals in public squares, and assassinated anti-Taliban activists.

"I am very fearing that today is my last day of school," said Malala on January 14, 2009 - one day before the Taliban-imposed edict banning all girls from schools went into effect. "In Swat, when we go to our school, we are very afraid of Taliban,"she continued in an interview for a New York Times documentary, Class Dismissed in Swat Valley (graphic images, use caution while viewing). But despite many hurdles, Malala did not loose her hope. "They cannot stop me!" she exclaimed. "I will get my education, if it is at home, school, or any place,"she concluded, pleading the world to save Pakistan, Swat, and its schools.

Later that year, Swat Valley turned into a battleground for Taliban militants and the secular Pakistani government. Although in May 2009 Pakistani forces reclaimed Swat, the fear of the Taliban remained very real. Indeed, the October attack on Malala demonstrated the Taliban’s continued ability to infiltrate the area and terrorize its population.

Following the 2009 fighting, which displaced more than 2 million people, life in Swat continued to be far from normal. Malala was forced to stay at home but eventually, she moved around the country to attend ad hoc schools and then returned to Swat.

Malala won international acclaim for speaking out for girls barred from school by the Taliban. Encouraged by her father who operated a school in Swat, she spoke openly about her dream to become a doctor and about her strong belief in girls' right to education. Reporters who have had a privilege to interview her claim that despite being a child, she sounds more like an adult. "I have the right of education," she said in a 2011 interview with CNN. "I have the right to play. I have the right to sing. I have the right to talk. I have the right to go to market. I have the right to speak up... I shall raise my voice." Malala is widely quoted for stating, "I don't mind if I have to sit on the floor at school. All I want is education. And I'm afraid of no one."

Malala gained notice in early 2009, when she wrote a diary-blog about Taliban atrocities under a pen name for the BBC’s Urdu service. Since then, she has given interviews to numerous media outlets and has appeared in many mini-documentaries. Above all, however, she has become a global symbol of youth activism; an icon of courage, hope, and women's rights; a prominent young advocate for literacy, freedom of expression, and peace.

In 2011, the Pakistani government awarded Malala a National Peace Prize and 1 million rupees ($10,500). In 2011, she was a finalist for the International Children’s Peace Prize, awarded by a Dutch organization that lauded her bravery in standing up for girls’ education rights amid rising fundamentalism. More than 100 thousand people have signed a petition on Change.org pushing for a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for Malala. And today, the world is observing “Global Day of Action” in Malala’s name, focused on "Malala and the 32 million girls like Malala not at school." The campaign was organized by the U.N. Special Envoy for Education, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is touring Pakistan over this weekend to boost education with international funding and local initiatives. 

On the eve of Malala Day, Brown met with the President of Pakistan, presenting him with petitions honring Malala's cause signed by over 1 million people in the international community. These signatures were joined with another one million signatures collected by Pakistani civil society's One Million Signature Campaign to demand free and compulsory education, and another 100,000 signatures from out-of-school Pakistani children.

"Malala's dreams represent what is best about Pakistan. Three million girls should not be denied their right to schooling any longer. Children who are barred from school today and have the right to education should be provided quality learning opportunities as quickly as possible," said Brown. Brown has also announced the establishment of Malala Education & Anti-Poverty Institute and Malala Foundation to push for education for every child as a matter of right. 

Malala's quest for girls' rights has already produced tangible outcomes, well beyond raising global awareness about the right to education. This weekend, the Pakistani government requested to join the Accelerated Millennium Development Goal Framework process that will allow the country to assess its current education plans, strategies and bottlenecks in consultation with international organizations and then work together to contribute to Pakistan's dream of education or all. In addition, the government announced that poor families will now receive cash stipends in the amount of $2 a month per child in primary school. The program will be funded by the World Bank and Great Britain, and distributed through the government's Benazir Income Support Programme, designed to give small cash payments to needy families. The families in the program already receive $10 a month for basic expenditure.

From politicians and government officials, through prominent figures in the development world, to human rights activists and her schoolmates, Malala has gained millions of followers and supporters who have generated an outpour of anger and grief over the attack coupled with with outpour of love and compassion for Malala. They have unified worldwide by chanting "I am Malala." The media have reported that demonstrations backing Malala were held in Islamabad, Karachi, the eastern city of Lahore and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. 

Regretfully, in Mingora - Swat, the threat of further Taliban reprisals casts a fearful shadow, with students at Malala's Khushal Public School forced to honor her in private. "We held a special prayer for Malala today in our school assembly and also lit candles," school principal Mariam Khalid told AFP.

The lack of access to education is not confined to Pakistan. International organizations estimate that there are are currently 61 million girls and boys shut out of primary school. Girls tend to be disproportionately affected. "If we are to fulfill the Millennium Development Goal for education and ensure every single one of these children is in school by end 2015, we need to attack these goals with an IRON determination and UNSHAKEABLE resolve!"Gordon Brown insists. Why? Because "child plus teacher equals infinite hope."

Thank you for visiting Smile Play Learn. I hope you find the ideas and resources presented here useful. If you enjoyed this post and would like to join the Smile Play Learn community, please follow us on Facebook,Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, and Pinterest. I would be honored if you stayed connected! 

I am a member of Global Team of 200 - a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger, and maternal health. Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.

Natural disasters, like Hurricane Sandy, inevitably remind everyone about the importance of helping those in need. A few weeks ago, I was asked to contribute to the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign. The campaign is not new to me.  Last year, my boys participated in trick-or-tricking for UNICEF through our local chapter of Ethical Society. I got very excited about the idea of continuing this tradition and I contacted my neighborhood's community board to get others involved immediately after I heard the announcement. In the meantime, however, life got a bit overwhelming and I almost gave up on the thought of participating. But then I reminded myself that even the smallest amount of money can make a difference. $69 buys 10,000 tablets to purify water for kids to drink. $120 can immunize 7 children against six killer diseases. $300 can provide enough packets of therapeutic nut spread to feed 200 malnourished children a day. The bottom line is that any effort is better than no effort at all. 

Re-energized, I set up Dominik & Filip for UNICEF fundraising page, which took me less than five minutes. Then, my little helpers and I quickly transformed  a small cardboard box into a UNICEF collection box. You can easily download canister wrappers from UNICEF Trick-or-Treat resource website if you have not ordered your free boxes or if they have not arrived on time. The wrappers come in six fun designs but you can also make your own design and showcase it in the UNICEF gallery. 

The boys enjoyed filling their collection box with change.

Finally, I created a fundraising poster which I plan to distribute in our neighborhood. I will ask those willing to donate to leave the poster on the door so that everyone knows what to expect when we go trick-or-tricking.

Thank you so much for your support and for visiting Smile Play Learn. I hope you find the ideas and resources presented here useful. If you enjoyed this post and would like to join the Smile Play Learn community, please follow us on Facebook,Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, and Pinterest. I would be honored if you stayed connected! 

I am a member of Global Team of 200 - a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger, and maternal health. Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.

I spent a wonderful, productive, albeit at times overwhelming week in Namibia, conducting research on gender- and HIV-related discrimination, with a particular focus on forced and coerced sterilizations of HIV-positive women in public hospitals. You are more than welcome to read more about this devastating practice on my Social Good Matters blog. Among others, I facilitated several focus groups with women who had been sterilized against their will while giving birth to their children via c-section. Most of these women are extremely poor but they have found a way of supporting themselves and their families by engaging in community-based projects organized by various support groups within Katutura. Through these projects, the women make beautifully crafted soaps, necklaces, and pins, often using recycled and plant-based materials, such as olive oil, pumpkin seeds, plastic bottles, and even lollipop sticks which they die, cut into tiny pieces, and then turn into beads. 

The Katutura Olive Soap Project has it's own website were you can find out about its purpose and origins. It was founded in Windhoek in 2009 to provide skill training to HIV-positive mothers and generate income for their families. In addition to providing employment to women who otherwise lack income-generating opportunities, the Katutura Soap Project empowers them through various community events and gatherings. All profits are returned to the community to improve the health and educational outcomes for HIV-positive women and their children.

Located on the beautiful and peaceful shore of the Goreangab Reservoir in Katutura, Penduka village is home to an amazing women's empowerment project. The project was established in 1992 by Martha Muulyau, a Namibian polio survivor, and Christien Roos from the Netherlands. Martha and Christien co-founded Penduka to help disadvantaged women to improve the standard of living for themselves, but also for their extended families and their immediate environment.

Today, Penduka is a non-governmental development organization run independently by local women, who manufacture and sell beautiful products, from jewelry and pottery to pillow cases, bedspreads, potholders, aprons, placemats, toys, and bags. "A product for you is an income for the women of Penduka." By buying products, one also contributes towards financing Penduka's educational and health projects. Penduka: 1) provides work for about 660 women, 110 of whom are on a permanent contract and 550 of whom work as a  member; 2) supports nearly a thousand tuberculosis patients in nineteen clinics; 3) is not dependent on subsidies or donors; 4) organizes exchange programs between the Netherlands and other European countries; and 5) gives out interest-free loans and helps women to get loans for their studies or to buy a house. I loved the artwork displayed on the Penduka  buildings!

I visited Penduka on Friday afternoon, after all my work meetings and interviews had been completed. I began with a tour of the production facilities.

Then, I enjoyed a traditional dance performed by the Penduka women and a little girl.

Shopping at the Penduka art & craft store was an absolute pleasure. All the products are gorgeous and very neatly displayed. "By purchasing a Penduka product you contribute towards a better life for women in Namibia," the posters and fliers remind you. It really feels like money well spent.

Nor surprisingly, most Panduka toys are geared toward girls but I was able to find a beautiful cloth giraffe and a book for my boys.

I was intrigued by the beautiful photo of a child holding a similar cloth giraffe. It turns out the girl's mom had been a Penduka woman but unfortunately she passed away two years ago... The girl resides with her grandmother in Northern Namibia.

"We Must Choose Life: Writings by Namibian Women on Culture, Violence, HIV and AIDS" is a compilation of stories and poems about the power of women who, despite many hardships, are choosing life in every aspect of their existence. Edited by Elizabeth Ikhaxas and published by the Women's Leadership Centre, the book is a must read for anyone who is interested in in-depth feminist studies in Namibia.

In Penduka, you can spend a wonderful day (or even a couple of days) in a true state of tranquility. After completing my shopping, I enjoyed a light dinner at the terrace restaurant overlooking the lake, reading "We Must Choose Life," and sipping light Savanna cider. It was the most perfect conclusion of a very hectic trip.

Thank you for visiting Smile Play Learn. I hope you find the ideas and resources presented here useful. If you enjoyed this post and would like to join the Smile Play Learn community, please follow us on Facebook,Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, and Pinterest. I would be honored if you stayed connected! 

I am a member of Global Team of 200 - a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health. Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.

In Otjiherero (Herero language spoken by several tribes in Namibia and Botswana), Katutura means “the place where we do not want to live.” The township was established in the end of 1950s, following the forced eviction of Windhoek's black population from the Old Location (Main Location), situated in the area of today’s suburb Hochland Park. The relocation was a result of the government’s apartheid policies. At that time, the Windhoek municipality was under South African colonial administration, which originated during the World War I, when South African troops occupied the city. After the war, Windhoek became a South African Mandate under the League of Nations. The relocation order was met with great opposition, which led to a deadly confrontation with the police in the night of December 10, 1959. 

Katutura was modeled after Soweto, an equivalent township in Johannesburg, South Africa. Different ethnic groups were assigned to different locations with poignant names such as Soweto, Havana, Babylon, Union Nation, Nama Seven, and Damara Location. 

Namibia became independent in 1990. Today, more than 60% of Windhoek’s residents live in Katutura, which has some of the city’s most lively neighborhoods. Lately, the residents began calling the township Matutura, "the place where we want to stay."

I will never forget walking through Katutura’s rocky paths covered with animal bones, shuttered glass, and pieces of garbage.

I will always remember the smell of offal drying under the African sun. 

And I will forever hold a memory of informal settlements full of tin-houses, spreading across the stunning, mountainous horizon. With no electricity, no sanitation facilities, and no immediate access to water, the tin-homes provide almost no relief from the summer heat and no proper shelter during cold winter months. 

Yet, people who occupy them are so incredibly kind and welcoming. I loved chatting with them but it was their children who really made my day. They are so resilient, so full of energy, and so cheerful, despite having so little. 

I will always remember the adorable preschoolers at Mama Nangula's nursery school, who were munching oranges and Polish cookies which I had found in one of Windhoek’s supermarkets.

The baby girl who started to cry when I was giving attention to the older children.

The boy pushing a car which he made himself from recycled iron wire. 

The group of girls who stopped their cloth ball game to pose for the camera and take some photos on their own.

The little girl and several older boys who were hanging out in front of their brick house in the richer part of Katutura.

The grandmother and grandson carrying buckets of water from the communal pump down and then up the hill. They stopped just to make sure I was “all good.”

Wonderful NWHC staff members who assisted me every step of the way.

And, of course, my amazing study participants.

A walk through the Katatura neighborhoods can be both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I thought it was amazing. As homesick as I am after being away from my boys for over a week, I felt like I was at the right place at the right time.

So how exactly can your dinner fight world hunger? The answer is embedded in FIVE PRINCIPLES for feeding the planet: SAVE FOOD, SUPPORT (small scale farmers), COOK SMART, use SEASONAL food, and eat LESS meat and dairy. Adopt these principles, which constitute Oxfam's GROW Method, in your everyday life. It's easy, healthy, and balanced; it's good for your children and your entire family; and it will help ensure that everyone on the planet has enough to eat.

What kind of meal could you make with the leftovers from today's dinner? Where is the nearest farmer's market? What can you make for lunch without using an oven, a stove, or a microwave? What's your favorite seasonal vegetable and fruit? What is the best vegetarian meal you have ever had? If you can answer at least one of these questions, you are on the right track of being a GROW Method champion. 

This year I am unable to sit down with my family for dinner on the World Food Day. I am thousands of miles away and what's more, I have much less control over what I eat than normally because I am staying in a hotel without a kitchen annex. In usual, I love exploring new cuisines and indulging in new tastes and flavors. But in Namibia, a beautiful Southern African country which I am visiting for work, the vast majority of traditional meals consist of meat, including beef, poultry, donkeys, and game meat from ostriches, crocodiles, and elephants.  Many Namibians also love crunchy Mopane worms which are considered bush food by some and a delicacy by others. Mopani are highly nutritious and apparently very tasty caterpillars. In fact, they constitute an important source of protein for millions of indigenous Southern Africans.   

I have not eaten meat for over 7 years and I am not adventurous enough to try insects, so I had to expand my geographical horizons and find an ethnic African - not necessarily Namibian - entrée. My mission ended in the heart of Windhoek - a capitol of Namibia - where a local, German-infused, restaurant serves a delicious Malawian dish called Masamba. Masamba is great in many different ways: it's healthy; it's extremely easy to make; it's nutritious; it tastes great; it's vegan; and it's prepared with a minimal amount of water. As such, it is a perfect GROW Method meal! 

For more tasty meal ideas, visit Pinterest. Oxfam has put together a GROW Method Cookbook where you can find hundreds of delicious and healthy recipes. Check them out, they are really amazing!

Thank you for visiting Smile Play Learn. I hope you find the ideas and resources presented here useful. If you enjoyed this post and would like to join the Smile Play Learn community, please follow us on Facebook,Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, and Pinterest. I would be honored if you stayed connected! 

I am a proud member of Global Team of 200 - a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health. Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.

WFP has created an outreach program to educate the public, in a fun way, about the importance of providing underserved children with school meals. You can send the children at the Huarimarca School a message, and you might be one of the lucky ones to get a personal response!

My children are picky eaters. I know, it's not that unusual for little kids to host battles at the kitchen table. I always try to remind them that food is precious and we need to respect it. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but it's good to keep trying. 

When I learned about WFP's Send Your Message initiative, I thought it was a good way to talk to my children about hunger and the importance of nutritious meals. At dinner time, when they were munching their falafel cakes (with maple syrup - sigh), we talked about children who struggle to get food and I showed them the above video. 

Then, we drafted the following message to the kids in Huarimaca. The boys were super excited and eagerly engaged in the exercise. And our dinner went much better than usual!

The World Food Day is around the corner. Please consider sending your message to the kids in Bolivia. WFP is not asking for donations through this particular initiative. However, if you would like to donate, please visit WFP's fundraising page. It takes just one dollar to fill four cups with nutritious meals. 

You can also play FREERICE trivia: for each answer you get right, Freerice will donate 10 grains of rice through WFP to help end hunger. Freerice is a non-profit website that is owned by and supports WFP.

Working together, we can build a world without hunger!

Thank you for visiting Smile Play Learn. I hope you find the ideas and resources presented here useful. If you enjoyed this post and would like to join the Smile Play Learn community, please follow us on Facebook,Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, and Pinterest. I would be honored if you stayed connected! 

I am a proud member of Global Team of 200 - a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health. Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.

One of the most reoccurring dreams among young girls is about a perfect wedding day and a perfect husband. When I was a little girl, I used to imagine myself as a gorgeous bride walking down the aisle with a bouquet of pretty roses. I used to organize perfect play-pretend weddings with my friends and I threw the most perfect play-pretend wedding receptions in the neighborhood. Ten years ago, when I was not a little girl anymore, my dreams came true. It was a beautiful, sunny day and I remember waking up filled with happiness, contentment, and just a few tiny butterflies floating effortlessly in my belly. I knew precisely what was going to happen. I was about to marry a man I had chosen to be my husband. I was about to say “I do” to a man I loved. I was about to start a new chapter of my life as a married woman - consciously, out of my own free will, and with the full ability to express consent. I remember every little moment of what ensued. I had my hair done. I had my makeup done. I had my manicure done. I put on an elegant, long gown. I attached orchids onto my veil. I slipped into carefully matched, white, embroiled shoes. I adjusted my trail and I picked up a stunning bouquet from the kitchen table. I heard my father ensuring my husband-to-be that yes, I would certainly marry him that day. He called worried because we were slightly late for the ceremony. I smiled and nodded to friends and family while I was walking down the aisle. And then I had a perfect wedding. I freely exercised my right to marry and to found a family as an adult woman. I allowed myself to be carried away. This freedom should never feel like a privilege. 

A few months before my tenth wedding anniversary, I became acquainted with a 14-year-old Yemeni heroine who four years earlier had conquered the world with four simple words: “I want a divorce!” Her name is Nujood Mohammed Ali and those lucky to have met her in person describe her as a "slight girl with a shy smile and coffee-colored eyes." I don’t know if Nujood used to dream about a perfect wedding when she was a little girl. Maybe she did, maybe she didn't, but whatever visions occupied her dreams, she probably never thought she would soon become one of the world’s youngest and most famous divorcees. And it probably never crossed her mind that she would be named a Glamour Woman of the Year alongside Hillary Clinton or “an international icon of tenacity and courage.” 

Her childhood and her dreams vanished in a split second. Although her husband had made a promise not to touch her until puberty, he raped and abused her over and over again. But one day Nujood did what was simply unthinkable in the conservative Yemeni society. She undertook a lonely, treacherous journey to a courthouse in Yemen’s capital Sana’s and she demanded a divorce. “I am a simple village girl who has always obeyed the orders of my father and brothers. Since forever, I have learned to say yes to everything. Today I have decided to say no,” she declared. 

With the help of her wonderful female attorney Shada Nasser, Nujood succeeded in getting her childhood back. She became an instant celebrity, an icon of a fight against child marriage, an unbound spirit of freedom. But most importantly, she returned to school where she had always belonged. 

Children's world is supposed to be a happy place. Children have the right to education, to engage in play, to participate in cultural life and the arts, and to grow up in an atmosphere of happiness, love, and understanding.  These unalienable rights are guaranteed under international law and prescribed in national laws of many countries. Yet, happiness remains an unmet dream for millions of children around the globe. Among them are millions of young brides who are forced to marry and commence sexual relations long before reaching emotional and physical maturity to do so.  For them, a wedding day is not a reason to celebrate. To the contrary, it is a beginning of a horrifying nightmare from which they cannot awake.  

In December 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution designating October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child. The resolution called international organizations and civil society to raise awareness of the situation of girls around the world. The theme for the first-ever observance of the Day is "Ending Child Marriage." According to the UN’s Department of Public Education, the theme was chosen because “child marriage is a phenomenon that violates millions of girls' rights, disrupts their education, jeopardizes their health, and denies them their childhood, limiting their opportunities and impacting all aspects of a girl's life.” 

To me, the Day of the Girl is a global call for both celebration and reflection. It is a wonderful opportunity to raise our voice for girls, to help them live their dreams and fulfill their aspirations, to educate ourselves about the struggles they face, and to galvanize global enthusiasm for goals to better girls' lives. As Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women, points out, “If we unleash the potential of the world’s girls and young women, we will unleash a powerful force that will bring lasting change to all corners of the globe.”

Today, I am joined by a number of awesome mom bloggers who are linking up to share their unique thoughts and perspectives about girls and girl power. Let’s keep the conversation going. Empowering girls and ensuring their rights is not only a moral imperative. It also helps fight poverty, intolerance, violence, and preventable deaths. For more information about Nujood and child marriage, please scroll down to view the “Too Young To Marry” story. Girl up, everybody!

Thank you for visiting Smile Play Learn. I hope you find the ideas and resources presented here useful. If you enjoyed this post and would like to join the Smile Play Learn community, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, and Pinterest. I would be honored if you stayed connected! Last but not least, you can find me on the Global Team of 200 Blog.

I am a proud member of Global Team of 200 - a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health. Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.

Whether you blog or not, tell others about the significance of the Day of the Girl by organizing an event (or simply a playdate), engaging in related conversations with adults and children, and using your social media platforms to spread the word. The theme this year is ending child marriage but more than anything, the Day of the Girl is about "highlighting, celebrating, discussing, and advancing girls lives and opportunities across the globe." 

If you blog, you are cordially invited to participate in a Day of the Girl blog hop, which will go live on October 11. There are just a few simple steps you need to follow.

• Please take a look at the following resources to learn more about the Day of the Girl and about various ways to observe it.
  
• Compose a blog post with the Day of the Girl celebration in mind. The ideas for such a blog post are endless. Write a story about your life as a girl, the life of a girl you know, or about global challenges faced by girls around the globe. Feature an organization involved in advancing girls' rights. Post an interview with a girl about what it's like to be a girl today. Showcase a craft or a piece of art about girls. Review a book by or about girls.
• Come back on October 11 and share your blog post through Linky Tools. The linky will go live on October 11 and will remain open for several weeks. If you would like to co-host the blog hop, please send me a message with a link to your blog. I will send you a linky code to post on your website.
• Spread the word about your post and about the blog hop through social media. The grab my button code is provided below.
• Enjoy the celebration and inspire others to promote the rights of girls around the world!

Nelson Mandela once said, "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children." I could not agree more. As a mom, human rights lawyer, and international development specialist, I believe that protecting and ensuring children's rights is one of the greatest duties of our generation. 

The vision of a world in which every child enjoys the right to smile, play, and learn resonates with me unlike anything else. So does the following statement by a child rights specialist Vanessa Tobin: "We should always unite where children are concerned and put their rights and needs at the heart of our efforts. When we do so, we create a society that is not only best for children, but best for all."    

Promoting the right to education, especially among girl children who tend to be disadvantaged in their access to quality schooling, is one of four social good causes that are particularly close to my heart. The other three include ending violence against women and girls; suppressing trafficking in persons; and ensuring the right of children and their families to the highest attainable standard of health, especially in relation to HIV/AIDS and maternal mortality and morbidity. 

There are many organizations that do absolutely amazing, hard, and often dangerous work to ensure that all children and their families live dignified, healthy lives, free of human rights violations, poverty, hunger, homelessness, and illiteracy. I have a privilege to work for one of them, and I cannot wait to share their success stories, challenges, and innovative, cutting-edge initiatives that make the world a better place for children and all of us. 

One of the most fascinating developments of the recent times is the growing role of new technologies and social media in solving the world's greatest challenges. "Stories told through social media help drive global discussions on issues like sustainable development and climate change," says Andy Shuai Liu of the International Journalists' Network in a blog post, How Social Media Inspires Global Development.

In two days I will have an amazing opportunity to attend the Social Good Summit, which will once again showcase the unparalleled effects of people connected through social media and technology to change the world. The conference website promises the event to be more engaging than ever. People from around the world, in both the developed and the developing world, will unite in person and online to participate in The Global Conversation – the world’s largest discourse on how technology can grow communities and improve life for all of us as we move toward being a networked society.   

       

The social good causes I am committed to, and the fascination with social media, have recently drawn me to join an amazing initiative, Mom Bloggers for Social Good. Launched in January 2012, Mom Bloggers for Social Good is a global coalition of mom bloggers who "who care about spreading the good news about the amazing work non-profit organizations and NGOs do around the world." The initiative proves that moms around the world can really make a difference.  

The concept behind our network is "simple and sustainable." The more of us, and the more we use our blogs as platforms for raising public awareness about notable organizations and their work across the globe, the better chance their message will spread across our networks, and across our networks' networks. This chain reaction will likely produce an effect which a TV, radio, or newspaper ad will never accomplish. That's because social interaction translates creative thinking and passion into real action. That's activism at its core, and it can be amazingly effective.