If your growing awareness of global health issues makes you want to roll up your sleeves and start making a difference, there are many active ways you can get things done. Here are a few suggestions to get you started. You'll need Adobe Systems' free Acrobat Reader software to view and print the pdf pages. It's free, easy to install, and you only have to do it once.
Think about a service-oriented "vacation." You might work harder than you do at your day job, but service-oriented international travel can revive your body and your spirit as you directly help children, their families, and their communities. Explore some of the available options.
Food, Fun and Music
Host an international festival to learn more about other cultures. Introduce your friends and neighbors to a new world-view and inspire them to take action. The guide and additional information sheets will help you develop your event.
International Festival Planning Guide (pdf: 135k)
This step-by-step guide offers suggestions for organizing both large and small festivals.
Local Health Is Global Health Information Sheet (pdf: 85k)
Learn how we help ourselves by helping others stay healthy.
Success Is Possible Information Sheet (pdf: 290k)
Success stories at home and abroad demonstrate that improved global health is an achievable goal.
Get Informed Get Involved Information Sheet (pdf: 60k)
Find out about several simple things each of us can do to make a difference locally and globally.
Deepen your understanding of some of the key issues in global health and child survival through these engaging hands-on activities designed for individuals and groups of all sizes and ages.
Getting Your Money's Worth (pdf: 537k)
Does a country's healthcare expenditure relate directly to its average life expectancy and infant mortality rate? Play this matching game and find out.
Girl Scouts USA: 18 Global Health Activities (pdf: 87k)
Looking for activities to engage young people in health issues locally and globally? Check out these activities compiled by the Girl Scouts of the USA, a national outreach partner for Rx for Child Survival.
Growing Up Healthy (pdf:170k)
How easy is it for a child to grow up healthy without an adequate public health care system? Find out how challenging it can be!
How Hard Can It Be To Carry Water? (pdf: 71k)
What would it be like if you had no running water in your house? Carry a container filled with water for a short distance and see that carrying water to supply a family's needs is no trivial matter.
Investing Your Money Wisely (pdf: 178k)
If you were advising a government on how to spend its limited healthcare budget, how would you keep the largest possible number of people healthy? In this game, you get to decide which public health measures should be put in place first.
Is the Water Clean Yet? (pdf:79k)
How hard can it be to clean dirty water? Find out by designing, constructing, and testing a water filter.
Unfair Race (pdf:230k)
How much of an impact does where you live have on your health? Players assume the roles of different countries and examine the extent to which one's country can help or hinder one's health.
Girl Scout Participation Patch
Girl Scouts are part of an international movement in which service-learning plays a central role. The Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council in Houston is offering an Rx for Survival participation patch to all councils. The activities required for the patch offer girls the opportunity to explore health issues, educate others about local and global health issues, and inform others about ways to become involved. Download these guidelines for requirements for earning a participation patch (pdf: 85k).
Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF
Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF, a Halloween tradition beloved by generations, is one of America's longest-running youth volunteer activities. Often a child's first experience with helping others, the campaign enables kids to raise funds that help save and improve the lives of their most vulnerable peers around the globe. That's why UNICEF's youngest volunteers are true world heroes!
For more information and to order boxes, visit www.unicefusa.org/trickortreat.
Get Out the Vote
Have a say in making the world a healthier place for us all. If you're 18 or older and not registered to vote already, do it now. Hold a voter registration rally so that more people can voice their opinions about global health with their votes too. The U.S. Federal Election Commission has voter registration information and downloadable forms.
For more information, visit www.fec.gov/votregis/vr.shtml.
Rx for Child Survival t-shirts
Showcase your support for child survival! Use one of the free downloadable Rx for Child Survival transfer templates to create colorful t-shirts. Wear your shirt to draw attention to issues of child health and distribute them at local events and to further promote the campaign in your community. The "From Surviving to Thriving" iron-on template was created by PBS member station WGVU, Grand Rapids, MI. WGVU is one of 21 Rx for Child Survival Community Coalitions associated with raising awareness of global health and child survival issues. The design is used with permission as part of the national Rx for Child Survival campaign. To make your t-shirts, follow these simple steps:
- Purchase t-shirt transfer paper (available at craft and office supply stores). Make sure the paper is appropriate for the color of the shirts you want to print on.
- Follow the directions that come with the transfer paper to determine whether to use the "right-reading" or the "reversed print" pdf.
- Be sure to read the "Tips and Techniques" that are included at the top of the pdf before you transfer the image.
- Wear and share the t-shirts you make at your local events!