UNICEF Champions will serve as resources for their peers and school communities regarding UNICEF program knowledge and fundraising planning. Reach out to your district governor for the name of your champion.

OBJECTIVES:

• Inspire, develop and empower key influencers/leaders within the Key Club community to own the Start Strong: Zambia project.
• Educate peers about the program.
• Encourage fundraising.

WHO:

Every year, each district will choose one champion. The Key Club International Board will coordinate and direct the district champions.

CHAMPION ROLES/RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Act as the knowledge hub and leader to the UNICEF project.
• Promote and educate members on the project using newsletters, social media, and presentations at meetings/events.
• Encourage fundraising by coordinating fundraisers and events, friendly competitions within districts, and sharing good ideas and lessons learned.

Most children in Zambia face a tough start in life. One in three children’s growth is stunted due to a lack of proper nutrition and health care. And while many of you attended preschool, seven out of 10 children in Zambia have no early learning experience when they start school.

Your efforts will help pioneer innovative, community-based solutions that will improve children’s lives and lift entire communities.

UNICEF has partnered with the Zambian government to build Insaka centers in Zambia. (Insaka means a place to gather and exchange ideas.) The Insaka hubs will be constructed using local and environmentally sustainable materials. Each hub will include a public hall, spaces for children to learn and play, a community kitchen, a playground, sanitation facilities and a vegetable garden.

In addition to building the insakas, your fundraising will help support home visits from trained volunteers who can offer ideas on nurturing caregiving and provide regular health care.

Because of you, new opportunities are being created that cover the full scope of a child’s life and help tackle the most critical issues facing young children across Zambia.

After The Eliminate Project concluded, the Key Club International Board of Trustees reviewed ideas for our next partnership with UNICEF USA. Key Club district governors had the opportunity to learn about several potential projects before voting on the project that Key Club International will support. This project stood out because it closely relates to Key Club’s Core Values and Objectives and supports the Kiwanis family work in the areas of health and nutrition, education and literacy and youth leadership development.

More than half of Zambia’s population of 19.5 million is younger than 18, making it one of the world’s most youthful countries. About 54% of its population lives below the nation’s poverty line and four out of 10 children lack access to proper nutrition, education, health care, housing and sanitation. Zambia also has one of the world’s fastest-growing populations, with the United Nations projecting its population will triple by 2050.

Zambia consists of more than 70 ethnic groups, although most speak Bantu. Known as Northern Rhodesia from 1911 to 1964, it was renamed Zambia upon receiving independence from British rule. Unlike many neighbors, it has reputation for political stability.

Located in southeastern Africa, Zambia is a landlocked country with rugged terrain and diverse wildlife. On its border with Zimbabwe is the world’s largest waterfall, Victoria Falls — indigenously called Mosi-oa-Tunya, or “Smoke That Thunders.” At 350 feet, it is 45 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty and twice as high as Niagara Falls.

Zambia’s natural wonders and wildlife make tourism a major and growing industry. Zambia is home to lions, leopards, elephants, African buffalo, hippos, crocodiles and hyenas, although most are only found in protected national parks.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 190 countries and territories to put children first. UNICEF has helped save more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization by providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more.

UNICEF and Key Club have been partners for decades. Together, our organizations have collaborated on efforts to protect mothers and babies from maternal and neonatal tetanus, as well as our expansive efforts in the ’90s that raised more than US$1.2 million to fight iodine deficiency disorders. In the early 2000s, we raised $1.3 million to fight HIV/AIDs in Swaziland. Through these projects, we’ve made an impact on millions of lives across the globe.

UNICEF USA advances the global mission of UNICEF by rallying the American public to support the world’s most vulnerable children. UNICEF USA’s mission is to relentlessly pursue an equitable world for every child.

UNICEF and Key Club have been partners for decades. Together, our organizations have collaborated on efforts to protect mothers and babies from maternal and neonatal tetanus, as well as our expansive efforts in the ’90s to fight iodine deficiency disorders. Through these projects, we’ve made an impact on millions of lives across the globe.