2013 World Thinking Day Senior Activities
Note
The World Thinking Day award is now an OFFICIAL Award and, therefore, it may be worn on the front of the official uniform sash or vest in the same area where the badges go, which is the same side as the Girl Scout Council identification set. The other side of the vest has been designated for the Journey awards. Journey awards are placed above all other badges on the sash. There is not a single exact location for this badge. To earn the award, girls complete one or more activities below.
The theme for World Thinking Day 2013 is girls worldwide say "together we can save children's lives." This theme is based on United Nation's Millennium Development Goal 4, which is focused on reducing child mortality rates around the globe.
Did you know…?
- Child survival is such a serious problem that in some low-income countries, one out of every 10 children dies before the age of five. In comparison, one out of every 143 children dies before the age of five in wealthier nations.
- In low-income countries, many children die from diseases, or from a combination of disease and undernourishment, that could be prevented if they had access to basic, affordable healthcare. Common diseases are respiratory illnesses, diarrhea, malaria and measles – all preventable illnesses.
- It is much more difficult to stay clean and healthy when safe water is scarce and has to be carried over long distances. If everyone had access to clean water, much of the disease in the world could be prevented. Every day 5,000 people die from diseases like diarrhea which are caused by dirty water.
- One out of every six people in the world does not have access to clean water, and one out of every three people does not have a toilet or latrine nearby.
- Child survival is not just an issue in the developing world. Children in the United States are less likely to reach their fifth birthday than in 40 other developed countries.
2013 World Thinking Day Senior Activities
- Every minute 21 children under the age of five die around the world, yet most child deaths are preventable or treatable. Look into the leading causes of child mortality and related statistics at Childinfo. Present your findings to other youth in an interesting way using graphs and/or images to create awareness around preventable and treatable child deaths.
- With your peers, explore the connection between clean water and health by watching this slide show from Peace Corps Volunteer Lauren Fry: Water Source Protection, which discusses how she worked with her community in Cameroon to prevent water contamination. As a group, find the answers to these questions: Where did people in Lauren's community get their water? What was the problem with the water? What did Lauren and her community do to solve this problem? How did the spring box project impact the health of the community? Then imagine what your life would be like without consistent access to clean water at school and home. How might you use your time differently than you do now? What would your health concerns be?
- According to the CIA World Factbook, children in the United States are less likely to reach their fifth birthday than in 48 other countries around the globe. Go to Kids Count to examine infant mortality statistics in your state. Then investigate what your state legislators are doing to address the issue in your state. Inform others on what you can do to help.
- Undernourishment is an underlying cause of more than half of the 10.5 million child deaths each year. Undernourishment is caused by illness, insufficient breastfeeding, shortfalls of food and lack of micronutrients in diets. Take the Improving Nutrition for All WebQuest and investigate nutrition nationally and globally. Apply your WebQuest research to compose a letter to the editor about a globally-relevant nutrition issue. If you would like to do more things like this, take the Sow What? Girl Scout Leadership Journey.
- Use the Facts about Hunger to prepare a presentation or art piece about how hunger affects children around the globe.
- Invite a public health expert or nurse practitioner who is familiar with issues related to infant mortality to come speak about the topic and intervention efforts. Prepare questions in advance and practice asking them.
- Did you know that malaria causes 200 million illnesses per year and kills 600,000 people annually—mostly children under the age of five? Help prevent these malaria deaths by contacting your Congressional representatives about the urgent need to protect families against malaria. Become a Netvocate at Nothing But Nets.
- Invite a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer to speak to your group about her/his Peace Corps experience in the country where she/he served. Specifically, ask the volunteer to speak about her/his experiences working with children and what their lives were like in the community. Were they able to help prevent childhood illnesses? Not familiar with the Peace Corps? Watch A Legacy of Service and see Peace Corps Speakers Tip Sheet (PDF). If you cannot find a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer in your community, try contacting a local university and invite an international student to speak.
17http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs178/en/index.html
18http://www.unicef.org/mdg/mortalitymultimedia/index.html
19http://connecttolearn.s3.amazonaws.com/97/36/a/365/3/mdg_4.pdf (PDF)
20http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/24/nation/la-na-child-mortality-20100524
21http://www.unicef.org/mdg/childmortality.html
