To-Do For Women's Month: Help The Children

Today is International Women's Day, and March is National Women's Month. Try to do a good deed for the occasion. Take a cue from these cute Norwegian sailors.
Posted on March 8, 2010 05:00 pm by Regina Belmonte, Assistant Beauty Editor
Photo: Regina Belmonte

Happy International Women's Day, Cosmo chicks! Today is a celebration of the amazing person you are, and all the things you can do if you really want to. The woman can change the world. The woman can change history. (And she has, many times over.) Just this morning, a woman was awarded Best Director at the Academy Awards--the first female in history to win the coveted prize. They used to say that this was a man's world. Well, it's fast becoming a woman's world, too.

If you haven't noticed, "our world" has been a lot hotter lately. Summer is upon us, and everyone knows that this is the season of travel (given that you have the budget for it). Unfortunately, though, sometimes your working girl's salary will only permit you to see a part of the (very beautiful) Philippines at a time; only a lucky few ever get to see the world. But we know how traveling to distant countries and experiencing different cultures is a dream that practically all Cosmo women share.

But you might just be inspired to pursue that dream when you hear about what two Norwegian friends, Otto Hildeng and Kyrre Lind-Isaksen, are doing. Otto and Kyrre, along with a few of their friends, have been sailing around the world since 2008 in fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

Neither of the two is a sailor by profession. Neither of them actually knew how to work a boat when they first started out, but they refused to let anything hinder them from setting sail.

When they were planning their trip, though, they thought something was missing. They realized that they were only doing the trip for themselves, and they wanted to give something back. The would-be sailors got in contact with the UNICEF headquarters in Norway, and they've been raising funds for UNICEF and Child Friendly Schools in Africa since then. They've also been raising awareness for various UNICEF projects around the world by visiting different places and documenting their trip on their website, To Fluer. (To fluer means "two flies," which means the same as "hitting two birds with one stone." They get to travel and they get to do a little good for the world.)

Their ultimate goal is to collect US $200,000. "$200,000 will build three schools in Africa," Kyrre says. "We were told it was too ambitious, but we didn't care. We still went for it." The sailors are halfway through their trip right now (which is a three-year journey that will end in 2011), and halfway to their monetary goal.

They chose to partner with UNICEF because they like the way the organization works internationally and locally. UNICEF's projects are sustainable, and they involve the community. "It's not just building and then leaving; they give a safe place and self esteem," says Otto.

Otto and Kyrre, Marius Boe Viken and Slavisa Gacic (who took over from two other sailors who are now working in Norway to raise awareness about the project), and their friend Marte Hoeiby, visited two of UNICEF's partner organizations in the Philippines: Childhope and Pangarap.

Childhope Asia Philippines is an organization dedicated to the cause of street children in the Philippines and the rest of the world. The Norwegians got to sit in on one of their programs, on street education. Childhope conducts classes on literacy, mathematics, and practical life lessons.

Jesus S. Far, a UNICEF Child Protection Officer, tells Cosmo that many of the youth are being drafted into gangs, and many are getting into dysfunctional sexual relationships. These children go through difficulties that some of us can hardly even imagine. "Kung walang intervention para sa bata, dalawa ang pwedeng mangyari: makukulong siya o mamamatay siya," he says.

A line in Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All" (cheesy, we know) goes "I believe the children are our future / Teach them well and let them lead the way." This is what Childhope is trying to do. This is the cause that Otto, Kyrre, and their friends are trying to promote as they travel the world.

But we can't just sit back and wait for others to do the work. We need to do whatever we can, too. Many have the mistaken idea that "charity" means giving millions of pesos. Many have the mistaken notion that what they have to give isn't enough. This is not the case. Every little bit helps. You don't even have to shell out a single peso to help if you really don't have anything to spare. Today is International Women's Day, a celebration of the woman and the many incredible things she's capable of if she puts her mind to it. You can help.

If you've got a little money to spare, be one of UNICEF's Champions For Children by pledging a monthly donation of P500 (which is enough to provide books and supplies for FIVE children to stay in school) or P600 (which will help SIX children survive through medical treatments that might save their lives). That's even less than a pair of shoes or a shirt.

Pam Pagunsan of UNICEF Philippines told Cosmo that women are some of the most active donors to charities and some of the most important people to organizations. 60% of UNICEF's total donor base is made up of women. They might not give big amounts like men do, but they give more frequently. Maybe it's because it's in the female nature to nurture, but women really care. If you have always wanted to help but have never known how, this is only one of so many ways. Dream big for the Philippines, Cosmo chick, and make that dream come true.


Click through to the gallery below to see more pictures of the Norwegian sailors' trip to Manila.

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