STAFF REPORTER
DIMAPUR, MAY 24
Under the initiative of a global campaign named “Raise your hand, fight global child malnutrition,” Amway Opportunity Foundation (AOF) has launched “Power of Five”- an advocacy programme to build awareness on child malnutrition - in Dimapur today with a mission to help people live better lives and achieve their potential.
In support of the campaign, the Amway office in Dimapur launched the initiative with employees and distributors along with the children of Ebenezer Orphanage Home (EOH) by smearing hands in colour and providing ‘handprint to support Amway’s mission to fight against child malnutrition. The children of EOH marked their hands with colours to show full support towards the ongoing campaign.Amway distributors and employees and NGO partners at 105 locations came forward to provide colourful handprints to a global mural. For every colourful handprint Amway is said to donate US$l summing up to a total of US $ 400,000 to CARE International towards the support of underprivileged children and by doing so, AOF attempts to break the 30,000 hand print Guiness World record.
“Malnutrition, the silent epidemic has been one of the leading causes of child mortality in India .We are of notion that malnutrition is caused by the lack of intake of food but lack of intake of essential nutrients for the development of children can also attribute to this malady. We are confident that our awareness campaign to end malnutrition from the country would encourage people to raise their hand to fight childhood malnutrition and create a difference to the lives of children. We hope that our collective effort will help children around the world to see their 5th birthday”, said Diptarag Bhattacharjee, vice president of East Amway India.
CARE, which was founded in 1945, works for humanitarian organization to fight against global poverty. It places special focus on working for poor girls and women as it felt that equipping them with the proper resources they have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty.
In a written statement, MD & CEO, Amway India, William S Pinckney said, “Globally, Amway has always been in forefront when it comes to supporting noble causes.”
In support of the ongoing campaign, Pinckney said, “The idea is to sensitize people towards importance of nutrition in those critical initial five years of child’s life. This collective effort is necessary to help children around the world live to see their 5th birthday and achieve their potential in life.”
According to the World Health Organization, 7 million children younger than 5 years old die each year from preventable causes and malnutrition is the underlying cause of 45 percent of these deaths. Not only across the world, 75% of preschool children in India are Iron deficient and 60% of them have vitamin A deficiency. India is No.1 country in World for stunted (low height for age) children as per UNICEF.
Amway Opportunity Foundation (AOF) is set up with the objective of making a “meaningful difference” to the teeming millions of underprivileged children around the world. The activities of AOF is aimed at such less privileged children who are being undertaken under the banner of “One-By-One” campaign for children that aims to touch every single underprivileged child and work towards making a “meaningful, qualitative difference” to the lives of such children in an effort to a brighter tomorrow, a tomorrow that will be shaped by today’s children.
