A little girl, all of about five months old, with big brown soulful eyes, lays defenseless on the tiny makeshift hospital bed in Dhaka Shishu. Her arm is stroked lovingly by her mother, who is forced to watch on helplessly as her precious baby struggles to stay in this world.
Pneumonia.
But as I was to find out late last month, it has never been easier to help combat the unnecessary childhood deaths at the hands of this treatable disease.
The good people at Vicks, in conjunction with the Australian branch of Save the Children have launched a new campaign to wage a war against untimely deaths from preventable illness, with the goal of treating 75,000 children this winter in Bangladesh – a country which sees a child die from pneumonia every 20 seconds.
You can support this worthy cause either by purchasing your favourite Vicks product from your local supermarket or chemist, or (and this is so easy there is honestly NO EXCUSE not to comply) click on the link here and “Like” the “Vicks Australia Breathe For Life Project” facebook page. In doing either of these acts you are ensuring that one more child does not suffer unnecessarily from a preventable, treatable disease.
Natalie Bassingthwaighte – who I had the absolute pleasure of meeting during the campaign launch – is the worthy ambassador leading the fight to not only reduce the death rate but also train health care workers and doctors in Bangladesh, so that many more parents will have access to vital medical aide when they need it most.
Natalie was clearly moved as she recounted her recent visit to Bangladesh, especially the moment in which she met the little lady in the Dhaka Shishu Children’s Hospital. As her eyes welled with tears (meaning so did mine!) she implored us to help spread the word.
“In my role as ambassador for the Vicks Breathe for Life Project, I am passionate about encouraging Australians to join the fight against childhood pneumonia. In our own small way, this is an opportunity for mums, like me here in Australia, to help others. The great thing about this campaign is it’s so easy for Australians to contribute to – you can buy any Vicks product or ‘like’ the Vicks Australia Facebook page,” she adds.
If you want to watch a snippet of Natalie’s pilgrimage to Bangladesh, you can do so below. I trust that you will then see for yourself why we need to fight this plight and save a child’s life.
This is a great cause worth fighting for. This is just so cruel, all those children dying when they can be saved…
Just heartbreaking. Hope this helps in a big way.