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Forbes
4 days ago
- General
- Forbes
Key Club Leaders Inspired By UNICEF Programs In Zambia
Three high-school student leaders with Key Club International, a youth-led service organization and UNICEF partner for over 30 years, recall meaningful interactions with children, caregivers, community volunteers and youth child rights advocates during a recent trip with UNICEF USA to see UNICEF programs in Zambia. Children, caregivers, volunteers and early childhood development specialists gather with visitors from UNICEF USA staff and Key Club International outside the UNICEF-supported Kasunbanya Early Childhood Education Insaka (Hub) in Zambia. Key Club International, the world's largest student-led service organization, supports Start Strong: Zambia, a project through which club members around the world help raise awareness and money to support UNICEF programs for young children in the southern African nation. Three Key Club International trustees — Nicole Bunag of Indiana, Aspen Hess of Central Florida and Ethan Schmidt of Alabama — recently traveled to Zambia with UNICEF USA for a firsthand look at UNICEF's impact in the country, particularly in early education and early childhood development (ECD). They visited ECD centers, health facilities and hospitals and met with government officials and UNICEF program staff. In this Q&A with Cristina Shapiro, UNICEF USA's Chief Strategy Officer and President of the Impact Fund for Children & UNICEF Bridge Fund, the students reflect on the experience. The conversation has been edited and condensed. CRISTINA SHAPIRO: It was such a pleasure to travel with you in March, and to see the impact of the fundraising Key Club has done to support ECD programs in Zambia. Let's start with each of you saying a little bit about yourselves and your involvement in Key Club. Key Club International trustees meet with young change makers supported by UNICEF Zambia, who share how they advocate for the protection of child rights in their community. ETHAN SCHMIDT: I am based in Birmingham, Alabama, and I am a graduating senior this year. Working with Key Club for the past four years — and for the last two as an international trustee — I've been able to work pretty intimately with UNICEF as the co-chair of the Programs and Partners Committee, working on fundraising campaigns such as Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF and Start Strong: Zambia. Outside of the classroom, I am a huge language nerd, and I am also a very amateur runner, something I'm trying to build my endurance for. To summarize Key Club, I'd say it's an international service organization that works to foster student leadership and volunteerism across the globe. ASPEN HESS: I am based in Central Florida, and am also a graduating senior. I am very passionate about civic engagement and political science, which I intend to study in college. NICOLE BUNAG: I am from Indiana, and I'm a graduating senior. I plan to go to Purdue University to study engineering. Fun fact about me: I am a triplet. CRISTINA SHAPIRO: The way that you all showed up in Zambia — how you led all the conversations we had, asking incredible questions — gives me hope for the world, with you as our future leaders. So now that you have all been home for a little bit, and you've had a chance to process and reflect, tell me: what was the most meaningful part of the trip for you? ASPEN HESS: One of the top ones was definitely our experience at the community-based ECD center, or Insaka. I didn't realize how holistic the work is that is being done at these centers. I actually got to sit down with some of the maternity care volunteers in the stimulation room, some of whom walk an hour or longer every day to get there. I observed them with the infants, making sure they were getting the stimulation they need. It was so heartwarming. I also met a young girl named Anaya who is benefiting from UNICEF support through the foster care system. I had so many inspiring experiences every single day, but these are the moments that I truly cannot stop thinking about. Key Club International trustee Aspen Hess helps out during a stimulation session with an infant at a UNICEF-supported early childhood development center in Zambia during a program visit with fellow trustees Ethan Schmidt (standing far left) and Nicole Bunag (standing next to Ethan) and Cristina Shapiro and Nicole Brown from UNICEF USA. CRISTINA SHAPIRO: Yes! It's not just seeing the program in action, but getting to interact with the key staff and the volunteers who make it possible, and the incredible children and family members who are benefiting — that's what brings this all to life. And while we were there, we were really excited to learn that the government of Zambia is planning to expand this program to more communities. What do you think the government saw in these centers that made them want to do that? ETHAN SCHMIDT: I think it's the breadth of services that they provide. They are kind of a one-stop shop for enrichment. Mothers can come in from the surrounding communities with their children, access educational services and medical services, learn about nutrition. Then they go back to their communities, bringing all that important information with them, and share it with their peers. CRISTINA SHAPIRO: And we learned the government plans to expand from three Insakas — the ones Key Club's support helped power — to 200, all across the country. This is a great example of a demonstration project, showing what works, and then the government stepping up to bring that impact to many more families in need. ETHAN SCHMIDT: Yes! The scalability is great. Young students work together at a UNICEF-supported school in Zambia. CRISTINA SHAPIRO: Nicole, what will you take away from your experience in Zambia and apply in your role as a student leader in the U.S.? NICOLE BUNAG: Before I was an international trustee, I served as a UNICEF champion, where I truly got to learn and understand Key Club's work with UNICEF and our Start Strong: Zambia campaign. And getting to see firsthand how families and children in Zambia are positively impacted was definitely exciting. It was incredible! It was so cool to see adults and youth [in the places we visited in Zambia] invested in making sure child rights are protected, and their development and education prioritized. That's what I hope to do in my own school and community. International trustee. But more than that, we got the chance to talk with other student leaders in Zambia for a couple of hours, and to see the work that they do to help their community. I think we were all intrigued by what they had to say about how they help a variety of people, from 7-year-olds to 25-year-olds, and about how they tackle different topics, from drug abuse to nutrition to gender-based violence and so much more. These youth leaders create awareness for child rights. It was so cool to see adults and youth invested in making sure child rights are protected, and their development and education prioritized. That's what I hope to do in my own school and community. Related: Cristina Shapiro on Bending the Curve for Children in Zambia Investing in early childhood generates massive returns for society — up to $17 for every $1 invested in children living with disadvantages. Every year, millions of children, their parents and families benefit from UNICEF's ECD work. Learn more about UNICEF's work in early childhood development. High-school students and Key Club International trustees Ethan Schmidt, left, Aspen Hess, center and Nicole Bunag during their UNICEF program visit to Zambia in March 2025. Help UNICEF reach more children in need. Please donate today.
Forbes
09-04-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Bending The Curve For Children In Zambia
Key Club volunteer Aspen Hess lends a hand during a stimulation class for children under age 2 and their caregivers at the UNICEF-supported Kasunbanya Early Childhood Education Insaka (Hub) in Zambia as Cristina Shapiro, back row, second from right, and colleagues from UNICEF USA observe. By Cristina Shapiro At UNICEF USA, our mission is to rally the American people to support children everywhere. We have results to prove that when we invest in them, we build a safer, stronger and more prosperous world. Even with the funding crisis impacting children now, my recent trip to Zambia to visit UNICEF programs reinforced my conviction that it is possible to bend the curve, to radically improve outcomes for the world's children, and the most vulnerable children in particular. At the different program sites, I observed three UNICEF strategic priorities at play — common threads that are part of UNICEF's DNA. They are: Partnership: By partnering with governments at all levels, local NGOs and community leaders, UNICEF is able to reach far and deep while ensuring localized solutions with community buy-in. Integrated service delivery: Solutions that combine health, education, nutrition and social protection at key points of service are more effective — but require flexible funding. Community: Meaningful impact happens when community members show up for each other and leverage UNICEF training to scale proven solutions. Here are some examples of all three of these principles in action. The Manungua Scaling Up Nutrition program is a UNICEF-led, government-supported initiative that is addressing the problem of stunting, which affects 35 percent of Zambian children, by scaling up malnutrition prevention, identification and treatment. Implementation is localized and executed with the help of trained community volunteers to drive improved health and nutrition outcomes. The volunteers, who are almost all women, serve as nutrition promoters, teaching families how to find, cook and preserve local high-nutrient foods. Each is assigned to 10 other households in their rural community. All are given the option of participating in a pooled savings and loan program that helps families weather difficult times. In Zambia, a UNICEF and partner-supported "Catch-up" education program is helping to address learning poverty among third, fourth and fifth grade students. Above, class is in session at Tunduya Elementary School, outside Lusaka. At the Tunduya Elementary School, outside Lusaka, we saw how a catch-up program — developed by UNICEF in partnership with the Ministry of Education with the motto 'Forward Ever, Backwards Never' — is providing third, fourth and fifth graders with remedial instruction to address Zambia's learning poverty crisis, in which a majority of the nation's 10-year-olds are unable to read a full sentence. Students who participate in the catch-up classes show learning improvements after just one month. Based on these results, the program is being expanded nationwide, and has already been rolled out in 60 percent of Zambian schools. At the Kasunbanya Early Childhood Development (ECD) Hub, or Insaka in Bemba, the local language, I had the opportunity to meet Helen, Angela, Belita and Hildah – four amazing volunteers in the stimulation room for children under age 2. Kasunbanya ECD hub volunteers Helen, Angela, Belita and Hildah visit with Cristina Shapiro and a representative of Key Club International. These inspiring individuals walk an hour each way in difficult, muddy terrain to be there for mothers who come with their babies for health checks, nutrition support and early childhood education services, including the interactive play sessions that are so critical for a child's cognitive and emotional development. The Kasunbanya facility is a demonstration center created by UNICEF in partnership with the government and local NGOs with funding from Key Club International and other donors. It has been so successful that the World Bank is providing the funding needed to create 200 more ECD hubs just like it. These are just three ways UNICEF Zambia is helping to bend the curve for children. With funding cuts threatening the majority of the Zambian health budget, humanitarian assistance is needed more than ever to keep these efforts going, and to continue making a difference in vulnerable children's lives. Visitors from UNICEF USA meet with UNICEF Zambia staff to learn more about how UNICEF is supporting vulnerable children in the country. UNICEF won't stop until every child is healthy, educated, protected and respected. But we need your help. Your lifesaving contribution is 100 percent tax deductible. Cristina Shapiro is UNICEF USA's Chief Strategy Officer and President of the Impact Fund for Children & UNICEF Bridge Fund
