Sponsored Video: Help a Child Reach 5!

What is a picture of Kajol doing at the top of your blog post?

                                                                                    

Ah, I was always a big fan of hers: but now that she has taken the initiative to lead the Help a Child Reach 5 campaign my respect for her has gone up manifolds.

What is this campaign all about?

Ah, that. It’s just that two million children do not reach the age of five. To put things into perspective, it is equivalent to the population of a small European country like Slovenia or Macedonia.

But isn’t this a really high count?

It is. And we’re talking about an age of five here (which is the age where children are most vulnerable), so it’s time we get serious.

This sounds serious. Why do so many children die?

There are numerous reasons. The one we’re addressing here is diarrhoea. Diarrhoea is one of the more common reasons that lead to death of children at a very early age, especially in rural areas. However, it can happen to your children too.

How does diarrhoea happen?

In India we eat with our hands; if our hands remain infected with germs while eating there is a very high probability that we can end up having diarrhoea. Of course, the probability is higher in children, since they have a lower immunity level.

Okay, I’m convinced now. But how can I help?

The solution is simple. In fact, it’s simpler than what you think. All we need to do is to wash our hands with soap before meals and after we use the bathroom. That will really cut down the rate of diarrhoea. What is more, it can turn out to be a difference between life and death.

That’s obviously doable. But what is this campaign about?

See, you’re reading this post, but a lot of people are not: which is where the campaign comes in. Just go to YouTube and type “Help a child reach 5”. You can also see the video above.

The campaign has chosen Thesgora, a village in Madhya Pradesh, as the first step. Thesgora has a very high child mortality rate: in fact, people celebrate if a child reaches the age of five.

Once you’re convinced that it is worth sharing, please do. It’s that easy to help. Just spread the news. We have to take the initiative; we have to show the way.

Read. Watch. Share. Maybe you may end up saving multiple lives in the process.

Can we donate as well?

Of course you can! Just go here and donate! Your donation will go straight to Population Service International – an organisation that is already playing a stellar role in this! In fact for every rupee you pay, Lifebuoy will pay a rupee, which makes the impact you make twice as good!

What is more, every time you click the video above Lifebuoy will donate a rupee towards the cause. This is not the usual spam where you need to share age-old posts on Facebook, no. This is real-time, and it depends on the number of hits the YouTube video gets. Of course, this also means that the more you share video, the more the number of clicks, and the more Lifebuoy donates to the cause.

You can also find out more at Lifebuoy's Facebook page. You can also visit their website here or here.

I think this is a very long post, so I scrolled down to the very bottom. Can you tell me the gist?

You can stop a lot of children below five from dying of diarrhoea (a very common thing even today, especially in rural India). You can simply click and share this video (it’s also provided at the top of the article). Additionally, you can donate to the cause here; remember, whatever you contribute will be matched by Lifebuoy.

Why does Kajol not act anymore?

I knew this was coming, but I have no idea. I will ask her if I ever get to meet her. A comeback is long overdue.

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This post has been sponsored by Lifebuoy.