Something My Father Taught Me About Hope and Leadership

For a number of years, my father had a small sign in his kitchen that said: "Life is 98 percent good; 2 percent other." That optimistic view fit his personality well and is something he passed on to me.

As my mother's mind and health succumbed more and more to Alzheimer's disease, I noticed during one visit that he had used a pen to scratch in a couple of edits. The sign now said: "Life is 88 percent good; 12 percent other."

Yeah, life was getting harder but, in my father's view, it was still 88 percent good.

I've been thinking about that these past weeks as those of us involved in humanitarian aid and development assistance have dealt with the fallout of the unprecedented dismantling of the U.S. Government's foreign aid structures and funding along with cutbacks from other government donors in Europe.

It feels like the floor has collapsed beneath us.

And yet ... all is not lost.

I continue to see plenty of evidence that support remains strong for the work we do on behalf of children and families in some of the poorest places in the world. I've seen incredible commitments made to continue to fund this work. And I've seen government leaders who remain committed to taking action to ensure their communities are places where children and youth can thrive.

No, all is not lost.

For instance, I was in Paris recently for the Nutrition for Growth Summit, a major international gathering of people and organizations working to combat hunger and malnutrition globally.  At the summit, governments and private philanthropists committed an astonishing $27 billion for this kind of work, surpassing the commitments made four years earlier at the last Nutrition for Growth Summit. True, the U.S. Government, which in the past would be a leading voice and commitment-maker at such an event, chose not to participate this time. But others did.

Among those were American philanthropists Mike and Jackie Bezos, who committed up to $500 million to UNICEF USA, to help fund UNICEF's innovative Child Nutrition Fund, an effort to seek an end to childhood deaths from malnutrition. Their investment includes a matching component, intended to inspire fellow philanthropists, organizations and governments to join the fight to end this solvable problem. That's the largest funding commitment I've ever been a part of in my more than two decades of leading nonprofit organizations.

Apart from the nutrition event, I've seen others step up in a big way. Just the other day, one of our donors recommitted to fund a project at the $150,000 level and offered another $500,000 to help address funding gaps caused by foreign aid cuts.

Commitments to expand and protect the rights of children aren't always about funding, either. Last week, I had the chance to speak to Denver Mayor Mike Johnson and Councilman Paul Kashmann — government leaders committed to improving the lives and futures of children in their community. They, along with our team at UNICEF USA, helped launch the city's pursuit of a UNICEF designation as a "Child Friendly City," a multi-year process requiring commitments to prioritize children and youth in their plans, programs and budgets and to involve youth in the process.

All is not lost.

I don't want to minimize the impact of foreign aid cutbacks from multiple countries. They are real. I read the other day about children dying from cholera in South Sudan because clinics that had been funded by the U.S. Government had been recently shuttered. There are many more examples like that, I am afraid.

But just as my Dad didn't minimize the terrible loss of my mother's life to Alzheimer's when he declared that life was still 88 percent good, I want to remember all that we still have, be grateful for all that is still working and be energized by the positive impact we continue to make on children around the world.

When those of us who lead organizations are overwhelmed by crisis and trouble and unexpected roadblocks, part of our job is to face them, address them, mitigate them. Part of our job is also to draw our energy from what is working and to encourage our staff, stakeholders and others around us to do the same.

Yeah, we might have to edit down what percentage of life is "good" from time to time, but I bet it is still 88 percent or so.

Right now, the lives of the most vulnerable children hang in the balance as conflicts and crises jeopardize the care and protection that they deserve. Dependable, uninterrupted and effective foreign aid is critical to the well-being of millions of children. Please write your members of Congress and urge them to support ongoing U.S. investments in foreign assistance.