Code the cure for 1.6 billion displaced children
Helping kids living in crisis
During conflict, severe weather, or other catastrophic events, the world’s impoverished children are vulnerable and suffer disproportionately. Their fate is often left to governments already strained by crisis that place other priorities in front of their health and welfare. It’s immensely sad, tragic, and not without irony, as these children are the future of the people and places leaving them behind.
The COVID-19 crisis has severely impacted children all along the socioeconomic spectrum. For kids living in poverty and crisis zones, though, the difficulties are layered and compounding day by day. Their homes may not be safe places for isolation. They lack the technology for remote learning. Their food and water sources may not be constant. And access to hygiene that’s necessary for pandemic sanitation takes a back seat to more pressing needs.
Hope for these children often comes in the form of non-profit humanitarian organizations. One of the largest child-focused nonprofits, Save the Children, has a global relief network that is actively at work in all seasons, all around the world. They are always busy, and the COVID-19 outbreak has only amplified the needs of the children they serve.
John Zoltner, who leads technology for development and innovation at Save the Children, answered questions about the current challenges his organization faces and what CEO of Save the Children, Janti Soeripto is looking forward to as a judge of Call for Code solutions.
With COVID-19 striking by storm, what is the most astounding stat that people should really know about?
The incredible stat we’re facing right now with COVID is that there are 1.6 billion students around the world who have been displaced from their schools; and they’re either locked down at home, or they’re just now returning to schools. And of those 1.6 billion, we know that at least 10 million of them won’t return to school. They’ll be sidetracked by working underage, some will be married off, and some will just lose interest in school. So we’re doing everything we can around the world to make sure that children have access to adequate nutrition and educational activities, and that they can return to school safely.
How are you reaching communities during the outbreak?
We’re using whatever works. For example, in order to get information about how to stay healthy, wash your hands, and other activities that can protect against COVID, we not only sent text messages to high-risk Sudanese populations with access to simple mobile phones, and provided information via community radio, we also strapped loudspeakers on top of Range Rovers and drove them through the towns that didn’t have access to radio.
How do you see Tech for Good having the most impact in addressing some of our most pressing social issues?
Technology allows us to run our programs much more efficiently. Technology allows us to scale up our programs, and it basically allows us to direct our resources in a more efficient way so we can serve more children. One of the aspects that’s been most helpful is the use of data. We’ve always collected a lot of data, but we haven’t been as able to apply it as well in the past to help us make decisions about where to direct resources or how to better serve children. Now that’s becoming a reality.
How vital is collaboration in making positive changes at a global level or global scale?
To me, what makes Call for Code work is the community. And I think the most important part of that is that IBM didn’t just focus on technical people, software engineers, or developers. Instead, the Call for Code community is filled with people who come from all walks of life. They’re good people who care about the problems of the world and want to make a difference.
What kind of work is your organization doing to fight back against COVID-19?
Save the Children is working with more than half a million community health workers around the world in 44 countries, so we’re responding to COVID on a huge scale. We’re always responding to emergencies, so we’re used to it, but pandemics are rare. We have active staff spread around the world, working on distributing hygiene supplies, providing health information to help keep people safe. We’re also providing training and giving protective equipment to frontline health workers. We’re working in education. We’re using radio to reach children who are locked down at home, who can’t leave their houses, but who do have radios. We’re giving the same lessons they would learn in school via radio. We’re especially focusing on girls, women, refugee populations, and any displaced people, because those tend to be the most vulnerable.
What has Save the Children’s experiences been like contributing to Call for Code?
Participating in Call for Code has been a fantastic experience for Save the Children. Our CEO, Janti Soeripto felt that even in the midst of a pandemic, it was worth her time to sit on the judging committee. Being on that committee exposed her to a really wide variety of innovations — both technical, and not-so technical ones — that may be relevant to Save the Children’s work. There were examples of people coming together with a wide range of skills in order to look at some of the most difficult problems the world faces, and come up with possible solutions to them.
Feeling inspired? Get involved and contribute to an open source project today. Also, be sure to mark your calendar for the 2020 Call for Code Awards on October 13!
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