Who is your Superhero

موضوع: Who is your Superhero الإثنين أكتوبر 10, 2011 4:24 pm

Who is your Superhero?

When I was a kid I loved reading comic books. I liked the usual suspects; Batman, Superman, Spiderman, The Flash. They fought crime, saved lives and did it all as an alter ego, which to me meant I could have a boring life of school and homework during the day and beat up bad guys by night. In my mind anyone could become a superhero, you just needed a cool costume and big, strong arms.

Of course, as I grew up, finding a hero to identify with stopped coming so easily. There just aren’t that many people – real people – that can jump into action, prevent catastrophe and save the day. Or are there?

I can’t really imagine what life would be like today without all the doctor, nurse and health worker heroes that have helped me and my family over the years. Because they were there, childbirth went smoothly, vaccines protected us and our infections were cured. They even helped me overcome pneumonia when I was 2 years old!

In rural villages in countries like Mali and Nepal, local health workers stand out even more as the heroes they are. They deliver lifesaving care to mothers and children when doctors and hospitals are far away and challenging, if not impossible, to reach. Health workers like Felix and Ade, who we feature on the Good Goes site, don't make much money, and they often walk miles to get to the families who need them, but they are dedicated because they know their actions save lives.

Instead of a superhero utility belt equipped with weapons, health workers carry lifesaving gear in a bag or backpack. Antibiotics and rehydration salts are used to help overcome the biggest killers of children, pneumonia and diarrhea. Flash cards help teach lifesaving practices like breastfeeding and proper hygiene. And, like Spiderman, health worker heroes can even save the day with a net – a simple bed net in this case, which protects families from malaria.

Zap – evil mosquito! Ka-pow – dastardly diarrhea! Bam – pneumonia!

Who doesn’t think the world could use a few more
superheroes?

Today there’s a global health worker crisis – not enough health workers and not enough training to activate the superpowers they could unleash. Save the Children and many other organizations are asking world leaders to address this crisis and take action at the United Nations meetings in September.

So help us celebrate the superhero health worker and spread the word about the need for more health workers! Click here to see how you would look as a superhero health worker and share it with your friends. Then up, up, up (on Facebook) and away!!!

Andrew

The Good Goes campaign tea