UNITE FOR CHILDREN

• Genre: Social Welfare, Culture and Education
   
• Location: Cote d'Ivoire
   
• Commissioner: National Geographic Channel Benelux and UNICEF
   
• Duration: 24 minutes
   
• Delivered: November 2009
   

In the 21st century we still live in a world of contrasts and extremes and these factors are simply governed by where a person is born and raised.

A child born into a poor but loving family in Africa needs to have enormous luck and opportunity to break the vicious circle of poverty, desperation and disease.

Here in the west we expect quality health care as a given right, but to a mother and child living in the shadow of HIV/AIDS in Africa receiving any health care is a true blessing.

Since the end of the Second World War, one organisation has tried to give every child the right to good quality health care regardless of geography or economics– the name of the organisation is Unicef.

A child living in a township in a land ripped by conflict and civil unrest could never imagine what fortune and lifestyles we, in the West, take as the norm.

Here in the Netherlands, a country blessed with prosperity and fortune, this way of life is highlighted by the iconic lifestyle of Renate Verbaan - a glamorous model and TV celebrity. However underneath all the glamour and glitter Renate is a mother of a newborn child and has a committed, deep passion for the work of Unicef.

Renate wants to deepen her knowledge and compassion about what it means to another mother to share hope for a new child: a child who is an innocent casualty of the stigma of HIV/AIDS.

During a life-changing passage of discovery, Renate will also experience the day-to-day work of a dedicated Unicef team as they diagnose transmissions and administer potentially life-saving medication. This program is known as Preventing Mother-To-Child Transmission or PMTCT.

Renate will also visit community projects where education, support and health-care are a vital tool in the battle against childhood mortality.

In an honest, upfront and emotional journey against the background of a country in turmoil, Renate will witness - first hand - the work of a team of dedicated doctors and staff who give their unstinting energy to save the lives of children.

Renate will truly experience the meaning of Hope.

See the website of National Geographic for more information:

http://www.ngc.tv/programmes/custom/renateverbaanivoorkust/?Id=1366