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"Your adrenaline has to run.  Whatever business you are in, if you don't feel exhilarated by achieving your objectives and excelling in what you're doing, then you will never do very much well.  You can do a lot of things competently.  But you have to have a sense of being turned on by the thought of making something go well.  It's doing something better than it has ever been done before, or creating a new refinement in what you're making or a better service than the other guy.  This is how you build a business." - Malcolm Forbes

INVEST IN MOTHERS TO HELP POST-CONFLICT SOCIETIES

Save the Children has released "State of the World's Mothers 2002" which reports on the status of women and children in over 160 nations. This year the report focused its attention on the role of mothers in strife torn nations.  One key conclusion of the report was that "investing in mothers is one of the most effective ways to help post-conflict societies achieve reconciliation and move forward."  The report observes:

"Often, after enduring years of destruction and chaos, women step up to play highly constructive roles as peacemakers and rebuilders.  A number of successful women's initiatives for peace have used the universal symbol of motherhood to evoke both the power to forgive and the power to protect.  Evidence suggests that additional investments in mothers can be a key ingredient in helping post-conflict societies achieve reconciliation, development and a better future for children.

"Most women in post-conflict societies already have skills they can use to make a living, but they need help to fully utilize these skills so they can do more for their families.  Small business loan programs have  been successful in Bosnia, Georgia, Guatemala, and Mozambique, helping families and communities to get back on their feet.  The benefits often extend well beyond the individuals who participate.  By bringing groups of women together in productive enterprises, these projects help rebuild lost trust, confidence and sense of community.

"After the fighting has stopped, many health problems that were exacerbated during the conflict will remain.  HIV/AIDS may have spread unchecked, and diseases like tuberculosis and polio that were under control before the conflict began may have re-emerged with a vengeance.  Safe water and nutritious food may still be hard to come by.  And the risk of death in childbirth will likely be higher than it was prior to the conflict.  All these conditions will continue to threaten the lives of mothers and children.  Yet dramatic health improvements are possible when women have access to maternal health services, including voluntary family planning, and education about easily preventable or treatable diseases.

"Many children, especially girls, in post-conflict countries have missed years of schooling and need to catch up.  Schools must be as responsive as possible to children's deficits in learning, and mothers can help enormously, especially if they are educated, to reinforce their children's intellectual development at home.  Unfortunately, high rates of adult female illiteracy, common in post conflict developing countries, have a profound impact not just on children's ability to learn, but also on the overall health and well-being of the family.  Adult literacy programs for mothers in these countries are helping to improve these conditions."

To read the entire Save the Children report, which includes a ranking of the status of mothers in 105 nations, go to:
http://www.savethechildren.org/mothers/sowm02/index.shtml

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