Children who care about Children (Without Worms)

Since Johnson & Johnson partnered to launch Children Without Worms more than 7 years ago, I’ve been the one responsible for overseeing the program which aims to improve the health of children around the world by eliminating soil-transmitted intestinal worms. In my role of managing the supply of medicines for donation and monitoring administration of the country programs, it is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day work of engaging with governments, partners and other global health leaders, scouring the literature for the latest research and ramping up the program to reach millions of children around the world efficiently.

It is rewarding work indeed, though I’m not always sure that everyone understands what we do. But every once in a while, I come across something that makes me pause and truly appreciate that others really do understand what the global health community is trying to achieve.

The other day, the Director of Children Without Worms shared a letter which gave me a moment to pause in appreciation. With the letter was a check for $309.79 made payable to the program. The money was raised through collections by a group of Sunday school students from the Woodlands United Methodist Church in Woodlands, Texas. Taking a short excerpt from the letter, it reads:

 “Our 5th and 6th grade students are mission-minded and have learned that children as young as themselves are shoeless and faced with feet-borne intestinal worms. They have embraced this mission with love, prayers and generosity.”

It is heartwarming to me to know that these students could identify with, and want to help solve a problem suffered by children on the other side of the world. These young students are learning how important it is to give. This generous donation will be used to support the deworming program activities that include, training teachers to administer the program, developing hygiene education materials to teach the children to prevent infections, and much more.

It is so very important that these thoughtful and generous students from Woodlands understand the impact they are having. To quote Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever does.”

Bill Lin is the Director, Worldwide Corporate Contributions, for Johnson & Johnson. Follow him on Twitter: @wlin_13.