Welcome to issue 33 of the Call to Comms!
A powerful earthquake hit Morocco on Friday night. TSF has deployed. Read more about the new mission in this newsletter issue.
Also this week: children rights across the world, and a new TSF hire for our project in Madagascar.
TSF in the field
In the aftermath of the earthquake that hit Morocco’s Atlas Mountains region on Friday’s late evening, a TSF team has rapidly deployed to help affected communities and reached Marrakesh on Saturday evening.
The 6.8-magnitude earthquake caused significant damage – at the time of writing, more than 2,800 people died and 2,500 are injured. The death toll is still expected to rise, with rural areas and the city of Marrakesh particularly affected. Many people in these areas still do not have access to basic means of communication.
The TSF team is working on coordination and collaboration with on-site contacts, with a focus on the areas most affected.
This week’s reads
1 - Unprecedented child migration crisis across Latin America and Caribbean
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned of the unprecedented number of children on the move through Latin America and the Caribbean. In the first months of 2023, a record number of children are undertaking dangerous journeys, putting them at risks of exploitation, abuse and violence. According to UNICEF, “more than 60,000 children have made the trek, half of them under five – the highest number on record for a single year”. Globally, more than 7 million refugee children are out of school.
2 - UNESCO calls for regulations on AI use in schools
On the occasion of UNESCO Digital Learning Week, the organization has published the first-ever guidelines document for the use of artificial intelligence in education. It discussed the benefits of technologies in education as well as its potential risks.
3 - Breathless beginnings: The alarming impact of air pollution on children in Europe and Central Asia
The latest UNICEF report shed light on the alarming impact of air pollution on children in Europe and Central Asia. In 2019 alone, 5,801 children and teenagers died because of poor breathing conditions. Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental threat to human health and UNICEF estimates that deaths caused by poor air quality are preventable.
Directly from the field
Julie, our new VSI volunteer, is starting her one-year mission as “Change Manager” in Madagascar this week!
She will be part of the TSF team in Miarinarivo and help with organizing the activities and developing new partnerships.
See you next week!
Member discussion