World Humanitarian Day is a global celebration of people helping people. UNICEF USA is proud to partner with the NCR Foundation, and we celebrate you all this World Humanitarian Day. Our organizations first came together in 1990, as NCR celebrated the holidays with UNICEF greeting cards. From there the NCR Foundation and UNICEF USA have partnered in India, Brazil, Serbia, Philippines, and Ukraine to make a difference for children.

In 2013, the NCR Foundation and UNICEF USA started working together in India to build teacher capacity and support a professional environment that will foster the highest level of educational quality for children throughout the country.

From there, we expanded our work to support children with disabilities in Brazil. The NCR Foundation’s support allowed UNICEF to partner with the governmental to systemize Rivers of Inclusion, a pilot program for inclusive education for children and adolescents with disabilities. The project built capacity, programming and awareness on the side of the educational system, and encouraged families with children with disabilities to attend school and educated them on the programming and services being offered. Over 7,500 children and adolescents and their families benefitted from greater inclusion in the municipal and state education system.

The Foundation supported multiple programs in Serbia from building two inclusive playgrounds to supporting STEM education. There were previously no inclusive playgrounds in Serbia, meaning children with disabilities and their families were isolated and often not integrated into everyday society. Now with an inclusive playground in Belgrade and Cicevac, children and families of all kinds can play together. With the support of the NCR Foundation, UNICEF developed the Good Practice Guide on Building an Inclusive Playground Guide, which documents the process and know-how on the innovative approach to building an inclusive children’s playground. It will be used continuously in the future to further disseminate the model through media, social networks and civil society organizations actively supporting the rights of people with disabilities.

Starting in 2019, thanks to the Foundation, UNICEF brought to life STEM workshops, focusing on simple program coding to introduce children and young people to new technologies in an interactive way. Through a dynamic workshop format, a team of trainers sparked their algorithmic thinking through tailored robot programming. Young people aged 11–14 years, and particularly girls from vulnerable groups, have been introduced to such digital tools for the first time: 62.58percent of participants were from underprivileged groups and 61percent of all participants were girls.

The NCR Foundation has not only supported UNICEF’s development work globally but also stepped up in times of emergency. During the covid-19 pandemic, when within days of entering 2021, India confronted a devasting second wave of COVID-19 that claimed a million lives and had put tens of millions of children at risk from the aftershocks of the crisis and the resulting economic meltdown, the NCR Foundation provided funding to UNICEF for a critical oxygen generation plant to increase oxygen supply in a hospital treating critically ill COVID-19 patients. We also partnered to provide 10,000 vaccines to India and the Philippines for front line workers and vulnerable populations.

Thankfully, we witnessed an outpouring of solidarity from inspirational supporters like the NCR Foundation who did not hesitate to help us face this challenge. With your help, UNICEF leveraged its extensive presence across 28 states, and dual humanitarian and development mandate to play a key role in the government-led COVID-19 emergency response. UNICEF’s Health and Supply teams used their technical and logistical expertise to deliver oxygen generation plants, concentrators, testing equipment, and other essential supplies across the country.

UNICEF USA is grateful for the support of NCR employees who also contributed $70,000 to support UNICEF’s efforts to end the pandemic.

Most recently the Foundation supported UNICEF’s response to the war in Ukraine. The Foundation stepped up to support UNICEF’s full activation, which includes Blue Dot hubs. Designed to be one-stop shops for families on the move, the centers provide sustenance, respite, information, guidance and psychosocial support, among other services. UNICEF, thanks to partners like the NCR Foundation, is now running 37 Blue Dots with the capacity to reach 3,000- 5,000 people per day at each center.

UNICEF USA is proud to partner with the NCR Foundation, and this World Humanitarian Day, and every day, we thank you all for your role in supporting a more equitable world for every child.