Rosie Scribble

At seven the world should be a happy place #ShareNiger

Something got to me yesterday. Really got to me. And it wasn’t that I was late adding my entry to this week’s gallery. It was much much more than that.

It was a tweet. This tweet:

The reference was to a lady called Fatima Soumana who lives in Niger and saves children who are sold as wives.

That’s children, CHILDREN, being sold as wives. 

Hard to comprehend isn’t it?

The word children just does not sit comfortably next to the word wives. I’m still struggling with it today. 

There is no them and us ...

I've complained this week. A lot.

It's a long list, but for the purpose of this blog post here’s a shortened version:

• I've had to lug endless boxes of toys down the stairs so that our decorator can paint IJ's bedroom.
• I've had to put all my books into boxes so that my bedroom can be painted too.
• I forgot to charge my iPhone so couldn’t reply to emails during a trip out.
• Added to that, my Internet connection then went down for two whole hours.
• And did I mention we ran out of milk?

There's a word for all of this. Well, three actually:

First world problems.

Hardly the end of the world are they, really?

I could in all honesty survive without my phone for a week. If Facebook wasn't accessible and Twitter locked me out for a month I'd still be here at the end of it. In the grand scheme of things, they are not that important. And these things are luxuries to others. How easy it is to forget.

I saw children in Africa touch an iPhone for the very first time and stare in amazement at the sight of a camera lens.

Provamel teams up with Tree Aid

Continuing my blog’s recent charity theme, news has just arrived in my inbox than Provamel has teamed up with forestry development charity TREE AID to launch our Join the Movement campaign. A long-standing champion of tackling climate change and cutting carbon emissions, Provamel is committing to plant and protect 5,000 trees in Africa's driest lands. The donations pledged to TREE AID will support its on-going Tree Revolution, which aims to see at least one million trees planted and protected in Africa by the end of this year.

The 5,000 trees will be planted in the West African region of Mali, one of the harshest and driest environments on earth. On top of absorbing global carbon, helping in the fight against climate change and improving the local deforested environment, these trees will be used by hundreds of local people to fight poverty. With TREE AID's help, thousands of people are being taught to use trees sustainably to generate an income – meaning Provamel's 5,000 trees will continue to yield benefits for years and years to come.

All you need to do is like the Provamel page on Facebook to get involved.

Sponsored post.

Why I've been keeping an eye on William and Catherine this week

Very rarely can I say I'm following in the footsteps of Royalty.  In fact, this is a first. You see, next week I’m flying off to Denmark to visit UNICEF's Global Supply Centre in Copenhagen and following in the footsteps of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge who were there on Wednesday.

The purpose of their trip was help focus attention back the on-going humanitarian disaster in the horn of Africa where approximately 13 million people are at risk of starvation, half of them children.

I'm travelling there to find out more about UNICEF's Inspired Christmas Gifts range which I’ll be helping to promote in the run-up to Christmas.

It seems a lifetime ago since I last witnessed the work of UNICEF first hand. It’s a charity whose work I feel passionate about having been involved with their corporate partnership with Pampers, so I’m excited to be getting more involved in their work again.

A final thank you

This post is simply to say thank you to everyone who followed my trip to Cameroon last year and helped support Pampers and UNICEF’s campaign to eliminate Maternal and Newborn Tetanus.

Thanks also to everyone who listened to me talk about my trip at the recent Cybermummy conference and for your overwhelming feedback.

Your support helped raise the funding for 41,543, 890 life-saving vaccines and will have saved countless lives across the developing world.

You may spot a few bloggers you know in the video below.

Thank you from me and from the team at Pampers and UNICEF.

Together bloggers really can make a difference.