Happy Independence Day America (...From Mexico With Love)

What a beautiful morning!  I am feeling so lucky to be alive and to have the blessing of belonging to two countries.  I was born, raised and educated in Mexico where until today all of my family is still there.  I moved to the United States 4 months after I married my husband, Dan, in Mexico and my journey to become an American began. 

I decided that I would learn everything I could about my new country, starting with the language.  That was not easy - it did not matter that I took 3 years of English in college, when I came to this country I was tested to only a 2^nd year level of functional English.  I knew a lot about the fight for American independence, the 13 colonies and the White House.  I still remember reading everything I could find about its government, history, etc. but I was in awe – there were no words to describe my amazement when I arrived here.  I had heard about ‘The Land of the Free’ and ‘The Land of Opportunities’ - but now it was all real!

26 years have passed now and I have been advocating, learning and making sure that I do this country proud.  Since my arrival I have always felt a responsibility to make sure that the people who came before me did not sacrifice their lives and efforts in vain.  I love this country very much and feel honored to represent it positively in any way possible.

 I know it is not perfect, but this country has made the dreams of thousands of people a reality.  We have the freedom to be ourselves, worship how we desire and travel any place we want - the list can go on and on.  However, this 4^th of July remember that many brave and courageous soldiers have died defending this country for us to enjoy this freedom.  So when things are not going the way you want, don't nag, gossip, complain or get apathetic.  We all have the responsibility make a difference in this country and change it for the better.  Like I said before, you don't have to go far away to do it.  Start with your family by teaching them respect for this country.  Teach them family values and a good work ethic by your example.  Show them that you love them by actions - don't buy the all those expensive toys and technology devices… in the end they will not remember those material things.  They will remember the times you spent with them, working, playing, making memories and having quality time together.

The strength and the beauty of this country does not lay in Capitol Hill or anywhere else in Washington DC; or in state and local leaders who direct this country - but in the power and voices of the individuals that live in this country.  We, as a whole, have the responsibility to teach these values in our homes, schools and churches to the next generation of American children so they grow up knowing that they need to take an active part to make a difference.  We, as adults, need to be involved in community issues as active participants in our children's education and partners with our schools and communities to better our school systems.  

My new friend Lucero sell baskets to help her family.

Teach everyone about the needs of other countries and how children die every 20 minutes from diseases easily preventable by vaccines.  Teach compassion, empathy for others who are suffering from a lack of good nutrition and educational opportunities while appreciating their need to work to help sustain their families.  Most importantly: remember all children need a role model.   

I love our country and want to help do everything in my power to make it better!  God Bless America!  I am in Mexico this summer visiting the country where I was born, raised, studied and served when I lived here.  I love my heritage, my roots and I am and always proud to be a Mexican.  It was in Mexico where I became an advocate and learned that my voice had power and that it was my responsibility to make my community better.  In a sense I am very lucky because I can love 2 countries with the same passion and loyalty… but today I want to raise my hat to an amazing country, my country, The United States of America.  Happy Independence Day, America!  Happy Fourth of July!  I am very grateful and humbled to have this freedom and to live in this wonderful land where I can be the voice of many who cannot speak talk for themselves.

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No Parents Left Behind: Happy First Birthday Shot@Life!

No Parents Left Behind: Happy First Birthday Shot@Life!: It has been a very busy two weeks celebrating National Vaccination Week and preparing for various events for our Shot@Life first Birthday...

Happy First Birthday Shot@Life!

It has been a very busy two weeks celebrating National Vaccination Week and preparing for various events for our Shot@Life first Birthday here in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

What an amazing year it has been for me as a Champion and Ambassador for Shot@life.   I can hardly believe that one year ago in April 26 Lyssa Sahadevan, Lori  Grise, LaShaum Martin  and I were at the Atlanta Aquarium in Georgia with the United Nations Foundations staff for the BIG National Launch of the SHOT@LIFE Campaign.  It was an incredible experience!  As I was sitting there listening to one of the speakers I knew it would became a National movement.  Who would not want to participate in a cause so noble and worthy?  I was amazed to see so many people committed and eager to support our cause.  My personal reflections in my notes of that day say: “I am feeling very humble now; I didn’t realize it would be so big …and with so many influential people like the former first lady Roselyn Carter; Ann Geddes; Noelle Howey, deputy editor of Simple Magazine; Kathy Calvin, CEO of UN Foundations; Dr. Anne Schuchat of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Ambassador Andrew Young; John Rutherford, Officer of the UNF, and many more.  I can’t think of any reason for this campaign NOT to become a National Movement!  We, as mothers, educators, legislators, lawmakers and community leaders have the power to share this message.  Every child around the world deserves a ‘shot at life’ to live free of childhood diseases that can be easily prevented with vaccines.  Measles, polio, pneumonia and diarrhea are childhood diseases that can be eradicated from this earth if all of us work together”.

In one year we have grown from 45 champions to 415 champions and more signing up for the cause.  Last week every one of these champions, from around the country, spread the word about Shot@Life either through blogging or holding events and fundraisers. Their actions created more awareness and understanding of the importance of vaccines and how they save children’s lives.  I am so proud of them! Happy First Birthday Shot@Life!

Like I said before, I became a Champion for the Shot@Life Vaccines Campaign because I have seen what the lack of vaccinations does to people, especially to little children.   I saw the pain and agony in the eyes of the mothers and children in my native country, Mexico.  I had mental flashbacks to scenes deeply engraved upon my heart by experiences I had as a nurse.   We received children who had been dehydrated for days from uncontrolled diarrhea, while others showed the ravages of untreated diseases like chicken pox, measles and mumps.  Still more came to us with distended abdomens from malnutrition and the lifeless eyes of starvation.  Then there was the baby boy who came to us with tetanus and died several hours later in our facility.  Nothing can be more excruciating than watching a child die in your arms without being able to give the help or comfort needed to alleviate their suffering.


I am very passionate about children’s health issues here and around the globe.  My trip to Uganda last fall with the UNF team reminded me of how similar we are and of how rural areas health needs are the same throughout the world.  Mothers in Uganda have the same worries as we do or of any mother, anywhere.  Motherhood is truly universal.  As a mother, I would do anything in my power to protect my children and to make sure that they received the best education possible.  I would give everything to see that they grew up healthy and strong, performed concerts, danced, sang, and enjoyed every day’s sunrise, sunset and in-between.  All of these things are blessings that many of us forget sometimes or take for granted because we live in a country where childhood vaccines are easily available to us in our doctors’ offices.  But sadly, many other mothers will not have these privileges and opportunities.  Too many of them will not see some of their children live beyond toddlerhood to grow older.These experiences have expanded my understanding and have given me insight on how health issues, hunger, and poverty are global issues of great importance to all of us.  We are all connected and of equal worth, therefore we must do something to resolve these problems. 

 You and I can make a difference through advocating to our legislators and communicating the message to the public and in our communities.  We have to use every available resource to make sure that all children have a better future.  We need to protect them and to make sure their voices are heard.  They can’t protect themselves; they need us to fight for them and their rights.  We are their voice and their only hope!Happy birthday Shot@Life and thank you for saving lives and giving me the honor of being a part of this amazing campaign!

My personal Journey: Saving Lives - One Child at a Time

Becoming a champion and advocate for the United Nations Foundation Shot@Life campaign was easy.  As a former nurse from a developing country I saw the needless suffering of children from diseases like pneumonia, measles, and diarrhea - all of which are illnesses that could have easily been prevented through the administration of vaccines.  With this background, coming to join UNF Shot@Life was like going back home for me.  I am on a personal journey and going back to my first love: Global Health, Vaccines for Developing Countries.  I believe in the power that vaccines have in saving children’s lives.   The training and support from Shot@Life helped to give me a voice and has made me a more powerful and more successful advocate for children.  I've gone from being an advocate for equal education for minority groups, a Multicultural Diversity PTA Community President and founder, a community leader to a global vaccine advocate.  Last fall I accompanied the United Nations Foundation and eight amazing ladies on a trip to Uganda.  I had traveled abroad but this was my first trip to Uganda, Africa.  While in Uganda, I observed Family, Child Health Days and routine immunization at health clinics in churches and mosques.  I met many mothers and in each one of them I saw love and devotion for their children. They worry.  They sacrifice. They walk many miles to make sure their children get their vaccines and needed help to be healthy.         Baby Taqia and Nakyanzi I'd like you to meet Nakyanzi Saidah and her beautiful little girl Taqia.  Nakyanzi is 20 years old.  She and her husband came to the Ebri Celebration and Family Health Day hosted by her mosque in Mubende.  She and her 18 month old daughter were dressed beautifully and ready to give baby Taqia her first vaccines.  She told me that she wanted her daughter to grow up healthy and go to school.  Nakyanzi has so many hopes and dreams for her daughter.    Talking with doctors and country representatives I learned that 386 children in Uganda under the age of five will die in one day and that 141,000 children under five are lost annually.  Uganda is one of 30 countries in the world with the highest number of deaths of children in that age group. In response to this UNICEF and Shot@Life are connecting mothers to health care, giving prenatal care 4 times a year, providing iron tablets, immunizations, nutrition education, maternal and neonatal care, and preventive care from HIV and AIDS.  They hope to decrease the mortality rate of the Ugandan people through such efforts. Mothers all around the world have the same dreams and hopes for their children.  We want our children to be healthy and protected from harm, especially bodily harm. We want them to live to have many birthdays, to graduate from high school and to watch them become whatever they want to be.   My beautiful daughters Xochitl and Citlali   I can’t imagine not having my children in my life. The pain these mothers go through when they lose their children is heart-wrenching and would be no less than my own sorrow in the same situation. Every 20 seconds a child dies in a developing country.  For only $20.00, a child can receive protection from measles, polio, pneumonia and diarrhea for life. I know you share my passion for ending childhood diseases that are preventable with vaccines. You can invest in children like baby Taqia by joining me in making a stand for motherhood throughout the world by donating to provide more shots for a healthy childhood!  Please go to my fundraiser link below and donate. Together we can vaccinate 100 children by Mothers Day and give mothers like Nakyanzi the best Mothers Day present!   Shot@Life | Felisa Hilbert's Fundraiser on CrowdRise http://www.crowdrise.com/shotlife/fundraiser/...

No Parents Left Behind: UNICEF Family Health day in Fort portal, Uganda

No Parents Left Behind: UNICEF Family Health day in Fort portal, Uganda: One of the rewarding experiences of our Uganda trip was to meet with the families in rural areas that were so similar to my own country of M...

UNICEF Family Health day in Fort portal, Uganda

One of the rewarding experiences of our Uganda trip was to meet with the families in rural areas that were so similar to my own country of Mexico.  Practicing nursing here and in Mexico is incredibly alike.   My favorite memories were the visits to the Family Health days in Mumbende, Karabole and Fort Portal.

I felt like I went back in time; Different country, same images. I was delighted to have the opportunity to talk with families and patients when they were waiting in line.  I enjoyed talking and reminiscing about my nursing time with Sheila Tumuhairkie, a nursing student in charge of taking the blood pressure in Fort Portal.   I was ecstatic when she asked if I wanted to help. Oh how I had been secretly wishing for this!  We had a long line before us and only one person to do the job, but now with two, we divided the job to finish the task:  she would ask the patients for their personal information in their native language and write it down in the log and I would take the blood pressure of each patient and give the numbers to Sheila to write.   I was pleasantly surprised when some of the patients spoke English and as soon I started to put the cuffs in their arms I would say “thank you for coming today” and ask if they have had any health concerns.  I received many smiles and even more stories. 

Sheila Tumuhairkie and I at blood pressure station

An old grandma told me about her feet and hands swelling every day and how painful it was for her to move.  A quick glance towards her hands and I could see the signs of arthritis.   So I told Sheila and she made her a referral to the clinic.  Next I met George Sabiiti, a 74 years old sweet man with a big smile.  I started talking to him and I found out that he had been coughing blood for the last 2 months, when I asked if he went to the clinic, he said yes and that they told him he had bronchitis. The cough with blood never went away and this morning he was coughing blood again.  I saw many cases of TB in my own country and I know that you don’t want take any chances. I talked to the nurse and they immediately referred him to the doctor.   Jocinta Limbigamba, a 40 year old female was feeling dizzy and had a big headache which we learned was because she was diabetic and had not been taking any medication.  Face after face was another story of struggles with illness that are very easy to prevent with vaccines or even more basic services like doctors’ visits.

Photo credit: Stephanie Geddes

In Mexico we called it Preventive Medicine; here we called it Family Health Days.  Time is a precious resource for Ugandans so UNICEF created Family Health Days to provide the basic services to the underserved districts of Uganda four times at year (January, April, July and October) with the hope to reach 80% off the people.  So far in my eyes they have been very successful.

I always have been a huge advocate for education, diversity and inclusion for minority groups, a sympathizer for those in poverty or with health issues, and a woman of action in addressing the needs of others. I can’t help but look back on the days I spent in Uganda with such feelings of warmth. ­­­The Ugandan people’s courage and resilience and the children’s smiles and gratitude taught me greatly of the human triumphant and the power of kindness; a little charity can yield such progress and beneficence. Shot@life and UNICEF are raising awareness and increasing the resources available to people everywhere in order to help immunize children in Uganda and other developing countries, to fight against vaccines preventable diseases (measles, polio, pneumonia and rotavirus). They are the causes I believe most in and pride myself in saying I am a part of.

Shot@life resonates with me and should resonate with everybody; especially, for those who care about human life.  I have been supporting, advocating and championing United Nation Foundation Shot@life vaccination campaign because I believe in their mission and goals and have firsthand the vaccines saves lives.

 So, please join me and help protect, save, and give children like little Taqia and her mother Nakyanzi Saidah the milestone to grow older together, celebrate birthdays and a shot to a future free of childhood diseases.  

Baby Taqia with me and Mom, Nakyanzy Saidah

 It is incredible how just a few dollars can make the difference between life and death.

•   $5.00 Protect a child from polio and measles for his lifetime.
• $15.00 Pay for vaccines to protect a child from the two most deadly diseases –       pneumonia and diarrhea.
• $20.00 Give a child a lifetime of immunity to protect her from pneumonia, diarrhea, polio and measles.

Every year 8 million children under five years of years die from common diseases.  Together we can change the statistics and make sure no more children die every 20 seconds!