Note from Marc Monseau: The following is the third — and final — post from my colleague Angela Chiu based on the time she spent volunteering in Africa earlier this year. As 2009 winds down, and as my family and I gear up to celebrate the holiday season, I thought Angela’s words provided a poignant take on what we can all gain by giving to others.

From Angela Chiu, Interactive Marketing Manager, Vistakon, Hong Kong

Some clips from the work conducted earlier this year:

29 July 2009, Kampala King’s School, outreach activities and distributing gifts

1 Aug 2009, Cherish classroom dedication ceremony

How long did your joy last after getting an iPhone? How happy were you when you acquired a Kindle or a 72-inch plasma TV?  We have almost forgotten the joy that we used to have when getting a toy car, a doll, or a basketball when we were small. Over time, especially when we start to accumulate some wealth, value becomes nothing more than an entry in the books. How much meaning does it still carry?

When I looked at the children we visited in Kampala King’s School, Uganda, they had very little compared to us. Their school uniforms were not ironed, their socks were loose and shoes were torn. They haven’t had one class photo since the school was established. But the joy that they expressed when receiving small things from us, like candies and balloons, was so tremendous that it went beyond anyone’s imagination. Who were we to deserve such excessive gratitude for only giving such a tiny token? 

We completed the classrooms as planned in Cherish, where HIV-positive children are taken care of and are educated. We had a classroom dedication ceremony there on a Saturday, followed by a party with the kids. We did a little performance for the kids, sang and danced with them, taught them how to twist balloons and make little bracelets. At the end, each of us was presented with a hand-drawn thank you card and a hand-made wooden heart as appreciation. Mine was given to me by a 2-year old boy, and my eyes were swamped with tears when he was stumbling towards me and then crowned me with that heart.  As one of my team members said, “My heart has just broken but I just got a new heart (the wooden one) just in time.”   

It left me wondering: who was there to give and who was there to take?

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (called COP15) is well underway in Copenhagen. We are a member of three leading climate partner groups attending COP15: World Wildlife Fund’s Climate Savers, The Climate Group and the United States Climate Action Program (USCAP) and are engaged with them in conversations at the conference. Cécile Astuguevieille from our EU-based Government Affairs and Policy group shares her impressions of the business summit:

The great engagement of the business into climate change policies highlighted the first day of meetings attended by Johnson & Johnson in Copenhagen. The Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change gathered business leaders from the construction, media, insurance sectors and the signatories of the Copenhagen Communiqué (which Johnson & Johnson endorsed) to debate on the low carbon economy and the policy priorities post Copenhagen. The companies reported on the various energy efficiency initiatives they have launched and on the use of renewable energy to significantly reduce their global GHG emissions.  The transition towards a low carbon economy is considered a challenge but also a great opportunity for the businesses to foster innovation and competitiveness.  It was also mentioned that complementary initiatives, such as taxation of energy, should be taken in addition to the cap-and–trade system for more effective climate change policies. A recurring theme of the debate was that very few barriers to the transition towards a low carbon economy remain, apart from the political will.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Climate Business Day was organized by the WWF Climate Savers group of companies (Johnson & Johnson is a member of Climate Savers). The debate focused on the engagement of financial and insurance sectors, both of which consider CO2 regulations a growing opportunity for investments. Climate change regulations could transform CO2 into a new global currency which will imply new potential for investment in innovative sectors. It was, however, emphasized that such incentives to innovation will be effective only if the global carbon market is built on clear rules that companies can rely on.

The important presence and visibility of companies from diverse sectors in Copenhagen and during the coming week confirm the transition towards a low carbon economy as the current biggest challenge that business is already engaged in. Also, everyone’s uncertainty regarding the outcome of the Summit appeared quite clearly today, and business hopes that a strong and binding agreement will be concluded on December 18^th.

While we are making strides against HIV/AIDS, there is so much more than can be done to save lives around the world. In developed countries we’ve been able to nearly eliminate the chance of babies being infected with HIV, but this isn’t the case for all babies born in many countries in Africa.

Anu Gupta, Director Corporate Contributions, Johnson & Johnson, spoke to Pat Farnack at WCBS 880 about what can be done to help prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV in African countries. Anu says that more than 1,000 babies are born with HIV every day, and many of those babies unfortunately will not live very long. Of those born with HIV/AIDS who remain untreated, 1/2 die by the time they are one year old, and 1/3 of those remaining before their second birthday. The tragedy is that these deaths are completely preventable, because it is possible to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the disease in the first place. 

Moms around the world need to have access to the necessary treatments that can prevent them from spreading HIV to their babies. Anu explained that to help with this, Johnson & Johnson partners with different aid organizations and community groups such as mothers2mothers who know the best ways to reach these mothers. 

You can listen to the interview or download the podcast here – and if you’d like to read more about mothers2mothers, there’s actually an earlier post on JNJBTW about one of the co-founders of mothers2mothers, Robin Smalley, here.

It turns out that this year’s hottest holiday toy is safe after all. After the recent media coverage around toy safety, many parents are left wondering if other toys on their children’s wish lists are safe, too. I thought it would be helpful to share some tips for making sure children’s toys are safe during this holiday season, courtesy of Safe Kids New Jersey:

1. Before shopping for toys, consider the child’s age, interest and skill level. A fun, but inappropriate toy for a particular child can be dangerous.
2. Make sure toys intended for older children are stored separately from those for younger children.
3. Keep toys with small parts away from children under age 3. They can choke on small toys and toy parts.
4. Check regularly for damage that could create small pieces that are choking hazards. Make any necessary repairs immediately, or discard damaged toys out of the reach of children.
5. Actively supervise children when they are playing with riding toys as well as any toy that has small balls and small parts, magnets, electrical or battery power, cords and strings, wheels or any other potential hazard. Simply being in the same room as your child is not necessarily supervising. Active supervision means keeping the child in sight and in reach while paying undivided attention.

According to Safe Kids, most toys are safe, especially if you buy from a reputable retailer. Parents can stay informed about harmful products by visiting http://www.recalls.gov/ and signing up for email alerts on recalled children’s products.

 If secondhand toys are purchased, or received from friends or relatives, parents should visit http://www.cpsc.gov/ and make sure the toy hasn’t been recalled for safety reasons.

Safe Kids New Jersey has more tips and resources on toy safety to help parents keep kids safe this holiday season-as well as important information about kitchen safety and holiday decorating safety.

It can be hard to imagine how one person can make a significant difference against something as devastating as HIV/AIDS. As part of an event to commemorate World AIDS Day at our corporate headquarters, I saw a few clips from the documentary A Ripple in the Water: Healing Through Art. I was moved by the story of Kim Berman, an artist and activist who founded the Artist Proof Studio in post-apartheid South Africa to encourage artists and printmakers to develop their artistic skills while also promoting leadership and social change. Through the Artist Proof Studio, Kim has developed programs to use art as a way to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and help alleviate poverty.

Inspired by an ancient Japanese custom of offering painted strips of paper as prayers for healing, the Artist Proof Studio runs an outreach program called the Paper Prayers campaign. The program teaches people to make pieces of art for healing and remembrance, while also raising awareness about HIV/AIDS in urban and rural areas around South Africa.

Embroidery and papermaking provide a vehicle for expression while also enabling women affected by HIV/AIDS to develop products to generate income so they can take care of themselves and their families. Since papermaking is so labor-intensive, embroidery provides an opportunity for women who are sick and weakened by the disease to continue working to support themselves. What I found the most amazing was that these women who are living in poverty reach out into their communities and donate a percentage of their profits to hospice organizations and others. They also pull together to care for those in the community who are sick, and for children orphaned by the disease.  

By empowering women through art, Kim has helped people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS come together as a community to cope with the pandemic and lift themselves, and each other, out of seemingly impossible situations.

The ripple effect has extended to the U.S. as well. One of the film’s producers, Eileen Foti, an Assistant Professor at Montclair State University, talked with us about the impact of the film in New Jersey among schoolchildren for whom the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS and poverty are very real. The film, and a corresponding Paper Prayers project, opened up a dialogue and gave the students a chance to express themselves through art.

 Learn more about the documentary here.