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<h2><i>The impact of vaccines on the lives of children around the world is incredible. Now, you can help sustain the impact by sending an email to your member of congress. Welcome your members to the 113</i><i><sup>th</sup></i><i> Congress and ask them to make sure that global health and vaccines are a priority in the new Congress. Take action and make an impact!</i></h2>
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Today, I am honored to share the story of a woman named Sahra Mohamud. Sahra goes door to door spreading a life-saving message to the mothers in her community of Bossaso, Somalia.

<a href="http://www.everydaytreats.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/10_Roxanna-Sarmiento_Sahra-Mohamud.png"><img class=" wp-image-4422 alignnone" alt="10_Roxanna Sarmiento_Sahra Mohamud" src="http://www.everydaytreats.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/10_Roxanna-Sarmiento_Sahra-Mohamud.png" width="518" height="324" /></a>

<em style="color: #808080;">Photo Credit: UNICEF Somalia – Susannah Price reports</em>

UNICEF in Somalia sponsors Child Health Days where women and children receive free vaccination and preventative care that quite literally saves lives. It's an amazing service, but incredibly, many mothers don't know about them -- or if they hear about them on the radio they may not have enough information to make the decision to go and get the healthcare offered to them.

It sounds crazy, I know, but as a fellow mother, I know how hectic life with young children can be. Mothers in Somalia are like mothers in America -- we are busy. We have limited time and resources. So we depend on each other for information, advice, and recommendations.

Enter Sahra.

For an upcoming <a href="http://www.unicef.org/somalia/nutrition_12094.html">Child Health Day</a>, Sahra served as a social mobilizer to gain mothers’ trust and encourage families to attend the Child Health Day at the Horsed Mother and Child Health Clinic. As a social mobilizer, she goes door to door and explains to mothers the importance of immunization as well as explains it is not a one time thing; it is a process that continues if you want healthy children.

Sahra and her fellow social mobilizers are quite literally saving lives by connecting with the women in their community.

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I'm a snowbound blogger in Boston, sharing her story to <em>my</em> community, which is mostly made up of mothers connected to and by the Internet. While our "social mobilizing" is quite different on the surface, at its heart it's all about inspiring action by connecting with each other.

I honestly don't know what I would have done if I had had my children before the age of blogs and the internet. The amount of support and information I got and still get from my fellow mothers from all over the world was a lifeline in those early days of motherhood and still provides much needed support and at times comic relief now that I'm a wizened old mother of three.

(OK, I still need your advice. We never really know everything, do we?)

Whether I'm reaching out to an old friend across the country, or to a woman I've never met around the corner, the internet has made it perfectly clear to me that we can change the world by connecting with each other.

Whether you are like Sahra and communicate with your neighbors and immediate community, or whether you are a mother with a blog who is simply sharing her story for reasons that might seem silly on the surface; we are all part of a worldwide chain of mothers sharing, connecting, and advocating for ourselves and our families.

That's a very powerful thing.
<h3><em>This story comes from <a href="http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF Somalia</a> and is part of Shot@Life’s ’28 Days of Impact’ Campaign. A follow up to <a href="http://www.shotatlife.org/blogust/">Blogust</a> to raise awareness for global vaccines and the work being done by Shot@Life and their partners to help give children around the world a shot at a healthy life. Each day in February, you can read another impactful story on global childhood vaccines. Tomorrow, don’t miss <a href="http://spanglishbaby.com/">Ana’s post</a>! Go to <a href="http://www.shotatlife.org/impact">www.shotatlife.org/impact</a> to learn more.  </em></h3>
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