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Chris Helfrich, director of the United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign, reports on the South Sudanese humanitarian crisis from Nairobi, Kenya.

Today we toured Kakuma Refugee Camp in the northern Kenya desert, home to nearly 95,000 refugees, about one-third of whom are from South Sudan. People there have walked days or weeks, or ridden buses, or flown in airplanes, to escape dangerous conditions in their home countries. They arrive exhausted, most with little or no belongings.

When the electricity goes out, you know how quickly and easily your life is disrupted. You can’t watch television; your food could spoil in the refrigerator; you stumble in the darkness to find a flashlight or candles; the traffic lights might even be out of service in your neighborhood.

Live Below the Line is a great concept, and I’m glad to participate this week to support the Shot@Life Campaign. Think of it this way. Live Below the Line participants spend $7.50 total to eat and drink for five days. My grocery basket on Sunday night was filled with a loaf of inexpensive bread, peanut butter, two bananas, two boxes of pasta and a (half-priced) dented can of peas.

With the headlines announcing Obama’s support for same-sex marriage, it has reminded us that, as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon declared, “the time has come” to make lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights a top priority with the United Nations.

This past week at Mashable Connect, the UN Foundation’s Robb Skinner, 92Y’s Henry Timms and Mashable’s Stacy Green announced the exciting partnership that is bringing the world Rio+Social. This is a first-of-its-kind meeting that will bring social media leaders, UN leaders, pioneers in innovation and global thinkers into the same space to talk about sustainability, the future of world, and how we all can make a difference.

Students these days are great at memorizing dates, timelines, chemistry tables, and grammar. Both the students and our education system have become quite efficient at taking (or administering) tests well. The problem with this examination priority is simple: what we don’t need is a generation of test-takers. The world needs problem solvers.

One of the key pillars of our organization has always been championing a strong relationship between the United States and the United Nations. The United Nations Foundation and Better World Campaign believe strongly that the UN is beneficial to U.S. foreign policy and international security.

Before finishing my breakfast this morning, I had read through the A section of the Washington Post, checked three cable news and network morning shows for major headlines, and read stories on six different news sites recommended by colleagues and friends via email and social media. By the time I go to bed tonight, I cannot tell you how many news sources I will have consumed.

I know a girl named Kidan from Ethiopia. Like so many girls around the world, she has dreams and aspirations. She wants to be a doctor one day. But Kidan is at a crossroads; there is a key obstacle standing in her way. Do you know what that is? Watch her story to find out!