In less than a week, my firstborn child, my baby girl Ava will turn 4. While this isn't often considered a major milestone, it is still very dear to my heart, being her mother and all. It got me thinking about how good we have it here in North America. I feel fortunate to live in a country where we have access to things such as clean water, nutritious food and medical care.

South Asia is going through turmoil -- some inflicted by nature, some by fellow humans. Myanmar's cyclone has mercilessly claimed lives in ways that we can't begin to fathom, no thanks to the Junta and its closed-door policies. Paddy fields in the Irrawaddy Delta have been washed away with bodies, bang in the middle of a global food crisis.

On Thursday, May 15, Blogcatalog.com is challenging bloggers to Unite for Human Rights by posting words, pictures and/or videos. While the words might change from country to country and are sometimes taken for granted, human rights represent one of the universally agreed upon ideas — that all people are born with basic rights and freedoms that include life, liberty, and justice. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations.

After reading Denise's BlogHer post last week that the gift of maternal health is the perfect Mother's Day gift, I thought "this really is perfect!" I blogged it and suggested that not only is it a great cause, but it is also a great consumerism/stuff-free gift, something that I feel, in our consumerism-driven society, is so important, but so ofte

Right now, thousands upon thousands of women and children like these (above) who took shelter in a Buddhist temple need our help. This morning, BlogHers Act and GlobalGiving expanded our Mother's Day fundraising initiative to save women's lives to include the tens of thousands of people devastated by Cyclone Nargis. Now, in addition to donating to hand-picked and carefully vetted programs to help women and children in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Darfur, Nepal and South Africa, you can use the BlogHers Act donation widget (see below and the left-hand column on every page of BlogHer.com) to help get water and shelter to thousands of people whose lives are in danger. And we'll help!

Have I told you lately how much I love how smart this community is? Here's what I'm on about: Over the weekend, BlogHer community member Valiens of A Brain Like Mine blogged great questions about the BlogHers Act fundraiser to save women's lives: "I'm wondering whether the women's health care available in any given country is able to provide birth control in any meaningful way, and I'm wondering what the general attitude and practice is among the providers in the various countries about abortion....I'm also wondering if any of the organizations being supported are specifically political in nature, or in support of, or being supported by, political organizations, and which ones they are, and what their mission statements propose. Again, this could be an important factor regarding donations. Transparency is most desirable.On top of that, I'm willing to say I have some potential donors who would have questions about vaccinations, AIDS treatments, religious involvements...more" I love Valiens' questions because it gives me an opening to talk more about BlogHer's philosophy for our BlogHers Act fundraiser, and why we chose to work with GlobalGiving to support five projects we deliberately selected with an eye to exactly the issues she raises. Here goes...

In just over a month, I will be delivering my baby in one of the best obstetric hospitals in my country. I will have the best doctors, a private room, and every comfort. If I wanted to, I could have a highly-trained midwife, and a doula, and have my home outfitted to accommodate a comfortable home birth. I have every reason to expect - even though I know that there are no guarantees - that I will have a safe and straightforward delivery. It is unlikely in the extreme that anything terrible will happen to either myself or my baby, assuming no complications with the pregnancy.

How many women's lives can we save with donations from the BlogHer community, between now and Mother's Day, May 11, 2008? If you will download this widget today and encourage your readers to donate, we can find out. Won't you join us?