The New Nation - Internet Edition

WP Reporter

Starwood Hotels and Resorts renewed its pledge to help children secure their rights through strengthening its ongoing partnership with UNICEF.

This pledge was made at a press conference organized by Dhaka Sheraton Hotel on Monday 29 October 2007. It also focused on the Starwood Hotels & Resorts community activities and its partnership with UNICEF, which has evolved over the last 10 years from a simple idea of extending to its guests the opportunity to make a token contribution to UNICEF's work by helping children who need protection from poverty and disease.

Trevor MacDonald of Sheraton Hotel said, "Check Out for Children is a global partnership between Starwood Hotels & Resorts and UNICEF." Starwood guests are invited to donate US$ 1 (or local currency equivalent) when checking out of their hotel to donate to UNICEF's immunization programs worldwide".

Guests of Starwood hotels have donated US$16 million globally to bolster UNICEF's immunization programs. For each US$l million raised over 55,000 children can be immunized against diseases such as polio, diphtheria, tetanus, tuberculosis and measles.

In addition, Starwood Hotels nominates an employee as its UNICEF Ambassador to ensure that the program runs smoothly in the properties and to help maximize donations for immunization.

Every year, the participating hotel's ambassador organizes an event to raise money through different activities. Last year, Dhaka Sheraton Hotel organized a concert for the children and donated Tk 369,000. This year, Dhaka Sheraton will organize an event on November 9 where Dhaka's most famous music band Nagar Baul (James), fashion models and DJs will entertain guests.

Moreover, a top-performing hotel for UNICEF is awarded a prize each year and the winning ambassador gets the opportunity to attend a field trip. This year, Irene Gai from Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort is here Dhaka to see for herself UNICEF's immunization program. Also present were, Hwee Peng Yeo, Director, Corporate Communication, Starwood Hotels and Resorts; Carolyn Hardy, UNICEF Australia; Giuseppe Ressa, General Manager of Sheraton Langkawi Beach Resort and other top officials from Starwood Hotels and Resorts & UNICEF, here to observe the 16th National Immunization Day (NID) activities.

Hwee Peng Yeo, Director of Corporate Communications (Asia Pacific) for Starwood said, "We are delighted to be here and see UNICEF immunization activities in Dhaka and Bogra. This time, we visited NID sites and took a firsthand look on how the immunization programs take place in Bangladesh. We, at Starwood, are honored to be a part of this entire program."

Dr. Iyorlumun Uhaa of UNICEF described his organization as the world's leading advocate and aid agency in promoting and protecting the rights of the children. He said over 7,000 UNICEF staff in over 150 developing countries are helping to promote child health, development and survival by providing essential medicines, vaccines, education, health and emergency supplies.

Dr. Uhaa said, "Bangladesh ranks among the developing countries in which immunization rates increased substantially during this decade. We need to maintain this momentum by reaching those children who are marginalized and hard to reach. In partnership with organizations like Starwood, we can work together to meet MDG goal 4 which aims to reduce child mortality by two thirds by 2015."

UNICEF's approach is to use low-cost, highly effective solutions that work dramatically to improve children's lives. Globally, 93 per cent of funds raised by UNICEF go directly to the grassroots level.