I Believe in Zero

First-hand, human stories of hope, resilience, determination, and family: a call to see the world's children as our own, by the President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF


In I Believe in ZERO, President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF Caryl M. Stern draws on her travels around the world, offering memorable stories that present powerful and sometimes counter-intuitive lessons about life. I Believe in ZERO reflects her - and UNICEF's - mission to reduce the number of preventable deaths of children under the age of five from 19,000 each day to zero.

Each of the stories in I Believe in ZERO focuses on a particular locale - Bangladesh, Mozambique, earthquake-ravaged Haiti, the Brazilian Amazon - and weaves together fascinating material on the country and its history, an account of the humanitarian crises at issue, and depictions of the people she meets on the ground. Stern tells of mothers coming together to affect change, of local communities with valuable perspectives of their own, and of children who continue to sustain their dreams and hopes even in the most dire of situations. Throughout, Stern traces her emerging global consciousness - and describes how these stories can positively impact our own children.

In this incredibly moving book, Stern hopes to open hearts and minds and leave readers with the belief that no child anywhere should lack basic human support - and that every child and mother can be an inspiration.