Arlo Parks appointed UNICEF UK Ambassador

Arlo Parks has been appointed the youngest ambassador for the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK), following three years of support for the charity. The award-winning musician and poet visited Sierra Leone this month with UNICEF UK, spending five days with young people leading change in their communities. Her itinerary was led by UNICEF Sierra Leone Youth Advocates, all of whom have built grassroots responses to social challenges in the West African country, including teenage pregnancy and substance abuse.

Arlo Parks was one of the youngest ever winners of the Mercury Prize, at 21, for her debut album Collapsed in Sunbeams, which also earned her a Brit Award and two Grammy nominations. Her second studio album My Soft Machine was released in 2023, and her songwriting credits include Ya-Ya on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album.

West Africa has some of the highest rates of child marriage, teenage pregnancy, and maternal mortality in the world. In Sierra Leone, 21 percent of all pregnancies occur among adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 (SLDHS 2019). The majority of women do not have access to contraception and do not make their own reproductive decisions. After years of campaigning, Sierra Leone banned child marriage in a landmark law passed this week, making it illegal for anyone to marry a child under the age of 18.

Parks met a support group for teenage mothers led by Rita, 20, who struggled with being orphaned at age 7 and pregnant at 15. Girls who have children at a young age are more likely to have health problems, drop out of school and be stigmatized at the household and community level. The consequences are felt for generations to come.

Rita said: “If I had three wishes, I would ask to have grown up with a mother. Maybe I would always be guided and even when things were bad, maybe I could cry to her for help. I would ask to hug my son tightly and give him tears of love. Finally, I would ask to find peace in my mind. Do you know how many of us are going through the same thing?”

Sara, 22, opened a safe space for girls in Freetown five years ago. As a survivor of sexual violence, she said: “I wanted to create a judgement-free space where girls can come with any issue and find the support and information they need.”

Parks said: “With the journeys that these young girls have taken, there is a level of suffering that is hard for me to comprehend. But in finding community, finding friendship, dismantling the shame, there was a lot of love, a lot of weight, and a lot of hope.”

When Parks visited a project where girls learn how to make sanitary pads and learn vocational skills such as sewing or catering, he said: “It was so tangible to see the change that has been created within that community. There is a brutal culture of transactional sex for these young girls. It is heartbreaking to endure that violation to meet basic needs. But it was heartwarming to see the mentoring and ‘big sister’ structure that they have created for the girls.”

Sierra Leone has declared a national emergency due to a recent increase in drug abuse. Parks met with leaders of Kush4Go, a campaign against drug abuse, and spoke to recovering addicts. She said: “There’s something so painfully universal about drug abuse, the fact that it can happen to absolutely anyone. It’s hard to fight the stigma and get the support you need, even if it’s physical, it’s a disease.”

Parks also met Foday*, an organization that provides students with opportunities to participate in national and international sports, developing transferable skills that help address important issues such as health education, personal development and social inclusion. “Playing basketball with the girls was one of the most uplifting experiences of this entire trip,” said Parks. “Seeing how sport taught these women to use their bodies for strength and resilience, how to lean on each other, work together and bounce back, highlighted the joy and potential of women in Sierra Leone.” she continued.

Rudolf Schwenk, UNICEF Representative in Sierra Leone, said: “It was a pleasure to host Arlo in Sierra Leone ahead of her upcoming appointment as UNICEF UK Ambassador. Her role will be crucial in mobilising support to end violence, exploitation, abuse and harmful practices against children, especially the most vulnerable, in Sierra Leone and beyond.”

In the past three years of supporting UNICEF UK, Parks has raised money on tour, performed at the Blue Moon Gala charity event, visited UK children’s programs and campaigned for mental health. Parks takes a unique approach to her work with UNICEF. In Sierra Leone, the trip was led by the young advocates themselves, who decided what the most pressing issues were to tackle. Parks also works with the young people she meets to co-create artistic ventures. In 2023, she hosted a creative workshop with members of UNICEF UK’s Youth Advisory Board. As part of this project, she co-wrote a poem with them to raise awareness of mental health, issues that feature in her songwriting.

“We met young people who were bursting with energy. They are assertive. They know what they need, they see a problem and come up with very creative and compassionate solutions,” Parks concluded. “I was really inspired to meet them. The trip personally encouraged me to use my voice more, to speak more about issues, to spread more information about children’s rights and child protection.”

The post Arlo Parks appointed UNICEF UK ambassador appeared first on Ethical Marketing News.