Have you ever woken up and not knowing where your next check was coming from, not none of you would have enough water and oil to feature entire family. There is common here. We are people struggling, fighting for vitality. That night our windows travel burst through her street to split open a crack battlelines into a community. Turn our neighbors and to warriors who are then too blinded to see that day, we are fighting on the same side. We are survivors who are tired of surviving. We want to live, refuse to be our humanity any longer. Good health, nutrition is not primitive clear that health is not a luxury. Water is not a treasury. Sunshine in you and you. Solidarity starts an open palm, shoulders above steps towards action to care, to offer yourself as a resource can help support a foundation that was already there. And im an important part of the culture is to share. So now, let us share the work, the accountability, and how healthy can you really be adhering to extending the hungry, the thirsty, the resisting to care is to offer partnership, teamwork can invest in the lives that youre already living. Dont wait to support the ones that will come after us. The drought isnt over until every cup at the table is full, overflowing. Now is the time to be intentional about her abundant. I pray that we are rich in compassion, rich enjoy, rich and support. Peace has always been within our reach. We cannot afford to waste any more time reaching to the sky, to each other. The time is now more than ever. I used to have dreams of supporting others, steady income and join in having a better life. Survival is only think about every day. A country that loves people with thousands of women and children every day for Different Reasons. I used to have imagine yourself. You wake up in the morning and not you want to do is grab your kids can run for your life and survived. Thousands of people in young men find themselves in this situation. All they think about is what will be next. Will they find that they and be able to get clean water to drink and what they have access to facilities would make a thick beard the majority of the people are going to the tragedy daily in their daily routine. I know many women and men who wish they wont wake up the next day so they dont have to go through the same thing of suffering every day. At a certain period of my life i know what it means to be homeless, to be displaced, and youre not supposed to say this. I know what it means with family members that she wont ever again. I know what it means to be scared to death if you let your child go to school in you may never, ever seeing him again. I seem child disappear every day. Their dreams about their future has significantly changed. Millions of people are going through condition with the worst, another crisis upholding now as an outbreak of cholera. Who could imagine her in the 21st century people in yemen dont have access to very basic right that you all enjoy here. That we should have the right to as well. My people are dying. Now more than ever in yemen coming attention before its too late. Is welcomed president and ceo of care, michelle nunn. Join in thanking for sharing her story. 18 million men, women, boys and girls. Thats how many people are in need of humanitarian assistance in yemen right now. Today as you all are here, you are Standing Shoulder to shoulder with them in your everyman voice for their name and seeking to their hunger in half to continue education. The requirements of access to lifesaving medication when they need it and their desire to have some form of normalcy, to have a safe haven of home. Today he signaled that someone remembers and you insist that our nation with the most vulnerable around the world. Ordinary citizens have always shaped our nation and efforts to let that our values and a promise to one another and for the world. From the abolitionist and civil rights heroes to the ordinary citizens who firsters onto the refugees of world war ii with the creation of the worst care package. Today you join in this course citizens about history who in moments of importance have responded with compassion and generosity and pave the way for people everywhere to live for free and more dignified lives. In fact, there has never been a time in the sevenyear history where this has been more important. There are more People Living in the world than ever before. More people facing famine and more people facing natural disasters and Climate Change than ever before. So truly, our theme now more than ever is true. Your voice and leadership are required. We welcome you and thank you for participating in this years annual care conference. Give yourself a round of applause for being here. We want to thank our sponsor. We wouldnt be here without them. Douthat and ups and dove chocolate and cap and walmart. Over the next few days still had the chance to be inspired by humanitarians like change agents like solomon who is here with us. An amazing growth like beyond good. We have reminded that behind all of the big numbers for top about sometime can be overwhelming. He high nietzsche does numbers are individuals with unique and really powerful stories. Amazing potential. We know and the reason we are here is the world will be definitely help them to realize their full potential. We have someone here today who embodies that truth and the truth is we all have the capacity to be enormous agents of change and that person is an immigrant who came to this country from asia at the age of eight speaking no english. Her family came to the country to build a better life for themselves with six daughters. I was talking to her backstage. Her experience coming to this country in this way has motivated her to invite her entire career trying sure everyone has the opportunity with the better life for themselves and for their family. Shes done not really powerfully and really profoundly if you look at her resume. She served as the president chief operating officer of united way of america. She went on to be the director of the peace corps and she then went on to beat the u. S. Secretary of labor. She was the first asianamerican woman to be appointed to a cabinet position in all of American History. Today the 18 secretary of the treasury of the United States. We want to think her for her extraordinary leadership. Along the way with that in a lot of other things, she has received 36 honorary degrees. Please join me and warmly welcoming and appreciating secretary elaine chao. [applause] thank you. Well, hello, everyone. Its really kind of intimate and i love that. Theyre going to receive two days of workshops and training and the third day youre going to be going throughout our government to share your experiences about care and issues that you care about to members of our congress, senate and house of representatives. You are participating in said rain so fundamental that is so much a hallmark of who we are at the people on what democracy means. I was told for some of you its the first time. You might be a little scared, but dont worry. Youre going to do fine because most of all, you have a story to tell and that is an important story that you are sharing with important policymakers. So i am so pleased to be part of this forum on empowering and to have the opportunity to make a difference. I think my goal of helping women started very early when i was a young child when i heard about my mothers story. My mother, her name is ruth chew chao. She was among the few women of her generation in the wartorn china at the early 1900. She came from a distinguished family that believed in the education of daughters, women. She received an education. Because of the education, my mother was so much better prepared to be alert to face the turmoil and challenges of her later life. She returned home to the lord on august i cant come the 2007, but her spirit and good for continued to inspire me and my sisters everyday. As you heard, im an immigrant to this country. I came to america when i was eight years old. I didnt speak any english. We couldnt get used to so many things in this country. We have difficulty with american food, hamburgers, hot dog. I mean, we didnt put me between brad. We do need read, so we didnt understand so much about the culture, about what mainstream america was like. Like so many other newcomers, my parents were so brave. They were incredibly hardworking and they were determined to build a better life for their daughters. The fact that there are six children were all girls was never an issue. They taught each one of their daughters to work, to fulfill our potential and contribute to society. They believe with hard work, a positive attitude and perseverance we could achieve anything we wanted to do. That was their recipes. One of the most important attribute my parents also taught their daughters was to always help others. And to appreciate the value of Financial Independence for women. So whenever i had the opportunity, ive tried to launch programs and empower women and help them achieve the very important goal that broadly speaking we now that education is the key to success in all countries, rich and poor. The literacy means that there is a huge impediment to reducing poverty rate especially for women. Nearly a billion adults in this world today are estimated to be a letter read. Two thirds of them are women. I was once director of the peace corps and i had so many efforts, and again small to help impoverished people around the world. One that stayed with me as a young peace corps volunteer experience helping rural women fill their own small businesses. Do you know what these women told her they needed the most . Most was they needed to learn how to read and write and account numbers. Basic math skills are something we take for granted and developed countries, but it is worth remembering that women in developing countries need the basic skills to access opportunity. But it takes more than math to run a small business. Entrepreneurial skills are critical as well. As secretary of labor, i had an opportunity to help make a difference for women in the middle east . In the middle east, rebuilding iraqs economy and were priorities after the fall of saddam hussein. As part of the plan for iraqs reconstruction, the department of labor under my tenure provided 5 million right away to rebuild the Iraqi Ministry of labor and social affairs. This ministry has a very important task of creating job Training Programs and Employment Services so desperately needed after the war. Ensure that women were a priority for the new Iraqi Ministry of labor. Do you know what i did . I was kind of proud of myself. , wethe first three iraqis chose to participate in a Leadership Training Program at the u. S. Department of labor, where were women. [applause] ms. Chow and i was so important because it sent out a note to the rest of the Iraqi Ministry, of the majorne challenges around the world is the Economic Empowerment of women. I was also honored to support the efforts of First Lady Laura Bush to provide access to education to afghan women and girls. Her daughter, barbara bush, i understand, is i understand she is going to be here today, and she is carrying out her mothers work on the half of the most vulnerable population. I am delighted that barbara is on the program this afternoon. Boy, are you lucky. The First Lady Laura Bush, the Labor Department provided funding to purchase , School Uniforms for girls in afghanistan, something so simple so that impoverished afghan families can send their daughters to school. As you know so well, girls could not attend schools under the taliban, and today, hundreds of thousands of young afghan girls and young women have access to education. Also the i nations Interdepartmental Task force on child trafficking. Our goal was to strengthen against child trafficking, which is another manyhed that devastates so of the worlds most Vulnerable Women and girls. I will share one more story, a wonderful story. We achieved gender equity in our during myship team tenure as the u. S. Secretary of labor. [applause] chao when i had the opportunity to travel to iraq in the middle east, i presented a group of iraqi women with an autographed photograph of the eight top women executive leaders at the u. S. Department of labor. The iraqi women couldnt believe it. They cannot believe that women held half of the top leadership positions in a Big GovernmentMinistry Like the department of labor. ,t was a small but significant an inspirational gesture. It was a touchstone for these women. I told then this is their goal. Achieve thesel to leadership positions so that the organizations they enter into would have gender equity as well. It was a reminder that even in the most advanced economies, there is always more that can be done. I am here to thank you so much for everything you are doing globally to ensure that each sister, andhter, wife can grow and reach her full worldial, so that our will be a better place. Thank you for all that you do. [applause] have a great conference. Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to share my story and music with you all today. It is truly a great honor. Four years ago, while i was still in aleppo, i studied at thes Administration University of aleppo. I was also employed as a fulltime filing teacher violin teacher. I remember walking to the Music Institute to teach. Marchers were falling everywhere randomly. Mortars were falling everywhere randomly. Every day, we risk our lives by being there. However, this did not scare me. We did not have electricity or power, so i was running under bombs, falling through internet cafes. After six months of work, i was beyond happy to receive and email from Monmouth College in illinois, offering me a full tuition scholarship. Although i feel safe here now, i live in constant fear about my family and friends who are still struggling and surviving without the basic necessities of life. Aliveer if they will be tomorrow, and i wonder if i will get the chance to reunite with them one day. To behoping for my mom here with me as i am graduating in two weeks. [applause] thank you. But she did not come as she did not get a visa to come here. Being a refugee here taught me to be strong, independent, and to never give up. Since i arrived, i have been working so hard to achieve success in the music world, and to advocate for my syrian colleagues and friends. I was humbled to be honored at the white house as champion of change for world refugees in 2015. I feel this is a huge responsibility, and i would like to be an ambassador for syria in the u. S. , and conversely to present all the great values i learned here worldwide. Theel powerless to change tragedy ongoing in my country. I believe so much in the power of music to remove barriers between people and nations. I would like to get to tell the story from my country and people. Thank you. [applause] you and [applause] please welcome the founder of more than me and 2013 time person of the year. [applause] she is my promise, so i am on this bathroom floor again, and it is the middle of the night again, and flashes of your face keep me up again. It is you, abigail. Ou have seen my soul is it a street worker, a sex worker . You tell me, what is the politically correct way to say that my 11yearold son is a war orphan prostitute . , this too dollar hooker twodollar hooker, this child. She opens her legs to men, and right now i am not sure she is alive. Abigail is missing, she is gone, she is nowhere to be found, and when i pull her name, no one knows her. Her Community Tells me she is banished. Her country tells me it is not good for her reputation. My country tells me it is not polite to talk about her. Here she is, the blame of a corrupt government and a country that people know nothing about. She is another abstract thought that would never crossed someones mind on a line to purchase a cup of coffee that costs more than she would make selling herself for one day. She is another facebook cause that people might check they liked because it is trendy or easy. She is the bottom of the air to up and that has beat her raped her in ways that people who can read would never be able to pronounce. This small child is gone. I promised her that i would come and find her, and i can, so i am again. Nst up on this bathroom floor again, and its the middle of the night again, and i need to scream her name. Abigail . Where are you . Im trying to find you i am struggling to find words to talk about you. People here are offended by you, disturbed you. I am, too. You keep me up at night, and i hope that you always do. W, myre my vo promise. I am coming to get you. So, i moved to liberia almost 12 years ago. I was 23 with my first job out of college. It was almost like a peace corps situation. They said, you are going to liberia. I got there and i was in charge of running Adult Literacy programs. I came to the city probably because i wanted to get pizza. I did not like the food. Now i like the food too much. I would come to the city and meet kids like agnes and abigail, and we became friends. I am like a big kid myself, so i would hang out with these children. We would draw donkeys in the sand. I asked these kids, if you could have anything in the entire world, what would it be . These kids said the same thing, we just want to go to school. One kid turns to 30, and they kept coming. I was using myspace to tell the stories. People from my town were sending me money and i was paying school fees. The new York City Tax attorney said, you need to make this an organization. I remember thinking, i dont have a masters degree, im not a celebrity, i cant do it. I got the best advice of my life. My friends said, get over yourself. Its not about you. And so i am in the organization. I play that over and over again. I get up here and tell myself, its not about you. Thats where the name more than. E ended up coming from if i cant do all these things, i can get other people to help me. There is no time to waste. We have to help abigail and girls like her get to school. Of the president of liberia, who is the first