The main language that is spoken in Ethiopia is Amharic, and has its own characters -- which is to say that it was completely foreign to my eyes and ears. But one language that felt universal? Listening to the children giggle and laugh and play.

We had the honor of visiting a few homes, and then we attended a nutrition demo, where mothers (and a few fathers) learned how to prepare food. It smelled delicious.

The health needs in Ethiopia are great, so the program is ambitious. With assistance from USAID, Ethiopia created an army of Health Extension Workers. These workers are assigned to every village and community in the country.

Six-point-eight million Ethiopian children under the age of five are physically and mentally stunted as a result of malnutrition. That's roughly equivalent to 82 percent of the population of New York City. It is almost twice the population of Los Angeles.

Before you can be happy, you have to be healthy. It sounds like a platitude you'd read in Chicken Soup for the Afflicted Soul, but I'm seeing it in the most literal way here in Ethiopia.

Yesterday I learned about fistula. At it's most basic, it means a hole. But, what it really means to the women who experiences it is a stillborn child, loss of a husband and marriage, loss of dignity, and total ostracization from her community.

As much as I love shopping and design and discovering some wonderful something-or-other that I know will help other moms, my real passion is supporting small business. Especially those run by women and mothers trying to support their families.

ONE is not a charity.​ It's a "nonpartisan advocacy organization dedicated to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa." ONE never asks for your money, just your voice.