We live in a brave new age of philanthropy, when billionaires
circle the globe dropping their own hard-earned cash on seemingly
intractable problems. Meanwhile working folk click through worthy websites,
adding an almost equal amount of cash to the pile for causes such as
fighting AIDS and tuberculosis and recovery efforts from New Orleans to
Myanmar.

A big critique
of this well-intentioned transfer of cash from the haves and
sort-of-haves to the definitely have-nots is that it tends to focus on
flashy, big-ticket items. There is no doubt that killer diseases and
natural disasters require our urgent attention, but what seems likely
to save more lives in the long run are less dramatic programs like
mother-and-child health care, which helps people resist ravaging
disease, and building up local infrastructure, which helps people
weather the wrath of mother nature.

That's what's so remarkable about the "social movement" proposed by ALAS
(Latin America in Solidarity and Action, or "wings" in Spanish). While
there are plenty of natural disasters, warfare, and other dramatic
events to go around in Latin America, the celebrities and entrepreneurs
behind this new foundation have focused on one of the most mundane —
yet perhaps the most important — factors in determining a person's well
being: early childhood development.

I wish I could share with you some of the videos that played between acts at the ALAS concert
in Mexico City (and I imagine in Buenos Aires too) last Saturday. They
were full of all kinds of facts and figures about how most of our
brains develop by the time we're three years old and our ability to
grow and to learn are pretty much set by the time we're six. Maybe not
the most gripping news you ever read, but the point is clear: if kids
are well-fed, healthy, and schooled by age six, they will have a pretty
good chance of staying that way the rest of their lives.

In the weighty words
of the World Bank, "early childhood development is perhaps the most
important investment that a nation can make to assure the quality of
its human capital," because:

<blockquote>A child's ability to
think, form relationships, and live up to his or her full potential is
directly related to the synergistic effect of good health, good
nutrition, and appropriate stimulation and interaction with others. A
large body of research has proven the importance of early brain
development and the need for good health and nutrition.</blockquote>
Not
exactly the stuff most pop songs go on about. But if nothing else, the
stars who have pledged themselves to ALAS have answered the age-old
question: Do we really need another love song?

As long as it's about loving our kids, the answer is absolutely yes!