Finding Maddox
The production impacted her greatly and spawned the beginning of her humanitarian mission. She returned the following year with the UN Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) due to the humanitarian crisis in the rural parts of Cambodia. Fueled by what she witnessed, she pleaded for an emergency appeal from the UNHCR by donating $1 million – the largest amount by a single person at the time. In 2002 she adopted her son Maddox at 7 months old and started the Maddox Jolie-Pitt (MJP) Foundation the following year.
The Mission
Their mission is to conserve the environment and provide support to the local communities in the North-Western regions of Cambodia. In 2006, the MJP expanded to include other humanitarian issues in Cambodia like Education, Agriculture, and Gender Equality.
As a Goodwill Ambassador, she has taken part in over 60 field operations across 30 countries and donated over $8 million dollars with the father of her children, Brad Pitt. In just a few years, Jolie’s unforgettable impact on the world through her humanitarian work has earned her the 2005 Global Humanitarian Action Award. Not stopping there, she has even taken up flying lessons so that she can ferry food and medical supplies herself to camps around the world.
Not Stopping Anytime Soon
In 2010, she was promoted to a diplomat to assist vulnerable families to meet their basic human needs and to assist locals in accessing healthcare centers and educational facilities. Not only will you see her meeting with refugees or donating large sums to foundations like Doctors without Borders, but you’ll also see her meeting with members of Congress over 20 times in 20 years. Since the civil war for pro-democracy broke out in Syria in March 2011, Jolie visited the refugees over 11 times and in 2015 made an impactful speech to the UN Security Council regarding the responsibilities of the council. She mentions it is the UN’s duty to reduce and end conflict countries that are burdened and brittle to those powerful and successful. With her contributions going unnoticed and clocking over a decade, Jolie continues to fight against some of the world’s terrible evils, all while raising a huge family of her own. She is truly an inspiration.