( CNN ) -- Last year , on my third trip to the Central African Republic , I met Oumarou , a shy , soft-spoken boy who appeared to be far younger than the 13 years he said he was . He told me he had lived in a nearby village . He and his family had been asleep around dawn when strange men burst into their house . With machetes , they killed his father and brother . As Oumarou ran for his life with his 10-year old brother , Adovan , the men struck a final machete blow on the head of the younger child . The boys hid in the bush for weeks . Somehow little Adovan survived , and the two found their way to an abandoned schoolroom in the troubled town of Bossangoa . People of all ages filled the space -- sitting , sleeping , waiting . Everyone had a similar story : They had seen family members killed , their houses had been set on fire , they had run for their lives , they were surrounded by their attackers , they were not safe . No one dared to guess what would happen to them . They were living from day to day . They were scared and they were hungry . Since that November visit , the Central African Republic has spiraled into deeper chaos and violence -- an unimaginable violence in which children are directly targeted , raped , tortured , mutilated and killed . In 2007 and 2008 , I came away from my visits to this remote nation thinking that the women and children of the Central African Republic are surely the most abandoned people on Earth . Marauders and armed militia throughout the country were terrorizing communities . Uncounted thousands of men , women and children were hiding in the forest eating leaves and sucking swamp water . For them , there were no medicines , no schools , no protection from the ever present violence . By the time of my visit in late 2013 , things had changed -- for the worse . The violence had taken a more sinister shape along sectarian and ethnic lines , turning communities against each other . As in all conflicts , the most vulnerable , the children , pay the heaviest price . According to the U.N , some of the 690,000 people have been displaced within their homeland while others have escaped into neighboring countries , where they are refugees . Within Central African Republic , every system has crumbled . Malnutrition and disease stalk children . This is a country where impunity reigns . The complete absence of law and order has given even Joseph Kony and his Lord 's Resistance Army a haven . It could easily be viewed as an open invitation for other extremist groups to set up training camps , including the likes of Nigeria 's Boko Haram . Yet in the midst of this grim scenario , there are unsung heroes : Doctors and health workers are risking their lives to save the wounded and the sick . Religious leaders , both Muslim and Christian , are sheltering displaced families regardless of ethnicity or religious preference . Organizations such as Doctors Without Borders and UNICEF are also on the ground . UNICEF is working with local partners to provide lifesaving support to hundreds of thousands of children . But humanitarian needs have outpaced funding . This year , UNICEF appealed for $ 81 million to help the most vulnerable children in the Central African Republic . At this point , not even half of that amount has been donated . In the face of the enormity of this tragedy , and the many other conflicts around the world , it is understandable that we would feel helpless . However , we should be inspired by the heroism and determination of those frontline humanitarian workers -- and by Oumarou with his little brother and all the innocents who are hungry , hurting and living in terror but who hope for better times . For them , I think we can do better .
Mia Farrow is a UNICEF goodwill ambassador ; she focuses on kids devastated by war . She got the Presidential Medal of Honor for her work in the Central African Republic . Comment: UNICEF is working on the ground , but it 's running short on funding .