( CNN ) -- Actress Lucy Liu is an ambassador for UNICEF , an organization that gives children the essentials for a safe and healthy childhood . Approximately 21,000 children die every day from preventable causes , according to UNICEF , and its mission is to reduce that number to zero . Liu recently sat down with CNN 's Sonya Hamasaki to talk about UNICEF 's efforts to save lives around the world and what a hero means to her . Below are excerpts from that interview . Sonya Hamasaki : Why did you decide to get involved with UNICEF ? Lucy Liu : I 'd heard about UNICEF for a really long time . ... They are on the ground all the time for these children . It 's so comforting to know that they have the ability to provide . When I go on these missions and I am there with the children in these villages , it is so heartbreaking . But it 's so inspiring to know that people have dedicated their lives to being there for these kids . I just feel like there 's so much more that needs to be done and that can be done , and I want to be part of that . Hamasaki : What 's it been like working with children around the world ? Liu : I think the one thing that I 've taken away from all of the travels and all of the countries that I 've been is that the children are always so warm and so inviting . Even though some of their parents may have passed away , there 's always a wonderful sense of community that these kids have with one another and within the village that they live . It is about taking care of others and looking out for others . There 's a sense of family , togetherness . These kids stick together through thick and thin , and that 's something I think that 's really exciting . Hamasaki : Education is important to you . What does UNICEF do to promote education ? Liu : I think it 's really heartbreaking to see children who want to have an education , who are hungry for that , but they 're not able to receive that . And I think UNICEF has the ability to put together -- in very difficult situations -- a sense of normalcy . In Pakistan , when I went there after the earthquake , they set up these school-in-a-box tents . It 's very simple , and you give children a feeling that there 's regularity in their lives even though everything else is falling apart for them . It 's easy for people to contribute also by saying , `` I can contribute $ 10 to buy salts to make the water clean , '' `` I can give $ 100 for school-in-a-box , '' which contains all the things that you need for school . It 's just incredible to see how much it means to them and how much we can give them . Hamasaki : What is a hero to you ? Liu : A hero to me is somebody who puts themselves last , who puts everything on the line for other people . I think that children can be heroes also . I have met young women and young men who have been abused , some young women who have been raped and who have been near death and have seen so much violence in their lives , but they do n't give up . They go and work in the shelter and tell their stories and help other women who have the same problem . Young girls who have had unimaginable things happen to them . ... They still stand up , and they still walk with their head high . These people could have given up a long time ago , and they never did .
Actress Lucy Liu is a UNICEF ambassador who has met children around the world . Liu : It 's `` heartbreaking '' to see kids who want an education but ca n't have one . Despite their disadvantages , she says , children are always `` warm and inviting ''