Cindy McCain's GOP convention speech

He taught me life is not just about you - it's also about nurturing the next generation ... preparing a better world for all our children and helping them find the right way up.

We all come to that knowledge in different ways. For me, the great moment of clarity came when I became a mother.

Something changed in me, and I would never see my obligations the same way.

It was after that, I was walking through the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh, surrounded by terrible poverty and the devastation of a cyclone.

All around me were the children, and the desperate faces of their mothers. The pain was overwhelming ... and I felt helpless.

But then I visited an orphanage begun by Mother Teresa, and two very sick little girls captured my heart.

There was something I could do. I could take them home.

And so I did.

Today both of those girls are healthy and happy. And one of them you just met: our beautiful daughter, Bridget.

Much is expected of a country as blessed as America ... and our people are at work all over the globe ... making it a better planet ... doing their part.

It was my privilege to work with the men and women of the American Voluntary Medical Teams in places like Zaire, Micronesia and Vietnam ... watching as they relieved whole towns from disease ... and rescued countless children from sickness.

The reward for sharing in that work is truly indescribable.

To see a child rescued from a life in the shadows by Operation Smile is to witness and share a joy that is life-changing.

And the challenges go on.

I just returned from the Republic of Georgia, where HALO Trust - an organization specializing in clearing the debris of war - and others, are rescuing innocent victims from landmines and missiles.

Sometimes the courage of others leaves me breathless.

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