OnlyOnAOL: Why becoming a mom made Carey Mulligan feel 'outrage'

By: Donna Freydkin

Charity, it's true, so often begins at home. Look at the case of Owain Mulligan.

While deployed in Afghanistan, Carey Mulligan's sibling helped raise money to save a girls' school. And through his work, Mulligan connected with the organization War Child, which provides psychosocial support and education to children in conflict areas.

"The more time I spend I with War Child, the more in awe I am. It was through my brother that I met them," says Mulligan. (See an interview with Mulligan's "An Education" costar Peter Sarsgaard above).

Now, she serves as War Child global ambassador and as such, met with leaders to demand a solution for displaced children. The goal: to mobilize $3 billion for education in emergencies by the year 2020, and to ensure that refugee children are resettled, ideally with their families. The facts are sobering: it's predicted that some 63 million children will be displaced by conflict and insecurity by 2025. She's taking part in the UN Summit on Refugees and Migrants, and President Obama's Refugee Leaders' Summit. Mulligan is serious and focused. She doesn't take her activism lightly.

"I only wanted to work with I found things I felt passionate about. Children and the elderly were those two causes. I've always felt a connection to children but since having my daughter, it's changed everything. You feel things a lot more intensely. This campaign has been so impactful to me. All those feelings of outrage have been heightened massively since having my daughter," says the mother of Evelyn.

Rob Williams, CEO of War Child UK, says Mulligan could be an aid worker if she ever switched careers. "She has an amazing connection to children and young people. The celebrity part is not a major element of her work," he says. "In Jordan, children have no idea who Carey Mulligan is. They tell her their stories. She's an empathetic person."

As for Mulligan, being nominated for an Oscar doesn't compare to addressing global movers and shakers.

"I was nervous six weeks ago. I'm horrendously nervous but also really excited. I think it's going to be really interesting but it's terrifying. I'm an actress and this isn't my job," she says.