The World Food Programme Staff Magazine

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The Next Generation

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By Jennifer Parmelee

WFP’s nomadic children enjoy a rich tapestry of experience

lived a world apart from the country that issued their

passports. They’re polyglots, expert packers, hard-wired at

a tender age to climb on board, put on their airline

headsets and jet off to a new country and life. They adapt

quickly — or learn how — and have friends scattered about

the planet. They carry expanded world views with their

many passport stamps, but rarely proclaim a strong

national identity. They’re citizens of the world, at home

anywhere but often — the paradox — cannot pinpoint

“home” on the map.

Hundreds of WFP staff are reassigned each year; three-

quarters of them transfer with at least one dependent —

many of them children. With a staff of 14,500 and a far-

flung network of field offices that make it the world’s largest

humanitarian organization, WFP is a case unto itself.

The geographic mobility enshrined in our WFP contracts

complements the mobility between cultures you spot as

soon as you walk into headquarters and observe its living

cultural mosaic.

“So many of us grew up like this, in different places, many

with parents or later, spouses of different nationalities,”

says Marianne Ward, chief of reporting and analysis, whose

parents moved frequently with the US Agency for

International Development and U.S.

Department of Agriculture. “This is the

world where we feel ‘normal’ — a

world of tolerance, even celebration, of

differences. Yet it’s a small world, and

the rest of the planet is not always

like we are.”

Not yet, anyways.

Once largely the domain of

missionaries (and actual nomads of

course), the peripatetic family

lifestyle is increasingly common in

today’s shrinking, hyper-connected,

and mobile world. The ranks of

global nomads are expanding —

whether diplomats or aid workers, missionaries or

employed by the military, media or multinationals. While

researching the book Third Culture Kids: Growing up

Among Worlds, authors David Pollock and Ruth Van Reken

came to predict that today’s young globetrotters, alongside

the “Third Culture Kids” — cultural hybrids like US President

Obama — may be “the prototype citizens of the future.”

The drawbacks of nomadic life are well-defined: a good

number of families crack at the seams (studies suggest the

divorce rate is high relative to that in less mobile careers);

kids can grow up alienated, rootless, confused, with heavy

emotional “baggage”. Even the strongest suffer from

loneliness and the pain of separation from friends and

family. Life in developing countries can also bring risks, to

health and personal security. On the plus side, WFP kids

have a definite edge in a world of blurring national, ethnic

and cultural boundaries. Many if not most emerge from

itinerant childhoods uniquely resilient, open-minded and

knowledgeable about the world. They view their

multicultural existence as a gift and a key to unlocking the

world’s complexities. They tend to be compassionate souls,

and many grow up to embrace humanitarian principles in

their lives.

Pipeline spotlights a handful of WFP offspring who are now

following a track parallel to the one they knew as children:

Evan Coutts (Canada/US), deputy program manager for

an implementing partner of USAID, most recently deployed

to Afghanistan; Benjamin Davies (Denmark/US), US

Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho; Kabita Parajuli

(Nepal), has volunteered for more than half her life, writes

on social justice issues and is programme manager for the

Hri Institute for Southasian Research and Exchange in

Nepal; Nicolas Schaad (US), armed with a master’s in

public health, is at the US Centers for Disease Control’s

Health Systems Reconstruction Office in Haiti, working with

the government to set up a national disease surveillance

system. Ultimately, he envisions himself as: “happily

married, living somewhere in southern Africa and training

people in field epidemiology.”

All in their 20s, they share much in common apart from a

sense of vocation nourished in the field: their fathers (Doug

Coutts, Ken Davies, Bishow Parajuli and David Schaad)

work for WFP; their mothers (Lynne, Margrethe Juncker,

Kalpana and Ruthie) were engaged in all the communities

they’ve lived in — teaching, nursing, doctoring,

volunteering; their childhood journeys were

invariably accompanied by the family dog; and

each one struggles to answer the question:

“Where is home?”

Born to RoamNicolas, the 26-year-old son of WFP logistics officer

David Schaad and his wife, Ruthie, a nurse, was

born in Saudi Arabia the day after Christmas. From

age four, he spent his formative years in

Mozambique, Angola, Swaziland, Congo and Sudan.

Seven of those years were spent in Angola, which he

still calls his “deep down home.” Fluent in English,

French, Portuguese and Spanish with a basic

knowledge of Arabic, he feels comfortable most

anywhere. He credits that to the fact that both parents

were the children of American missionaries in Africa,

skilled in navigating transitions from one country, language

and culture, to another. “Thanks to my parents, we were

always well-integrated into local life,” says Nicolas, whose

photo from his sixth birthday in Maputo is on the cover.

Evan Coutts, 24, and his brother, Lyle, were born in Rome,

then moved to Namibia, the United States, Nepal, and

finished high school in Bangladesh.

Nepal, with its breathtaking beauty and

outdoor sports, was his favorite, but it

was Bangladesh that opened his eyes.

“The older I got, the more I noticed the

disparities between rich and poor,” he

says. “In Bangladesh, the poverty and

suffering hit you as soon as you drove

out of your gate or left the school

compound. You saw beggars without

limbs wheeling themselves around on

wooden carts, children weaving through

traffic asking for “baksheesh”. Growing up

like this, we were always aware of (and

reminded) how lucky we were.”

Kabita Parajuli, 23, also born in

Rome, quickly developed into an empathetic

child as the family moved to the developing

world. Bishow, her father, says that at age

four, Kabita began sending her toys and

chocolates with him whenever he went on

mission (see related box at right “Like Father,

Like Son”). A turning point for her, he says,

came on a day of heavy rain in Bangladesh:

the family was driving when Kabita suddenly

burst into tears at the sight of poor children

huddled without shelter by the roadside. “If

they don’t have homes, how can they get food?”

she cried.

There was no single “aha” moment when Nicolas

realized he wanted to make a difference in the

world. But he first began to understand WFP work in 1992,

at age 7, when his dad was running massive air and

surface operations during Angola’s long years at war.

Although Angola was not a family duty station, Nicolas’

mother worked at the French Embassy clinic, which

assumed responsibility for her and Nicolas so the Schaads

could stay together. “Nicolas lived and breathed

emergencies on a daily basis and it must have gotten under

his skin,” his parents say. Nicolas spent weekends at the

airport with his dad and colleagues, where, he says, “the

prevalent culture of excellence and dedication was

undeniable even to a young kid.” He was also drawn to the

easy camaraderie among his “WFP aunts and uncles.”

Mobility Matters“Moving every couple of years was in my blood. In spite of

the fact that foreign service life is one long continuous meal

of loss — loss of friends and beloved places — I loved it.

The warp of my life was the fact of moving on.” — writer

Sarah Mansfield Taylor, child of a US Foreign Service

officer

The roaming life is not for everyone. One daughter of an

itinerant staffer says she declared at age 16 that she would

one day work for WFP, while her sister, with equal force,

declared she would live the rest of her life in one place.

“There’s a lot to be said for growing up in a single

community, going through all stages of your formative life

with the same people and developing a sense of place at a

young age,” says Nicolas. “But at no time did I think of my

life as abnormal, just ‘different’. I don’t feel I missed out on

anything.” Evan concurs: “I knew most families didn’t move

around every few years, but it’s something we always did.

Many of my friends and their families did the same thing.”

Benjamin Davies, 23, believes

his nomadic childhood

profoundly enriched his

outlook and life path. Now

working with farmers in

Lesotho on soil

management, he found his

passion for soil science

early on when he won

second place in a

Swaziland school science

fair for a project on soil

erosion.

“Growing up in Africa

and Asia, it is difficult

not to be aware of the privilege and

opportunities you are born into. Yet my parents

encouraged my siblings and I to experience all we could

from the people and cultures around us,” Ben writes. “I

played for a local football team as the only foreigner

throughout high school, worked in a stone quarry during

school holidays, and volunteered at a local HIV/AIDS

project. I made lifelong friends I never normally would have

had the opportunity to meet.”

Although the developing world has its own set of risks, “the

tremendous privilege of having UN parents means that no

matter where we’ve lived, I have had better access to

health facilities than the vast majority of the population,”

Kabita recounts. “That said, when I was 6, I was nearly put

on malaria medication because someone misread a blood

test.”

Nicolas, meanwhile, weathered a few close calls: a plane

crash while flying back from boarding school in Swaziland;

sheltering for days behind a freezer amidst heavy fighting

in Angola, and bungled stitching jobs on major injuries.

“Any lifestyle has its dangers,” Nicolas says. “Some are

painted as more extreme, but the truth is that most are

simply different.”

With all the challenges, none of

those interviewed expressed

regrets about how and where

they were raised. Looking

forward, both Kabita and

Marianne Ward say they’d

maintain their international

orientation, but would like more

of a settled life – e.g. fewer

moves – for their own children.

Yet neither Nicolas nor Evan

would hesitate before

choosing the same lifestyle

for their kids. “Not at all,”

says Evan. ”It’s a great way

to grow up.”

Parental PerspectiveBishow Parajuli admits his career trajectory hasn’t always

been easy for his family. “My wife adjusted her own career

plans — getting a master's in education and becoming a

teacher — so she could raise and be there for the children,”

he says. “Some assignments were very tough on the

children. They would cry at leaving their friends behind. But

with time, they were able to adapt more readily. I think

they gained a certain inner strength. They saw the world

more compassionately.”

Agrees David Schaad: “The hard part of moving around is

always having to say goodbye. But for kids like Nicolas, the

beauty is hitching up with friends somewhere in the world.

Years later seem like instants, because the bonds are so

strong.”

Parents grapple with how to handle a child’s constant

exposure to grinding poverty. “How do we balance one’s

day-to-day life of privilege, without becoming immune or

desensitized to that misery?” David says. Finding the right

schools is also a major challenge “We had to carefully plan

to ensure we’d find a school that would accept both boys in

Next Generation: WFP Kids whoFollow the Humanitarian Path

(centre top)

(third from left)

Contents

Pipeline: WFPgo In Print is a product of Internal

Communications, a unit of the Communications,

Public Policy and Private Partnerships Division. This

newsletter comes out three times a year, sharing the

most interesting, relevant news and features from

WFPgo, with a new cover story. We welcome ideas

for WFPgo stories. If you have suggestions, please

write to internal.communications@wfp.org Pip

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• New Challenges for WFP’s Newest Country Office • Seven Questions for WFP’s New Chief of Staff

• The Crossroads of Human Despair• Staff Give All at World’s Largest Refugee Camp

• After Terror Attack, the Long Road Home• Reflections on the Bombing, Two Years Later

• Amid Family Emergency, Staff Jump in to Help• Yemen: After University, a Reality Check

• An Engineering Team Dedicated to the Field• A Female Engineer in the World's Hotspots

• 5 Ways to Make Your Emails More Effective • "Internal Control": Five Ways You Can Benefit

• Coming Full Circle: Morris Marah of Sierra Leone• From Peace Corps to WFP, Farm Roots Hold Strong

• Saving with FAO Credit Union• Green Corner: Staffer Fashions Own Ride to Work

• What’s in Your Carry-on?

When Asia Regional Director John Aylieff

was deployed to the Horn of Africa, he

explained to his five-year-old son, Ben,

why he was leaving for so long — saying

he was going to help the children who

didn't have enough to eat. Ben went away

deep in thought and came back five

minutes later with two of his toys. "If the

children don't have food, maybe they've

lost their toys too," Ben said. "So when

you give them food, Daddy, you should

also give them these toys to play with."

Since then, John has always packed toys

(along with his single malt — see back

cover for more).

Like Father, Like Son

Kabita Parajuli (far right), 23-year-old daughter of Chief

of Staff Bishow Parajuli and Kalpana Parajuli, a teacher,

is a Columbia University (US) graduate now working in

Nepal. Her first charitable venture came at age 10, when

she and Ingrid, daughter of WFP staffer Joan Fleuren,

started a club, “Helping Hands”, in response to the 1998

floods in Bangladesh. They raised money for flood victims

and a local orphanage through bake sales and plays.

Volunteering has been an integral part of Kabita’s life ever

since.

Where did you grow up?

In chronological order: Rome, Mozambique, Bangladesh,

Indonesia, Egypt, Nepal and New York.

How many in your family?

Five-plus: my parents, my sister Muna and brother Arun.

There was also our beloved dog, Suku, who was born in

Maputo and travelled with us to Kathmandu, Dhaka,

Jakarta, and Cairo. Sadly, he was stolen from us in Cairo.

How do you answer when someone asks: where's

home?

It usually goes like this:

Person A: Where are you from?

Me: Nepal.

If I answer in English, Person A usually looks puzzled by

my American accent and probes for more; in French or

Portuguese, I can get away with just “Nepal”. Sometimes

my desire for full disclosure gets the better of me, and I

pre-empt the next question:

Me: I moved around a lot growing up. My college

roommate actually came up with an acronym for me:

IMBIENA. I was born in Italy, then moved to Mozambique,

Bangladesh, Indonesia, Egypt, and then spent a year in

Nepal before heading to the US (“America”) for college.

Person A: (Usually laughs) So, where’s home?

To which I think, internally, “smart aleck”, and respond

verbally: “Wherever my family and/or bed and pillow are.

Or Nepal. It’s the biggest constant.”

When did you come to understand your father’s

work?

I don’t think there was ever a time I didn’t know what my

father did, or its humanitarian implications. There wasn’t

so much a sense of pride as there was a heavy sense of

responsibility. I basically thought I had to share.

Were there times growing up you longed to stay in

one place, have a "normal childhood"?

Until I graduated from high school, I thought my

experience growing up was normal. Of course moving was

painful — I would describe it as having your heart broken,

serially, and feeling like you’re losing a part of yourself

each time. But then you also figure out how to make

friends more quickly.

Looking forward, would you hesitate before

choosing the same lifestyle with your own kids?

Yes — but only because I only want to live in one or two

places, and have a sense of community and network there.

For others considering the “lifestyle”, I’d say to go for it —

but I’d also emphasize the importance of a strong family

unit. Also, prepare to respond to your children’s heartache,

and the different ways they will express this.

Did you absorb your world views around the dinner

table?

We didn’t really discuss our parents’ work over dinner, but

rather the lives we children were leading. But my parents

raised us to believe in a few fundamental truths:

1. Unless you are deathly ill, you take a reasonable

portion, then finish what is on your plate;

2. If someone armed asks for your car or wallet, you hand

over the keys and wallet. Don’t be a hero;

3. You are responsible to more than just yourself. You are

very lucky. Be grateful, share, and try to make the world

a more equitable place.

I think everything I have done has stemmed from these

things.

What are you doing now?

I’m living in Kathmandu, and working for the Hri Institute

for Southasian Research and Exchange. While I enjoy my

work and the environment is right, it’s not my “dream

job”: I’ve always wanted to do something more service-

oriented. My plan is to work in Nepal long-term, doing

research around questions of social inequality. I’d like to be

involved in both litigation and education about intimate

partner violence. Another thing I want to investigate is the

relationship between international corporations and

national legislatures. What happens to the sacred notion of

national sovereignty when the other agent is an

international company that has also become very much a

part of the ‘host’ country?

Where do you see yourself in another 10-15 years?

One really interesting thing about mobility has been this: I

cannot think beyond five-year spans. So in 10 years — I

will be alive. I will be reading, talking, writing, cooking. I

will be learning. And hopefully I will be seeing some of the

impact of the work I was doing five years before that.

Q&A with Kabita Parajuli

Cycling forChangeRick de Gaay Fortman, a

31-year-old Dutch national

and son of retired WFP

veteran Marius de Gaay

Fortman, was working as

an aeronautical engineer

for Shell Oil when he

decided he needed to try

something for the greater

benefit of society. An avid

cyclist, he set off in August 2010 and rode from Cape

Town to Kenya over four months to raise money and

awareness for solar energy in Africa.

The 7,000-plus kilometre trip through nine countries

raised US$125,000 for the NGO Solar Aid, which will be

used to power more than 30 schools and clinics with solar

power. Rick said he was inspired by memories of growing

up in Ghana and Sudan, and from his dad’s 30-year

career with WFP. Marius, now 65, joined his son for

almost three weeks, covering some 1,000 kilometers.

“This way we kept the WFP spirit high,” Rick said. “It is

amazing I could share all these great moments with my

father.”

a proposed posting,” says Doug Coutts. “Looking back over

a 27-year WFP career with WFP, we never took for granted

the next post or even that we’d be able to keep the family

together. As the number of relief operations skyrocketed

over the years and family posts declined, this got harder to

do. It’s a lot more difficult for WFP families today.”

So where is home?

Nicolas: It depends on how long an answer I want to give.

Short answer: “Hard to say, I moved around a lot.”

Medium: “I’m American, but I grew up in Angola.” Long: “I

grew up all over Africa” followed by the full history.

Kabita: See her Q&A below.

Evan: It depends if it is someone I want to talk to, or it’s

just a question in passing. If it’s the former, I’ll go into

detail about where I’ve lived. If it’s the latter, I’ll just say

Washington, DC, where I’ve been living.

Ben: My passports tell me I am American and Danish, but

my heart tells me I’m from the people and places of my

childhood. Africa is the continent where I’ve spent most of

my life and where I call home. The opportunity to further

my learning at graduate school and return with practical

knowledge and a chance to improve lives and livelihoods is

something I cannot ignore. It is my turn to give back to

all the countries and friends who gave me a place to

call home.

WFP/S

asi

Aylieff

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By Amor Almagro

On 9 July 2011, the Republic of South Sudan officially

declared its independence from Sudan to become the

world's newest country, the 193rd member of the United

Nations and 55th country in Africa. The birth of a new

country also spawned WFP's newest country office.

Deputy Executive Director Amir Abdulla and Regional

Director Stanlake Samkange of the East and Central

Africa Bureau came to Juba, the South Sudan capital, to

join in the official independence day ceremonies hosted

by the government of South Sudan. In a toast for South

Sudan staff, Amir and Stanlake pledged full support of

headquarters and the new regional bureau in Nairobi for

the newly established South Sudan country office. Later,

at a staff gathering, Patricia Martin, national procurement

officer from South Sudan, reassured Amir, originally from

the Sudanese capital of Khartoum in the north, that "We

are still brothers and sisters."

Amir recalled that Juba in the early 1990s was the first

WFP field assignment for him and his wife Julie. "It was

a sub-office at that time, with few creature comforts

available. Our first little house as a married couple had

chicken wire instead of glass on the windows,'' he said.

"Now when I look around Juba, an emerging modern

capital, I can barely recognize it at all."

With a total staff of 524 including 60 international and

464 national staff and a deep-field presence in nine of

South Sudan's 10 states, the new country office is well-

positioned to assist the government of South Sudan in

feeding its more than 9 million people, including those

who have returned from the north and neighbouring

countries of Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.

Administratively, the South Sudan office will report to the

new regional bureau in Nairobi.

"Two major Special Operations, the feeder roads and the

strategic grain reserve are already completely based in

South Sudan and its management will be transferred to

the new country office," explained Leo van der Velden,

interim South Sudan country director. "The logistics

cluster in the South had already been included under the

logistics unit in Juba while Purchase for Progress is only

active in South Sudan."

The independence of South Sudan offers fresh

opportunities as well as a new set of challenges that the

new country office will have to face. Transport continues

to be a significant challenge across the 644,329-square-

kilometer country — roughly the combined size of

Uganda and Kenya — which came out of decades of civil

war with shattered infrastructure and not a single paved

road.

Since the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Accord ushered in

an era of relative stability, WFP's Sudan Roads Project

has successfully rehabilitated 2,600 kilometers of road, in

addition to installing more than 40 bridges and repairing

two key airstrips. The idea behind the project was to

open up access routes quickly so that food could be

delivered overland — and thus provide visible post-

conflict peace dividends, along with reducing the huge

costs of delivering food by air.

For WFP’s Newest CountryOffice, New Challenges

Bishow Parajuli returns to the fold as chief of staff

after three years as top UN diplomat in Myanmar, a

signal career challenge that summoned "every skill I

learned" during 23 prior years with WFP. He replaces

Lauren Landis, now director of our Geneva office. The

trajectory of Bishow's WFP path through Asia and Africa

produced broad experience in the spheres of emergency,

recovery and development — as well as involvement in

pioneering efforts on safety nets, asset creation and

government capacity-building that are an increasingly

significant part of our work today. ”Happy and humbled"

to be back, he sat down with Jennifer Parmelee of

Internal Communications to discuss his experience and

WFP's role in an ever-changing world. Looking ahead,

he's confident our staff's sense of mission — "the belief

we can't afford to be mediocre" — will propel WFP

through the tests of tomorrow.

You've returned recently from Myanmar, where

you served as UN Resident and Humanitarian

Coordinator. You took that job at a critical hour,

hot on the heels of devastating Cyclone Nargis and

after your predecessor had been expelled. What

was it like?

It was tough, perhaps the toughest assignment of my

career. It was a huge challenge for the UN, but also a

moment of huge opportunity. We had to both build

relationships with the government and push the

envelope at the same time. We had to maneuver in the

narrow space between the donors and the government.

We had to push on access and human rights. Over time,

I was able to find common ground (for all parties)

around the principle that educating Myanmar's children

was a basic human right, one that would ultimately

liberate them from poverty. It was something we could

all agree on. On that front, in fact, WFP was doing a

great job, not only in responding to the natural

disasters, but on targeted programmes that included

nutrition, asset building and school meals. One

government minister told me that without WFP's school

support, attendance of children would drop by 20 to 30

percent.

What were the high points?

Without a doubt, it was a great honor to work with

(opposition leader) Aung San Suu Kyi. She's a

miraculous lady, very inspiring. Also, through the

building of trust with the government and slowly

increasing our UN access and activities, we were able to

help change the perception of donors. Aid increased

from $3 to $9 per capita — still very low by regional

standards, but a significant upshift. We also made

serious strides in terms of improving coordination of

humanitarian aid in the wake of Cyclone Nargi. Overall,

it was a real joy to work there.

How and where did you join WFP, and what came

after?

I came to WFP in 1985 as an assistant project officer in

Botswana, after three years with a project involving

strategic grain reserve management. Next stop was

Rome, where I worked in logistics then as desk officer

covering southern Africa. After five years, I went to

Mozambique as head of emergency operations — in

1993, right after the close of the long civil war. In 1996,

I moved on to Bangladesh, then site of WFP's largest

development programme. There, we really started to

explore and expand the concept of safety nets — and

transforming them into productive assets. From

Bangladesh, I moved to Indonesia as senior programme

adviser. There, I started the country's first urban safety

net programme in response to the massive economic

crisis. Next stop was Egypt, as country director.

Your favorite assignment?

I take special pride in my role in Egypt. WFP was

thinking of closing the Cairo office because donors were

walking away, but I argued against it. Our work there in

government capacity building became the essence of

Strategic Objective 5 — strengthening the capacity of

countries to fight hunger. We launched several

innovative programmes and partnerships there. For

example, we partnered with the government and GAIN

(Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition) on micronutrient

fortification; unusually, we won a bid with the US

Department of Labor on a programme to discourage

child labor. We generated a lot of funds locally. It really

helped us remodel what WFP can do in middle-income

countries. Chile, Mexico and Brazil have used these

programmes as models for their own country plans.

(Editor's Note: Bishow received the WFP Merit Award in

2006 for his exemplary and innovative contributions in

Egypt).

What keeps you going?

I grew up in a village outside Kathmandu, in Nepal. My

father was a farmer, extremely hard-working. I think my

dedication and commitment springs from him. He also

inspired me to study agriculture at university, and go on

to get my master's in rural development. And of course

there is my own family: my wife, Kalpana, two

daughters Kabita and Muna, and son Arun. They are my

source of strength. It hasn't always been easy for them.

Our mobility can take its toll . . .

No doubt it can be tough on marriages and families —

and the many staff who have to uproot themselves

every few years. But I also regard it as our real

strength, even a blessing. Can you imagine if there was

still this huge divide between Headquarters and the

field? It would have weakened our institution long ago.

You seem to enjoy a challenge. What's the biggest

one looming for WFP?

Humanitarian work has always been challenging, but

these times are especially so. I think our five strategic

objectives are solidly grounded, but it's clear we must be

continuously innovative to keep up with the changing

operational environment. We've got to hang on to the

perspective we've always had at WFP: not just "we can

do it", but "we must do it". There is this wonderful sense

of responsibility to the institution and to our mission to

help the hungry in this world. Quite simply: the belief we

can't afford to be mediocre. This was one of the

humbling things about coming back (to WFP). Most

people take their jobs as a vocation. I am very proud to

rejoin this family after three years away.

Seven Questions forWFP’s New Chief of Staff

Bishow visits with villagechildren in the cyclone-hitareas of Myanmar.

(L-R) Deputy Executive Director Amir Abdulla, InterimCountry Director Leo van der Velden, NationalProcurement Officer Patricia Martin and RegionalDirector Stanlake Samkange at Juba gathering tomark launch of WFP’s newest country office.

WFP/A

mor

Alm

agro

In the early days of the Horn of Africa emergency, when

thousands of people on the brink of starvation fled

Somalia towards Kenya and Ethiopia, our information

officers arrived at the refugee camps to help manage the

accompanying influx of journalists. Public Information

Officer Stephanie Savariaud interviewed two of her

colleagues — Rose Ogola, who was working at Dadaab

in northern Kenya, and Judith Schuler from Dolo Ado

in southern Ethiopia — to hear their impressions when

confronted with the acute human suffering in the camps,

especially as mothers.

What shocked you the most when you arrived in

the camps?

Rose: People had barely clothes on their backs, many

children were dressed in oversized shirts that were given

to them by a charity from the community in the camps.

Some children were so weak — just lying in the dust.

They could not even manage to eat cooked rice offered

to them as they waited with their families to get through

the process of recognition as asylum-seekers. The

weakest ones, however, were "fast tracked" through the

process and taken to hospital.

Judith: Women arrived with their children, barely

dressed in scraps of clothing, too weak to breastfeed

their babies. It was very windy and dusty: sand was

coming in from everywhere and people had no tents to

sleep. The people had to improvise some form of shelter

with branches after walking for several days. Many

people died on the road, or were too weak to set off on

the road at all. A woman I interviewed told me she

considered herself "lucky" because she made it to the

camps.

What has been most emotionally difficult for you?

Rose: Well, it was very hard to see all these children so

weak, waiting to get through the gates to receive

assistance. I had biscuits and water in the car, so I gave

some little bits to one child. I cried a lot, and then I

realized I wasn't going to be most useful like this. So I

had to shake myself and pull myself together. It was still

difficult, but I grabbed my camera and started to work.

Judith: When you see malnourished children in another

context in Africa, it is always difficult, but at least they

are with their families and close to home. At (Dolo Ado),

they had been walking for days and had left absolutely

everything behind. They also had to wait to start

receiving assistance, as at the very beginning, there was

no structure in place. You felt quite helpless to witness

this.

Given that most refugees are women and children,

did you feel a particular empathy as mothers

yourselves?

Rose: Looking at these children, I couldn't help thinking

about my own and the joy that comes with motherhood.

Then I tried to put myself in the place of the mothers

whose hearts were probably breaking because they were

unable to provide their children with the basics of

survival that so many of us take for granted: food. And

it broke my heart into tiny pieces. Then there were those

times I found myself playing mother to the children, a

hug here, a smile there and most of the time, wishing I

could adopt them all. Once you have been involved in

situations such as that in Dadaab, there is no forgetting

it.

Judith: I gave birth to my first son not so long ago, and

when I went to Dolo Ado, it was the first time returning

to the field as a mother. I was completely unprepared for

my reaction. Seeing malnourished children had always

affected me, of course, but it was nothing compared to

what I felt in Dolo Ado. I felt keenly the desperation of

every mother I saw and talked to. I was much better

able to relate to them and understand what they were

going through, fighting for their children and not being

sure if they would make it. This is the worst thing that

can happen to any mother.

Anything that

made you smile?

Rose: I was working

inside the reception

center, when I

spotted two families

who had arrived the

same day. I

recognized one of the

women, who had

been carrying a

disabled child. She was sitting happily with food she had

just received, tickling her girls and giggling together.

Another girl was also waiting for her mother who was

collecting the food; when she opened the bag her

expression of delight was just priceless! It was a relief to

witness these few moments of joy amid all the misery.

Judith: The second and third times I went back to Dolo

Ado, more structures were set up, people were receiving

High Energy Biscuits and other food as they arrived. In

two weeks, many things had changed for the better.

Through our Eyes: theCrossroads of Human Despair

By Rose Ogola

Even under "normal" circumstances, feeding close to half

a million refugees at Dadaab camp is a challenge for the

most seasoned humanitarian worker. Set in a remote,

arid corner of northeastern Kenya, the harsh landscape

simmers under the relentless heat and dust ― and is

swamped by torrential rains the next. The concentration

of human misery is painfully high. But staff have really

been put to the test by recent security incidents.

The abduction of two humanitarian workers from a

partner agency in Dadaab and the non-fatal shooting of

their driver in mid-October had an immediate impact on

camp operations. The Kenyan government closed all

three reception centers, and no refugees have been

registered since. On 5 Nov., following the discovery of a

landmine along the road used daily by a staff convoy,

WFP's general food distributions and blanket

supplementary feeding programmes for children under

age five were suspended for 24 hours.

The continuing security incidents have forced

humanitarian organizations to scale back many camp

operations to the essentials ― notably food, water and

health services that largely depend on the organizations'

refugee employees. Most humanitarian staff including

WFP's commute daily to Dadaab in armed convoys from

protected living quarters outside the camp perimeter.

"I have a great team here who work selflessly to ensure

that WFP gives the refugees the support they so badly

need," says Lourdes Ibarra, head of the Dadaab sub-

office. "We have had to beef up security for our staff so

that they can continue providing these services."

Dadaab refugee camp is located about 70 kilometers

from the Kenya-Somalia border. Due to its proximity to

Somalia, which has been in conflict for more than two

decades, Dadaab is classified as a UN security Level Four

zone. This means that staff are restricted to working and

living in designated areas and have to observe strict

security constraints.

To permit emergency evacuations at night, the Dadaab

airstrip has been equipped with a portable Civil Aviation

lighting system so it can be used after dark. This proved

invaluable when a WFP staff member and a Save the

Children UK staffer became seriously ill and had to be

rushed out, and again when the wounded driver needed

to be evacuated.

There are three main camps within the Dadaab complex:

Dagahaley, Hagadera and Ifo. Since June, there has

been a huge influx of refugees from Somalia with an

average of 1,300 new arrivals per day reported at its

peak in July and August. The camps currently hold more

than 460,000 refugees, amid a continuing inflow. This

has put WFP staff under tremendous pressure to

guarantee the necessary services. They have had to

work long hours with little time off.

"Staff are also affected emotionally when the newly

arrived refugees tell of the suffering they've undergone,

including losing children and other family members as

they trekked all the way from Somalia with little food

and water," Lourdes says. "Many were robbed and

arrived in a pitiful state at the camps. But at least we've

been able to give them the help they need."

For staffer Fatuma Mohamed, the most painful moments

come "when children die at the stabilization centre after

arriving with such severe malnutrition that it can't be

reversed." However, she adds, "The fact that a life can

be saved gives us the impetus and strength to work

even when we are almost dropping from fatigue."

Staff Give All at World’s Largest Refugee Camp

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Part of our life-saving teamin Dadaab

PublicInformationOfficer RoseOgola withFatuma, arefugee girlfrom Somalia

WFP/J

ohn M

unene

WFP/L

ydia

Wam

ala

Public Information Officer Judith Schuler WFP/Michel Ansermet

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Senior Staff Assistant Heidi Findlay, who works in the

Geneva liaison office, reflects on the time she and other

WFP staff members spent with Syed Ali Tahir, a WFP

colleague evacuated to Switzerland following the

Islamabad office bombing in October 2009.

Here in Geneva, we are accustomed to receiving visiting

staff, whether attending conferences, training courses,

visiting on home leave or just passing through. However,

in October 2009, the medical evacuation of our colleague

Syed Ali Tahir — following the brutal bombing of our

office in Islamabad — was our most challenging welcome

to date.

Tahir — one of the most severely injured staff members

— was medically evacuated to Geneva’s Cantonal

Hospital for emergency treatment. As a team, we all

pulled together to ensure that Tahir, his wife Farah and

their nephew Safi were helped to feel as comfortable as

possible upon arrival.

While Tahir fought for his life in intensive care, Farah and

Safi had to come to terms with not only Tahir’s

predicament, but also their new environment. The

cultural differences between Pakistan and Switzerland

were huge. Farah was clearly distraught by her

husband’s physical injuries, not to mention the stress of

moving him all the way to Switzerland and leaving their

three sons behind with family in Pakistan.

Despite Safi’s excellent support, Farah struggled. She

was shocked and scared. We tried everything we could

to reassure her that our office would support her. A long

list began to form: finding suitable accommodation,

showing them where to buy food, negotiating the public

transport system and helping them communicate with

hospital staff. We took turns visiting: in the early days,

somebody from the office went to the hospital every day.

As Tahir’s health improved and he was moved out of

intensive care, Farah and Safi were able to relax a little

— and we got to know them better. I started to visit

regularly on Friday afternoons. Although harrowing, I

also found these visits strangely uplifting; both Farah

and Safi were courageous and brave, trying to

understand a foreign system, even managing to find

some humour in its foibles. Tahir, meanwhile, was

making a silent, slow recovery; he was moved from the

main hospital to its rehabilitation clinic, where he had

daily therapy.

It was important for me to hear about Tahir’s working

life with WFP. What struck me most about his situation

was that he was not one of our staff working on the

frontline. Yes, events in Pakistan are unpredictable, but

Tahir had a desk job. He handled finance — one of my

own responsibilities — and I often imagined him posting

journal vouchers in WINGS or studying spreadsheets,

just like me. Maybe he had been settling an invoice

when, in a second, his whole life and that of his family

was changed forever.

I also have fond memories of the cultural exchanges we

had around Tahir’s bedside. Farah was keen to hear

about life and culture in the UK, where I’m from. In turn,

I learned a lot about Pakistan. We talked a lot about

food, about customs and family. We laughed a lot and

realized there were many similarities in our experiences.

I enjoyed their company, although I was sad that Tahir,

while sitting right beside us, was unable to join in our

conversations.

In April 2010, Tahir was declared well enough to travel

home for a short period in between operations. Two

months later, Farah, Tahir and Wara (a niece who came

to Switzerland to replace Safi) returned to Geneva with

the couple’s three sons, Mohid, Mulhim and Munjee. The

three boys and Wara attended summer French classes,

and that September the boys enrolled in school. This

was very helpful for the family, as it gave them a sense

of normality. Farah used to tell me that for Tahir, hearing

his sons talk about their day gave him enormous

pleasure. With the family reunited and settled, Tahir

continued to improve. Successive operations improved

his appearance, health and morale.

On 17 Aug. 2011, the family finally left Geneva. The

children were excited, and Tahir, smartly dressed and

mentally ready for home, was clearly pleased and proud

to have reached this milestone. Although his speech has

not completely returned, he continues to work on it with

the help of therapists and family in Pakistan. Tahir walks

today and is mobile. While he is not 100 percent

recovered, he has come a very long way.

Sometimes, from an awful situation, good things come.

The three boys went home speaking French. Farah,

having successfully adapted herself to running a home in

a foreign land, now has a high level of confidence. She

remains one of the most impressive women I have ever

met. She is an incredibly brave person and Tahir and the

three boys are very lucky to have her. As for Tahir, to

see him come from the very brink, to see him work

through his many, many frustrations and obstacles —

physical, mental and cultural — to re-emerge as the

calm, smiling, gentle person that he is, has been very

special.

After Terror Attack, the Long Road Home

Two years ago, a suicide bomber attacked WFP's office

in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing five staff members and

injuring many more. Adam Motiwala, an IT consultant

there whose injuries required hospital treatment,

returned to WFP to work as a consultant in Logistics in

Rome. Adam, an American of Pakistani descent, left WFP

in June 2011 and now lives in Washington.

I remember how psyched I was when I received the

email that I would be going to Pakistan to work with the

UN. I knew nothing would prevent me from going,

especially since my assignment was from a region my

parents once called home. Some of my friends who were

experienced humanitarians warned me that working in

crisis situations are often life-changing experiences. But

I was 24 and searching for an experience that would

shape my life.

Little did I know that a month into my mission in

Pakistan, while discussing the possibility of my first sub-

office visit to Peshawar, my life and the lives of the staff

in that Islamabad office would change irreparably.

My memories are still vivid two years on, and whenever

I hear of or see footage in the news from a violent

attack, I flash back to 5 Oct. 2009. Not exactly the life-

changing experience I was looking for and I guess I am

still trying to figure out how it will inform my own

outlook on life and the decisions I make. But some

experiences and people I have met have shown me

things for which I will forever be grateful.

Returning to Islamabad a year later, when Pakistan was

responding to its worst flood and natural disaster, was a

transformative experience for me. There I met with

recovered staff members and families of those who lost

relatives and colleagues. The staff there inspired me

with their leadership, resilience and dedication. I recall

the heroic and swift actions taken by our colleagues to

quickly transport the wounded to the hospital, including

myself, without deliberating about whether another

explosion might follow; instead, they acted on selfless

instincts. It is those qualities in the colleagues I have

had the chance to work with that I hope will shape my

outlook in life and influence my decisions. For that, I am

forever grateful to the staff in Pakistan and those I have

met in headquarters. That experience has allowed me to

carry forward with my own life.

In memory of Gul Rukh Tahir, Botan Ahmed ali

al-Hayawi, Farzana Barkat, Abid Rehman, Mohammad

Wahab, and to all the others who have given their life on

duty, and recovering staff members.

You can contact Adam at adamcsuf@gmail.com

Reflections on theBombing, Two Years Later

By Michelle Iseminger

One year ago, Joel Fernadez, the WFP South Sudan fleet

manager and Filipino national, died of malaria, leaving

behind a wife and children. Joel was my neighbour, and

we used to cook food in the Filipino “Adobo” style and

sing karaoke at his place. He was a friendly, smiling guy

with a positive outlook on life. He had symptoms of

malaria and thought all would be fine, so he didn't get

medical attention until it was too late.

There is a lesson to be learned in how Joel died for all

staff who find themselves in malarial zones: it is vitally

important to get yourself tested even if you feel “only” a

few symptoms. Taking a weekend trip or R&R should not

be prioritized higher than your health. Field life self-care

should be front and center for a staff member if they are

going to maintain a balanced work-life continuum.

There is a high incidence of malaria — cerebral and other

strains, both endemic and deadly — in South Sudan and

many other countries. There is no vaccination for

malaria. Mosquito repellent and anti-malaria medicines

are available in the pharmacy or supermarkets. The

chances to get the illness rise in the rainy season, but

you are at risk all year long. Wear insect repellent, sleep

under a mosquito net and wear pants and long-sleeved

shirts in the evening to reduce the risk of malaria.

Malaria symptoms (can vary):

• Persistent headache, often in the frontal

lobe area

• Fever, low temperature and fluctuating

• Aches and pains in joints

• Flu-like symptoms

If you feel any or a combination of the above symptoms,

immediately get yourself tested to see if a parasite is in

your blood. It’s much better to get a test and a negative

result than to not get a test at all.

May Joel rest in peace. I hope his tragic experience will

help teach other colleagues how not to succumb to a

fatal illness that can be prevented and/or treated.

Michelle Iseminger, programme adviser in the South

Sudan country office, posted this on “Have Your Say” on

WFPgo on 19 Oct. 2011, the first anniversary of Joel’s

death

Remembering Joel: A Reminder to Staff toTake Malaria Seriously

Please visit our

new Memorial

Pages on

go.wfp.org/

web/wfpgo/

memorial

In Memoriam

Canadian Carl Conradi, 25, arrived in Yemen eager to

field test his new master's degree in conflict, security

and development from King's College in London. Little

did he know he'd soon be applying theory to hard

realities, plunging into Yemen's own unfolding version of

the "Arab Spring" — the wave of political discontent that

has swept the Arab world. He also landed a WFP job

that swiftly taught him the "primacy" of our work amid

turmoil. WFPgo spoke to Carl about the crisis that

spurred a partial and temporary UN and NGO

evacuation from Sana’a, the Yemeni capital on 23 Sept.

You were among seven WFP international staff

evacuated on a special UN flight. What happened?

The conflict in Sana'a basically emerged from the

political protests that started back in January, and it

escalated sharply in the days before we were evacuated.

After a big push against the government by the anti-

government coalition, the fighting also broadened

beyond the neighborhoods where it had been

concentrated. Violence exploded across the city.

International staff were put under "lockdown"— working

from home with sporadic electricity and Internet access.

The decision to evacuate followed several days of the

most intense fighting we'd experienced. Seven

international staff remained behind, including Country

Director Lubna Alaman, and the office reopened with a

skeleton national staff a few days later.

How has the social and political turmoil impacted

our programmes in Yemen?

There are three significant changes in our work since

the start of 2011. The first is that the protracted conflict

in Saada, in the north, actually died down after the

government recalled its troops to Sana'a to fortify the

capital. Saada is now one of the country’s most peaceful

governorates and WFP has negotiated unprecedented

access. Meanwhile, fighting intensified in the southern

Abyan governorate, and we’re now targeting full food

rations for tens of thousands of IDPs there.

Yemen’s political upheaval has coincided with a growing

economic crisis in a country that's already the Arab

world's poorest. The fuel crisis that started in June has

made it increasingly difficult for UN agencies to buy fuel.

As lead agency of the logistics cluster, WFP is

responsible for procuring and distributing fuel to the

wider humanitarian community. That's on top of our

support for air transport to the crisis zones. Meanwhile,

the needs are growing alarmingly since the cost of

Yemen's staple foods has increased 50 percent on top of

spiralling transport costs.

How about funding?

We're facing shortfalls across our operations, but school

meals — which is essentially food for girls' education —

is the most critically under-funded programme. These

schoolgirls bring home rations for an entire family, which

is assumed to be seven people. We've had to cut that

programme in half. You can imagine the impact. It's

devastating — for the girls and their families.

How did you come to Yemen?

I moved to Sana'a at the end of January, a time when

the civil protests in Tunisia inspired students to take to

the streets in Yemen. For better or worse, I've watched

the entire trajectory of the struggle between the

protesters and forces allied with Saleh's regime. By

coincidence, I'd just finished my master's in conflict,

security and development studies at King's College in

London. My intention was to study Arabic at full tilt, and

learn first-hand about the history of traditional

mediation between the (Yemeni) tribes. Believe it or

not, they had a quite sophisticated culture of conflict

management before the advent of the modern nation

state. I was intrigued because my dream is to develop

my own conflict management firm. In May, I joined WFP

the moment a spot became available. It was quite

fortuitous!

What's it been like as foreigner?

I have never felt I've been a target by virtue of being a

foreigner. In fact, I've never been to a country as

incredibly friendly as Yemen. Even in the midst of urban

warfare, their hospitality and kindness continues. The

most unsettling thing for me has been the random

gunfire — and there is a lot of it, not just in fighting but

in celebration. You never know where a bullet is going

to land. Some international and many national staff

have had to relocate from homes due to fighting.

Though it didn't happen to me, that certainly takes a

toll. For the national staff who have been uprooted with

their families, you can see on their faces how much it

wears on them. Yemenis are quite stoic and tough, but

(the upheaval) has reached a point where people are

worried and fearful.

Any life lessons?

In all sincerity, being in Yemen in the midst of crisis, it's

been a privilege to work with WFP and alongside my

Yemeni colleagues. I am not only seeing a unique side

of WFP's mission — its primacy and centrality in

environments like that in Yemen; but I am also

witnessing the resilience and bravery of my Yemeni

colleagues. I keep thinking of people back home and

how they would manage in such situations. I don't think

most of them would manage to hold together.

(Interview by Jennifer Parmelee)

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By Devin Gangi

During a Human Resources workshop at a Rome hotel,

Senior Staff Assistant Judy Gicharu had just walked up to

the reception desk when two distraught children ran up

shouting, “My dad's had a heart attack!” She helped

translate their words for hotel staff and asked them to call

an ambulance.

Terry McBride, Elaine Stankiewicz and their two children

were an American family vacationing in Rome. On their

last day before returning home to Washington, Terry had

gone to the gym, but suddenly collapsed on the treadmill.

Elaine, who was also in the gym with her two children,

asked the kids to run to the hotel lobby for help while she

stayed with her husband.

HR officers from around the world were gathered in Rome

for an annual best practices meeting at the same hotel

near WFP headquarters. It was also Diana Serrano’s last

workshop as HR director. Senior Staff Assistant Jeremy

Brinson was returning to the hotel with a bouquet of

flowers for Diana when he was met by Judy, who asked:

"Do you know CPR?!"

Jeremy, who had completed a CPR course offered by WFP,

ran upstairs to the gym. “As I tried to resuscitate the

husband, (the wife) kept saying to him, ‘Come back. Don't

leave me.’" HQ Security Guards Antonino Contino and

Gianluca Mastrantonio, meanwhile, sped over to the hotel.

WFP security guards are trained in Basic Life Support, and

while CPR was being administered, Antonino took off

McBride’s shoes and watch to relieve pressure and check

for a pulse. “I also helped put him onto one of the

(angled) benches there, as this position makes more blood

go up to the heart.”

The ambulance finally arrived, but despite the medics'

best efforts, McBride, 56, never regained consciousness

and died of a heart attack at the hotel. Jeremy helped his

wife and the doctor understand each other: "She was

asking why he died, and the doctor said in Italian, il cuore

era rotto. In English, this literally means ‘his heart was

broken.' When I translated that, she became even more

distraught."

Stankiewicz decided to return home the next day as

planned to get the children back to a familiar

environment. For the rest of the evening, Diana, Ruth,

Judy and Jeremy switched between closing the HR

workshop and consoling the family. They helped with the

necessary paperwork and Jeremy personally accompanied

the family to the airport the next day to help them

through customs and security.

Diana, now retired from WFP and living at her home in the

US, attended the funeral in Washington. In lieu of flowers,

Stankiewicz asked all those in attendance to donate to

WFP. "I simply do not know what we would have done

without WFP,” she says. “I thought that asking for

donations would be one very small token of our gratitude.”

But for Diana, "This was just WFP doing what it does best

– helping people."

Amid FamilyEmergency, StaffJump in to Help

WFP has opened a new

office in Brasilia, the

WFP Centre of

Excellence Against

Hunger, that will help

countries improve,

expand and eventually

run their own school

meal programmes

sustainably.

The Centre aims to

accomplish this in at

least three practical ways. First, it will help develop

capacity by arranging in-person field visits to mature

school meal programmes by government officials and

programme managers. Second, the centre will become

a global reference and source of information on school

meal programmes. Third, when national governments

begin to design and run their own school meal

programmes, the centre will help provide direct

technical support, in collaboration with WFP country

offices.

Brazil — WFP's eighth-largest donor — was chosen as

host country because it has effectively taken

ownership its own school meal programme and has

provided initial funding of $5.2 million over two years.

"We'd been cooperating with Brazil for the last three

years, providing technical assistance on school meals

to countries," says Manuel Aranda Da Silva, director of

Policy, Planning and Strategy.

Daniel Balaban, the centre’s director, says many

governments are eager to learn about Zero Hunger,

the new Brazilian model for reducing poverty and

increasing food security, and how they might adapt it

to their own countries.

School Meals PartnershipTakes Off in Brazil

After University, a Reality Check inYemen

Senior Staff Assistant Jeremy Brinson (L) and SecurityGuard Antonino Contino (R) outside the hotel wherethey responded to the family emergency.

WFP/R

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WFP/D

avid

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OCH

A/S

ofian M

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Gabriela Alvarado is a female engineer who works in

the telecommunications division at HQ. This fact, on its

own, might not seem extraordinary — were female

engineers not so rare.

Recent statistics show women making up 47 percent of

the American workforce, but when it comes to

computer and systems engineers, women hold less

than 25 percent of those jobs. Today at WFP, there are

similar discrepancies: among IT Officers working at

HQ, only 18 percent are women. And the numbers are

even lower when it comes to new applicants for the

professional IT roster: only 6 percent come from

women.

So Gaby, 33 and a native of Nicaragua, is already an

exception to the rule. Beyond that, she often works at

the extreme end of her profession, having spent time

in several dangerous, high-security locations.

"Although there is not much prejudice within the UN,

often in Latin America, due to ‘machismo,' people are

very surprised to meet a female telecommunications

engineer," she says. This busy working mother — she

has a three-year-old son — has seen her share of the

world's hotspots.

Over the course of her career she has worked through

violent clashes between rival factions in the North and

South of Sudan, and extreme danger in Iraq — a

situation that eventually meant her leaving the

country. "The job I have is fulfilling and I know that I

am helping to save lives by establishing

telecommunications tools after disaster situations," she

says. "[However] a job is a job and it is important not

to [cross] the line so as to endanger one's own life,

especially as a mother with a young child."

While in the field, she improves access to life-saving

technology and telecommunications tools. Trained in

systems engineering, Gaby has helped in Nicaragua in

the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch in 1998, in El

Salvador after the 2001 earthquake, in Iraq in 2003

and in Khartoum, Sudan from 2004 to the early

months of 2008. She has also provided technical help

in several Latin American and Caribbean countries, and

worked in Haiti after the earthquake.

Gaby is an advocate for women in a very male-skewed

corner of an already male-dominated sector, and she's

learned to adapt to people's surprise: "people wouldn't

believe I was really the telecommunications person

when they first met me. Although this used to annoy

me, I've learned to have fun with this type of situation

and to laugh it off," she says. "If more women became

involved in this type of work, this problem would

perhaps be less common."

A Female Engineer WhoWorks the World's Hotspots

Report: 24 StaffDismissed forMisconduct in 2010Twenty-four staff were dismissed for professional

misconduct in 2010, according to the latest annual

report on disciplinary measures from Human

Resources. HR dealt with 48 cases of misconduct

during the year. By comparison, HR dealt with 30

misconduct cases in 2009. Misconduct charges

ranged from harassment and fraud to theft and

gross negligence. Read the full report here:

http://docustore.wfp.org/stellent/groups/

public/documents/cd/wfp240094.pdf

By Rodney Cusic

"I never knew we had an engineering team in WFP. I

wish we could have had your input earlier." That's a

familiar refrain to the staff in the Facilities Management

engineering branch, especially from country offices

struggling to manage construction projects. While its

services to the headquarters properties go back years, a

field engineering team was formally established in 2009

to manage an ever-increasing workload of projects

outside of Rome — mainly in making buildings safer and

better protected. "This is something that had been badly

needed in the support provided to country offices," says

Chief Engineer Desmond Page.

The branch (also known as ODMI) is made up of

engineers and architects with work experience from

around the world. "We bring over 150 years of

professional experience to WFP, people who have

managed the design and construction of multi-million

dollar infrastructure projects, as well as people who have

managed extensive public facilities and infrastructure at

the highest level — buildings, transportation, electrical,

water and environmental services," explains Facilities

Management Chief Brenda Behan. "It's an incredible

wealth of experience at WFP's disposal."

Desmond says, "Good engineering makes a real

difference for communities. It supports opportunities for

production, including food production, and connects

communities to opportunities for trade, work, education,

health and social interaction. It is entirely consistent

with WFP's strategic objective of strengthening the

capacity of countries to reduce hunger."

One engineer can be responsible for up to dozens of

construction works in numerous countries. These might

include roads and roadways, warehouses and depots, or

accommodation units — all projects the ODMI field

engineering team works with day in, day out. Field

Project Engineer Mark Finegan says the engineering

projects are varied. "Helping country offices like Haiti,

Iraq or Pakistan to relocate to better, safer and more

efficient buildings, or working with UNHRD on a

challenging revamp of its Brindisi, San Vito base — or

An EngineeringTeam Dedicatedto the Field

with Logistics teams supporting the development and

construction of strategic storage facilities in Pakistan or

Djibouti — gives a real sense of achievement to the

team."

In Pakistan, the new country office was completed just

in time to provide a safe, protected and high quality

base of operations for the office to respond to the

flooding emergency in 2010. Project Engineer Paolo

Battistin says, "We want to bring concrete solutions to

the real challenges that country offices face." With

support from ODMI, country offices have achieved

greater value for their money, have reduced risks and

ensured the delivery of quality buildings.

There are currently 50 active projects — "a considerable

number for a small team, and it is only possible because

of the expertise that the team brings together," said

Desmond.

Country offices that would like to take advantage

of the division's services for a current or future

project should contact Desmond, or Project

Engineers Mark Finegan or Kevin Moore directly.

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Gabriela works onthe roof of WFP HQin Rome

Project Engineer Kevin Moore on a building site inBukavu, DRC

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Use Subject Lines Strategically. Tell your recipient exactly why you're writing. No one

should ever need to open an email to figure out the

subject matter. Subject lines should be clear, direct

and descriptive. Hi, Susan or Forgot to mention tells

the recipient nothing. Worse, it makes it difficult for

the recipient to find your email later because nothing

in the subject line reveals the content. If action is

required, the subject line should say so: Have you

reviewed my report yet? is much more effective than

Just following up. If important information is being

conveyed, help the recipients see immediately how

this affects them. Some examples of effective,

specific subject lines:

• Please review this draft memo

• I'd like your thoughts before I call the

programme officer

• May I proceed with this tender?

Understand that Sequence Matters. If your name appears first in the "To" line, you have

primary responsibility for responding. When writing a

group, if you expect a reply only from one person but

want five others to be aware of the communication,

insert the five other names in cc field. (That's for

"carbon copy" from the pre-email days when memos

were received in hard copy form). If you are cc'd,

you are not obligated to respond — so before

replying, ask yourself if your comment is really

necessary to the conversation.

Don't Respond to an Email that Has BeenSent to a Group Before Determining WhetherOthers Have Responded Already. This is especially important if you have been offline

for some time. The email you're reading may in fact

be only the first of multiple emails in a long

conversation thread. Chiming in at this point risks

complicating a conversation that has already moved

forward.

Don't Insert a PS in Email. Ever. Many PS notes are never seen because the

recipient has stopped reading at the sender's

signature. This is especially true with the increasing

use of hand-held devices, like BlackBerries. Instead,

simply incorporate your final thought as the last line

of text above your signature.

Don't Automatically Hit "Reply to All." Look carefully at all the recipients on any email

before hitting Send. Does everyone who received the

original email really need your reply? You may be

tempted to show others your response — but email

isn't a tool for demonstrating that you work hard. It

is often sufficient for someone to receive the initial

email (making them aware that a discussion is taking

place) but then to be removed from subsequent

comments in the conversation. Reviewing the

recipient list is wise for other reasons too, such as

scanning for external recipients before sharing any

information best kept within WFP.

Ways to Make YourEmails More Effective 5

By Jordan Cox

There’s a new guide available online and in WFP offices

worldwide. The Manager’s Guide to Internal Control is part

of a new framework dedicated to exactly that. But what

does internal control actually mean? Is it a financial thing?

Resource management? Something to do with auditing or

accounting? And beyond that, is it something just for

managers, or all staff members?

“Most people, when you say ‘internal control’, they say,

‘Oh, this is Finance’s job’,” says Richard Maggs, a senior

advisor to the chief financial officer and one of the authors

behind the new guide, which has been produced by the

Strengthening Managerial Control and Accountability

initiative. “But this is everyone’s responsibility. This is the

way we control our operations, fundraising, every aspect

of the delivery chain of a WFP operation. It’s not just

about finance.”

You can find out more about the tools by browsing

WFPgo’s new Internal Control pages

g o . w f p . o r g / w e b / w f p g o / m a n a g e m e n t /

internal-control/introduction, where you’ll find the

guide and other material. The guide also includes ten tips

for managers that distill the main internal control concepts

down to a digestible set of principles. Richard, who has

been a director general in the UK National Audit Office,

elaborated on five of those tips and how all staff can get

something out of them.

#1: Value Your Signature

“Say you go to your manager and you want to travel to

another country for a mission. And you get 20 minutes of

interrogation, asking about your justification for the trip,

what possible reason you have to leave the office, and so

on,” he says. “In the end, your manager agrees. Now, that

signature has some substance behind it.” The guide puts

it this way: make it clear that you’ve been diligent every

time your signature is put down on paper, and if you don’t,

your staff will notice. And that will affect their work style,

which brings us to our second tip.

#2: Understand Your Own Management Style

Here’s the guide again: if you take unnecessary risks and

do not care about controls, your staff will take

unnecessary risks and not care about controls.

#3: Delegate Right

“Managers need to think clearly about whether the person

they are delegating to has the competence, capacity and

resources to carry out the work.” Or, as the guide has it:

you remain accountable for the effectiveness of delegated

roles. “We’re asking managers to be careful, to only

delegate things that they can,” Richard says.

#4: Make Objectives Real

“If we have an objective to grow more trees, but we

haven’t assigned anybody to do it, it’s meaningless. But

we need more than that — we need a budget, a timetable,

how many trees we’d like to plant, numbers, and a date

for when these things should be done. That’s an

objective.”

#5: Follow the Rules

“This isn’t just stating the obvious,” Richard says. “Over

50 years, WFP has developed some pretty good systems

and processes to control our business, and managers

need to know that departing from these needs a good

reason. If there’s any doubt, they need to seek advice.

Processes are clearly defined, and there for a reason.”

"Internal Control": Five Ways to Benefit

New Resource for Staff:the UN ExtranetVisit http://extranet.un.org/ to access the UN

System Extranet for WFP, where UN system

organizations and staff can share information, tools

and applications that are often only accessible on

organizations' individual intranets. The extranet is

protected, and UN staff can access the extranet only

from their organizations' internet server. Content on

the extranet ranges from a database where staff can

search for UN documents in six official languages, to

a directory of senior officials, the UN Common

System salaries and allowances, and a library

featuring more than 80,000 maps.

Ramiro Lopes da SilvaElected Chair of UNNutrition Committee

Ramiro Lopes da Silva, deputy executive director of

operations, has been elected chair of the UN System

Standing Committee on Nutrition (SCN). Created in

1977, the SCN promotes cooperation among UN

agencies and partner organizations to support

community, national, regional and international

efforts to end malnutrition. The chairmanship of the

SCN rotates between four UN agencies — FAO,

UNICEF, WFP and WHO — with mandates to work on

food security and nutrition.

All Staff GloballyTo:

From: Steve Taravella, Chief of Internal Communications

WFP/R

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Acting Oudomxay Sub-Office Head Bouavone

Phasouk gives out school meals to a class of

pre-primary students in a remote village in

northern Laos. More than 155,000

schoolchildren receive a daily snack to help

them concentrate and get essential nutrients.

Snapped:Staff in Action

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By Morris Marah with Caroline Hurford

As a child in war-torn Sierra Leone, Morris Marah

enjoyed WFP's school meals: "The hot meal from WFP

was a godsend," he recalls. Thirteen years later, as a

university student, he joined the fight against hunger as

an intern in our London office. From his days as a

beneficiary to his experience spreading the word about

WFP's work with young people, Morris has seen the

impact WFP has on hunger. He believes empowering

young people is the key to solving hunger, and WFP has

inspired him to seek a career devoted to helping others.

Working with WFP has always been my long-term goal

because I have actually experienced WFP, and hunger,

first-hand. My appreciation for WFP began in 1998 when

Sierra Leone was recovering from a brutal civil war that

left us on the brink of survival. In my home-town of

Lungi, near the capital, Freetown, my local primary and

secondary schools (Silesians of St. Augustine Schools)

were part of WFP's school meals programme.

I remember the truck squeezing into our playground,

backing up towards our makeshift kitchen and off-

loading bags of rice bearing the WFP logo. Every child in

that playground was so happy knowing there would be

enough food for all of us. When the school bell rang,

noise and excitement abounded. A few of us had lunch

money and sometimes our parents would pack us a

lunch box, but these moments were rare luxuries. It

meant that we had a vibrant atmosphere in the

afternoons with young kids full of energy, eager to learn.

Here I am, 13 years later, in a WFP office with yet

another opportunity — a step onto the career ladder. I

was really pleased to discover that WFP's school meals

programme continues at my school and just keeps on

getting stronger, according to a recent wfp.org interview

with the school's principal, Cassandra Johnson. "Before

WFP assistance, there were some 600 pupils enrolled.

Today, we have almost 900 — more than half of them

girls," she says. "With school meals, children can

concentrate on what they are here for: learning."

Interning with the youth outreach team in London has

been a great way to get young people engaged and

active about hunger. I've enjoyed telling students about

some of the campaigns and events I've organized as a

WFP student activist with my friends at Kingston

University. Everyone gets enthusiastic when they realize

how little it takes to "fill the cup" for a hungry child. I've

been making videos of talented young artists who feel

strongly about the plight of the hungry poor. In my

Artists against Hunger series I've filmed poets,

musicians and artists doing whatever they can to make

us think.

Knowing the importance of tackling hunger and

empowering young people and their communities with

that knowledge is how we end hunger. Seeing WFP's

work, my worldview is expanding, as is my respect for

humanitarians that make a genuine difference. I want a

career that affects change for a brighter future. If I ever

need to be reminded of an organization that makes that

future more hopeful, WFP would be top of my list

because it makes sure hungry children get the chance to

reach their full potential.

Morris is in his final year studying "International

Relations with TV & New Media" at Kingston

University, UK. He is interested in further studies

in global governance and diplomacy with a view to

working on food security issues. He just completed

his internship with WFP in London and can be

reached at morris.marah@hotmail.co.uk

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By Roslyn Ratliff

Growing up on an American farm, Roslyn Ratliff never

imagined she would one day transform her childhood

passion for making things grow into a full-time job

organizing WFP's school garden programmes in Liberia. "I

could not refuse," she says of the job that sprang out of

a partnership with the U.S. Peace Corps, which has

collaborated with WFP in 12 African countries since 2005.

Roslyn arrived in Liberia in 2010 to assist WFP on school

meals and later, on the refugee influx from neighbouring

Ivory Coast. Read her story here:

As a child in Chickasha, Oklahoma, I never knew that one

day I would be fighting for girls' rights, children's

education and a community's ownership of its school.

Raised in a humble home, all I knew was small town life,

farming, sports and the United States. I never connected

the dots from my home to the greater world — from the

wheat my family grew and the huge combines I watched

as a girl harvesting the wheat, to the commodities the US

sent to feed hungry children and vulnerable people

throughout the world.

Now, I am working with the largest organization that does

that job.

The road to my current job began after graduating college

with a degree in journalism and broadcasting, when I

became a counselor in North Carolina (US), living and

working from a tent with the bare necessities. My job was

to teach life skills to boys who did not excel in school,

who were abused or had behavioral problems with their

families or the law. It was something I believed in doing.

Peace Corps encourages that same type of work, but

internationally. This was my chance to leave the secure

bubble of Oklahoma, and the US, to see a new part of the

world and learn a new language — all on the government

payroll.

My first volunteer assignment with Peace Corps began in

2006, when I spent more than three years on community

development projects in Costa Rica. After Costa Rica, I

returned home for three months, but I was not ready to

stay put. I signed up for Peace Corps Response, which

offers six-month contracts doing quick-impact jobs in

partnership with other organizations; in my case, that

partner was WFP.

In January 2010, I went to Liberia and began what was

the first of three six-month assignments with WFP: going

from school to school, meeting with Parent-Teacher

Associations about the school meals programme, and

working with them on projects to improve their schools.

During those first six months, I visited more than 100

schools and explored half of Liberia. That was when I

really began to enjoy WFP work because I taught what I

inherited from my childhood, and it seemed natural. I was

able to educate people on how to make their vegetable

gardens thrive, which in turn enhanced the school's hot

meals programme.

As time progressed, I changed roles to focus on girls'

"take home" rations, which reward female fourth- to

sixth-grade students who attend school with food. I

travelled in the field for three weeks straight so that every

female student in three counties could receive a

sustainable amount of food for the summer. The trip was

not easy: The teams went places that had no roads, so

WFP vehicles had to find their way without.

During that time, I relinquished everything I thought I

knew about WFP. And, when I went to the border to do

food distribution for refugees fleeing from Ivory Coast in

December 2010, I witnessed for myself the instant and

profound impact that emergency food aid has. Hundreds

of people, mostly women and children, rejoiced in their

success in crossing the turbulent river. Many children

were separated from their families; they sat quietly along

the river bank watching others cross, often falling to sleep

among one another for comfort and safety. Hours later,

some of the children's families would retrieve them to

take them to the school's soccer field to sleep.

At first, I felt as if it was impossible to help because there

were so many people and more streaming in every day.

But it was amazing how somehow our team accomplished

the mammoth task of feeding the homeless individuals

and families. Over 1,000 refugees were fed daily, and

most found new homes either with a Liberian family or in

the refugee camp.

During that trip, I had the opportunity to interview a few

refugees and learn their stories. Since it was my first

exposure to the refugee experience, their harsh situations

were hard to fathom. I was speechless and did not want

to say anything; I could only listen and pretend that I

intimately understood. That evening, I called my family

so I could forget about this difficult side of the world and

return to my comfort zone. Never before had I been

exposed to such tragedy and pain. I now realize that this

was my first "mark" as a humanitarian worker, who began

as a Peace Corps volunteer, then transferred to a

response volunteer with WFP executing seemingly

impossible tasks. I was planning to go home in June, but

I was offered a full-time consultancy with WFP working

solely on the school garden. I could not refuse.

Editor's Note: On 20 Oct., FAO and WFP signed an

agreement with the US Peace Corps to cooperate in

combating worldwide hunger by increasing food security

in the 76 countries where more than 8,600 US volunteers

work. Currently there are four Peace Corps Response

volunteers working for WFP in Liberia.

From Peace Corps to WFP,Farm Roots Hold Strong

Coming FullCircle: MorrisMarah SeesBoth Ends of WFP

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L-R: River Gee County Parent-Teacher Association focalperson Reverend Jarr, Roslyn Ratliff and Zwedru Sub-Office Head Driver Erick Mettle help with a girls' take-home ration programme in River Gee County of WebboDistrict, one of Liberia’s least accessible areas.

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By Ellen Kobe

For three years, IT Officer Patrick McKay battled traffic

on the streets of Johannesburg during his daily travels.

After futile attempts of driving a sedan and a

motorcycle, he finally found a solution, as well as a new

passion: electric vehicles. "With new, better technology

available, it looked like everything I wanted to achieve

would be possible," he says.

Many WFP staffers have hobbies and interests outside of

their humanitarian careers. But Patrick's after-work

activity — building electric vehicles — makes his life

efficient and environmentally friendly. Not to mention, it

will save him a lot of money in the long run.

The principle of an electricity-powered vehicle is simple,

he explains: the driver plugs the car into an outlet to

charge its battery, much like a cell phone. He compares

building it to assembling a Lego set. "As long as you

don't break any of the laws of physics, you get a working

vehicle," he says. Patrick, who is South African, is proud

of all the electric vehicles he has created: a bicycle,

which can go up to 50 kilometers per charge, and two

scooters, which can go 25 to 30 kilometers per charge.

Patrick taught himself how to make these modes of

transportation, and got advice from internet forums for

people interested in creating electric vehicles since the

number of enthusiasts in South Africa is, so far as he

knows, low. The electric bicycle, created over three

months in 2009, remains Patrick's main form of

transportation. With his scooters, Patrick is able to go on

short rides to the gym, his office or various shops. He

also takes his five-year-old son Joey along for rides.

He is now preparing to ride even bigger wheels — an

electric car, which he is making from the body of a 1977

Fiat he bought through the classified ads. "I quite like

the idea of taking an old car and giving it something

really modern on the inside," he says. He uses a lot of

recycled materials, or old car parts, when building his

vehicles. (He also plans to convert his house to run

completely on solar power by December 2013, which

means the battery of his electric vehicles will be charged

by the sun.)

It cost Patrick US$2,000 to build his bicycle and between

US$100 and US$400 for each of his scooters. The car —

which he hopes to complete next year — will be his most

expensive project yet, at US$20,000. But eventually,

Patrick believes, he'll get a monetary benefit. Given the

miles he drives, he calculates that he will pay off the car

in about four years. Then, driving anywhere will be free.

But Patrick isn't alone is discovering advantages to

electric vehicles; so has WFP. The organization owns two

electric cars in Nepal and leases a third at headquarters,

according to Climate Neutral Programme Manager

Georgina Stickels. These cars contribute to WFP's efforts

to control carbon emissions as part of the UN-wide

Climate Neutral initiative, she says.

Using electric vehicles can reduce typical greenhouse

gas emissions by 20 to 75 percent, according to

Georgina. And, she adds, Patrick's transport practices

and use of recycled materials in building his little fleet

bring him very close to completely eliminating carbon

emissions when he travels.

Staffer Rides to Work on HomemadeElectric Bikes

Staff Climb Volcanofor Climate Change In July 2011, 17 staff members from the Ecuador

country office climbed halfway up Cotopaxi, the

second-highest mountain in Ecuador that is part of

the Pacific “Ring of Fire” chain of volcanoes. Their

goal: spread the word of a new climate change

adaptation project, recently launched by Ecuador's

government with a lot of help from WFP. The project

exists for a simple reason: glaciers in the Andes,

including Cotopaxi's, are melting; glaciers are the

main source of water for Ecuador's lowlands, and

agriculture depends on them.

"First, as the glaciers melt, it creates increased

runoff and flooding that can ruin crops and

agriculture,” said Country Director Deborah Hines.

“Second, there will eventually be less water available

for farmers to produce traditional crops, and thus

more droughts."

Staff climbed to the ranger station, at 4,810 metres

above sea level, where they met Deborah and

Patricio Tisalema, a professional climber and WFP

celebrity supporter who's scaled Cotopaxi at least

300 times. The climbers marked their feat with

chocolate medals before heading back down.

Just as they did for the climb, staff worked together

to make the project happen. WFP secured US$7.5

million from the Adaptation Fund — a breakthrough

for WFP in helping governments access new and

emerging climate funds. With support from the

Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Office

at HQ, other WFP country offices are now working

with their government counterparts to access the

fund.

Green Corner Green Corner Green Corner Green Corner

Need banking services from your post in the back of

beyond? A low-cost personal loan to buy a new car? A

secure way to save for your family's future with a financial

institution that "hasn't lost a cent" during the recent years

of financial upheaval? If you are WFP staff with a graded

appointment, the FAO Credit Union may provide a solution

for you.

Established in 1954 by staff members who sought to help

each other achieve financial goals like buying a home or

car, the FAO Credit Union is a non-profit credit and savings

cooperative that today has more than 3,000 members at

WFP and FAO. Every member is a shareholder with a say

in how the institution operates through a board of

directors that is elected by WFP and FAO members. "We

were created to help staff with savings and loans — and

to do this in an inexpensive, flexible and fast way," says

credit union Member Services Officer Blanca Bouzas, an

FAO staffer.

Flexibility and personalized attention to staff are "our

greatest strengths," Blanca says. Many staff in the field,

for example, use the credit union to transfer money to

different banks so that they can cover school fees or rent

— or to take out a personal loan (up to a ceiling of

125,000 US dollars or euros). She recounts how one

staffer in the field was trying to buy a house from afar, but

was unable to get everything done in time due to a

natural disaster in the country. "We held his hand every

step of the way and he got the loan money before the

deadline," she says. "For people in the field, when you find

yourself in the ‘middle of nowhere' with no local bank, we

can help you out."

The FAO Credit Union offers basic savings and loan

products in both US dollars and euros, with competitive

rates for loans and dividends. Credit union members can

hold up to the equivalent of a combined ceiling of 120,000

euros or US dollars in savings accounts, which earn

interest on a quarterly basis. Funds are available on

demand, though they need to be retained on deposit for

an entire quarter to qualify for maximum interest.

Members can request, with no fees, changes to loan

amounts and repayment schedules, set up monthly

savings through automatic payroll deductions, access

web-based services such as electronic withdrawals and

transfers of funds to other financial institutions.

In addition to offering competitive quarterly savings and

loan rates whenever possible, all profits are paid back to

members in the form of a dividend bonus and loan rebate

at the end of the year. In 2010, for example, credit union

officials say members received a 25 percent bonus on

dividend earnings for the year, and a 25 percent rebate on

loan interest paid during the same period. "We are a

genuine non-profit," says Manager Gerry Murphy, also an

FAO staffer. "And we work hard with our membership to

help them safeguard their financial security. In 57 years of

existence, we have never had anyone default on a loan.”

What the credit union does not do is offer ATMs or

mortgages like big, conventional banks — or charge fees.

The only fees encountered by credit union members are

those charged during transfers by intermediary or

recipient banks. "We don't think of ourselves as a

substitute, but rather a good complement, to a big bank,"

Blanca says. "We are a small community that does a few

things very reliably."

The credit union has also managed to navigate the

troubled financial waters in recent years. "We've always

invested our members' money cautiously," Gerry says,

noting that most of their US$150 million in consolidated

assets are in government-guaranteed bonds, or are out in

loans to members. "This has helped us to avoid the losses

that have affected many financial institutions and, in fact,

we haven't lost a cent throughout the market downturn.

The lower market rates are impacting our returns and

dividend payments, but we've been able to maintain

competitive rates throughout these uncertain times."

Contact the FAO Credit Union

Customer Service: +39 06 570 53666

General enquiries: +39 06 570 53884

Fax: +39 06 570 56176 Skype: fao_cu

Email: credit-union@fao.org

Website: http://webcreditunion.fao.org

From Field to HQ, FAOCredit Union OffersSavings and Loans

WFP/C

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Patrick atop his electric bike in Johannesburg

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Staff interesting in “greening” their workplace

should contact the Climate Neutral team at:

wfp.facilities@wfp.org. Already accomplished? Tell

us! Share your green success stories with

internal.communications@wfp.org

Compiled by Ellen Kobe

Main

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What’s in Your Carry-on?Our FrequentFlyers TellWhat TheyCan’t TravelWithout

Dr. Sergio Arena, ItalianWFP’s multi-pocket vest and the

“baby wipes”— normally used when

changing diapers, but covering a range of

situations, from meals to toilets. I also pack the

official travel kit prepared by

our medical service for all

staff heading to the field for a

month or more. From

headaches to the nightmare

of flying for hours with

diarrhoea, it has never

betrayed me!

RichardRagan,AmericanI'm wired to travel, even

for short periods, like it's

an expedition. I always

carry a TRX, a strap-like

portable gym that can be

attached to a tree, bar or

door. I also pack items from

nau.com, a US company that makes urban/outdoor

clothing that’s insanely durable but styled so you

can wear to work. To wash, throw them in the

sink (or river), hang to dry, and by

morning you're ready to go. Manuel Aranda daSilva, Mozambican

I have lived on four continents, worked in

many unstable environments, raised a family,

and enjoyed the challenge of working in

humanitarian affairs for decades. There is one

thing that I don’t even go to the office or

grocery store without: my passport. That way

I’m always ready to leave at a moment’s

notice. Everything else is

replaceable.

Gemmo Lodesani, ItalianTwo things are always with me:

a small, wooden Ganesh (a Hindu

deity known to remove obstacles)

and a tiny broom made by my wife’s

grandmother, one of the many

handicrafts she made to pass the

time while attaining 104 years old!

It became a kind of fetish, a magical object

protecting my wife and me during our

travels.

Carlos Melendez, PeruvianAs we say in Spanish, you only need three

P's: Plata (money), Pasaje (ticket) and

Pasaporte (passport)

Natasha Nadazdin, BosnianMy phone, updated with photos of my

children. Sometimes they break my

“embargo” and secretly load pictures or

videos they took themselves. It’s a special

treat to find these “unauthorized” pictures

when I’m away and missing them!

Robin Landis,American

Tiger balm —perfect

to relieve aches and

pains after long

flights, long rides and little sleep. Another staple is

the “Anywhere Box,” which bears the first picture

of me and my husband as Peace Corps

volunteers in the 1980s. Whichever one

of us is travelling, that’s who

has the box.

Sharon Riggle, AmericanI’m absolutely militant about carrying a

sleeping mask and earplugs; they’re

portable and provide instant comfort and

quiet, no matter where you are.

Marian Yun, South Korean My MacBook air — weighs

only 1.5 kg, and equally

compact speakers ... hair

masque (in the field, it’s dry and

dusty) ... flip flops (for those

grimy communal showers) ...

tweezers (for splinters or bushy

eyebrows) ... safety pins,

chewing gum and elastic

hair bands.

Kenro Oshidari, JapaneseIn Sudan, I kept a bag handy for

unexpected overnights. I threw out the

things WFP originally supplied like a blanket,

first aid kit, compass, and water purifier —

and instead packed two pairs of underwear,

a bottle of Jack Daniels, a carton of

cigarettes and peanuts.

RoseOgola,

KenyanMy Bible and

rosary because

they keep me in

touch with God.

Movies and music on my computer (I avoid iPods

because I try to be a good travelling

companion). Most places I visit are hot,

so I take a hat, usually with the WFP

logo, and my water bottle.

Amor Almagro, FilipinoIn Africa, the Kanga — the traditional

colorful African wrap — is a must-have,

alongside mosquito repellent and hand

sanitizer. I’ve often found myself with

female colleagues sitting and chatting,

wearing our Kangas, as we waited

our turn in the shower or toilet.

Abeer Etefa, Egyptian/American A small “peace bell” a

German friend gave me

when I joined the UN.

She asked me to ring it

in each country I visit to

help bring world peace. I do! Also, I’ve learned

how to economize when I pack: three pairs of

pants and mix-and-match shirts, including

one formal top for meetings or TV

appearances.

John Aylieff, BritishNo emergency has ever been run

without a few bottles of single malt, so I

always pick one up on my way, presuming I'm

not deployed to a country where alcohol is

banned. My child recently found something new

for me to pack: toys for the hungry children.

See page 3 for related photo.

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