Editor's Note: Victor Soler-Sala contributed this article to our March 2021 Quarterly Newsletter. In honour of Victor we are republishing the article to mark the sad news of his passing earlier this week.
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A Long Journey with UNICEF for Children - the Beginnings
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On arrival in New York in September 1958, I was assigned to the Regional Office of the Americas. The Regional Office was located in New York, because of the limited air routes available within Latin America. It was the best point to travel to every country office in the region.
UNICEF then was a very different organization. The two main programmes were milk distribution (as is shown in the UNICEF emblem of the time) and malaria eradication. Two Boards sessions were held each year at which individual projects were presented only after the technical approval of WHO.
I worked on the malaria eradication programme - yet at that point my only knowledge being that nets were needed to protect oneself from mosquitos. I had to learn quickly and today I still remember the three main vectors Valciparum, Plasmodium and Vivax. I had to control the monthly country reports on the incidence of each vector. So I became well versed on those technicalities.
In June 1959 I married and today we are still happily married). At that time I was ready to transfer to a country office. The Regional Director said, somewhat apologetically, that the only vacancy available was in Colombia.The Colombian political parties had reached an end of their civil war. However, in rural areas the ”violencia” continued with brutality. As always, innocent people were regularly caught between the warring conservatives and liberals.
The Colombia office was an area office covering Ecuador, Colombia and the Caribbean.The Rep was a P4, and included a P3 programme officer and myself, a P1. Spanish was the official language, but despite the noble efforts of my colleagues, we ended up using a kind of Spangilsh. I became the “de facto'' interpreter for the UN System, as UNDP and the UN Information Office asked for my assistance whenever an important English speaking visitor came. The P3 concentrated mostly on the office accounting. Whenever the Rep was away and the Malaria Council was held, my colleague would suddenly have “a dental appointment”. So my NewYork experience with malaria became quite handy.
It did not take long for me to understand that Infant and child mortality and maternal mortality were extremely high. Malnutrition was rampant. The number of ‘gamines’ (that is how street children were called) had increased at an alarming rate due to the rural violence which had undermined their families. Children found refuge in the towns. There were very few institutions serving children and those that existed were not able to provide dignified care. Witnessing this, but being impotent to act was quite depressing.
The Executive Director, Maurice Pate, wrote to all staff, asking our candid views of what UNICEF could next or better do for children. I saw this as a God-given opportunity for change. I did not spare one single word, explaining the reality. He replied quite warmly to the proposals. Of course, in reality, it would take several years until we could provide enough UNICEF assistance to address all these problems,
My first field visit was with a team of WHO and FAO nutritionists who came to plan a new Applied Nutrition Programme. We started in a remote village in the Department of Caldas, a coffee producing area. We visited a center caring for malnourished children and run by a most professional nun. I saw there for the first time a third degree malnourished child. It was a real shock to see that little mummy-like body palpitating in a skeleton.
The very charismatic nun told me that she needed blood for her blood bank and was ready to take a pint out of me then and there. At that point, I was willing to contribute anything. The WHO and FAO nutritionists came to my rescue, saying that this was the first of many similar centers we were going to visit and that I needed to keep my blood in order to remain a helpful member of the team. I felt guilty, apologized to the nun, and moved along. My only redeeming grace was that we produced the first Applied Nutrition Programme for Caldas. This programme was later extended to the other Departments of Colombia.
Dave P Haxton who had just joined UNICEF came to our Colombia office on his first field visit. Most embarrassingly, the Rep did not make Dave welcome and saw his visit mainly as another reporting chore for Hq. The Rep also did not understand the value of collaborating with NGOs
1960 began with President Kennedy’s announcement in January of ”The Alliance for Progress” - a major assistance programme for the Latin American Countries. Each country had to submit a report on their Planning and Development Programme.
I realized that I did not have the tools to work in these areas and needed immediate training. I was fortunate to be awarded a fellowship from Harvard University. I financed the balance with the sale of my Volkswagen and took leave without pay from UNICEF. I graduated in June 1961 with an MPA (Master of Public Administration) with majors in development economics and planning.
While I was on study leave I wrote a basic paper which became of considerable use for many other staff. At the request of Mr. Heyward, I also selected five of the most interesting books I had come across in my studies. These became the basis of the Hqs library in the country offices.
Immediately after June 1961 I resumed my work at Hqs in the Office of the Americas. I was in charge of the newly approved programmes in Education and Nutrition and participated actively in all the planning activities being developed to highlight the needs of children in Country Development Plans..
The above reflects some snippets on my first learning steps and experiences in the organization. I am grateful for these, as they gave me the opportunity to venture into the “terra incognita'' and later proved essential for my further work in UNICEF. I shared what I learned with the organization and with the colleagues in further assignments.
An anecdote before ending the article; before my arrival in Colombia, the Representative there had been sent to Ecuador to fire the head of the office there, a woman; he did so, and married her !!!
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UNICEF then was a very different organization. The two main programmes were milk distribution (as is shown in the UNICEF emblem of the time) and malaria eradication. Two Boards sessions were held each year at which individual projects were presented only after the technical approval of WHO.
I worked on the malaria eradication programme - yet at that point my only knowledge being that nets were needed to protect oneself from mosquitos. I had to learn quickly and today I still remember the three main vectors Valciparum, Plasmodium and Vivax. I had to control the monthly country reports on the incidence of each vector. So I became well versed on those technicalities.
In June 1959 I married and today we are still happily married). At that time I was ready to transfer to a country office. The Regional Director said, somewhat apologetically, that the only vacancy available was in Colombia.The Colombian political parties had reached an end of their civil war. However, in rural areas the ”violencia” continued with brutality. As always, innocent people were regularly caught between the warring conservatives and liberals.
The Colombia office was an area office covering Ecuador, Colombia and the Caribbean.The Rep was a P4, and included a P3 programme officer and myself, a P1. Spanish was the official language, but despite the noble efforts of my colleagues, we ended up using a kind of Spangilsh. I became the “de facto'' interpreter for the UN System, as UNDP and the UN Information Office asked for my assistance whenever an important English speaking visitor came. The P3 concentrated mostly on the office accounting. Whenever the Rep was away and the Malaria Council was held, my colleague would suddenly have “a dental appointment”. So my NewYork experience with malaria became quite handy.
It did not take long for me to understand that Infant and child mortality and maternal mortality were extremely high. Malnutrition was rampant. The number of ‘gamines’ (that is how street children were called) had increased at an alarming rate due to the rural violence which had undermined their families. Children found refuge in the towns. There were very few institutions serving children and those that existed were not able to provide dignified care. Witnessing this, but being impotent to act was quite depressing.
The Executive Director, Maurice Pate, wrote to all staff, asking our candid views of what UNICEF could next or better do for children. I saw this as a God-given opportunity for change. I did not spare one single word, explaining the reality. He replied quite warmly to the proposals. Of course, in reality, it would take several years until we could provide enough UNICEF assistance to address all these problems,
My first field visit was with a team of WHO and FAO nutritionists who came to plan a new Applied Nutrition Programme. We started in a remote village in the Department of Caldas, a coffee producing area. We visited a center caring for malnourished children and run by a most professional nun. I saw there for the first time a third degree malnourished child. It was a real shock to see that little mummy-like body palpitating in a skeleton.
The very charismatic nun told me that she needed blood for her blood bank and was ready to take a pint out of me then and there. At that point, I was willing to contribute anything. The WHO and FAO nutritionists came to my rescue, saying that this was the first of many similar centers we were going to visit and that I needed to keep my blood in order to remain a helpful member of the team. I felt guilty, apologized to the nun, and moved along. My only redeeming grace was that we produced the first Applied Nutrition Programme for Caldas. This programme was later extended to the other Departments of Colombia.
Dave P Haxton who had just joined UNICEF came to our Colombia office on his first field visit. Most embarrassingly, the Rep did not make Dave welcome and saw his visit mainly as another reporting chore for Hq. The Rep also did not understand the value of collaborating with NGOs
1960 began with President Kennedy’s announcement in January of ”The Alliance for Progress” - a major assistance programme for the Latin American Countries. Each country had to submit a report on their Planning and Development Programme.
I realized that I did not have the tools to work in these areas and needed immediate training. I was fortunate to be awarded a fellowship from Harvard University. I financed the balance with the sale of my Volkswagen and took leave without pay from UNICEF. I graduated in June 1961 with an MPA (Master of Public Administration) with majors in development economics and planning.
While I was on study leave I wrote a basic paper which became of considerable use for many other staff. At the request of Mr. Heyward, I also selected five of the most interesting books I had come across in my studies. These became the basis of the Hqs library in the country offices.
Immediately after June 1961 I resumed my work at Hqs in the Office of the Americas. I was in charge of the newly approved programmes in Education and Nutrition and participated actively in all the planning activities being developed to highlight the needs of children in Country Development Plans..
The above reflects some snippets on my first learning steps and experiences in the organization. I am grateful for these, as they gave me the opportunity to venture into the “terra incognita'' and later proved essential for my further work in UNICEF. I shared what I learned with the organization and with the colleagues in further assignments.
An anecdote before ending the article; before my arrival in Colombia, the Representative there had been sent to Ecuador to fire the head of the office there, a woman; he did so, and married her !!!
Return to the Table of Contents
So sad to learn about the passing away of a dear friend and a very dedicated humanitarian who also showed good diplomatic skills in later positions. We did some real good work together on CRC in Geneva and on obtaining support of Israel for vaccinating Palestinian children. When I joined UNICEF he and I were among the first small team of so called development planners. Bless his soul and may he rest in eternal peace. I would like to send my condolences to his close kins. Baquer
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