New Dream: Rob Carr

Just joking with my team about my first "job" with UNICEF — way back in 1973.

I was 10 years old, riding in the car with my mom in my small town in middle America in 1973. Our church had divided the town into grids for Halloween fundraising campaign, and I was assigned a neighbourhood on the southeast grid of town. Dressed in costume, I went door to door — not just for candy, but to collect donations  (trick or treat ) for UNICEF through the US National Committee.  UNICEF is etched in the memory of most Americans my age due to these trick or treat campaigns.

The house where I raised the first 20 dollars 

One moment stands out: I knocked on the door of a retired judge who lived in what was once a grand old home (I walked past it last time I was back home — it hasn’t aged as well as I have!). He saw the UNICEF box in my hand, smiled, and instead of dropping in the usual coins, he folded a $20 bill and slipped it inside. That generous gesture helped me win the church’s fundraising competition — a glorious moment for a 10-year-old kid from a grain farm.

Fast forward almost 20 years to 1992, and I found myself at the doorstep of UNICEF again — this time in Northern Iraq, starting my first 30 day TFT contract as a WASH Officer. And now, 52 years after that Halloween day knocking on the door of that retired judge, I’m preparing to exit this remarkable organization that first captured my imagination as a 10 year old child.

Me a few weeks before that infamous Halloween at my 10th birthday – me in red jersey and glasses – playing logistician with my new walkie talkies and my best mates at the farmhouse where I grew up.  Who knew I would learn to use a walkie talkie for all my work in UNICEF those first years in North Iraq?

It’s been a journey filled with highs and lows — but thankfully, the highs have outweighed the lows. For that, I’m deeply grateful.  And I look forward to some spare time as XUNICEF staffer to reflect on some of those high and low stories.