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Our dear much-loved Harry Belafonte is no more. May his soul rest in peace! Had the pleasure of working for the children with him when I was with the Bangladesh Mission and was chairing the Programme Committee of UNICEF Executive Board, 1984. This photo was taken in front of the UN building.

It has been a difficult day....  The photos are not too good and I couldn't find others (like for Sport Aid). By the way, Nigel Fisher is mentioned (see excerpt below) in Harry's book "My Song" in which he describes his field visit to Rwanda (pp. 402-) he also talks very well about Audrey. Maybe this section might be of interest to our colleagues. All the best, Horst.

Sport Aid - Race for Life -May 1986 We were in front of the UN Building.  Jim Grant had convinced Harry Belafonte to serve as a Goodwill Ambassador.  I was there as Chief of the Africa Section.  My wife, Nadia, was there as well, along with Ethel Grant and Karin Sham Poo,  Nadia got Harry to pose alone with her....and voila !! We have an excellent memory of the day.  Note also Horst Cerni is on the right, taking photos of the day.    Republished from our daily edition of August 16, 2021 and YouTube Three UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors Singing Together - Nana Mouskouri, Harry Belafonte and Danny Kaye / Opa Ni Na Nai - 1965 Spot for UNICEF Germany on Education for Children in Africa On Receiving the Audrey Hepburn Award from UNICEF USA Africa: Alliance and Action - Harry Belafonte, Tom Uttaro For many years Harry Belafonte served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. I had the honor and pleasure of scoring much of the background music for this video. It wa...

"We mourn the loss of Harry Belafonte, one of the world’s greatest actors, singers, producers, and champions of human rights – especially for children. “He served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for 36 years, where his dedication and generosity of spirit helped set a high standard for the role – meeting with world leaders to champion the cause of UNICEF and secure support for the issues that impact children’s lives. His legacy includes advocating for primary health care, treatment for HIV/AIDS, and free access to education for all. “He was an eloquent campaigner for the world’s children and understood the power of maintaining the world’s attention on its most needy, including, among other things, giving the iconic UNICEF ‘School-in-a-Box’ its name, and organizing the Grammy winning and quadruple platinum single We are the World to raise money for African famine relief. “We extend our deepest sympathies to the Belafonte family, and join his many fans, friends and admirers from a...

So sad to learn of the passing of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Harry Belafonte at the age of 96. A pioneering artist, musician, civil rights activist, Belafonte was one of UNICEF's most outspoken and effective Goodwill Ambassadors. A good friend of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr, Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan and Jim Grant, he was a passionate advocate for the UNICEF-led child survival and development campaign in the 1980s and 90s. He provided great support to UNICEF to highlight the plight of Africa's children, including at the height of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. His lead role in organizing the memorable Live Aid concert, and the famous song: "We are the World,We are the Children" was highly influenttial in raising awareness as well as funding for UNICEF. I had the honour to know and work closely with Harry Belafonte on numerous occasions. Attached is an entry about his contribution to UNICEF and my association with him from my memoir book, 'Global Citizen from Gulm...

The Taliban Song (with apologies to Harry Belafonte) Come Mr. Taliban, tally me banana Daylight come and me wan' go home Come Mr. Taliban, tally me banana Daylight come and me wan' go home Day-O, day-ay-ay-O Daylight come and me wan' go home Me say Day Me say Day-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-O Daylight come and me wan' go home ______________________________ ______________________________ _____  

Dear Colleagues, Here is a fantastic and rare find, which I just received. I have no idea of its background, nor when it was filmed, but it is a video of not one, not two, but THREE ex-UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors, together, singing an old and very well known Greek folk song. Since it includes Danny Kaye, Nana Mouskouri and Harry Belafonte, in their youth it was probably taken in the 1950's ??? In any case this is an item of very special importance in the music world, as it should be for the UNICEF family. ENJOY !! Fouad

In May 1994, Jim Grant phoned me in Amman. “Nigel, you told me you want to work in emergency operations. I need you to go to Rwanda”. I arrived in Nairobi in the first days of June 1994, where a small team from the evacuated Rwanda office was relocated. I was told that we would probably be based in ESARO until December, but the opportunity to fly into Kigali for a few days in early July, on a Canadian military C-130, changed that. Deborah Dishman, Marcel Rudasingwa and I flew in together. Marcel had lost all his children in the genocide, but somehow carried on, with incredible fortitude; he was utterly invaluable in those early days of our re-establishment in Rwanda. At Kigali airport, we were met with the overpowering stench of death and an almost-empty city. The UNICEF office had been mined and booby-trapped, so we slept in the vacant WFP office. The Rwandan Patriotic Front had taken over Kigali just days before and was pursuing the remnants of the previous genocidal government and i...