XUNICEF News and Views

 Shared by Sree Gururaja Every year , in February and March the tree lined avenues in Bangalore turn into a blaze of pink with blossoms of Tabebuia rosea. Often called the cherry blossoms of Bangalore , the parks and gardens are strewn like pink carpets and are a sight to behold.

It is March 8th again  Another International Women’s Day What does that really mean? Will I, my sisters and daughters Be guaranteed a better life? Nothing much happened since last year For they  say it’s really  up to   us, my dears To chin up and address our fears.

Editor's Note:  Sree Gururaja has shared the following article by her 17 year old grand-daughter, Kamala, who wrote the article for her school's newspaper in Brooklyn.

Prayer shared by Sree Gururaja Forwarding a poignant statement poem written by Dr. John K. Vettath, who performed Kerala’s first heart surgery in India, the 1960s, passed away at 97 on 9th April. His daughter shared the above lines penned by him which he kept on his desk. What a way to look at life as one gets older! Sree

Article shared by Sree Gururaja

While I do not exactly remember the date when I joined the four (?) editors of XUNICEF News and Views, I ‘ve been with them at least five years. Living in a different time zone from the others had its advantages. You could always work at night and catch up fulfilling the deadlines . At the same time, be the first one to respond pronto to messages and drafts drinking my morning coffee. However, this  did become a problem when we held our Friday meetings , as 12 noon New York time which in winters is late, 10.30 pm in Bangalore but we managed.

  James Reddell in his The Celestine Prophecy writes about meaningful coincidences and that anyone who crosses our path has a message. Many have experienced chance encounters that have stayed as treasured memories. This story is about my serendipitous connection with Ethel Grant, who passed away in Agra, India in April 1988. While working in UNICEF New Delhi, sometime in 1986, David Haxton asked me if I would accompany a visiting group of around 20 US Committee members on their field trip in India.  I agreed immediately. While it was a privilege, it was a daunting challenge. The field trip was partly programme related with tourism and covered, I think five or six locations besides Delhi. In preparation, I met with Section Chiefs for briefings and was reassured by Bill Cousins that I knew enough and more about Indian culture, the social and economic situation which is what the visitors would want to know about. SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) centre for “ chikan” women...

If only trees could speak As I walk by the evergreen woods A mile east from Lake Washington I pause to hear the muffled sounds The breeze blowing through the spruce and firs Dry leaves rustle as they hit the ground Strewing twigs and scented pine cones Yet, I venture not on the trail Afraid I’d trip or go astray. I wonder if these trees could speak What stories would they narrate ? Of vanquished tribes and animals extinct Of glorious past now stripped and ripped How men’s greed for land and gold Brought guns, misery and destruction untold Killed peoples, their culture and future dreams Trampling their revered forests, hills and streams. If only trees could speak They’d remind us of those times When they were worshipped Endowed with divine spirits Thriving with noisy birds in communion A sanctuary for animals and human beings. If only trees could speak Not in whispers soft and meek Loud and bold they’d scream When sawed and axed by man and machine. Too late now they would cry Thic...

"The year's at the spring And day's at the morn; Morning's at seven; the hillside's dew pearled; The lark's on the wind The snail's on the thorn; God's in his Heaven - All's right with the world!" Excerpt from Pippa's Passing                                 by Robert Browning                      Yes, the year's at the spring, But today we all mourn Ukraine, Sudan and others torn, Their hillside's dew is covered red With blood of babes in their bed. Te snail's slimy pathways Which God is it anyways? All's NOT right with the world.       by Frederico Garofalo No, indeed,  all's not right with the world when........ their hearts long gone cold men with guns fight for gold. what price their lust for power while others weep and cower? families shattered homes abandoned futures sold for someone's gold so much pain for so little gain in a w...

A 16-year-old says he’s still cleaning a Kansas slaughterhouse months after his employer was fined for employing kids. When the Labor Department discovered over 100 migrant children cleaning Midwest slaughterhouses in February, their employer, Packers Sanitation Services Inc., paid a $1.5 million fine, agreed to stop employing children, and quickly fired all workers found to be underage. Read the original article But a 16-year-old whom NBC News is calling Pedro said he’s still cleaning blood and animal parts off the kill floor of a Kansas slaughterhouse up to seven nights a week, a job illegal for anyone younger than 18 under U.S. labor law. Pedro spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity. Although the job is hard, dangerous and tiring, he fears losing his paycheck would put him and his family in Guatemala in an impossible situation. Pedro said he used a false identity to get the job. From 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., Pedro is responsible for hauling away animal parts in a cart, scrub...

On Monday, a 28 year old woman who had attended a school run by the Presbyterian Church returned to the school.  She shot her way through a locked door of the school and then shot and killed three children, aged 9, and 3 adult staff, including the headmistress of the school, before she herself was killed by police responding to emergency calls. The shooter was heavily armed with 7 guns which she had legally purchased.  She was under treatment at the time for emotional issues and depression.  The statistics are shocking, and yet it seems that no matter how shocking the numbers may be, they remain insufficient to overcome the love many Americans feel for their guns and recent interpretations by US courts that the right to own guns is embedded in the US Constitution.   According to the Washington Post there have been 376 school shootings in the US since 1999 when the infamous Columbine School shooting took place.  According to NPR in 2023 alone 74 people have...

This morning I was rudely shocked to read that in some states of the US , (which continues to be the lead donor to UNICEF and the ILO), legislators are moving backwards and not protecting children from working outside their homes in factories and agriculture. .. while the US has ratified ILO182 (Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour) it has NOT ratified ILO138 (Minimum Convention) and given its Federal structure, States can set their standards. Read how Arkansas legislators are attempting to lower the age from 16, the state and federal regulation. At the risk of being called naive, can one infer that this issue is outside the 'jurisdiction' of UNICEF's Executive Director and she does not have a role in her own country to advocate for child rights and influence her fellow American legislators. What about the advocacy role of the US Committee? "Sree Gururaja  The Dangerous Race to Put More Children to Work https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/24/opinion/editori...

Did you know today is World Happiness Day ? In July 2012 it seems the GA of the UN With some reason and in sound mind Added to their list of World Days 20 March as that of Happiness! Apparently it transpired That happiness and well-being Are universal goals and aspired By the world’s human beings And Promised by their governments‘ public policies. Was it Too late for the UN to add this to the SDGs? Or how Sustainable is happiness they could not agree They , the UN, had by then given up on world peace So one day every year will suffice for happiness they said We and our partners could perhaps manage with some ease. There is no place on earth today That can proclaim “happiness ” Even Bhutan, the haven in the Himalayas Makes sure you purchase your daily dose It is free for us citizens but not for you foreigners! Wars and conflict prevail on every continent Greed, lust for power breed much discontent Bereft of humane leaders and good governance Well-being and happiness are dreams at be...

More than seventy of the UPGI family from different parts of India and three from outside participated in the much awaited Retreat , being held after a gap of three years due to the pandemic. The Kolkata organizers' team led by Govind Kumar Kundu and Alfred Ghosh had painstakingly planned an interesting programme balancing sight-seeing with fun, gourmet dining and free time for ‘gup-shup’ ( informal chats) over tea and jhalmoorie (a Bengali snack). Our comfort was utmost to the team and we were well cared for by the beautiful Taj Bengal.  The  welcome dinner on the 10th was a curtain raiser to the joyful get-together of colleagues of yesteryears,  greeting one another with loud hellos across the noisy hall trying to catch up on the latest news. The sight seeing on the first morning included Belur Math on the shores of the Hooghly. It was a long and bumpy ride over the iconic Howrah bridge to the sacred peaceful destination revering the Shri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa ( consid...

The New York Times of 26 February carried a hard hitting, informative and well-researched article, “ Alone and Exploited, Migrant Children Work Brutal Jobs across the US" ( Click here to read the original - short text summary below). The article shocked me at first. It seemed shameful that in one of the richest countries in the world, children as young as 12 years old were working in jobs, some linked to well known companies. I then realized that the federal laws in the US are not necessarily compliant with international conventions, including those relating to children. Is this alarming situation a new phenomenon? Is the surge of such children related to the pandemic? Or a breakdown of institutions ? I was reminded of Niall Ferguson's predictionsin his book,”The Great Degeneration” ( 2012) and this another instance of the decay of law, institutions and of civic society, the pillars of modern post WWII society? What does this mean as this ‘degeneration’ is happening globally ...

The final frame is in Slovak and reads "Happy and Cheerful Good Wishes from the brand family"

On UNICEF Day Sunday, December 11th We Turn 76 !! Happy Birthday, UNICEF !! At 76 We Are Still Just (for) Kids This Sunday,  December 11th UNICEF celebrates its 76th anniversary , a year after the pandemic which drastically upended the gains and achievements made in the health, education and protection of children and their families. The pandemic disrupted normalcy as never before impacting the daily lives of people everywhere. This meant that UNICEF had to retool and innovate strategies to address a situation where children have been orphaned , families regressed into poverty with loss of livelihoods, health services and schools left in disarray and yet to reopen fully. Adolescents and youth now afraid and troubled about the uncertainties about their present and future. Mental health of entire communities was severely affected and needing attention and quick action. At the same time, new and old conflict situations and natural disasters continue to challenge UNICEF to provi...