Unicef good will ambassador goes to Haïti

Last week, between 16th and 19th March, I was invited as a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador to travel to Haiti.

To mark this mission, I would first like to reiterate the definition, role and impact of a goodwill ambassador in his or her role as an intermediary between a non-government organisations such as Unicef and the general public, on the one hand, and the world of the major decision-makers and political powers, on the other.

Who are the goodwill ambassadors ?

As the name suggests, goodwill ambassadors are well-known, neutral personalities  who uses their fame or reputation to support a cause that they consider to be fair – and to do so in such a way that a maximum amount of funds is raised to finance the various projects that the NGO in question is running in the world. In my case, the role of goodwill ambassador consists of getting information across to the media: radio, television and press. But not just to the media. I also frequently lobby the national and European authorities to make them aware of the various causes at stake (in this particular case, the earthquake in Haiti) and get them to grant a maximum amount of funding to Unicef. What I call lobbying may take the form of a simple conversation in an office, a dinner in town, a press conference, a lecture to a major company, or some form of official intervention at a political or other type of event. To sum up, this means that a goodwill ambassador not only needs to be a painstaking and discerning intermediary, but also a skilled diplomat who knows how to make the best use of his or her powers of persuasion.

Their impact on local situation

As for the impact of the goodwill ambassador’s role, this of course depends on the causes he or she is acting for. Obviously, my mission to Pakistan a few months ago will doubtless have less impact than what I have just done in Haiti, very simply because there was maximum media coverage of the earthquake disaster out there and the images – many of them unbearable to watch – touched more people. Having said that, it goes without saying that the impact of a mission is linked to the type and role of that mission. But here I would also like to stress the fact that for the relief workers on the ground – all those professionals who devote part of their lives to humanitarian causes and who always work in the background – it is enormously encouraging to know that the goodwill ambassadors are talking about the work they do beyond the limited circle of their immediate actions. It enhances their commitment, strengthens them in their conviction of what they are doing is right and necessary, bolsters their determination and significantly boosts the importance of their work. It also provides a glimmer of hope for them when, from time to time, they become discouraged in what they are doing.

After those reminders, which I know are needed from time to time, I would now like to say a word about what most of the media are calling the ‘reconstruction phase’. It is now generally agreed that the emergency phase in Haiti has come to an end and that the time has come to put our shoulders to the wheel and begin to rebuild the country. This is true, of course. But for me, the word ‘reconstruction’ is not the right term. Because if they want to ‘rebuild’ – i.e. get back to normal and what existed before – then the country simply won’t make it. Getting ‘back to normal’ is well below what is needed in Port-au-Prince. Let’s take the case of the children, which is something Unicef is of course more familiar with: if we content ourselves with merely rebuilding, that means putting Haitian children back in the classroom the way was it was before the earthquake; that there will be a return to the previous situation in which only 50% of kids when to school, and of these 50% only 10% went to state schools, while the remainder were in private schools.

Going into town with GPS to locate the schools

After a disaster on the scale of what has just occurred, this cannot be allowed to happen. Instead, there is a need for as many children as possible to go to school. By way of example, and purely in terms of schools, as part of the work done by Unicef as an NGO (which, I repeat, comes under the United Nations, but has to fend for itself with the assistance of its national committees to raise funds), it has recruited fifty of so young Haitians, given them a GPS device and sent them out to reconnoitre all of the locations in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area where there was once a school and then report back on the damage they find.

The purpose of doing this is to tackle the problem of schooling as a whole and ensure that a maximum number of schools are made available to a maximum number of schoolchildren. At the present time, Unicef, in agreement with the Haitian government (the majority of whose ministries, including the Education Ministry, are in ruins), is in the process of taking charge of rebuilding schools. In doing so, it is of course using earthquake-proof construction methods, and is also using as much local materials and labour as possible.

In other words, this means that in Haiti – and beyond what some people are calling the reconstruction of the country – it is no more and no less the foundations of a new framework to society that we need to try and create and embed firmly. As for the children, this not only means that they all have to go to school, but also (and especially) that we have to do something about the severe malnutrition that affects them so badly and to provide active child protection. These are Unicef’s three main priorities.

Since the Tsunami, a better coordination

Finally, I would like to say that since the drama of the tsunami in South-East Asia, the NGOs have decided to set up what are called ‘Clusters’ in humanitarian jargon. These clusters are working groups or units capable of coordinating action better on the ground. Some of them handle everything to do with water and its distribution, for example, others work on everything to do with cleaning up and sanitisation, while others still are responsible for education and child protection. All of which is making the world of humanitarian relief more professional, which is a very good thing. I can assure you that when it comes to organising the distribution of water to a million and a half people, you need professionals to do the job: otherwise it’s a disaster. Creating these units is a great step forward in the effectiveness and credibility of the work done by NGOs on the ground. As is the fact that the major NGOs currently have increasingly strong roots in the areas where they operate, which is also an encouragement that we need to take into account.

I would like to end by highlighting a fact that the general public is often unaware of: 75% of the financial aid currently reaching Haiti comes from private funds. In terms of Belgium -and for once we can be proud of ourselves- our country is ranked second in the per capita aid raised for the victims of this dreadful earthquake.