PIPELINE

The World Food Programme Staff Magazine

N° 40
November 2006

WFP/David Orr

LEBANON: FAST IN, FAST OUT

 LIVING AND WORKING IN
LEBANON DURING THE CONFLICT
WFP/David Orr

WFP/David Orr
Every Lebanese can agricultural engineering graduate and holder
tell you where they of a Masters in business administration -
were or what they started with WFP the next day as a
were doing when Programme Officer, working on partner liaison
they heard that war with NGOs and the Lebanese Government, but
had broken out in she quickly got involved in logistics as well.
their country - yet
again. On 12 July Every day, Sawsan would set out early,
this year, Sawsan driving to UN House, one of the few cars on
Mehdi, 38, had the road. All this time, bombs were falling on
packed her case and the southern suburbs and, as she drove home
was waiting for a late at night, she would hear the muffled
taxi at the family detonations in the south of the city. Her
home in Beirut. She mother, brother and sister would throw their
had landed a arms around her each evening, relieved to see
consultancy position her safely home.
in Damascus with
Sawsan Mehdi: her case was packed the Swiss Agency for Sawsan has been living in the family home
Development and Co-operation and was due to leave for the since the apartment she rented in central
Syrian capital that day. Beirut was destroyed by the bomb explosion
that killed the Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik
When she heard of the kidnapping by Hizbollah of two Israeli Hariri, and 20 others in February last year.
soldiers, Sawsan knew that trouble could not be far behind.
Israel started bombing Lebanon within hours of the kidnap The force of the blast blew in the windows
and Sawsan cancelled the taxi and postponed her trip to and doors, wrecking the interior. Sawsan
Damascus. spent 10 days fixing it up but, even then, it
was unfit to live in. “Still, it could have been
Like many Lebanese, Sawsan spent the first few days of the worse - I could have been at home when the
conflict glued to the news on radio and television. Not that bomb went off.”
she and her family had much doubt about what was
happening - from their flat in the Tallet Al Khayyat area of While working with WFP to get food supplies
Beirut, they could hear the bombing of the southern to the huge numbers of displaced people in
suburbs. Lebanon, Sawsan had her own personal IDP
situation. Her aunt, uncle and cousin had
“I felt I'd go mad if I spent any longer at home,” she says. moved in with the family, having fled their
“So I called some friends who told me they'd got involved in own apartment in southern Beirut. There was
fundraising for the displaced.” another cousin from Dubai who could not
leave. And then two more aunts and an uncle
Sawsan helped provide food for the thousands of displaced arrived from southern Lebanon. Devastation in Beirut’s southern suburbs: assessing the needs of residents
families who crowded into Beirut's schools after fleeing their
homes in the areas under attack. “It was hectic,” Sawsan recalls. “My brother and I would get she'd made the right decision to keep her trip a secret. Her
up early to go shopping so that everyone had enough to eat mother believed Sawsan was spending a few nights with a
Sawsan's voluntary work with IDPs took her to the Aley area during the day. Then it was off to work.” friend.
of Mount Lebanon. Every day she and her fellow volunteers
would call their contacts in NGOs and the political parties, As the bombing continued, concerns grew about the health The night before the cessation of hostilities was declared on
trying to pull together enough food and non-food items for of Sawsan's mother. Lebanon under siege was not the ideal 14 August, rumours were rife in Beirut as elsewhere in
the people sheltering in schools and civic centres. And every environment for an elderly woman suffering from high blood Lebanon. People had seen too many ceasefires come and go
day, a friend of hers who had joined WFP as a logistics pressure. over the years to have much faith in such developments.
officer would call her for contacts in the municipal
authorities and other organisations. Thanks to one of Sawsan's sisters, who works for Dubai TV in “The bombing was so heavy that night, I didn't sleep a
the Gulf, a solution was found. The station undertook the wink,” says Sawsan. “Then we got up really early because my
“It was really difficult trying to make calls on mobile phones evacuation of employees' immediate family members from aunts wanted to go back to their home in the south. We
because repeaters had been destroyed so in the end I said Lebanon. With deep misgivings but to Sawsan's relief, her tried to persuade them not to go but they were determined.”
I'd come and help him out for a couple of hours a day,” she mother left Beirut accompanied by a son and a daughter on
says. “I'd never heard of WFP but he asked me to send in my 24 July. They drove to Damascus and then flew to Dubai. Gradually, it became clear that the peace was holding. Five
CV. A couple of days later, someone in WFP wanted to meet days after the bombing stopped, Sawsan's mother, brother
me.” On 1 August, Sawsan joined a WFP convoy to the badly and sister returned home from Dubai.
battered south of the country. When she heard the bombs
That was 22 July, just 10 days into the conflict. Sawsan, an exploding around them in the valleys of Tibnine, she knew Sawsan has been a consultant with other UN agencies, but
says the time she spent with WFP was different.
COOL CATAMARAN
“What I like about WFP is that it's not such a hierarchy; it's
With access to Lebanon limited by bomb flexible so that in a fast-moving situation, decisions can be
damage to roads and the Israeli blockade changed. And there's room for your own initiative. My local
of sea and air routes, WFP chartered the knowledge was much in demand, especially in the early days
Vittoria M to shuttle UN and non- of the fighting. International colleagues were able to turn to
governmental organisation staff between me when they needed special information or contacts.”
Cyprus and Beirut.
Sawsan says she gained experience in planning and
The 41-metre high-speed catamaran made organisation. If there were another emergency she would be
the journey in just half the time (4.5 better prepared.
hours) of a normal vessel - ferrying some
265 people in all. She was on standby in Sawsan plans to start her Swiss consultancy in Damascus
case there was a need to evacuate staff. when her contract with WFP ends. “I'll take many good
memories - above all, being part of a team where the field
PIPELINE 2

Before ending the service, the Vittoria M experience of international staff and the inside knowledge of
brought 48 displaced Lebanese safely local employees made for a winning combination.”
back home to Beirut.
David Orr, PI consultant, Beirut
BOMBS AND BAKLAVA: Contents
WFP IN LEBANON
There's a group of fighters in the Democratic Republic of Congo who believe they are immune to bullets. They will run
through a hail of gunfire with absolute confidence, certain that any bullets that hit them will simply bounce off. 5 8
It was a bit like that working for WFP in Beirut. Bombs were falling around us; hundreds of people were being killed,
but we felt perfectly safe. It was not a particularly pleasant feeling - I actually felt guilty in the secure knowledge
that we would not be targeted by either side in the conflict. And with the pinpoint accuracy of high-tech 6
bombardment, the chances of being hit by a stray bomb were pretty remote.
4 Kenro Oshidari
There were other things to Making a shortcut

WFP/Chris Black
feel guilty about. While
the southern suburbs of Too many chefs
Beirut were being 5
pounded every night and
Rama’s kitchen
hundreds of thousands of
people had been forced to 6 Stars Update
flee their homes, we were Clef - Haiti loves you!
living in a luxury hotel,
sleeping in comfortable Ensemble contre la faim
beds with clean sheets, 7
big white towels and hot
Niger “Man of the Year”
water.
8 Changing lives
The fact that the hotel A big bad wolf; multilingual FF
was chosen solely on
grounds of security, rather Nutrition on agenda
than comfort, did little to 9
assuage our sense of Walk the World house
Handing out food for Lebanese people who sought refuge in a central Beirut park guilt.
10 GSS; StaffMatters
It was no surprise to be told that there was growing resentment among the population, who could see us driving Meeting the Ombudsman
around in big Land Cruisers, apparently unaffected by the fuel shortages that were keeping their cars off the road. We
were told to keep a low profile and avoid bars and restaurants. In fact, I was struck by the courtesy and warmth of PACE for you
all the Lebanese I met. Everywhere we went, we were well received, even in the southern suburbs, which had been 11
largely laid waste by the bombing. What am I like to work with?

Not that there wasn't anger and frustration. And indeed, some of it was directed against the UN, which in the first 12 Shutterbugs
days and weeks was blamed for failing to stop the war. On 30 July, this anger and frustration boiled over on the Children’s art success
streets of Beirut and demonstrators forced their way into UN House, where they smashed everything in sight and
ONUB/Martine Perret

started a fire. In our office, three floors below ground level, we could see nothing of what was going on. But with
the alarms sounding and a lot of noise above us, there were a few nervous moments. However, everyone remained
calm.

Admittedly, I felt a little less guilty after a

WFP/Khaled Al Hariri

night on the concrete floor of the UNIFIL

demining HQ in Tyre. And in general, the
feeling of immunity was not as secure
outside Beirut and in particular south of
the Litani river. After all, four UN
observers had been killed in the first few
days of the war, when their post received
a direct hit from an Israeli bomb.

We had to be meticulous about keeping to

our planned routes and schedules - two
bombs landing within a few yards of one
of our convoys were sufficient a reminder
that “concurrence” on our movements - Recycling for sailing
the system whereby we gave details of our These fishermen on Lake Tanganyika show that a
planned convoy movements to all sides in WFP-powered sail really gives them a good catch! Our
advance and only moved with their assent Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, WFP’s Goodwill Ambassador, with beneficiaries have many inventive ways of using WFP
- would not apply to others near us. the Executive Director, James Morris, meeting Lebanese refugees in food aid bags. We will show you in future Pipelines.
a camp in Syria. WFP provided food rations for some 50,000 of the
It was a message I had to get across to approximately 140,000 Lebanese who crossed into Syria after the
the hundreds of journalists who wanted to outbreak of hostilities. Almost all of them returned home within Editor Caroline Hurford - assisted by E. Feeny
follow our convoys - less out of interest in days of the ceasefire, which was declared on 14 August.
covering WFP food distributions than in
Graphics Cristina Ascone
the mistaken belief that we would provide them with a degree of protection. The most dangerous times were when Picture research Rein Skullerud
cars would overtake some of our trucks and place themselves in the middle of our convoy. Printed by Stilgrafica srl - Roma
This would mean that the number of vehicles in the convoy would not tally with the numbers we had provided in
advance to all sides, leaving us vulnerable to attack.
Pipeline is the staff newsletter of the World
Food Programme. It is published quarterly by
The ceasefire on 14 August brought an end to such concerns and opened up our access to many areas we could not the Communications Division (FDC).
reach before, although we still had to deal with damaged roads and destroyed bridges. We could travel without having The opinions expressed in this newsletter are
to seek concurrence from the warring sides in advance and in general, it felt a great deal safer, although with so much not necessarily those of WFP.
unexploded ordnance scattered around the country, danger was always present. Partly thanks to the efforts of our
colleagues in security, no WFP staff were hurt. Sadly, Lebanese civilians are still being killed and injured. Pipeline
PIPELINE 3

Communications Division (FDC)

The good news is that WFP has now wrapped up a successful operation. And no one went hungry. World Food Programme
Via Cesare Giulio Viola, 68/70
By Robin Lodge, PI Officer who arrived in Lebanon shortly after hostilities began.
00148 Rome, Italy
 KENRO OSHIDARI: MANAGING MAKING A
A “MONSTER OPERATION” SHORT CUT
Kenro Oshidari cranes his neck to see the giant map of Sudan launched a staff newsletter and redrawn the “organigram” to A layer of mud covers Joyce Ileka's small bare feet as she
behind his desk. He starts counting: “One, two, three…. I emphasize the importance of field operations. “Khartoum has walks past an infamous stream in Teso, eastern Uganda.
think I've done 15 out of the 32 sub-offices -almost half - I to recognize that we are here to service our field offices. It’s She spent the morning harvesting groundnuts in her
hope to visit them all before the end of my first year.” not a control tower but a support service.” garden. Now she is hurrying over the horizon with her
baby, where the health centre will close in a few hours.
After only five months, the head of WFP's biggest operation It's an approach born of personal experience. Kenro was WFP's
has already established the rhythm and tone of his tenure. He first emergency coordinator on TDY in Darfur in 2004, when it “The baby was immunised yesterday. Today she is not well,
manages 2,300 people, but far from hiding at the top of the was first gearing up to the crisis. so I am taking her to the doctor,” Joyce says. Her face
hierarchy, the boss of WFP Sudan is known by everyone simply vanishes almost completely under the cloth she uses to
as Kenro - a man who is happiest when he's out meeting his “Our staff worked like crazy. No breaks, totally inadequate protect herself and her baby from the mid-morning sun.
staff, hearing directly about their concerns and the challenges office, totally inadequate living conditions. It was really Yet you cannot miss her calm smile. And she can afford to
they face. rough. A lot of us were just sleeping on the floor - 20 guys in smile, since the dry ground on which she is standing was
one room, sleeping on mattresses on the floor. Fifty not there a year ago. We appear to be surrounded by a
WFP/Emilia Casella

WFP/Gerald Bourke
people sharing one toilet. We didn't even have proper field of wild grass, but beneath the green cover is a former
warehouses in Darfur then. We didn't have any WFP- river of death.
owned trucks; we now have 200. We didn't have
infrastructure and we were doing our best but we were North of Omunyal stream is Ogongoro village in Amuria
failing to deliver on time in many places. We were district. To the south is Atirir village and Soroti district. In
missing a lot of distributions. So you can imagine how June 2003, when fighting between rebels of the Lord's
much our partners criticized us back then.” Resistance Army (LRA) and the Government spilled over
from northern Uganda into Teso, Ogongoro was besieged.
“Now I'm back and it's really different. A lot of credit
goes to the people who came after me, under Ramiro's The people fled en masse, taking the shortest route
leadership,” he said, referring to his predecessor, available to Atirir - across the Omunyal. “People used
Ramiro Lopes Da Silva, now Director of ODT. “The sticks to make it across,” says Margaret Atukot,
Darfur operation is now incredible -- the warehouse descending from her bicycle to join our conversation. “You
facilities, the trucking capacity, the workshop that fixes would plant a stick in the water and feel the depth ahead
the trucks... It's so beautifully set up. And the office of you, then know if it was safe to move on. I know of
Kenro: there’s absolutely no substitute for time spent in the field. and staff living conditions have improved beyond belief. three children who died in the rushes,” she recalls. “The
… I'm thankful to Ramiro for calling me in 2004. It had water reached their necks then swallowed them up. Ever
“I think we have about 560 people in Khartoum. The rest are some influence on my accepting to become head of the Sudan since I was born,” the 26 year-old woman adds, “the
in the field - the majority in the deep field. From Rome's operation.” quickest way to Atirir was to cross the stream.”
perspective, Khartoum is the field. But when you're here - it's
“The rebel incursion

WFP/Lydia Wamala
not the field AT ALL,” he says, laughing. “The field is WAY out While WFP's capacity has improved, the situation on the
there. And people are living and working in very tough ground has become more difficult, especially in Darfur, where frightened us all,
conditions. So it is very important for me to go out and spend large areas are inaccessible and 12 humanitarian workers have causing panic,”
time with them, learn how they see the operation and spend been killed since the May Darfur Peace Agreement. village chairman
an evening with them - stay in the same tent, or whatever.” Stephen Okello says,
“In 2004, security was not the main concern. I went by road “The biggest problem
WFP has been in Sudan since the 1960s, but the past couple to very remote areas. Sometimes you'd drive 8 hours to get was mothers carrying
of years have seen it grow to a point that its combined somewhere and 8 hours back - sleeping in government houses their children and
emergency operation and country programme budgets amount or camps. The problem was the rainy season and we'd get their belongings in
to nearly US$1 billion - one-third of the organization's global stuck in the mud. Security was not the main issue, but now heavy rain. We get a
budget in 2006. WFP Sudan has lots of superlatives - the is. You have to get around by helicopter. That's very sad.” lot of rain in June. I
largest logistical operation, longest road network, biggest saw people laden
Humanitarian Air Service and responsibility for serving Africa's Security may be the biggest operational hurdle, but Kenro's with bedding and
largest - and arguably most complex - country. biggest challenge is finding the money to keep it all going. clothes, while
“Just ensuring the resources so our people can work - that's a struggling to make it
In fact, the operation has become so large, feeding more than huge challenge.” Since it takes between 4-6 months to through the marsh Joyce’s journey is now so much
six million people and covering Darfur, Southern Sudan and position food in-country, he's always looking ahead. “In 2006, with youngsters.” shorter, thanks to WFP.
the combined CETA area (central, eastern and the three areas we've done pretty well. Our needs are covered until December
of Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile), that WFP recently and we have some carry-over for next year. But it is a The alternative route to the nearest health centre and
upgraded Sudan to “Regional Bureau” status. While it makes continuous chase of resources.” market, in Soroti, is 32 kilometres away, which meant
sense internally, Kenro chooses not to go by the title of going round Omunyal each time mothers and children
Regional Director. Before taking on this job, Kenro spent five years as Deputy needed to see a doctor.
Regional Director in Bangkok, after earlier stints as special
“It creates some confusion. People think I am sitting in Rome representative in Kosovo and the Balkans, and Deputy Country “Under its food-for-work programme, WFP consults the
or Kampala. They don't think I'm actually working in the Director in Cambodia. communities to see how to improve their lives,” says
country. Also, treating the South or Darfur as a separate Geoffrey Ebong, WFP Soroti sub-office chief. “When we
country-type of entity is sensitive. Most importantly, I want “I don't think people associate me too much with Africa, since asked Atirir village to list their priorities, a road across the
our staff, whether in the South, Darfur or CETA, to feel that I've been away so long. But I lived 13 years consecutively in marsh was top of the list. WFP provided 13 culverts,
this is one country team. So I'm 'WFP Representative'.” Africa, working for the UN in Libya, Kenya, Zambia and costing just over US$ 460 and food worth US$ 4,500 for
Lesotho… It's nice to be back!” the communities to build the road.”
Maintaining the unity of his large team is Kenro's priority.
Apart from his commitment to visit all the field offices, he has By Emilia Casella, PI Officer, Khartoum Construction is not yet complete; Amuria district has
pledged to provide tons of mud to help with the final
layers. Even so, the people already have a usable track. As
WFP/Emilia Casella

Au revoir Amy! An all-staff meeting, we drive in a WFP jeep, a saloon car heading from
outside one of the 42 rubhalls at WFP El Ogongoro overtakes us, making it to Atirir in minutes.
Geneina, West Darfur, turned into a big
farewell for Amy Horton, who headed “Some of the men have said they can now go and drink
WFP's sub-office there from September ajon (a local brew made from millet) in Atirir and return
2004 to this August, when she moved to at any time of night!” whispers my Soroti colleague.
Rome HQ. Amy “moved mountains” on
WFP's behalf in this landlocked, But the women have real cause to celebrate: in April, WFP
dangerous region, where, against the launched a maternal child health and nutrition programme
odds, WFP manages to feed an average across Teso which provides food to encourage women to
quarter of a million displaced Sudanese
PIPELINE 4

visit health centres regularly. This way, they get care for
each month. Her “can-do” approach (and themselves and their infants. Even better, instead of
infectious laugh) encouraged WFP staff… trekking 32 km, Joyce Ileka and her friends now only have
and sheikhs; “Al-hamdu-lillah” Amy! to walk 2 km. By Lydia Wymala, PI Uganda
 TOO MANY CHEFS,

Stefan Gates website

BUT THE FOOD’S OK
“It's not gourmet food, but when it's cooked, it's actually not UK, has always championed the collection of wild foods,
that bad.” including his beloved mushrooms.

So said Stefan Gates, the self-styled “gastronaut” and British In his conversation with WFP, he was fascinated to learn that
celebrity chef, who earlier this year had his first taste of a Africa - like Europe - can yield a delicious bounty of naturally
meal made from WFP lentils in rural Afghanistan. occurring foods that can sustain people when traditional
crops fail. As a gastronome, he confided, he could never
Gates is part of a growing number of celebrity chefs who have understand why Europeans were so ignorant about the wealth
taken their culinary skills on the road and used their of food available in their woods and forests, most of which
experience to explain wider issues about taste, culture and goes untouched.
good food.
Like many chefs, Antonio Carluccio can see that there is a
Stefan Gates' BBC television series “Cooking in the Danger potential connection between those - like him - who work in
Zone” took him on a gastronomic adventure across the globe the world of conspicuous consumption, and those, like WFP's
that involved him sampling everything from boiled sheep beneficiaries, who face a lifetime struggling to feed
testicles to roasted dog meat. themselves and their families.

As part of this journey, he enlisted WFP's help in northern By meeting with chefs and restaurant owners, WFP has a
Uganda and Afghanistan, and it was while filming in chance to explore how these connections can be used to
Afghanistan that he had the good fortune to sample the harness the global fascination in celebrity chefs as a powerful
delights of WFP Corn Soya Blend, when an Afghan family advocacy tool on behalf of the hungry.
invited him into their home for an evening meal.
For the past two years, Carla Van Kampen, who works at WFP
Despite its exposure on prime-time television, CSB has yet to headquarters in Rome, has been pursuing a personal initiative
make the jump from IDP camps to top end restaurants in to meet a similar goal through the publication of a cookbook
Paris, New York or London, but that could soon change. with the working title, “What the World Eats”. Her idea is to
gather traditional recipes from all of WFP's 80 country offices
In October, WFP's head of TV communications, Jon Dumont and publish them alongside recipes from celebrity chefs Stefan Gates: “Cooking in the Danger Zone”
was shooting a PSA with celebrity chefs in New York. Ever who've been given a challenge to create special recipes that
resourceful, Jon had carried some CSB with him to the shoot include basic ingredients such as quinoa, plantains and “What the World Eats”, and contacts between WFP and a
and it wasn't long before one of the chefs, Jacques Torres cassava. British publication, “Restaurant Magazine,” may yet open the
produced a chocolate CSB flan topped with marinated way to making this happen.
oranges. Other chefs imrovised a CSB-based polenta, a pizza The chefs are all up to the challenge, and so far, Carla has
crust and a cake. gathered a number of outstanding kitchen luminaries Restaurant Magazine has expressed an interest in helping
including the New York chef and television personality, Mario WFP to raise awareness about hunger through its relations
Clearly, chefs are very interested in the work that WFP does. Batali, and Jacques Pepin, a French chef who once cooked for with restaurants around the world. Every year the magazine
After all, they feed people and so do we, so it makes sense the former French President, Charles de Gaulle, and has now publishes a list of what it claims are the world's top 50
to cultivate these new relationships and explore where they forged a successful career in the US. restaurants and the current number one venue is Adria's El
might lead. Bulli. Others on their list include Heston Blumenthal's “Fat
Carla is still looking for more big names to join her project, Duck” restaurant in Berkshire, Britain, where dishes like snail
Just a few weeks ago, I was sitting in the London restaurant and is hoping to enlist the support of a new breed of chefs porridge and bacon and egg ice-cream have become firm
of Antonio Carluccio, chatting with the Italian chef who has who are pushing forward the culinary borders by turning favourites.
lived most of his life in Britain, and who once taught a young cooking into a science.
Jamie Oliver how to cook when he started his career in It is all a very, very long way away from WFP's world of dried
Carluccio's “Neal Street Restaurant” in Covent Garden. Chief among these is a Spanish chef, Ferran Adria, whose pulses, maize meal, vegetable oil and canned fish, but
menu at his El Bulli restaurant includes items that look more wherever there is a gap between one world and another,
“All my life, I have been obsessed with mushrooms,” He said, as if they have been manufactured in a laboratory than a there is an opportunity for a bridge. With their mass
gazing into the middle distance and drumming his fingers on kitchen. Alongside a variety of foams that have been subtly following, global exposure and access to a captive audience,
the table, “Maybe there is something I can do for you that flavoured with unusual ingredients, Adria's menu boasts celebrity chefs might just be able to help WFP fill this gap.
involves mushrooms...” starters such as “mini asparagus with deconstructed By Greg Barrow, UK Liaison Office
mayonnaise,” and desserts such as his “pea jelly with banana In the interests of full disclosure, Greg Barrow would like to
It was an interesting opening to a meeting called to explore and lime ice cream”. make it clear that he did not benefit from a single morsel of
the extent to which Carluccio could help WFP in a fund- free food during the research of this article. He has never
raising initiative. Carluccio - who has an enormous following For Carla, the possibility of an Adria-inspired recipe such as tasted either pea jelly or snail porridge, but he has been known
in Britain and Australia - and a chain of 28 restaurants in the a “cassava gel capsule,” would be a welcome addition to to eat the occasional High Energy Biscuit.

RAMA’S KITCHEN
Soon Rama was the office lunch lady, and when the bureau
WFP/H. Heuler

moved into a new building, the ground floor was handed over to
her. Rama is still a staff member, but she has helped to establish
a small business for her neighbour, who now cooks all the food
You can always hear her coming: the flop flop of her sandles and and earns 1,000 CFA (about $2) per plate.
the tinkle of coffee cups in the hall. She wanders through every
office with an indulgent smile, suggesting you've been up to Proudly Senegalese, Rama extols the virtues of local cuisine:
something… and you aren't getting away with it. She sniffs “When people go to Italy, they eat Italian food - spaghetti,
disapprovingly at my UNICEF mug and she isn't above scolding if spaghetti, spaghetti! When people come to Senegal, they should
you haven't been downstairs to eat lately. But with the try Senegalese food.”
wonderful dishes served up in Rama's cafeteria here at WFP's
Dakar office, she doesn't have to scold very often. Her efforts have not been in vain. One colleague used to eat out
in European restaurants every day, until she tried Rama's thiebou
Ramatoulaye Diouf (Rama) has been ODD's lunch lady for the yapp. “She never went out to lunch again.”
past six years, introducing quite a few new arrivals to the
wonders of Senegalese cuisine. Her basement café fills every Even Rome has taken notice. “I make sure to eat here every
lunchtime with the tempting aromas of thiebou djieun (red rice time I'm in town,” says ODD Liaison Officer Tom Lecato. “The
and fish), soupe kandja (rice with okra sauce) and thiebou yapp ambiance is great, and she does something amazing with
(meat and beans), all prepared fresh daily. “Everyone comes mutton…”.
down here to eat,” Rama declares proudly. “Lots of big bosses
PIPELINE 5

eat here, even [West Africa Regional Director] Mustapha Darboe!” That's why, in ODD group photos, there is always a familiar
matronly figure just poking her head over Jean-Jacques Graisse's
Rama's establishment is largely home-grown. Having started as shoulder. That's Rama - working her way to the front, with a
a WFP janitor, staff would ask her to buy them coffee, then food. wide grin on her face. By Hilary Heuler, PI, Dakar
 STARS
UPDATE
"CLEF - HAITI

WFP/Simon Pluess
LOVES YOU!"
In his native Haiti, Wyclef Jean - the multi-award-winning
hip-hop artist - is indisputably king. A few years ago, when
he came on stage to receive a Grammy wrapped in the
Haitian flag, his countrymen back in Haiti went crazy with
pride.

And more recently, at the World Cup, when he entered the

Berlin stadium with Colombian singer Shakira to perform
their smash hit “Hips Don't Lie” with Haiti written all over
his bandana and t-shirt, people back home went ballistic.

Hundreds of Haitians who gathered in October at Port au

Prince's “Parc Sainte Thérèse” after a parade through Petion
Ville, came to express their thanks to Wyclef Jean for the
Daly Belgasmi, Director of the Geneva Liaison Office, welcomes DJ Bobo on board. support they've received through his Yele Haiti, an NGO
providing projects in education, health and environment.*

SWISS POP STAR DJ BOBO BACKS WFP The parade participants represented a small percentage of
the tens of thousands of people assisted by Yele Haiti since
DJ Bobo, winner of numerous World Music Awards and the country with one of the highest rates of malnutrition in the its formation almost two years ago. There are children who
man behind the irresistibly catchy dance hit “Chihuahua”, world and one of the poorest rates of primary school now have scholarships allowing them a few more years in
joined WFP in October as a National Ambassador Against attendance. The singer hopes his fame will attract school and there are women and men of all ages who have
Hunger. Previously someone who played the field in terms attention to the problems, and that the credibility he their first ever job in Wyclef's Pwoje Lari Pwop (Project Clean
of his support for humanitarian causes, he explains how it enjoys among his fans will encourage them to support Streets).
was the “brilliant” idea behind school feeding that WFP's activities.
persuaded him to commit to a long-term relationship with There are also the hip hop musicians who have been engaged
WFP - and insists he doesn't expect to sell a single extra “I feel confident in raising money because my fans trust by Yele to distribute food in the capital's Cité Soleil and Bel
record as a result... me and know that it will be used well. But it's also about Air regions, considered some of the worst slums in the world.
explaining to them what hunger is all about, and that they
DJ Bobo, a singer and dance music producer from the Swiss can make a great difference even by giving just a little.” These distributions, supported by WFP, were among Yele
canton of Aargau, first burst onto the international music Haiti's first projects in June 2005 and marked the beginning
scene in 1992 with the song “Somebody Dance with Me”. “Given their age (between 25 and 50), they have purses of a growing partnership. Teaming up with Yele Haiti meant
His involvement in humanitarian causes began shortly they can open. Most of them work and have families and WFP got access to some of the most vulnerable people at a
afterwards, but for a long time he reserved his support for are sensitive to the issue of hunger. But making people time when prevailing violence had brought food distributions
one-off projects in Switzerland, such as building really aware of the problem takes time.” in the city to a halt.
playgrounds and raising funds for an orphanage.
The fact that pop stars frequently make the headlines as a Since the cooperation began, food distributions have been
“During the first 12 years of my career I had the opinion result of passionate but all-too-often brief affairs with carried out twice a month assuring an average of 8,000
that it was better to support a Swiss mountain farmer than humanitarian causes engenders a fair amount of cynicism families per month much needed nutrition.
a child in Ethiopia,” he says. “But through my travels in about celebrities jumping on charity bandwagons to further
India and elsewhere I saw the misery of children and their own careers. DJ Bobo, however, dismisses the notion For Mamadou Mbaye, WFP Haiti Country Director, the key to
adults, and I realised that the suffering of Swiss mountain that linking up with WFP is a branding strategy or an this successful partnership is simple: “Working with Wyclef
farmers was irrelevant by comparison.” attempt to improve his image in order to sell more records. means working with someone who walks the walk and talks
the talk. And that's essential when you operate in such
“In Bombay I saw great misery, right on the side of the “That doesn't work,” he says. “You can't transform such a violent and vulnerable neighbourhoods.” By Anne Poulsen
road. We passed by in a Mercedes and people would knock branding into money. Look at Bono, he doesn't sell more
WFP/Anne Poulsen
on the window begging for help. It made me upset and CDs because of his activism. You go to a U2 concert
angry, and I lost all concentration for my performances.” because of the music. The bottom line must be that your
involvement (with a cause or organisation) shouldn't
But despite being approached by many large aid damage your image or career. But there is no direct
organisations eager to strike up a relationship, it wasn't advantage one can pull out of such an involvement - at
until DJ Bobo began talking to WFP's Geneva based Public least not financial.
Information Officer, Simon Pluess, that he felt he had
found his long-term partner. “When I perform music on a TV show, you can see that
more records are sold during the days that follow. But if
“I didn't feel like jumping on a running train to support I'm invited on a talk show, it's as if I haven't been there. I
one crisis here, and then tomorrow another crisis there,” can only make money if I concentrate on the essence of my
he says. “WFP has a great mandate. We all know the identity, which is music.”
sensation of hunger, and it's a timeless subject which
allows a long-term investment.” Many artists, DJ Bobo believes, are pressured into
supporting worthy causes by those around them, while
In particular, it was the school feeding programme, through others have a genuine desire to help “but don't know how,
which WFP provides free meals to encourage enrolment and and react out of emotion”.
attendance in class, which captivated the artist when he
learned about it through his participation in the “Walk the “That's not very sustainable,” he says. “I can't even
World” event in Geneva in May. promise that I will be able to be sustainable myself.”

“We have to break the vicious cycle of poverty, and WFP's And he certainly doesn't claim to have all the answers when
idea is brilliant: you have to learn if you want to eat,” he it comes to the issue of how to end hunger.
explains. “To be able to read and write and calculate can
change so many things for these kids. I was immediately “I don't mind not being able to answer certain questions,”
*Yele Haiti is a non-political organization intended to empower the people of Haiti
PIPELINE 6

convinced by this idea; it's so logical.” he says. “There is nothing more embarrassing than an artist
and the Haitian diaspora to rebuild their nation. More than just another NGO, Yele
who pretends to be competent in all subjects, just because is a movement - one that combines the power of music with the tools of
DJ Bobo will see a school feeding programme first-hand in he's a star.” development in the areas of education, health and environment and seeks to chart
January when he embarks on a field visit to Ethiopia, a By Simon Pluess, PI Geneva a new course for Haiti's future.
 ENSEMBLE CONTRE LA FAIM!
A Walk the World sponsored gathering to raise awareness best result for any game on
took place in Paris, on the Trocadero with a view of the the French Yahoo! games site
Eiffel Tower, on 15 October. Despite the wind, partners and that week.
participants enjoyed four hours of non-stop entertainment.
Musicians from all around the world came to perform, French players are also very
including the Malian singers Amadou & Mariam. competitive: a whopping
3,077 people have registered
Taking turns on the stage were an array of famous French their high scores on the
names, including Madame Danielle Mitterrand, widow of food-force.fr website.
WFP/Lionello Boscardi former President Mitterrrand and head of a foundation,
Ambassador Against Hunger, Kenyan Paul Tergat and France - Libertés. Actors and comedians joined in the fun, In a further push for Food
celebrity partner Drew Barrymore put their heads together and giant puppets worked the crowds. Et bien sur, WFP's Force in France, WFP's stand
over a pasta lunch in New York in November. World record booth sold loads of visibility items. Over 3000 people took pride of place at the
holder Paul, who came third in the New York marathon, is attended. entrance of the country's main Education Exhibition in Paris
keen to show Drew more of WFP's work in Africa before his (from 16-20 November).
next run in the London Flora marathon (in April) and before There was widespread television and press coverage of the
her next film shoot (in March). The American actress, whose event which also provided WFP the opportunity to launch With some 600,000 visitors, Food Force popularity is bound
trip to Kenya with WFP last year was featured in Marie Claire the French language version of the Food Force video game. to rocket!
magazine, discussed future possibilities at WFP’s NY office. During its first week, there were 35,000 downloads - the

WFP/Photolibrary

Buon Compleanno Benetton!

Luciano Benetton invited WFP to celebrate the Italian
clothing company's 40th anniversary at the Pompidou Centre
in Paris on 10 October. Among the festivities were a fashion
show featuring 200 models, a Benetton exhibition “Les Yeux
Ouverts” including photographs from the joint WFP-Benetton
campaign “Food for Life” and a gala dinner attended by
Youssou N’dour, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Spike Lee, Patti
Smith… and our own Maria Grazia Cucinotta.

WFP's strong ties with Benetton (since the 2003 advertising

campaign) have continued with a donation of over € 100,000
to help WFP's project for children in Northern Uganda.

WFP COACH IS NIGER “MAN OF THE YEAR”

WFP’s Zinder sub-office Chief has been named “Man of the

WFP/Judith Schuler
Year” by the local authorities and media for the second year
running. Besides his heavy WFP workload, Arthuro
Razanakolona Randrianiaina also coaches a girls' volleyball
team. After founding the squad to build the confidence of
underprivileged girls in the area - and to help them have fun
- Arthuro saw his young “cadettes” crowned champions of
Niger last year!
WFP/Greg Barrow
Bowled over… Former ED and Aussie James Ingram and Arthuro, a Madagascan, arrived in Niger at the end of 2000
England cricketer Ashley Giles launched “Cricket against and was quickly struck by the lack of access to education for
Hunger” in Canberra, Australia on 9 November. In the new young girls and the limited prospects they face; according to
partnership with WFP, the cricket stars will become advocates UNDP's Human Development Index 2005, Niger has the
of the poor and hungry when on tour. They're already “off highest birth rate in the world at 7.9 children per woman,
the mark”; they met a group of poor children in Jaipur, India, and arranged marriages for girls as young as 13 are not
Arthuro, third from left standing and wife Raymonde,
who receive WFP food aid. After a quick game of cricket with uncommon.
far right, join the cadettes team.
the kids, Giles, Rikki Clarke, Ed Joyce and Jon Lewis visited
a factory producing Indiamix, the nutritious food blend. Despite strong local opposition on the grounds of religion, Team members also enjoy a twice-yearly group trip to another
Arthuro and his wife wasted no time in founding a women's city. Prior to their first visit, to the capital Niamey, only one
volleyball team. It took a long time and many discussions of the girls had ever left Zinder. Before they set off on these
with parents, the authorities and religious leaders before it excursions, Arthuro and his wife invite the girls round to get
was even agreed that the girls could practise in proper them used to some of the customs they will encounter, such
training clothes, but Arthuro now coaches both a team of as eating with a knife and fork. Four of the “cadettes”, who
“cadettes” aged up to 16, and a women's team, while his wife have made Niger's national team, even got to play a match
trains a team of boys aged up to 11. abroad last year in Cotonou, Benin - a dream come true for
the girls.
For Arthuro, whose fascination with volleyball stems from the
team spirit crucial to the sport, setting up the squad was a The time and effort Arthuro invests in the players has paid
way not just to broaden the horizons of underprivileged girls, rich dividends; not only were the “cadettes” crowned national
Boy racer! WFP visibility has gone up a gear thanks to a but also to promote the benefits of education and social champions last year, but the women's team have twice been
partnership with Rodney Peete, host of the Fox Sports hit The responsibility. Before each training session, his wife reviews vice-champions and he is once again “Man of the Year”. But
PIPELINE 7

Best Damn Sports Show. A WFP-emblazoned car took part in the girls' schoolbooks to check they have successfully learned for him, the only reward that matters is seeing the girls gain
the Formula BMW World Final in October at the Beverly Hills the week's lessons, while four times a year the team the confidence they need to take charge of their lives and
BMW and is due to race again in Valencia, Spain in November. dedicates itself to a social project, such as weeding the realise their potential.
school yard or cleaning the local health centre. By Judith Schuler, PI Niger
 CHANGING LIVES WITH W A T E R
On a high, rock-strewn ridge overlooking Indonesia's border Food-for-Work projects he oversees, about a quarter of them Vincent Loe, head of the Atambua-based Solidarity
with East Timor, where a stiff breeze riffles through the long focused on water. All this is separate from the UN-funded Foundation, has been key to identifying villages that are in
brown savannah grass and rustles the leaves of the white- provincial school-feeding programme, which has the dual need of help, about 70 per cent of them in Beru and
limbed eucalyptus trees, Japanese aid worker Masanobu Horie effect of keeping children in school and improving their neighbouring North Central Timor (TTU) district. Horie and
and West Timorese civil engineer Yulius Suni are bringing new nutrition, and a third project aimed at fortifying the diets of Suni then follow up with an on-site inspection, explaining to
hope to the impoverished, sun-baked village of Debululik. pregnant and nursing mothers. village leaders what is required. They have been surprised on
'The needs of any village are always about water,' says Horie, occasion by the way headmen have grasped the simple
Hope isn't grand. It is a steady trickle of water technology and come up with ideas to build on it.

WFP/Barry Came
running through a 1 km-long pipe from a modest
hilltop dam to a circular concrete trough in the One of the largest projects is in the village of
centre of the village, 200m below. But for headman Nifboke, south of Atambua, where volunteers are
Simon Asamali, it is almost life itself. Surrounded by hard at work building a sizeable check dam. It will
Debululik's 2,000 isolated residents, he speaks for all divert water from two nearby springs into a
of them: “What this has done is to change our lives.” meandering 600m-long concrete-and-rock channel
Horie, a 37-year-old from Fukuoka, and Suni, 33, run that utilises a stream in its mid-section and then
WFP's US$4.8 million Food-for-Work project in West flows into a long-established, government-built
Timor, one of the poorest of Indonesia's 33 irrigation canal. The additional water will allow the
provinces. Working with local NGOs, they are village to expand its current rice crop from 30ha to
recruiting villagers to help themselves by doling out 90ha and even holds out the promise of two annual
rice in exchange for their labour in harnessing scarce harvests.
water resources.
Headman Alexander Naif, 66, a tall dignified man
Scarce is the word. In village after village across West with betel nut juice staining his lips, rests on his hoe
Timor, where rain only falls between November and and tells visitors: 'If this works, we can now look
January, families spend most of their waking hours forward to a decent harvest. Every year, we have
carrying water from small springs and rivers to their some sort of crop failure because of a lack of water.'
villages and crops, in some cases eight times a day
over distances of 1km or more. With the men toiling “Pour it in here!” Masanobu Horie and Yulius Suni for WFP in West Timor Not far away in T'eba, a settlement of 400 families,
in the barren fields, that task invariably falls to the the villagers are taking a breather in the noonday
women… marvelling at the way Debululik finished its dam a month sun, but they are making good progress building a system of
ahead of schedule. 'If people have a sense of participation, two dams and a 1.5km irrigation channel, designed to boost
Children in their early teens can often be no bigger than then they are better motivated.' rice production from 170ha to 250ha. Although the project's
those half their age. But despite all the alarmist reports, newly created pond is currently being fed by a spring, Horie
there is no famine here, just a perpetual fear that it may be Lying at the end of a precipitous, barely negotiable road, the and Suni hope it will also act as long-term storage for wet-
right around the corner if staple crops of rice and corn fail in village hopes its new supply of water will allow it to cultivate season rains.
such an unpredictable climate… terraced gardens and grow more grass to support a viable
cattle-raising industry - if it can raise the money to buy the That's one of the challenges, of course. Damming existing
Nature was cruel again this year. In January, floods along stock. water resources may be one thing, but in some areas it is
West Timor's southern coast played havoc with the rice simply a matter of ensuring the rainwater from the three-
harvest. In Debululik, a storm during the same month Horie, who speaks English, Indonesian and Thai, brings an month monsoon lasts longer. To do that, the two men are
destroyed most of the cornfields. A few kilometres away in infectious enthusiasm to the job, offering advice, bantering proving that when it comes to development work in remote,
Aitoun, another small hillside village beset by poor soil and with villagers and all the while keeping their spirits alive. In impoverished communities, small is indeed beautiful.
little water, 44-year-old farmer Gabriel Mali says despairingly: a previous life, he worked with a Japanese construction
'Every year, someone's crop fails.' company building Bangkok's newly opened subway. Now, Excerpts from an article by John McBeth, Jakarta-based senior
with his wife and two children back home in Japan, he and writer of the Singapore Straits Times, in which this first
Horie, whose name ironically enough means 'pond' in Suni roam the back blocks of West Timor looking to improve appeared on 21 August 2006.
Japanese, counts both villages among the more than 200 lives with their inventive ideas.

WHO'S AFRAID OF A BIG BAD WOLF? FOOD FORCE:

NOW IN SEVEN LANGUAGES!
Faced with worsening insecurity, perilous mountain towards another truck to get a drink. And that's when he
passages and suspension-wrecking roads, you'd think that found himself staring straight into the eyes of a - clearly Once again trailblazing its way into uncharted territories,
WFP's truck drivers in Afghanistan had more than enough to hungry - wolf. Food Force has recently become the most multilingual
worry about. But now they've also got to keep an eagle eye non-commercial video game in the cybersphere.
out for wolves…after a driver delivering food aid very “I saw the wolf and I knew it was going to attack me,”
nearly ended up as a tasty ration himself. explained Lutfullah. “So I turned and ran for my truck as Rachel, Joe, Carlos and the rest of the FF team now speak
fast as I could with the wolf running behind Japanese, Italian,
WFP/Rein Skullerud
WFP/Ebadullah Ebadi

me. Fortunately, I reached the truck and Polish, Chinese,

grabbed a big spanner that I'd left lying in the Hungarian and
snow.” French, as well as
their native
Happy enough to take its chance with an English. Nor will
unarmed man, the wolf wasn't so keen on they stop at being
tackling a spanner-wielding Lutfullah and septilinguists: in
quickly decided that the WFP driver was no the next six
longer on the menu. months, the game
will be translated
“The wolf saw me standing there with the into German,
spanner and ran away. I ran after him for Finnish, Norwegian,
some distance but then I got scared and Arabic, German &
returned to the safety of my truck,” said Portuguese. If you're
Lutfullah. having trouble fin-
ding any rhyme or
And the moral of the story? If you're a wolf, reason in this
stick to smaller prey. And as for WFP's team of eclectic array of Catwalk Force: FDC models the t-shirts
Lutfullah's truck was part of a WFP convoy heading into the drivers in Afghanistan? languages, it's
PIPELINE 8

Pamir mountains in northeastern Afghanistan. He'd had a because there isn't any. All of the translations of FF have
long day behind the wheel, grinding his way through some “We face a lot of difficulties in our job,” said Lutfullah, “but been made possible through donations, and often the
of the roughest terrain in the country, when his food-laden we always make sure we get our food to the people in need.” most ready sponsors have come from smaller and unexpec-
truck developed a flat tyre. Before replacing it, he walked By Richard Lee, PI Consultant in Afghanistan ted language groups. Potential candidates for the next
wave include Icelandic, Catalan and Swahili!
HIV: NUTRITION IS FINALLY ON WALK THE WORLD
THE GLOBAL AGENDA BUILDS A HOUSE
After years of pushing, the message finally got through a networks. And the words of Lewis, Farmer and Jackson
cacophony of competing issues - drugs are no good without resonated around the globe: we cannot win the battle
food in the fight against AIDS. against AIDS by focusing on drugs alone, because they are
far less effective without food.
The breakthrough came at the International AIDS conference
in Toronto in August, where two of the greatest advocates The message came to life with the appearance of Joseph
and most compassio- Jeune, a 28-year-old

WFP/Anne Poulsen
nate militants in the shoe-shiner from
fight against AIDS, Lascahobas in Haiti's
accepted an invitation Central Plateau.
from WFP to help Before he was
spread the word. included in a food
distribution Maganga Matsenjwa, whose seven children have all died,
The “dream team”, led programme run by leaving him and his wife to care for their five grandchil-
by Robin Jackson, Paul Farmer's Partners dren, was featured on national television living in this
WFP's head of in Health, supported hovel made of sticks and mud and on the brink of collapse.
HIV/AIDS, included by WFP, AIDS had Now, the 105-year-old Swazi man and his family have a
Stephen Lewis, the reduced Jeune to a proper roof over their heads - thanks to last year's “Fight
Secretary-General's living skeleton. His Hunger - Walk the World”.
special envoy for family had even
HIV/AIDS in Africa, purchased his coffin.
and Paul Farmer,
professor at Harvard But as part of the
Medical School and Partners in Health
co-founder of the NGO delegation in
Partners in Health. Toronto, a strong and
healthy looking
The message - make young man stood up
food and nutritional Tough talkers: Stephen Lewis, Robin Jackson, Paul Farmer and Ashleigh Roberts. in front of the media
support part of the at the press
essential package of care for people affected by HIV - took conference and described gaining 20 kg since receiving
off at a joint press conference under the heading: “Time to nutritional support.
deliver more than drugs”.
“When you start taking them, these medicines whisper in WFP Food Aid Monitor Pamela Dlamini said the story was so
Among the hundreds of other organizations and interest your ear: 'you need to eat, you need to eat'. They make you touching that she and her colleagues and friends decided
groups competing for media attention, many other high hungry. When you wake up in the morning, you take your to help build the family a house, using some of the funds
profile press conferences were cancelled due to low medicines and if you haven't eaten, your stomach seems to from the Walk. Matsenjwa, his wife and their grandchildren,
attendance, but WFP decided to go ahead in the hope of bite you," Joseph Jeune told reporters. who are aged between two and 12, moved into this tem-
reaching a world audience. porary dwelling while work on their new home in Ndzevane
“Having fought so hard, we now need to keep nutrition on was underway.
The WFP team decided that if 10 journalists turned up, it the global AIDS agenda, so we can support Jeune and
would be a huge success, while in fact about 40 came, millions of other people affected by AIDS in the world,” said
including major international news agencies and television Robin Jackson. By Anne Poulsen, PI Haiti

THREE GIRLS VOLUNTEER TO FULFIL

THEIR DREAMS WITH WFP IN IRAN
We are three friends from Iran, all studying in the United portion of their sales to WFP's school feeding projects
States and Canada. We've all grown up watching the inter- worldwide.
national news and wishing we could make a difference in
The two-room house built by WFP members and their
the world. This summer, we succeeded in fulfilling our We started at the gallery and aimed to raise sales each
friends for the Matsenjwa family, seen here under con-
dreams. time there was a new exhibition so that more proceeds
struction, cost a total of around $1,200. WFP's Country
could feed more
WFP/Photolibrary

Director in Swaziland, Abdoulaye Balde, thanked all those

Tannaz, Yassy and children.
who had taken part in the “Fight Hunger - Walk the World”
I, Sadaf, came
event, which aims to raise funds, identify vulnerable groups
home to Iran, with After about two
and meet their pressing needs.
one aim: to make weeks, we heard
this vacation more about an opportu-
memorable than nity for volunteer
any other. work at the WFP
office in Tehran, so
We discussed volun- we applied and
teer work at the UN were taken on.
- and became really
excited. We didn't We worked in
want even to consi- various ways - tran-
der that we might slating documents,
not get it! raising public awa-
reness, sending out invitations to exhibitions involved in
An invitation from an Art Gallery in Tehran carrying a WFP fundraising, etc . All photos WFP/Pamela Dlamini

logo caught our attention. (We had seen WFP's public ser-
Matsenjwa ran out of words to thank WFP staff members
vice announcements on BBC and CNN!) It was wonderful working with such people, who were so
and friends when his smart new home was officially opened
motivating - teaching you new things each day. We now
by Balde, who said his encounter with the centenarian and
We called the gallery, which turned out to be working with all feel able to hold our heads high; we're proud of making
his family had left a lasting impression. “We have got our-
PIPELINE 9

WFP, and a meeting was set up with the manager and a dream come true.
selves a father to visit on a regular basis,” he said. “WFP is
WFP's Public Information focal point in Iran. We planned By Sadaf Nikzad, 19, studying political science at
known for distributing food; life is not only about food but
exhibitions of various Persian artists, who would give a Toronto University, Canada.
all aspects of well-being, including shelter.”
 GLOBAL STAFF SURVEY: SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES
Sometimes working at WFP feels like being on board a vast Helpsheets on the StaffMatters website contain simple, effec- and communicates ideas about the StaffMatters process and
ship which has to navigate waves of change. The ship is pro- tive ideas for achieving constructive change and for iden- can support managers in developing an action plan to impro-
pelled by staff, and in this context the Global Staff Survey, tifying the most pressing problems and ways to tackle them. ve working conditions.
launched in 2004, could be seen as a sail to assist in iden- Some improvements can be made at country or unit level,
tifying staff concerns and developing recommendations both while others require organisation-wide action.

WFP/Maxime Bessieres
at corporate level and in WFP offices worldwide.
With the help of all staff, WFP has created an infrastructure
As the winds of change continue to blow, WFP again sought for continuous communication, self-examination, and impro-
employees' input - on progress to date and on the remaining vement. Filling out a survey is just the first step; success
challenges. Nearly 8,200 people responded to the 2006 depends on the sustained contribution of all concerned. Staff
Survey - up from about 5,600 two years previously. Thanks to members own this process and they can make their mark on
all those who participated… your responses show that you WFP's path towards becoming a more effective organization -
see the Survey as a way for your voices to be heard. drawing out the best people and creating conditions where
they can perform successfully.
The bigger the response, the broader picture we have of the
institution, of what works and what doesn't, and of how Advisory and Resource Groups - a link for change Face to face: the Advisory Group meets in May 2006
everyone can collaborate to increase staff satisfaction. Established after the 2004 Global Staff Survey, the Advisory
Group acts as a resource for senior management on the The two groups will be linked through an Electronic Forum.
Results of the 2006 Survey, posted on WFPgo opportunities and new challenges arising from input gathered With this new medium, Resource Group members will be able
(http://home.wfp.org/staffmatters), again revealed that in WFP offices worldwide. The Group - which joins staff from to communicate among themselves and with the Advisory
most staff are proud to work for WFP; we are committed and different cultures, geographic regions, and professional Group on StaffMatters issues and work together to improve
satisfied with our jobs and believe that the organisation domains - also serves as a sounding board for units responsi- working conditions in WFP.
makes good use of our skills. ble for implementing changes.
Views emerging from these interactions will be channeled to
But respondents also said WFP must do better at providing The Resource Group is a network of representatives from WFP Executive Staff and implementing managers, serving as
adequate resources necessary to perform top-quality work. each Country Office, Regional Bureau and HQ work unit, cho- input for policy development and concrete actions.
Employees want to see more progress on training and career sen by their peers to represent their views. The Group gathers By Ramin Rafirasme
development, management and supervision issues, job-rela-
ted stress and upward communication.

The process continues, and WFP management has stated its STAFFMATTERS: THE WHATS, WHYS AND WHEREFORES
commitment to doing everything it can to ensure the opti-
mum conditions for the men and women worldwide who carry Darlène Bisson, StaffMatters Project Manager, explains the organisational policy, and the local level, involving staff in
out its vital mission. process: country offices and units at HQ. At the local level, a large
majority of staff reported that there had been positive changes
Next steps This is the first time in the history of WFP that a systematic within their units as a result of the 2004 survey. At the
Around the world, in HQ work units, country offices, sub-offi- dialogue has been set up between the organisation and all its corporate level, tracking change is more difficult, as it is often
ces and regional bureaux, managers have been asked to staff, with the common goal of ensuring a productive a cultural issue and cannot happen overnight. Many actions
discuss with their staff both the 2006 Survey results and the workplace in an atmosphere of mutual respect. that were initiated as a result of the 2004 survey continue.
next steps. Each country office/organisational unit should
now be completing its Action Plan to be submitted to respec- The whole process is based on mutual respect and trust. The From an RBM viewpoint, it is possible to say that five “action
tive Regional Directors and Deputy Executive Directors. fact that the organisation chose to solicit the views of its staff areas” have been identified and work is under way on a
reflects its trust of and respect for the staff. In turn, the staff number of these. Staff have high expectations and are
The Action Plans provide a roadmap for necessary changes trusted management's commitment sufficiently to come back a following progress closely. As one Executive Staff member put
and improvements along five guideline themes that have second time - in even higher numbers - to express their views. it, “continued credibility of the process depends on vigorous
emerged from staff feedback: communication; dignity and follow-up and demonstration of tangible results”.
respect; effective management; training/learning; and career As to whether the process has been a success, time will tell,
management. but the signs are generally positive. Actions are currently being In the end, actions speak louder than words.
taken at two levels - the corporate level, involving

MEETING THE OMBUDSMAN

It's only a year since the Executive Director announced the disarming honesty, “though I have always been drawn to So how does Georgia see her role? Primarily as someone totally
opening of the office of WFP’s Ombudsman, but Georgia Shaver, staffing issues and argued for fairness.” Besides being a neutral who listens first and then, without necessarily advising
its first incumbent, has already had 234 cases - almost one per manager (her last posting was as Ethiopia Country Director) (“I only occasionally actually intervene”) simply assists a person
working day. This suggests there is a significant need in WFP Georgia has occupied various staffing roles including chairman to think about the various ways in which they can help
for a completely impartial, independent and confidential entity of the Field Staff Association. “Since joining as a P1, step one, themselves. “We discuss ways forward.”
- all three are critical - in addition to neutrality - as Georgia 26 years ago, I have had many field postings; my first as a CD
keeps reminding herself and her clients. in Mozambique shocked me because of the amount of time I Is there an issue of “turf”, i.e. does she step on the toes, say
had to devote to personnel issues,” she recalls. “I feel sad that of the staff counsellor? In some cases, there may be a cross-
WFP/Rein Skullerud

WFP has grown so big and we seem to know each other less.” over, so she may suggest a person goes to see the counsellor,
but in general she acts as an informal channel - a means of
“My philosophy is that if I have a good work-life balance, I'm resolving a problem before it grows into something “big” which
going to be more productive - and surely that goes for all those has to be dealt with in a more bureaucratic, formal manner.
of us who are human,” she smiles. “The people factor is so
important, and while we're awash with formal structures to “I give people as long as it takes, whether it's face to face or
address work-related complaints and conflict, using staff by email, I am here to listen and then present options for
investigators, peer support and counsellors, if relations between them to consider. Whatever is discussed is strictly
you and your immediate boss are not mutually good, then your confidential. Surprisingly, I have to remind people that this
work is likely to be the loser.” refers not only to what they say or write, but also to what I
say and write.”
Welcoming the two global staff surveys as “extremely important”,
Georgia is blunt about managers who do not carry out the PACE With her annual report due shortly, Georgia is determined that
(Performance Assessment) satisfactorily. “Managers often do not the office meets the expectations of both the organisation and
WFP is one of “the last kids on the block” - all other UN take the time to have a dialogue with their staff - and this is the its staff. “I see it as a positive means of supporting our staff
agencies, except FAO, already have their own independent best way of doing it - WFP is simply not MOSS compliant!” This in carrying out the important work that we do. I don't think
ombudsmen, which means that Georgia has benefited from the reference to the Minimum Operating Security Standards regarding there will be any unpleasant surprises in my annual report.
experience of her counterparts. “We gather every so often, the security, may be light-hearted, but she is deeply serious about While it took a while to set up the database, it is now a matter
PIPELINE 10

most recent meeting was in Rome in September - and have an WFP's treatment of its staff. “We should ask ourselves: How do of getting behind the statistics and interpreting the trends. I
annual meeting to share our experiences, but I also have the we feed people? As a caring organisation or as one that bullies? think that resolving 80 percent of the 234 cases to date isn't
ear of the ED, and he has been very supportive,” she says. Was We have to think carefully about value statements - and how bad going!”
it daunting at the beginning? “You bet,” Georgia replies with these pertain to people working for WFP.” By Caroline Hurford
MAKING PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT WORK FOR YOU
It matters… Being just one piece of a big organisation like WFP is not easy. It is sometimes continues to resemble industry standards with the largest percentage of people in the middle
hard to know what part you play and how you can add more value. Most of us want to give as of the rating scale.
much as we can so we do something important with our lives, make our work life more intere-
sting and advance our careers. Love it or hate it our performance management system lets us Nearly 78% of staff were rated as performing “successfully” (category 2) while slightly more
do this. It helps us understand what we need to do to support the organisation's goals, what than 20% received an “outstanding” rating (category 1). The number of staff who received an
is expected of us, where we need to develop and above all why what we are doing matters. outstanding rating was slightly up compared to the 2004 findings and is now close to topping
its limit for industry best practice.
It takes two to tango… Just like any relationship it takes two to make it work. Similarly,
performance management and the PACE review is a partnership, underlining the responsibility Less than 1% percent of staff received “unsatisfactory” ratings compared to industry standards
of both the manager and the staff member to plan and discuss performance at work. of between 5-10% and an increasing number of staff received no rating at all. These results
indicate either exceptionally high performance across the organization or the continued reluc-
As with all partnerships, each of us has a key role to play. As part of the manager's daily lea- tance and difficulty for managers to recognize and document poor performance.
dership toolkit, guidance, support, direction and communication should be ongoing, but they
also have a corporate duty to make sure that the formal PACE discussions take place and that Worrying downward trends… The overall compliance rate for PACE completion was less than
the final performance review is completed for all eligible staff at the end of the year. 60% in 2005 which means that 40% of eligible staff did not complete any evaluation report at
all. This figure is unacceptably low. Overall, the number of completed appraisals declined from
Not only is PACE a mandatory requirement for all eligible staff but it is an integral part of many 2004 in every major grouping.
other corporate exercises, including: the professional promotion exercise, the Indefinite
Appointment conversion, the professional reassignment exercise and internal general service 1. Total number of eligible staff: 2,878 (up from 2,684 in 2004)
recruitment. For these reasons alone, it is critical that managers and staff complete PACE. Total staff completing PACE: 1,701 (compared to 1,913 in 2004)
Total staff not completing PACE: 1,177 (compared to 771 in 2004)
Let's talk… Staff too must also take responsibility for their performance management and
PACE. Don't wait for the manager to do something about your performance or leave PACE until 2. Overall Compliance: 59.1% (down from 73.5% in 2004)
the end of the year: seize the opportunities yourself to talk to your manager about your work HQ and Liaison Offices: 67.0% (down from 76.6% in 2004)
objectives and needs. It is your chance to discuss what you need to achieve, what your Field: 56.5% (down from 72.3% in 2004)
strengths and development areas are and how you want to move forward. Just as it is the duty
of managers to complete PACE reviews for staff, managing and improving performance and com-
petencies is the right of every staff member. Compliance Ratings 2005 (as at September 2006):

Everyone has a part to play… Dealing with performance can be difficult, so changing it is DEPARTMENT/ COMPLIANCE DEPARTMENT/ COMPLIANCE
going to take time and effort both from managers and ADH. Not dealing with issues as they REGION RATINGS % REGION RATINGS %
arise creates false expectations, affects team morale and more often than not sets up the orga-
AD 91.9 ODD 66.1
nisation for a long-term problem.
OSD 84.2 ODDY 55.7
While WFP recognizes that there may be some technical and design issues that still need to be
worked out with the current PACE system, these problems do not alter the fact that it is the LEG 78.9 OD (excl. RB's) 55.0
managers' corporate duty to carry out a proper performance appraisal of staff under their super-
OED 78.8 ODC 52.6
vision and that it is in the staff member's own interest to have a completed appraisal on record.
In order to address some of the issues associated with the current PACE system, ADH is cur- ODB 72.4 PD 47.9
rently working on developing a simplified PACE application.
FD 70.1 ODJ 47.2
Figuring it out… Results from the 2005 PACE exercise show encouraging trends yet there are
ODK 69.8 ODP 40.8
some areas for concern with compliance rates down and the numbers of staff not rated on the
increase. OEDR 66.7 ODS 33.7

On the positive side, the overall distribution of performance ratings in the successful category By Lindsey Anderson and Alison Aitken (ADH)

WHAT AM I LIKE TO WORK WITH? “The questionnaire is very user friendly, easy to complete,
and easy to understand; it only took me 30 minutes.” Nora
Poghosyan, WFP Thailand.
Have you ever wondered? Between now and 2008 all While the 360 process will develop as more people become
professionals will be able to find out the good and the bad accustomed to it, it will also be an essential element in WFP has chosen an external provider to host all of the 360
about themselves. helping staff and managers improve working relationships, feedback data and although participants receiving feedback
communication and mutual understanding. This in turn will will select the individuals whom they ask to give them
You may have guessed already - this is About You, WFP's lead to greater well-being, motivation and results. feedback, they will not know who made which responses as
first-ever online 360 degree feedback and development tool all answers are summarised in the final feedback report.
launched in October as part of an organisation-wide “Not only will it be an aid to personal and professional This way, all feedback given is strictly confidential,
initiative to prompt self-awareness and development. development, but it is vital to the creation of an open and anonymous and secure.
honest work environment and an important lever for
About You is a tailor-made online questionnaire based on organisational change.” Rebecca Hansen, Director, ADH. Only you get a copy of your 360 report. You do not need
WFP's competencies through which staff can gain an overall to share it with your supervisor unless you choose to do so.
picture of how their supervisor/s, peers and supervisees see All internationally recruited professionals (P1-D2) including To get the most out of your 360 experience we suggest you
their behaviour at work as compared to their own JPOs, as well as locally recruited professionals (NOA-NOE) share aspects of your report with someone you respect,
perceptions. with Continuing and Indefinite and Fixed Term contracts trust and whom you feel may be able to give you some
will be invited to take part. However, at any time, any guidance. These people or person can be your colleague/s,
The term 360 comes from getting input “all around” from person working for WFP or from outside the organisation your peer/s, your supervisor, an informal mentor or your
as many relevant sources as possible. The purpose is to could be chosen to rate others. family members and friends. If possible, ask one of these
help staff gain a better grasp of their strengths and blind- people to give you feedback on how you're doing as you
spots and use them to develop their non-technical skills at The About You tool will be available to staff in the start to do things differently. Talk about your report, get
work. following phases: comfortable with it and experiment with it. DON'T put it in
a drawer!
“The only way we know how we're doing and what we need o All P5-D2 staff last quarter 2006
to develop is to get feedback from others. This is a very big o All P1-P4 staff first two quarters 2007 To support staff in the About You online exercise help
first step in getting people to think about that,” Abdoulaye o Second round of P5-D2 and P1-P4 last quarter 2007 materials will be available soon on the Learning Web, an
Balde, Country Director, WFP Swaziland. o All NOA-NOE staff first two quarters 2008 AboutYou email Helpdesk is already up and running and a
one-to-one telephone debriefing service will also be on
The questions also give an insight into what is desirable to Staff will be invited to take part according to their grade; offer.
accomplish WFP's mission and what it means to be an they then select people to give them feedback. The
effective WFP staff member, firmly planting the behaviours feedback is given through the online questionnaire which “The nice thing about the 360 is that you're given feedback
needed by all of us to make ourselves and the organisation they must also complete. Once the feedback data is by people who really know how you perform on the job and
successful. received, it is analysed by the software and a report is some of whom you work with on a daily basis. This all round
PIPELINE 11

generated giving summary ratings of the results. view is much more valuable than feedback from just one
WFP's home-grown 360 tool is not a stand-alone exercise source. I would encourage everyone who has the chance to
but will evolve to become part of an overall career Confidentiality and anonymity are key features of WFP's take part.” Guy Gauvreau, Country Director, WFP Peru.
management strategy endorsed by executive management. About You tool. By Lindsey Anderson
 COMPETITIONS FOR WFP SNAPPERS & YOUNG ARTISTS
“I was really impressed by the overall high More and more

WFP/Tiziana Zoccheddu
quality of the photos,” said Rein Skullerud, children from WFP’s
WFP's photographer (FDC), who did the school feeding projects
initial selection of the 200 or so pictures. around the world are
“Many of them have excellent composition entering WFP's
and use of colour. They are very appealing, spectacular display of
especially the ones of children.” young talent - the
annual children's art
The best photos may be published in WFP competition.
brochures and publications as well as
appearing in subsequent issues of Pipeline. This year there were
To view all of them, go to the corporate 29 finalists, chosen To order the new 2006/7 products,
website (www.wfp.org) and click on from a shortlist of 180 please contact Mekdes Getahun, FDC
Newsroom-Photo Galleries-Finalists in WFP artworks by primary focal point for merchandise and
staff photo competition. school children in 36 visibility items, ext: 3532. email:
different countries - mekdes.getahun@wfp.org
The pictures were also on display in the one of the highest
The winner: School Feeding project in Tigray, Ethiopia. By Ulrik Pedersen, lobby of headquarters during the Executive number ever. The 29
a former JPO from Denmark, now head of programme in Jonglei state, Board meeting November 6-9. winners are from
South Sudan. “I love details and colours and that is wh hy I take photos,” Afghanistan, Angola,
he says. And all staff members are enthusiastically Armenia, Azerbaijan,
invited to participate in the 2007 WFP Staff Bangladesh, Bolivia,
When the first-ever WFP Staff Photo Photo Competition. Stay tuned for details Cambodia, Cuba,
Competition was announced in May of this next year. Get clicking now! Ecuador, Egypt,
year, ADH invited employees to submit Georgia, Indonesia,
their “best shot” at capturing the myriad Iraq, the Russian
faces of WFP. Every staff member was Federation, Rwanda,
eligible to send in up to five photos Sri Lanka and Uganda.
portraying WFP activities, beneficiaries or
fellow staff members. Each winning child
receives a prize of $50. Anabel Fundora Medina, 11, who is one
The photo competition gave all of us a Their schools are of five finalists from Cuba, has the
chance to glimpse places and people we awarded $100 to be distinction of her picture appearing on
might never see or meet first-hand. The spent on stationery the front cover of all WFP's calendars,
camera buffs among WFP staff had an and art materials. (As diaries etc. (see above). Asked about
excellent opportunity to show off their some of the winners her fondness for painting, she says: “art
technical skills and artistic vision. come from schools goes beyond the frontiers of language”.
where there are no Anabel sees WFP as a large “boat of
By the time the October 1 deadline for computers. A WFP staff friendship”, sailing the seas and
submission of entries had passed, member made a shouting: “Food for All!”
approximately 200 photos had been sent private donation of a
(as digital pictures or prints delivered to computer for one
HQ) from staff members posted in countries school in Uganda.) A
ranging from Cambodia to Ecuador. WFP certificate, a
The runner up: Stacking food bags in Quetta logstics hub, Pakistan. By school feeding T-shirt,
The number of entries was narrowed down Amir El-Mahi Ismail, a German/Sudanese logistics officer currently in and a Food Force CD
to 36, from which the panel of judges Benghazi, Libya. “I take pictuures to convey what the world cannot were also presented to
(including senior staff with extensive field describe. We seem to have become colourblind, our vision impairred,” he each winner.
experience) chose the winning 10. says.
The five best designs
from each of the
participating countries
competed before a
WFP/Rein Skullerud

panel of judges in
Rome. The winning
FROM PEN- TO artworks are used by
WFP to illustrate an
increasing number of Prosper Bayisingize, 13, lives in
CYBER-PALS products such as desk
diaries, desk and wall
Mbogo, Rwanda and likes playing
football and studying. He comes from
calendars, greeting a big family with adopted kids. In his
cards and magnetic free time, he helps his parents look
The first time that Emmanuel Dijango and I Eight years and a technological revolution later, bookmarks. after the family’s cows. “Thanks to
corresponded, it was on an aerogram; I suspect they Emmanuel was a qualified engineer and I a Public WFP, I can attend lessons and I don’t
barely exist any more. These lighter-than-air, pale Information Officer for WFP in Rome. Out of the The designs have also have to go back home at noon.”
blue missives were still common in the 1990s, when blue, I received an e-mail from Emmanuel, who had been used on T shirts,
faxes were reserved for urgent matters and e-mail googled my name in an internet café in Nairobi. He measuring charts,
was a strange dial-up affair. Sat phones were was applying online for a job to rebuild roads and screensavers and e-
massive, complex and expensive luxuries. bridges back in southern Sudan. cards. Some of the
masterpieces are even
When he first wrote in 1996, Emmanuel had Today, Emmanuel is WFP's Maintenance and framed and given to
graduated from secondary school in Moyo, northern Supervision Engineer in Bahr El Ghazal. He was really VIPs - the Pope,
Uganda and was working for the Jesuit Refugee enthusiastic about the ED's visit to southern Sudan a Princess Haya Bint Al
Service. Like so many other refugees from the war in few months ago. Hussein and Sean
South Sudan, he fled with his family. Connery are among the
I hope to leave Rome for China. At least it should be fortunate recipients!
At the time, I was in Rome, editing the Jesuit easier to stay in touch: our e-mails fly at the speed
Refugee Service's newsletter -- their equivalent of of sound and we can speak for free over the FoodSat. The theme of this
Pipeline. We corresponded a little, but lost touch. Perhaps one day, we'll meet. By Anthea Webb year's children's art
competition, involving María Félix Titizano Martínez, 11, is at
both a drawing and an the Edoardo Avaroa School in Atocha,
accompanying Bolivia. She describes the impact WFP
explanatory text, was: school meals have had on the miners’
Do you have any interesting or original tales to tell? Give us your stories for Pipeline 41
“The difference WFP families. “School feeding gives us the
which we plan to produce in spring 2007. Write to caroline.hurford@wfp.org.
school meals make to chance to study instead of helping our
my life”. parents at tough jobs in the mine.”