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UN World Food Programme |
On
27 March 2003 the Government of the Russian Federation made a decision to contribute
a total of US$ 11 million to WFP for its humanitarian operations world wide.
Russia has become a new and important donor to WFP. This was preceded by a fruitful
visit of Mr James T. Morris, WFP Executive Director, to Russian Federation in
October 2002, when this issue was raised at the governmental level.
The contribution will be split as follows: US$ 1 million for WFP protracted relief and recovery operation in Angola, and US$ 10 million for relief food assistance within the framework of WFP emergency operation in Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea.
"The Russian Federation is the most important country in the world that is not currently a donor to the WFP…so this is a great step forward for the WFP, which is the place where the world comes together to provide help and support to very hungry and poor people all around the world".
Mr James T. Morris, WFP Executive Director,
said during his visit to Russia in October 2002
International Days
23 April World Book and Copyright Day
3 May World Press Freedom Day
15 May International Day of Families
17 May World Telecommunication Day
31 May World No-Tobacco Day
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On 24–28 March 2003 Ms Darlene Bisson, Deputy Director, Regional
Bureau for Eastern Europe, WFP Rome, visited 
Russian
Federation with the purpose to review the implementation of the current emergency
operation in the North Caucasus, discuss various operational issues with senior
government officials in Moscow and Nazran. She also visited IDP camps and spontaneous
settlements in Ingushetia. Following her visit, a stand-by agreement was signed
on 17 April 2003 in Rome between EMERCOM of Russia and WFP. This agreement stipulates
cooperation between the parties to enhance WFP’s emergency response capacity
for global relief food assistance.
During her mission, Ms Bisson had an opportunity to participate in the bi-weekly UN Humanitarian Coordination Group meeting in Moscow. In Nazran she met with key players in the humanitarian field, including ICRC, DRC, UNHCR and ECHO. The issues of targeting, household food economy assessment and expansion of school feeding activities were at length discussed at the meetings.
In Moscow Ms Darlene Bisson had meetings with Mr Yury Brazhnikov, Deputy Minister, EMERCOM of Russia, and with other high level officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture, at which a wide range of working problems were discussed, including pending decision from the governmental side to be taken in terms of granting WFP a special status for its imported humanitarian food commodities to facilitate their handling and clearance from various federal bodies.
For more information on WFP and its activities, visit out web site at www.wfp.org,
or contact WFP, Russia,
Tel: (7-095) 956-49-68,
Fax: (7-095) 956-49-89
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WFP provides emergency food assistance:
– to save lives of people in refugeå and other emergency situations;
– to improve the nutrition and quality of life of the most vulnerable people at critical times of their lives;
– to help build assets and promote self-reliance of poor people and communities, particularly through labour-intensive works.
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United Nations Children's Fund |
Nana Mouskouri, famous Greek singer and Special Representative for the Performing Arts of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), visits St. Petersburg and Moscow.
Nana Mouskouri graduated from the Athens Conservatory 35 years ago; her first performance took place in one of the Greek capital’s taverns. Nana then won first prize at the Greek Festival of Song. Soon afterward, her voice won hearts across Europe and America. The world-famous singer now has more than 300 gold and platinum records to her credit. She has recorded songs in ten different languages. Mouskouri has sung alongside Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Edite Piaf, and Harry Belafonte. She has performed at London’s Albert Hall, the Paris Olympia Hall, Carnegie Hall in New York, and many other famous venues around the world. Meeting the actress Audrey Hepburn, who was at that time UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, made an indelible impression on her. Together, they took part in a concert to raise money for the UN Children’s Fund.
In 1993, Nana Mouskouri herself became UNICEF’s Special Representative for the Performing Arts. In this capacity, she took part (and continues to participate) in fund-raising campaigns for the children of Guatemala, Uganda, Vietnam, Colombia, and other nations. In 1998, a school was built in Bosnia-Herzegovina with money that she had raised. In 1999, Ms. Mouskouri participated in a gala concert in Kenya, at which more than US$300,000 was collected and used to help children.
Preparing
for her first trip to Russia, Ms. Mouskouri was worried about arriving empty-handed.
With her financial donation, UNICEF bought furniture, clothing, bedding, sporting
goods, video equipment, and other things needed by two rehabilitation centers
in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
In the northern capital, along with a visit to the Hermitage and an excursion around the city, the Malookhtinskii House of Diligence, with which UNICEF has long collaborated, was included in Ms. Mouskouri’s schedule. Thirty-six girls aged 12 to 18 live today at this social rehabilitation center. They all suffered physical or psychological violence at home or on the streets. Working at the center are trained psychologists, who use various methods to assist these girls to recover. Unfortunately, many of the girls have an extremely low sense of self-esteem, and suicide attempts occur often at the center. They believe that if such things could happen to them, they must count for nothing in this world. One of the younger girls wrote: "How could such a thing possibly be? If my mom carried me, doesn’t that mean she wanted me? But here I am, born into this world, and nobody needs me". When psychologists use the "grain-of-sand" method of therapy, the girls at first often depict themselves as tiny, barely visible figures, with some sort of sharp object alongside them. It takes a great deal of time, a great deal of strength, and – most important – a great deal of love to make these sharp and pointed objects disappear, not just from the picture, but from the subconscious – and for their self-esteem to be raised to a normal level.
The shelter is under the responcibili-ty of the state, but the funds it receives are sufficient only to buy food and to pay for utilities and communal services.
The Center’s Director Galina Volkova described the importance of the famous singer’s arrival, and help: "I’m very glad we have gotten this enormous charitable assistance. We weren’t expecting it at all, but it came just in the nick of time. Now, the girls will get their graduation night presents. Besides the furniture, bed linen, and clothing that Ms. Mouskouri has given us, it is extremely important that she came to visit us herself, and saw how we live. For the girls, whose circle of friends is quite limited, meeting famous people such as her, who are genuinely interested in what their life is like, is very important".
The girls decided that they wouldn’t sing in the presence of such a famous performer, although in general, they do love to sing. Instead, their concert consisted of lively, fiery dances.
The dancers then collected autographs from their guest. Ms. Mouskouri kissed them all goodbye, and the girls admitted openly that they wouldn’t wash the spot where they’d been kissed for at least a couple of days.
Ms. Mouskouri said: "I’ve visited many children’s homes in different countries around the world. I’ve come to the conclusion that we are all very much alike in our individual problems. The art of song, of dance, the ability to draw and paint, to act on the stage, all help us to express ourselves and make life better. I’m sure that the opportunity to express themselves through art will help these girls learn to make contact with the world around them, and to find their own way in it".
Ms. Mouskouri was in Moscow for only one day. Before the traditional visit to Red Square, she went to the Crushed Flower Psychological Rehabilitation Center on Kashirskoye Highway. Here, in September 1999, an apartment building was bombed, with severe loss of life. The Center’s psychologists moved specially to this district in order to help the children and adolescents who found themselves at the epicenter of events. At the heart of their work is the unique technique of play therapy. The main task is to replace their distorted picture of the world with a positive one, and to remove the horrible sufferings from their traumatized subconscious and replace them with a bright and happy image of life.
To do this, the workers at the Center have developed a special mosaic, which they themselves – with the help of volunteer student helpers-make out of wood, and then paint. Then, on special work tables, the children put together pictures of a city, a village, or outer space – through which they open up their own private world.
Alla Russavskaya, President of the Crushed Flower Center, explains the essence of the method: "In principle, our games are a synthesis of art therapy, play therapy, and psychoanalysis. Our games, unlike others, are free ... they have no organized framework.
Children of widely varying age come to the Center. Now, with the money from Ms. Mouskouri, the Center has equipment for its gymnasium, and a karaoke system has been installed. The district teenagers have already found out about it, and now there’s no end of visitors to the gym. The Center is open in the evenings and on weekends. Student volunteers from pedagogical institutes, incidentally, help to look after things, and are always on duty.
"I’ve seen a lot of sorrow and human suffering", says Ms. Mouskouri. "And I suddenly understood that I could and should change something and help someone. Each person must be given the opportunity to find himself, his own place to live, his own walk of life. When you’re doing something, it gives you the chance to love the world around you, and to be in harmony with yourself and the rest of the world. This is what makes life worth living".
