WHO’s Children’s Party and the Solidarity Fair

Maria Dweggah, WHO

This year the Party and the Fair were held on 19 December 2002. The Fair was animated by the Michael Jackson impressionist Paul Besana, son of one of our own. We were entertained by the group Mousso from Burkina Faso and by the very talented Subhan Jeruthasan who performed classical dances from of South India. He is also the son of one of our own. The Fair is as successful as the generosity and enthusiasm of the staff. Both of these were present.

The air was festive with African sounds, perfumed smells of good food from North, East and West Africa, laughter of children, high pitched voices and moon walks of “Michael.”

The "Bottle Stall" had its usual success.  Some walked away with a bottle of ketchup, while others had the good luck to take away expensive champagne or perfume. The homemade sangría had the right punch. The bric-à-brac items disappeared miraculously. “Who buys this stuff?” people ask year after year. Well, I don’t know but it goes. Part of the secret must be the tenacity and good sales techniques of the people behind the tables. The bake sale was very shortlived as those homemade goodies were bought up as quickly as they were put on the table.

The Solidarity Fair is in its seventh year. The first was held in December 1995 to raise money for those staff members whose posts were being cut to 50% following a major reduction in force. The Solidarity Fund was thus created by the Staff Association with the benefits from this first event. Since 1995 the Fund has expanded to eventually include all WHO staff who are in serious financial difficulty, especially in emergency situations. It has also been extended to help people outside WHO, such as the construction of an orphanage in India, building a maternity in Ethiopia, and assistance in paying hospital bills for a young Burundi woman in need of a heart operation. This year, benefits from the Fair will go to Médecins sans Frontières, Suisse. See you for the EIGHTH!

The traditional Children’s Party followed. Children were encouraged to bring gifts for children less fortunate.

As with past years, this event is always a success thanks to the energy and comittment of many WHO staff who volunteer to organize and act as hosts and hostesses. As they say “a picture is worth a thousand words.”