Growing up, the only memory I had of UNICEF was the little orange box that was given to us on the day of Halloween. We were to bring it with us as we go door-to-door filling our goodie bag with candies and knickknacks. I remember teachers telling the class to “Ask your neighbours to donate a nickel or dime while you are tricking-or-treating.” The next school day, we were to return the box back to the teacher. At the beginning of the school day, we would discuss topics such as, what we found in our goodie bag, the costumes we saw, and how we stayed safe and visible from passing vehicles. Looking back upon those cold and frightful nights, I never learned or understood why I had to bring the little orange box along with me. That was as far as my knowledge of UNICEF went… it really was not much.
It was not until recently that we
knew the impact UNICEF made in developing and developed counties over the
course of more than 50 years. The
little money I was able to receive from generous neighbours contributed to a
larger population of children and families in need of an assistance and/or
support that I was unaware of. UNICEF’s work is truly incomparable to any other
organizations as they are active in over 90 countries. Visit UNICEF’s interactive
Foreign Affairs map to see some of the counties they are currently aiding to reduce
poverty and providing humanitarian assistance to vulnerable people in crisis.
What was a memory you had of UNICEF
while growing up? How did your memory contribute to your overall knowledge of
UNICEF?
