“I had a calling to help, protect and support vulnerable people, especially children and women”

Mohammad AlHamwan, Humanitarian Affairs Specialist, UNICEF Jordan.

Tell us a bit about your background.

I am a Jordanian, born and raised in a small village in the North of the country. My background is as a Military Officer, I joined the military academy in 1992 and stayed there until 2010. I left to pursue my Masters degree in HRM in Webster University in the US. Then I completed my Ph.D degree, also in HRM, in the university of North Malaysia and participated in two UN DPKO missions in Haiti and Sierra Leone.

What do you do?

Since 2013, I am a Humanitarian Affairs Specialist with UNICEF Jordan Country Office. During this time, I have managed a large and cross-sectoral refugee response to the Syria crisis. This includes UNICEF’s response for children in all settings - camps, host communities and cross-border where our programming is carried out with remote monitoring. It requires a great deal of expertise in humanitarian analysis and civil-military relations. One of the most complex environments we operate in is the berm where we thankfully have a proven track record in successfully negotiating humanitarian access for vulnerable children and their families.

“You need to believe in what you are doing and always search for things that would inspire you even more”

Barno Mukhamadieva, Chief of Education, UNICEF Angola

Tell us a bit about your background. I was born in Tajikistan, a small, beautiful mountainous country in Central Asia. I grew up in an industrial town - Tursunzade, which at the time had around 63 nationalities. I studied International Relations and International Studies in universities in Tajikistan and the United Kingdom.

What do you do? I am an education specialist, worked on issues related to girls’ education, education in emergencies and access to education for out-of-school children. Recently I joined UNICEF Angola, and lead the education programme here.

“I believe inspiration comes from knowledge, and knowledge comes from everywhere”

Ilija Talev, Policy Specialist, Public Finance, UNICEF NYHQ

Tell us a bit about your background.  

I was born and raised in Macedonia. I left my country when I was 16 to study abroad and returned 12 years later, with a bachelor’s degree in political economy, a master’s in European politics and policies and a Ph.D. in governance and children’s rights.

I joined UNICEF Macedonia in 2009 as a national Social Policy Officer, where I stayed until 2014 when, thanks to the NETI programme, I became a Social Policy Specialist in the Belize Country Office. I spent three wonderful years there working on social protection and public finance for children, and supporting the Representative in the management of the office in absence of a Deputy Representative post. From there, I moved to my current post in New York HQ, where I work as a policy specialist in the area of Public Finance for children. I have been at my post just over a year now, and I have had the privilege to work with some of the greatest minds and most dedicated professionals in the organization, from whom I have learned a lot.

“I don’t need bulging biceps to fight for women and children, I can be a human rights champion”

Joseph Bahemuka, Emergency Specialist & Chief of Yambio Field Office, UNICEF South Sudan

Tell us a bit about your background.

My passion for my work is very much linked to my childhood. It grew as I went from being a boy to a young man. I grew up in a rural part of Uganda called Bwikara in the Kagadi district. Like many others, we were economically marginalized and I had to help out a lot at home. Yet, the worst was seeing the physical and psychological abuse and injustice especially women were subjected to. It caused pain and agony. I remember wishing to be as strong as Mike Tyson so I could defend them, but I wasn’t built like that. Later I started travelling to Europe and I saw how women and children were treated. They had rights there. I then realized I don’t need bulging biceps to fight for women and children, I can be a human rights champion.

So, instead of going to the gym I studied public health, social work, humanitarian standards, primary health care and water and sanitation. Right now, I’m working on a PhD in social work.

“I make sure people have the right information to make the right decisions”

Isabelle Chazal, HR Planning Specialist, UNICEF NYHQ

Tell us a bit about your background.  

I was born in Paris, France, and traveled throughout Europe for my studies. I studied Literature, Philosophy and International & European law. I have always wanted to work in an international environment where I would have the opportunity to travel and experience different cultures.

  What do you do?

I currently work as the HR Planning Specialist in DHR, NYHQ, where I am responsible for ensuring that HR planning is aligned with organizational needs. This responsibility includes quantitative workforce analysis, regular office planning functions, enterprise risk management, monitoring, evaluation and reporting, as well as external liaison with Missions to the UN, the UN Common System and other organizations on reporting and HR analytics matters. I also manage the HR Information System as well as the reporting requirements and needs of both internal and external stakeholders. 

“I am inspired by people who forego their personal agendas to give back to communities”

Dr. Chandrakala Jaiswal, Nutrition Specialist, UNICEF Bentiu Sub Office in South Sudan 

Tell us a bit about your background. 

I am an Indian born in a small remote village with 3,000 people in a tribal District of Maharashtra, India, where accessibility of Health services was a big challenge. My father always wanted me to be a good human being and serve people. For further studies he supported me to go to Mumbai to my aunts place where I completed my schooling. Right from my childhood, I always wanted to be a doctor so that I could serve the most vulnerable people. I studied Medicine in Pune and got my graduate degree (MD) in Public Health. My first job was with WHO as a Surveillance Medical officer for a polio project in Uttarpradesh, one of the most challenging states in India regarding all Heath Indicators. I worked passionately for this job and was instrumental in establishing the best Surveillance Model of the country. Here I developed my interest in children’s health and hence got my other graduate degree in Pediatrics. I never went for clinical practice because I always felt that to make a difference on a big scale, we have to be involved in policies and implementation that I would not be able to achieve doing clinical practice. Hence I joined UNICEF as a Child Health and Nutrition Consultant and enjoyed my work thoroughly because UNICEF gave me a very good platform for my dreams to come true.

“Taking risks to save lives is my priority number one”

Luel Deng Ding, Education and Adolescent Officer, UNICEF Bentiu Field Office in South Sudan 

Tell us a bit about your background. 

I am a South Sudanese national born in Nasir, Upper Nile State, South Sudan. I grew up in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. I have a Masters Degree of Education with specialization in Planning, Management and Administration from Mount Kenya University, Kenya. A Bachelor Degree in Physics and Mathematics (2008, Kampala International University, Uganda), and an Associate Degree in Physics and Mathematics (2003/Ethiopia).

What do you do?

My work involves all aspects of education development and emergency interventions leading state education cluster coordination with government and education partners, support monitoring supervision, funds utilizations and accountability, assessment and response to acute education emergencies in the affected schools, planning and distribution of materials for schools, providing technical support in capacity development of education officials and teachers, spearheading Back To Learning campaigns Initiatives.  

Other tasks include being the Staff Association Chairperson representing Bentiu Field Office and ensuring the welfare and well-being of all staff at field level. As well as my personal and mandatory learning and development courses.

“There is nothing better in a job than being passionate about it every morning”

Reem Batarseh, Partnerships Officer, UNICEF Jordan 

Tell us a bit about your background.

I am Jordanian, born in Amman, during my childhood, my parents were both working, my mom was a teacher in a public school, and my father worked in different countries like Geneva, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE and in Yemen as Acting ILO Representative. I have three great sisters and one brother that I am so proud of.

“The youth I work with and for. It’s inspiring to see their enthusiasm, drive to achieve results and positive attitude”

Valerie Crab, Programme Specialist / Innovation Lead, UNICEF Indonesia

Tell us a bit about your background.

Life is a moving target, and when targets change, life must adapt. So far I’ve called six countries “home” (Belgium, Hungary, Austria, USA, DRC, and Indonesia). I speak a few languages, but in my head, they’ve all become one. I studied international relations and then business administration. I worked for the private (banking and sales) and the public (OSCE, UN, UNDP and UNICEF) sector touching upon a wide array of topics/themes (freedom of expression, public relations, preventive diplomacy, human resources, climate change, marketing, administration, and more).  My background is a case-study for re-invention, and the previous ones enrich every new experience.

“I saw how local people appreciated our work and felt their gratitude”

Aidai Kudaibergenova, Admin/HR Associate, UNICEF Kyrgyzstan

 Tell us a bit about your background

I grew up in Naryn, a province in eastern Kyrgyzstan, in a family of doctors. My grandfather was a surgeon, my father is a pediatrician and my mother an ophthalmologist. I have a younger brother who has been living in Beijing for the last ten years. This year he completed his second master’s degree and he is currently working for the Kyrgyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I am very proud of my family; they are my heroes. Since childhood, I’ve been very active and attended different contests, what we call ‘olympiads.’ One of my biggest achievements was to win the FLEX programme which gave me the opportunity to live in the U.S. and expand my horizons. Later, I graduated from the American University in Central Asia, majoring in HR. I am currently studying Accounting and Audit in my free time.

“Having the opportunity to touch the lives of other children through the work you do is an amazing thing and something that adds to what we are here to do”

Jonathan Howard - Brand, Supply Specialist (Innovation), UNICEF Supply Division, Copenhagen, Denmark 

Tell us a bit about your background.

I am a product designer by trade, but more of an engineer who knows how things works rather than make them look pretty. E.g. I have designed machinery that flavours Pringle chips, shred cheese or release fire doors when there is a fire.

Benjamin Lokoya, Education officer,  UNICEF South Sudan

My name is Benjamin Lokoya. I am the education officer for UNICEF.  I was in Leer last week and, when I went there, I found the situation was horrific.  I found people struggling to get food. There was no food. Women and children starving, people were surviving on water lilies. 

The women were telling me that they were worried about their children because there was nothing for them to feed the children on. They had no hope. They had malnourished children. They have sick children. Nobody was there to attend to the children.  

“Do what you believe in, go with your gut and let your energy and ideas lead you”

Guillaume Michels, Global Product Manager, Internet of Good Things (IoGT), UNICEF Kenya. 

Tell us a bit about your background.

I grew up in a quiet part of France, surrounded by volcanoes and beautiful nature. I have been living abroad across almost all continents for either work or study. I previously worked for large organizations like Orange, a mobile network operator in one of their R&D centres in London. Most of my early professional experiences were in Innovation Marketing and Strategy. I also created a start-up to promote reading and help authors or publishers get their work discovered online. Some of the applications we built made it to the App Store’s top 10 and one application was even advertised in the Parisian subway! After this experience, I had the opportunity to join the UNICEF Innovation team and use my skills to break down barriers to information for the benefit of children.

“Two branches of an inflection will not have the same destiny…”

Nenad Tomić, Integrated Education Consultant, UNICEF Namibia

Tell us a bit about your background.

I was born in the early 80s in a country which is no more, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. A beautiful country that fell apart several times before I finished high school. I started my medical degree studies in Belgrade, the country’s old-new capital before moving to Germany to complete my undergraduate studies in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. After a short stint in the US, I moved to Tenerife, an island of ‘eternal spring’ where I explored the volcanic scenery and did post-graduate studies in Biomedicine. Traveling in southern Africa in my late 20s changed my mental landscape irrevocably, I realized I wanted to stay in the southern hemisphere and share some of the knowledge and scientific training & experience with young people who faced various barriers in accessing education. Through a series of chance encounters, I met the co-founder of an exceptionally innovative NGO based in Windhoek, which fosters holistic youth development in disadvantaged communities. That’s where my romance with Namibia started, and I found it hard to leave…

“I help adults make the right decisions ‘with and for children’. That is something I would like to achieve.”

Gulsana Turusbekova, Social Policy Specialist, UNICEF Kyrgyzstan

Tell us a bit about your background.

Even as a child, I was inspired by and romanticized the UN. In secondary school, I took additional classes on UN history and after learning myself, I shared my knowledge with primary school pupils. That was fun for me, but maybe not so much for the pupils. Still, my interest was genuine – I truly shared the UN values and they were the same as those of my big, happy and cheerful family. My family also taught me the value of education and of being open minded, which has inspired me to always keep learning. That is a trait I share with UNICEF – the organization is constantly evolving.

“What’s important is that you deliver assistance for children in need.”

Paul Molinaro has been the Regional Chief of Supply and Logistics at UNICEF Middle East and North Africa for the past three years. He has previously worked with UNICEF country offices, Supply Division and other UN agencies. 

“Never stop learning.”

Clara Barona de Ayerbe, Chief of Communication for Development, UNICEF Angola

 After 25 years with UNICEF in Colombia, Bolivia and Angola, Clara has just retired. Before returning to her native Colombia, she spent the last eight years of her career at the UNICEF office in Luanda.

“Be a team player, be creative and be honest with other people and yourself.”

Amélia Russo de Sá, Deputy Representative, UNICEF Angola.

After 6 years as Deputy Representative in Angola, Amélia is leaving the UNICEF office in Luanda to start her new post as Senior Advisor for Communication for Development (C4D) in Child Protection in the East and South Africa Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya.  

Tell us a bit about your background. 

I was born in the north of Mozambique, in a province close to Malawi. My parents were Portuguese functionaries and I lived in several of the provinces of the country during my childhood and adolescence because of my parents’ work. In 1973 I started Arts university in Maputo and completed 3 years. When independence from Portugal came, I decided to remain in Mozambique and participate in the construction of the new nation. I started working in the Ministry of Education, as a teacher. Later, I integrated a division that was responsible for the preparation of the first school-books after the independence. At the age of 22, I was the responsible for the national training of Portuguese teachers for the first two years of secondary school. It had been enriching, very interesting and very challenging for a young person. In 1985, I got a scholarship to go to France and finished there a Master degree in socio-linguistics. When I came back to Mozambique, I was appointed the dean of the Faculty of Arts of the High Institute for Teachers‘ training. In 1991, I joined UNICEF.

“If you are passionate about helping others...this job is for you!”

Jamilya Jusaeva, Operations Manager, UNICEF Kyrgyzstan

 Tell us a bit about your background. 

I am of Kyrgyz nationality, I was born in the green city of Frunze, which was renamed Bishkek after the collapse of the Soviet Union and Kyrgyzstan’s declaration of independence in 1991. I have two diplomas in the area of Linguistics and the Management of the Organization. I grew up in the Soviet era, and being an active member of the Soviet Young Pioneer Organization, I strongly believed in the unbreakable rules of equity, goodness, peace and equality that were the strong tools of the Soviet propaganda. I cried when Indira Gandhi was shot dead, and I strongly believed and I still do in the victory of good over evil.

“I always wanted to contribute in making this word a better place for children.”

Atsuko Nishimoto, Education Specialist in Qamishly, UNICEF Syria. 

How did you become a UNICEF employee?

I always wanted to contribute in making this word a better place for children. I believe UNICEF is one of the few best organizations serving children in the world and as part of the UNICEF team, I would be able to bring my vision to reality. Prior to joining UNICEF, I worked in the education field in various types of organizations; international, governmental and non-governmental including UNICEF’s sister organization, Save the Children. My recent experiences focus on education in war-torn countries or in post-conflict recovery settings.