Acclaimed film actress Mia
Farrow traded her movie star status for another
role on Monday, that of the United Nations
Children's Fund (Unicef) Goodwill ambassador.
Yesterday, Farrow left for the Sub-Saharan
nation of Angola in what was the first day
of a one-week tour through the war-torn country.
The
purpose of Farrow's visit is to highlight the
dramatic challenges facing the country as it
emerges after nearly three decades of war. She
is scheduled to visit a camp housing thousands
of displaced civilians, Unicef sponsored HIV/AIDS
prevention projects, land-mine awareness centers,
and feeding stations for malnourished children.
"We are hoping that Ms. Farrow will be
able to create awareness on the plight of women
and children in Angola, who have been most seriously
devastated by war," said Unicef Communications
Officer Mohammed Jalloh. "Unicef is proud
to have Ms. Farrow as our Goodwill ambassador
to Angola -- as was proven through her last Goodwill
trip to Nigeria, she feels most at home when
she is part of the community, finding out what
affects people on the ground level."
Although Angola has been in a perpetual state
of conflict since gaining independence from Portugal
in 1975, its most recent civil war was triggered
in 1998 when peace agreements broke down between
its two main political parties fighting for state
control (the National Front for the Liberation
of Angola and the Popular Movement for the Liberation
of Angola). The conflict in Angola is estimated
to have killed more than 500,000 people and displaced
hundreds of thousands of others.
Unicef's
representative in Angola, Mario Ferrari, expressed
hopes that
Farrow would not only spotlight
the devastating effects of war in the country
but also ignite an interest in recovery and reconstruction
efforts. "Although Angola is suffering,
it is also entering a time of renewal," said
Ferrari. "The world must see that Angola
is no longer a doomed vessel, and that with the
right assistance, the children of this country
have a future."
While in Angola, Farrow is scheduled to meet
with Unicef representatives, members of the Angolan
government, as well as Unicef's NGO partners
such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and
Doctors Without Borders. Unicef was created by
the UN General Assembly in 1946 to assist children
in war-torn Europe following the second World
War. In 1953, it became a permanent part of the
UN system, with its main target being helping
children in developing countries. Some 64 percent
of Unicef's annual income of nearly a billion
dollars is received through government donations,
while the rest comes from direct fund-raising
and sales of Unicef products. Unicef works in
conjunction with non-governmental organizations,
governments, and other UN agencies to assist
children around the world.
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