Hobbies are good things to have in life. For some people, hobbies have turned into professions, for others, hobbies can carry them through life, keeping them busy even in retirement years. Take one case such as Fuad Kronfol, a former staff member of UNICEF.
Fuad started collecting stamps at the tender age of 7. Naturally, over his 37 years working for UNICEF, any commemoration of any agency towards social development depicted in stamps has interested Fuad, but those depicting UNICEF in stamps has touched his heart.
According to Fuad's collection and records, many stamps were issued to celebrate UNICEF anniversaries - 10th, 15th, 25th and so on, but stamps were also issued for the various programs supported by UNICEF such as child survival, immunization, child rights, breast feeding, water and sanitation, nutrition, primary education and others. Fuad connects through stamps to also commemorate, on a day-to-day basis, his long and wide experience with social development during his working years with UNICEF, and now, as a memoir of those formidable years.
Fuad joined UNICEF on 3 March 1959 during the year the Declaration of Child Rights was issued. Fuad was first posted to Beirut to serve as a National Officer and then to Cairo as International Professional. Later in Khartoum he served as UNICEF Representative and then in New York Headquarters as Chief of Middle East and North America regions, and Europe. Fuad then goes back to the field to serve as Representative of Hanoi and swings back to New York to be Chief of Africa Section, and later as Manager of the Bamako Initiative. Taking a break from program Fuad becomes Director of Personnel (now Human Resource Management) and moves on as UNICEF's Director of Management Review for the Booz-Allen study. His final posting was as Special Adviser to the Executive Director giving advice and guidance for social development projects. Fuad took early retirement in September 1995 by which time he had worked and traveled to 111 countries.
In retirement in Montreal, Fuad resurrected the stamp hobby by mounting a small exhibit at a local Stamp Club in 2004. He then got really interested in materials related to UNICEF because of UNICEF's 60th Anniversary and thought of doing something original on UNICEF history through stamps. Working with UNICEF's Department of Communication, Fuad and that department together launched the Time Line of UNICEF using Fuad's extensive stamp collection.
With a keen interest in both the stamps and envelopes, Fuad is a philatelist - having been a collector of stamps (not only from 7 years of age) but again from also the Indo-Chinese countries: Indo-China, Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam. When Fuad was in Hanoi from 1980 to 1983 he developed a very extensive collection and was a member of the Indo-Chinese Philatelic Society.
Ever since the first Global Conferences on Women, many countries have issued stamps for women and their rights. But even before the UN, there were many countries who celebrated Mothers Days or Mother and Child Days and other events through stamps notes Fuad. Of course, not only through UNICEF, but various other agencies (UN and National Government Organizations) have been commemorated by countries through stamps related to their respective fields of social concerns. This is the broader aspect of Fuad's collection that he is working on, and hitherto UNICEF is his foremost priority and interest.
UNICEF Staff News has done a story on Fuad Kronfol's stamp collection. However, Fuad is always looking for new material and would welcome any other stamps (and related materials) that people want to send him to expand his collection and exhibits. So much has happened in Fuad's own career that paralleled UNICEF stamps; what a great form of a memorable depiction.
Perhaps, Fuad can have a major display for UNICEF's 70th anniversary. Most of all, there is a life lesson for us all to learn from Fuad Kronfol's stamp projects.
Comments