New Developments in Celebrity Advocacy
	Italy: Nancy Brilli and Safe Motherhood
	Spain: Ismael Serrano and the Manifesto
	New Zealand: Stacey Daniels and Youth
	Catarina Furtado Fights for Development Assistance in Portugal
	Bertrand Piccard Promotes Health Issues in India
	Elsa Zylberstein Presides Over Prestigious Wine Auction in France
	Face to Face Introduces Four New Spokespersons in Nicaragua
	Kari Jaquesson Speaks to Norwegian Press About Nicaraguan Youth
	Life on the Street: Kari Jaquesson's Interview with Maria, a Prostitute in Nicaragua
	Overcoming Gangs, Drugs and Poverty: Kattis Ahlstrom Interviews Jose in Nicaragua
	Mikko Kuustonen Participates in UNFPA Program Awareness Mission to Finland
	Hanne-Vibeke Holst Continues Research for Her Book on Women
	Goedele Liekens Combats Fistula

This month’s update focuses on the Face to Face Spokespersons, both new and old, and highlights their recent activities. These case studies display their extraordinary commitment and give a good sense of what celebrity advocacy should - and can - be.

First, Campaign Partners in Italy, Spain and New Zealand introduce the new celebrity spokespersons they are working with. Then, read on to learn about Catarina Furtado’s plea to the Portuguese government, adventurer Bertrand Piccard’s visit to India, Elsa Zylberstein’s involvement in a prestigious charity wine auction and the experiences of four Nordic Face to Face Spokespersons – Kari Jaquesson, Kattis Ahlstrom, Mikko Kuustonen and Hanne-Vibeke Holst – in Nicaragua. Finally, let us introduce you to the Nicaraguan Face to Face Spokespersons and the innovative project they will be working on with Face to Face.

Face to Face truly appreciates the involvement of all of these individuals and commends all the Face to Face Spokespersons for their dedication to changing the world.

Italian Campaign Partner AIDOS recently introduced their newest celebrity spokesperson, in conjunction with a Face to Face campaign called Safe Motherhood: A right for all women. The well-known Italian actress Nancy Brilli, who has recovered from ovarian cancer and a difficult pregnancy, decided to support the Safe Motherhood campaign to allow all women to get the same medical assistance she had. While playing the leading role in the play The Blue Room at the Teatro Parioli in Rome, she authorized fundraising activities by AIDOS volunteers in the lobby and donated the proceeds from one performance to the organization (on the night of her son’s 2nd birthday!). Nancy has spoken about the campaign during television talk show appearances and other highly-publicized events she has attended. In addition, a 30-second commercial on the issues of safe motherhood will be shown preceding her most recent film.

AIDOS engaged the advertising company Bates Italia to help create the campaign, which aims to raise awareness among a broader base of people about the risk of childbirth in the third world, affirm the right of all women to a serene and safe motherhood and collect funds to support AIDOS’ Women’s Health Centers in Palestine, Jordan, Nepal, Venezuela, Argentina, Honduras and Afghanistan, as well as to set up new centers.

The campaign includes a TV commercial, in a cartoon format, that conveys the message, “In the Third World, every minute, a woman dies from child delivery or pregnancy-related complications.” It urges the viewers, “Help us stop this massacre!” The commercial will begin airing in January 2003. Safe Motherhood also includes a series of fact sheets to be distributed to journalists, politicians, opinion makers, and women’s organizations, along with four moving posters depicting women’s motherhood in different regions of the world. These posters have been published as advertisements in 25 daily newspapers and 50 weekly and monthly magazines. They are also available for use by partners in other European countries.

Twenty-four journalists from the national and international press and radio and television stations participated in the press conference to launch the campaign, together with members of the Parliament, representatives of the Department for Development cooperation, representatives from other NGOs and associations and, of course AIDOS members and supporters. The press conference was broadcast on several radio stations, as well as on national television.

Spanish Face to Face Campaign Partner FPFE has drafted a Manifesto decrying the situation of women in developing countries and asking the government of Spain to fulfill its spending commitments for official development assistance, specifically in the area of sexual and reproductive health.

As part of this project, FPFE recruited a new Face to Face spokesperson, singer and songwriter Ismael Serrano. Serrano uses his voice and music to raise social consciousness about many aspects of our reality and his talent as a songwriter resulted in his nomination for “Best Author” by the Music Awards of the Society of Authors and Editors (SGAE). Serrano’s songs are not only beautifully rendered and written, but reflect his sense of connection to solidarity movements such as the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina and the Zapatistas in Mexico, as well as the struggle against racism and xenophobia, among other themes. Right now, he is on tour throughout Spain and Latin America for his new album, “La Traición de Wendy”, but still reserves time to work for the benefit of the world with organizations like FPFE.

Serrano and FPFE held a press conference earlier this year to publicize the Face to Face Manifesto, which was already signed by 20 musicians, actors and other artists, and more than 50 organizations.

Also launched at the press conference was a new post card initiative. FPFE made 5000 postcards using photos from the “Women of the World: Face to Face” photography competition and exhibit. The postcards bear a message similar to the Manifesto’s, demanding that the Spanish government fulfill its Cairo commitments.

At the end of this year, FPFE will present the Manifesto signatures and the postcards to the Secretary of State for Development Cooperation.

The New Zealand Family Planning Association recently recruited a celebrity spokesperson for the Face to Face Campaign and is planning various activities to launch the Campaign in New Zealand.

Stacey Daniels, the newest Face to Face Spokesperson, is a young indigenous woman and veteran television and radio presenter who now co-hosts a very popular show for youth called ‘Mai Time’. Daniels participated in a field visit this past June to Cambodia and Thailand, where she spent time at a maternity clinic, a garment factory and a project working with street kids.

Daniels will use her experience on this field visit to enhance her Face to Face Campaign activities and raise awareness of international health, education and employment issues relating to women and children among New Zealand’s youth.

UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, Face to Face Spokesperson for Portugal and acclaimed actress Catarina Furtado spoke out against her country’s development assistance policy. Portugal is not fulfilling its potential as a donor to international population programs and its aid program allocations remain far short of the UN goal of 0.7 % of GNP. The Portuguese government has still not responded in clearly identifiable ways to the Cairo conference on population and development.

Responding to Portugal’s unfulfilled commitments, Catarina Furtado wrote a letter of concern to the Prime Minister preceding a UNFPA visit. During the visit, she gave a compelling speech, commending UNFPA’s activities and urging Portugal to fulfill its responsibility as a donor country. The text of both the letter and the speech follows.


Catarina Furtado’s Letter to the Prime Minister

His Excellency
Prime Minister of Portugal
Dr. Durao Barroso

Your Excellency,

I, Catarina Furtado, write you on behalf of my position as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNFPA.

I would like to use this letter to express my concern about the fact that Portugal has not, up to this date, given any guarantees as to the continuation of its financial contribution to the United Nations Population Fund. I recall that back payments from earlier years still exist.

As Your Excellency certainly knows, Portugal has a moral obligation to UNFPA for the support that it received from the United Nations Fund, before its entrance into the European Union, in which it acknowledged issues of maternal and infant health and family planning. Agreements signed in Peking and Cairo reinforce our responsibility for and solidarity with developing countries, with a special emphasis on the PALOP’S and more recently Timor.

In my mission, I have had the opportunity and privilege to work with UNFPA on programs to promote maternal security, the prevention of various forms of violence against women, the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, the prevention of teenage pregnancy and the social inclusion and involvement of men in sexual and reproductive health care questions…

Due to the public’s awareness of your personal and political involvement in matters of the developing world, the United Nations and humanist culture, combined with the approaching visit of UNFPA to Portugal (October 9th) I leave to Your Excellency’s consideration the resolution of this impasse in Portugal’s role in helping development.
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Catarina’s Speech on UNFPA’s visit to Portugal


There are many, millions around the world, women, children, men.
People with faces, hearts, desires. People without voices, in trouble. I have already seen many, face to face, and have hoped that someone would do something for them, anything that would stop the pain and bring hope. The UNFPA has done this for more than 30 years.

It is the largest international agency to help developing countries to find solutions for population problems: health, the empowerment of women and social development. They are the women who suffer the most with violence; domestic, sexual, prostitution, socio-cultural violence in armed conflicts. It is this part of the world’s population that has the least access to education, information and social and political participation.

UNFPA helps pregnancy, giving life. It gives a lifeline to those numbed by the lack of everything. UNFPA fights, with rolled-up sleeves, to create hope and improve the quality of life, for access to basic health education and the reduction of infant and maternal mortality.

UNFPA insists on the reduction of the rate of adolescent maternity/paternity, the elimination of traditional practices that are considered violations of basic human rights.

UNFPA promotes the prevention and treatment of STIs, especially HIV/AIDS.

UNFPA insists on the promotion of quality of life for people of all ages, from all continents, of every political regime, and the equal opportunity to access health care and education.

UNFPA acknowledges that family planning and the promotion of sexual and reproductive health care are essential in combating poverty and achieving sustainable development.

The European Union also acknowledges this, and because of this it supports more than 50 percent of the international development assistance to these activities. Portugal has to be a country of its word, coming through on its promises, contributing to its quotas, intelligently helping to reduce the scandalous numbers of the statistics. Portugal cannot be ashamed of what it doesn’t do, it must become proud of what it helps to do.


Face to Face Campaign Partner in Portugal, Associacao Para o Planeamento da Familia, works with Catarina Furtado.

After circumnavigating the globe non-stop in a hot air balloon in 20 days, Bertrand Piccard, Swiss adventurer, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and Face to Face Spokesperson traveled to India on a different mission - to generate health awareness among the youth and underprivileged. The trip was organized by the Swiss Face to Face Campaign Partner International Federation for Population and Development.

"Making a world record is thrilling but the satisfaction one gets after working for the uplift of people gives a sense of achievement," stated Piccard during a press conference while visiting India as a Goodwill Ambassador of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Although he flew over India twice during his three-week balloon adventure, this was the first time he made a stop in the country on his mission to generate awareness about health issues among youth and the underprivileged.

The world-famous adventurer, who met approximately 500 young people in Gurgaon, a town in the Northern Indian state of Haryana, said he was impressed by their zest for fulfilling their dreams.

"After meeting them, I realized that they have understood the importance of educating girls and are aware of the benefits of concepts like women's empowerment," he said.

Piccard, who also met several senior officials from the Ministry of Health, said he will continue to gather information about various UNFPA projects in India and mobilize funds from Switzerland – a major donor nation.

"The need of the hour is to focus on making adolescents aware about health issues and dangers of disease like AIDS," he said.

Also present were former Miss Universe and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador Lara Dutta, and UNFPA representative in India Francois Farah.

UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, Face to Face Spokesperson for France and film actress Elsa Zylberstein co-presided over the prestigious wine auction of the Hospices of Beaune this November, along with actress Chiara Mastroiani, daughter of Catherine Deneuve.

Ms. Zylberstein donated her portion of the proceeds from the auction to French partner Equilibres et Populations for the sustainability and maintenance of a health center in Senegal. In May 2001, Ms. Zylberstein visited the small village of Malicka in Senegal and saw, face to face, the extent of the health problems confronting the women there. While E&P created a health center in the village, its long-term sustainability was still in question. So, the popular French actress decided to participate in the auction to raise funds for the continuation of the health center in this remote area of Senegal.

The sale by auction of the wines of the Hospices de Beaune, dating back to 1859, remains the most famous annual charity event in the world, and all wine professionals anxiously await it. In fact, this ceremony determines to some extent the quality and value of the year's harvest for the whole of Burgundy. The profits from the auction, ranging from 5-15 million francs, depending on the year, are generally used for the modernization of medical equipment and to reach out to marginalized sectors of the population.

As part of its growing activities in Nicaragua, Face to Face identified four celebrities to serve as Spokespersons for the Options for Life program. Options for Life targets youth issues and aims to improve the quality of life of young people in Nicaragua by expanding health, education and employment resources and implementing a broad awareness raising campaign throughout the country. The four celebrities will help to raise awareness of the programs and resources, as well as engage the youth of Nicaragua, the press and the international community. A brief bio of each Spokesperson follows:

Arlene Centeno Guevara

Arlene Centeno Guevara is a Nicaraguan actress. In 1996 she joined "Puntos de Encuentro," to play Alejandra, one of the protagonists of “Sexto Sentido” (Sixth Sense). Her character represents to youth that they are denied autonomy and the ability to decide what they want to do with their lives. Together with the other cast members, she helped with the conceptualization of the principal characters of the series and their stories.

Ivo Rosales Soto

Ivo Marcelo Rosales Soto is a psychologist and actor in Nicaragua. He plays Angel in “Sexto Sentido,” who was the first gay character to be featured in a national television series in Nicaragua.

Cristiana Barrios de Chamorro

Cristiana Barrios de Chamorro is an independent journalist and winner of the International Press Association's Award for Excellence in editorial journalism in 2000. She is also the daughter of former Nicaraguan President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro.

Gloria Bacon

One of the most respected contemporary dancers in Nicaragua, Gloria Bacon has studied, performed and taught throughout the world, bringing Nicaraguan culture to North America, Europe and Latin America.

Upon her return from a field visit to Nicaragua, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, Face to Face Spokesperson for Norway and fitness professional Kari Jaquesson spoke with the Norwegian press to publicize her experience with youth in the impoverished Central American country. The following article appeared in the VG, the biggest newspaper in Norway.


“Kari Fights for Street Kids”

Getting the Norwegian people off their couches is not the only concern for Norway's favorite fitness queen. Kari Jaquesson (40) is now fighting for Nicaraguan women.

"We urge everyone with a lot of money and an unfulfilling life to get in touch with us."

Kari is grinning widely. We know that energetic smile of hers from TV. But suddenly, she grows serious. She really means this.

"People in Norway are not poor. Saying such a thing is probably as politically incorrect as it gets these days. But we really aren't poor even if we can't afford exotic beach vacations and two cars per household. It's all about who we compare ourselves with."

Kari Jaquesson became a UN Goodwill Ambassador two years ago, but was unable to get to work right away. "I was immensely pregnant. Seven weeks after giving birth, I traveled to Geneva to attend my first conference."

She only just returned home after 13 days on the road hosted by the UN.

June 17, 2002, UN headquarters, New York:

Kari's second UN Conference will be a star-studded event. Angelina Jolie, Harry Belafonte, Sir Peter Ustinov, Roger Moore, Danny Glover, and ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell are only a few of the superstars serving as UN Goodwill Ambassadors who will gather to discuss the fight against poverty, AIDS and war. "Naturally, I enjoy seeing all of these people joining forces for this cause. It was wonderful meeting so many personally involved people. We had long, comprehensive discussions, and everybody was eagerly participating," Kari gushes.

Following the two-day conference, Kari went together with three other Scandinavian Goodwill Ambassadors straight into the field: Nicaragua, the second poorest Latin American country.

Meeting the Nicaraguan people face to face was an unsettling experience. Most Nicaraguans are affected by poverty, drugs, sexual abuse, and gang-related crime. 800,000 children receive no education. Prostitution and abuse of women and children are rampant. Domestic violence is virtually the norm. Everybody hits everybody. Dad hits his wife and kids, mom hits her children, and the kids hit their siblings and their parents. This vicious circle must be broken, and the only way to achieve this is to start with the adolescents," she exclaims.

Even Fitness-Kari's extremely enthusiastic voice from the television program "God Morgen" [Good Morning] on Norway's TV2 sounds lifeless and flat compared to that of UN Kari.

So far, the Goodwill Ambassadors' role has been rather limited. Celebrities and superstars have traveled to poor countries, had their photographs taken with the locals and then returned home. But not so for Kari and her crew: They had a full program for six days.

"We were working all the time. I believe that is fairly new, and that UNFPA [United Nations' Population Fund] is the first organization to use the goodwill ambassadors in such an active way," she says, visibly pleased.

"We met with everybody: ministers, police, schools, hospitals and other health institutions, and several non-governmental organizations. Pulling forces together in this way is groundbreaking. Just the fact that the adolescents were being listened to and allowed to state their opinions is something new.

The Scandinavian delegation attended several meetings with Nicaraguan non-governmental organizations and the local population. "At one of these meetings, I asked how many of the participants who had experienced or knew of domestic sexual abuse. Everybody raised their hands, boys and girls alike. There are laws. But only a few are aware of their rights," she sighs.

VG: "You have two children yourself. How does being a mother influence your experience of a country like Nicaragua?"

Kari: "It is very unsettling. To be a mother is the greatest thing in my life. Having the opportunity to choose whether and when to become a mom, I am very privileged. I did not risk my own life when giving birth. In Nicaragua, it is not uncommon that 12 to 13-year olds have babies. I met several pregnant teenagers who had no idea what a condom is. The childbirth mortality rate is the highest in the region."

VG: "The way you see it, what is the relation between the fight for women's rights and the fight against poverty?"

K: "Everything. A woman in control of her own sexuality, reproduction and finances is able to make life choices that yield results in the fight against poverty. But only a few Nicaraguan women have the opportunity to make life choices.

VG: "How can they get this opportunity?"

K: "If women are given financial control, a lot of things will happen! If you are able to work, it is much easier to say "fuck off," since you don't have to put up with that much," she says, and adds enthusiastically:

"I would support a project providing them with professional training, ideally in combination with a micro loan allowing them to start their own businesses. Figures from similar projects show that 98% of the women pay back their loans. Perhaps they are less likely to spend the money in bars and bordellos. Men's repayment ability or willingness amount to 60%.

A simple Internet search demonstrates that the suppression of women on the African and Asian continents has been well documented in Norwegian media over the past years. Women in Latin America's macho cultures, however, do not receive much coverage.

VG: "Why do you think that is?"

K: "I am sure there are worse places for women than Latin-America. The women here do not wear veils. They look like we do, and it may be hard to imagine that they are suppressed.

Nobody wanted to speak out about the Church. This is the institution saying that you shall be fruitful, even though this entails risking your life in childbirth. Ten children in one family is hardly a way out of poverty," she says, and adds:
"But Latin American men also need emancipation – emancipation from the macho culture."

VG: "What triggered your personal involvement with women's issues?"

K: "I am a feminist, after all. I have been one ever since I read Jentene gjør opprør [The Girls Are Rebelling] as a 12-year old. I get sad when Norwegian girls say that we do not need a struggle for equal rights in Norway. Or, let me rephrase that: I am a humanist. After all, equal rights are for both genders. I am sure it is much more fun to be a dad today than it was 50 years ago!"

Over the next three months, the Scandinavian and Nicaraguan goodwill ambassadors will make a project plan for Nicaragua in collaboration with local players.

"And we will come and find you with our collecting boxes," Kari Jaquesson threatens, with a big smile

*Article translated from Norwegian to English by Solveig Kjøk, of Eriksen Translations.

To read Kari’s diary on her visit to New York and Nicaragua, see www.klikk.no

To see Kari's interview with Maria, a Nicaraguan girl living on the street, click here.

Face to Face Campaign Partner in Norway, SUSS, works with Kari Jaquesson.

While visiting Nicaragua, Kari interviewed many young men and women about life, love and everything in between. The interviews range from uplifting to heartbreaking, creating a sense of what reality is for Nicaraguan youth. The following is an excerpt from just one of these interviews.

Kari: What is your name?

Maria: My name is Maria Mercedes Miranda Carazo. I am 17 years old.

K: Who are you?

M: I am a girl who inhales glue in the streets. And I beg to get food to eat and clothe myself, too, because I don’t have any help from other people and I feel like nobody wants to give me help. I am a prostitute, I sell my body so I can earn money to feed myself. And if I can’t do that, then I try to bother people. But now I don’t do that, because I’m with my friends, here [on the streets]. My friends help me, they protect me, sometimes they give me some food. When I don’t have anything, they help me. And I don’t get any help from my mom, because she died. So I’m alone. What I do now is hang out here with the other girls, because you can’t go around alone, because there are gangs and they’ll fight you, and they fight each other…I want my friends to help me, just as I want to be able to help them…I want an opportunity to be protected, because living in the streets isn’t good. It’s so dangerous out here.

K: In your life, what makes you happy?

M: My happiness is walking around the streets, happy. Going to parties, or spending time with professors from TEXI, who help me. They are helping me right now. They are teaching me to how to study, embroider, we play ball, chat about things. They ask me how I’m feeling. I tell them I’m always happy to be with them, because they’re helping us. They give us help, and they want to help us, and won’t leave us. I’m happy with them because they take me to the clinic, here at four o’clock. They take us to the health center…and I like it, because I love them a lot…

K: What is a good life?

M: To get myself together and get off of glue…

K: What is a good mother like?

M: Protecting her kids, giving them love and care and being with them. Giving the love of a mother. Not hitting them, just giving them attention but without mistreating them.

K: And a good father?

M: A good father is very little. Because sometimes men leave when their women get
pregnant, and they don’t care and go off with someone else. We say that a mother is like a mother and a father.

K: What makes you laugh?

M: When I’m with my friends, when we’re playing ball over here. Playing in the sea, laughing, having fun, running around all over the place. Sometimes when I see the guys, I start to laugh. It makes me happy…I don’t know…I feel happy because my friends are here, and I’m not alone. I am happy when I’m with my professors, too. Like I’m in a family, like it was a family in a home.

K: And cry?

M: I cry sometimes when I feel alone. But right now I don’t feel alone, I feel like I’m in a family. Because I have the protection of TEXI and my friends.

K: And what makes you scared?

M: Walking out here at night. Here in the streets and in the park. Because if I’m alone, they’ll attack me. They could try to cut me, because around here a lot of girls have died because of these violent guys. They’re dead. So I could be killed. I don’t like to walk around here at night by myself. Just here on this side, nowhere else. Because I have the protection of the CPF over there, who help us. These men here. They take care of us at night, watch out for us and protect us.

K: What is the worst experience of your life?

M: The abuse and the violence. When they hit me. This is what makes me really afraid. I’m really scared, because I’m nervous. Because I was raped by my stepfather. So this makes me really afraid.


K: How old were you when this happened?

M: When I was 12…

K: If you could start again, what would you change?

M: Go to school, become a seamstress. Go to high school. Dress myself, bathe myself and prepare myself for a good job, and improve my life. And when I get married, to have a house, and have children so that they see me as…what do you call…I want to demonstrate to them that I am not a bad mother, that I’m a good mother. I want to show that that I’m a good example, to be prepared, and to see that I used to be addicted to glue, but now I’m not and I’m a good worker, and an accomplished woman with a home, with a husband.

K: If you could have anything, what would you want?

M: Have a house. And have kids. And be with my husband. And get some underwear and bras, little by little overcoming bad things. And to improve my life, continue living.


K: When is the first time you remember hearing about sex?

M: I learned about sex at 13. I learned how to have sex at 13. It was with a guy who was a student from Venezuela. And I didn’t know how to do it, but he taught me how to make love.

K: What did you think…what is sex?

M: To make love with him…It hurt a lot, and I didn’t know how to do it, but he taught me. I don’t know, when I learned how to do it, I started doing it with other people.

K: And what is the best thing about sex?

M: To do…what do you call it (laughing). I like to do it...with my boyfriend, because I love him. I want to become pregnant and have his baby. Because I love him. I have had sex with him three times.

K: But what is the worst thing about sex?

M: The worst thing is when they use force, and they abuse you. I don’t like that. When you want it, it’s the best thing, but when you don’t want sex, it’s the worst. Violence and abuse…

K: Have you had experience with violence and abuse?

M: Yes, sometimes I am scared. Because sometimes I remember what my stepfather did, when he raped me. Sometimes I am afraid of men, because they might use force, like my stepfather. But they brought me to a psychologist, who helped me. But I still have the memories of when my stepfather raped me, when I was 12. I’m talking, because the professors of TEXI have helped me a lot, and protected me. And because of this, I want to move forward in life. I want to prove to men that I am not the person that they think I am. I want to prove to them that I am different.

K: Is it difficult to protect yourself living here, like this? Are there men who want to hurt you?

M: Yes, there are some who abuse me, or who will hit me. I lived with a guy once named Chico, and he used to hit me. But this guy, he doesn’t hit me, and I love him. But the other guy, I didn’t love him because he mistreated me, hit me, told me that I was a slut, selling my body, that I was a dyke, and on and on. So I left him and now I’m with this guy, who is showing me that he loves me. And I love him so much for doing this.

K: What do you think is the right age to start having sexual relations?

M: Around 21, 22 years old.

K: You told me that the right age is 21 to have sex? How old were your friends when they started having sex?

M: Around 11, 12. That’s when my friends started having sex.

K: And you?
M: Me, too. Almost all my friends started having sex around 12, 13. Sometimes at 10, too. In the streets, as prostitutes. Sometimes because of abuse, from the mom or dad, they’ll run away and start to do glue. It’s the same thing that I did, because of my mom, because she never gave me love, but I always loved her, I love her a lot. And right now I’m regretting not being with her…I feel alone sometimes. But not too alone because I’m with my friends, like a good family. And I’m with the professors from TEXI.

K: Where do you think you’ll be in five years.

M: I’ll be with my husband, in a home. With my life together. That’s it.

UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, Face to Face Spokesperson for Sweden and highly regarded journalist, radio and television host and producer Kattis Ahlstrom also conducted interviews with youth on her visit to Nicaragua. The following is an excerpt from her interview with a young man involved in a youth organization.

Kattis: What is your name?

Jose: My name is Jose Javier Castillo Péres and I am from Matagalpa. I belong to a youth group named “Youth of the Millennium” (Jovenes del milenio).

K: Their work is mainly with women’s problems, but there are problems for boys too?

J: Of course.

K: What types of problems?

J: Well, right now the majority, the most common that you see in every city in Nicaragua is alcoholism, drug use. There are people who sell drugs, and give them to kids younger than them, to children who are poor, whose mothers are poor, who no one takes care of, and these kids end up in the street. Sometimes, because of this, they get involved in violence, sexual abuse on the streets, begging for money…because of this there’s all this violence, especially to girls who are on the street.

K: Is there a big group force between boys?

J: Um…you mean if there are large groups of boys who do this? Of course, in the majority of the poor neighborhoods in every city, there are gangs, there are drug addicts. That’s how poverty is in Nicaragua.

K: But, can they say “no”, like you?

J: Yes. Yes…if a guy isn’t…doesn’t want to take drugs, doesn’t want to inject drugs, inhale drugs, of course he can say “no”.

K: But it’s not easy?

J: It’s not easy because when you have friends, if you only have friends who are drug addicts, then you don’t have anyone else who will support you and say “don’t do it, don’t do it because this is bad.” It’s hard. Meanwhile, if we are organized, and there’s a guy in my group who has a drug problem, then all of us meet and say “look, man, this is bad for us. Let’s go to a youth center, let’s meet and hang out. Don’t do this. Look, you’ll take this back to your home. They will rob you to find drugs. It’s not worth it.”

K: Do you have dreams of your future?

J: I have my dreams. Right now, I’m not in school. I haven’t passed primary school. When I was 11 years old I worked with a man on automobiles…until I was 13…My dad left me when I was little. I didn’t know him until I was older. He lives in Managua with the rest of my brothers. My mother works in the Army and we stay close. But it’s hard, because we don’t have support from anyone…anyone who tells us, “if you are going to study, or find work to learn a trade, I will help you.” But for me, I don’t have this support. My mother is a father and mother to me. A little while ago I was working with a company…but [one day at] the factory I electrified myself on a machine, and I asked [the other workers], call someone to help me, get some attention. But…they left me, because I’m just a kid.

K: Do you have a doctor if you are sick? That you can visit?

J: (smiling) Do we have a doctor? No, we don’t have a doctor. We only have the hospital, and if we go to the hospital, they only say to you, here’s the prescription, if you have money buy it, and if not…then you can’t buy it. And if you’re sick, you just have to wait…there’s only death. Because in the hospitals, you won’t find anything, you won’t get anything.

K: Do you want children?

J: In the future, I think so. I think so because I think a child needs a household to live in, adequate food every day, and…I don’t think about getting married right now, I only think about working, helping out my mother, and if later, depending on my economic situation, then of course, it might happen. I don’t want to say I’ll be alone my entire life.

Face to Face Campaign Partner for Sweden, RFSU, works with Kattis Ahlstrom

UNFPA representatives recently visited Finland on a Program Awareness Mission, focusing on the UNFPA Program in Nicaragua and the Latin America/Caribbean region. The three seminars held in Helsinki included discussions on integrating issues such as HIV/AIDS and gender, ensuring quality of care for the poorest members of society, and continued support of UNFPA, its mandate and Finland’s commitments to development assistance.

UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, Face to Face Spokesperson for Finland and singer and songwriter Mikko Kuustonen attended the first seminar and gave a compelling speech about the people of Nicaragua, who he met on a field visit to the country in June, as well as the need for continued support of UNFPA and organizations like it. His speech directed the conversation on UNFPA in Nicaragua, which touched on the issues of donor coordination, the impact of HIV/AIDS on population growth, education, violence in society, poverty reduction and youth.

Antonie De Jong, a Senior Officer at UNFPA, reported that Mr. Kuustonen’s speech was incredibly moving and applauded his outstanding involvement as a Goodwill Ambassador.

Face to Face Campaign Partner in Finland, Vaestoliitto works with Mikko Kuustonen

Danish best-selling author, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and Face to Face Spokesperson for Denmark Hanne-Vibeke Holst is undertaking a Face to Face book project that will present the concerns of women in the South to readers in the North in a fresh and appealing way. She aims to move her readers to get involved and advocate for a better quality of life for millions of women in the developing world, one woman at a time. The product will be a commercial hardcover book.

Ms. Holst has already completed a profile of a street vendor in Hanoi, Vietnam, excerpts of which were published on the Face to Face website earlier this year. On her trip to Nicaragua in early November, she met and interviewed various women, among them a judge, a pregnant teenager and a girl living in one of the rural areas of the country.

The author plans on visiting three or four other countries in the developing world to complete project. She is working with Face to Face Campaign Partner in Denmark, the Danish Family Planning Association.

UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador, Face to Face Spokesperson for Belgium and well-known TV personality Goedele Liekens recently appeared on a new television show called “Telefacts”. The show is broadcast on the Flemish commercial network VTM and has an average of 600,000 viewers, or a 30% market share. Ms. Liekens’ report, “Forgotten Women”, details her visit to Ethiopia and the realities of fistula. On the night of her appearance, the program was number one in its time slot. She also introduced her report and spoke about her experiences in Ethiopia on the same network’s afternoon news update. The broadcaster, producers and Ms. Liekens and her team are all delighted with the final result and the ratings.

Ms. Liekens will now be creating an extended documentary to complement the short report featured on “Telefacts”.

Goedele Liekens works with Face to Face Campaign Partner CGSO Trefpunt.