He’s been shot at it in Angola and slept in a bathtub in Libya to avoid gunfire whizzing past his motel.
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His son was attacked by a dog in Zimbabwe and his daughter contracted malaria.
James Elder has had some close calls in his time in a role that has taken him to Africa and Europe.
The son of Goulburn couple Don and Maxine Elder is UNICEF’s regional chief of communication for eastern and southern Africa. He’s home on a brief visit before returning to Nairobi with his wife and young family.
UNICEF is the United Nations Children’s Fund. The organisation transforms the lives of children in poverty caused by conflict, drought and other circumstances.
Mr Elder’s role involves telling the personal stories of children across 21 African countries, training heads of communication in each country, advocating programs to government and acting as a spokesman out in the field.
It’s a big leap from 15 years ago. Back then he was a freelance journalist working in Sydney and married with a six-month-old daughter.
“I was aware even in my early 30s that there had to be more to it,” he said.
“When you have a child you have a sense of the importance of kids and you do anything you can for children, not just your own. (The role) felt so right,” he said.
Mr Elder admits he didn’t know what UNICEF stood for but once he and wife Nicola had done their research, the challenge was hard to resist. Both had travelled extensively but neither had been to Africa.
“ We jumped on some websites hoping for sunsets and safaris but found out it was more about guns and malaria,” he said.
But it didn’t deter them and a sense of adventure. They arrived in Angola in December, 2002 at the end of a 27-year civil war that had ravaged the country.
“(My job) was to get the story of kids out to the broader media which then influenced donors because Angola, as a Portuguese colony, was completely off the radar,” Mr Elder said.
“It was to tell a story that put kids front and centre in terms of the end of a 27-year war and to ask whether there was any peace dividend.”
Nicola, a former film producer in Australia, also relished the challenge, doing videos and short films in the developing world, highlighting violence against children. One of her works went to the Caan Film Festival.
The position has also him to Zimbabwe (2005 – 2008), Sri Lanka (2008 – 2009), Kathmandu (2009) and Florence (2010 – 2013), where he worked at UNICEF’s International Research Centre. Mr Elder has been based in Nairobi for the past four years.
Amid the horror and sadness of extreme poverty, he also sees hope. It was apparent in the intelligent 15-year-old girl from South Sudan who saw her village destroyed, her mother raped and uncle killed. She fled on foot for four days carrying the bare essentials but managed to restart her life in Uganda, volunteering her time at an early childhood centre.
“I could be in Somalia where a woman has walked for seven days and lost a child,” Mr Elder said.
“She’s slightly broken but her entire focus is on getting care for her other kid. When people are that resolute to keep pushing and pushing, then the very least we can do is create that opportunity for them.”
When he arrived in Zimbabwe, the country was going through a financial crisis. The well-educated middle class was confronted with the realisation that their children wouldn’t have the same educational opportunities.
It was here that his son, Sebastian was attacked by a dog and had to be taken to hospital emergency. The country’s health system was top notch but patients had to pay upfront for treatment. In his son’s case it was $140 million ($20) due to hyper-inflation.
“I had to drive around and ask to borrow from six friends,” Mr Elder said.
In Sri Lanka the family arrived at the height of the war. Mr Elder witnessed “grave violations” against children. He said he was expelled from the country after speaking up about the conflict’s impact on youngsters
“It was shown the government was using heavy weapons against civilians and thousands died….UNICEF was very supportive of me because I was working within their mandate but it was probably the most difficult time personally and professionally,” Mr Elder said.
“I had to be so close to the horrors and violations against children. My role was to stop or slow the onslaught, so I found it extremely confronting.”
Despite witnessing the effects of such atrocities, he describes this close access to people as “the greatest privilege.”
Their stories are influential in securing donations for UNICEF. But direct advocacy to governments, convincing them of the need to invest in long-term programs such as health and nutrition, or to demobilise child soldiers, also plays a vital role.
“The increasing thing we’re aware of is you can’t just keep fixing a problem,” Mr Elder said.
“If you’re looking at a nutrition or migration crisis you need to keep ensuring people spend money to ensure education system remains strong so the population has opportunities.”
Though at times exhausted by the task’s enormity, he says UNICEF’s record in getting “boots on the ground”, supplying food, water and other essentials, can quickly can make an enormous difference.
“It’s a thoroughly enjoyable role to play because on a good day I’m really aware we made a positive difference and it’s fabulous, even in awful circumstances. On a bad day you’re very much aware of what wasn’t done,” Mr Elder said.
“...(But) when I see that individual family and how stoic and relentless they are to keep going and provide the basics for their kids... it does give me optimism.”
