MW

by Margaret Williams

On joining UNICEF on 8 August 1981, my first assignment was with the Executive Director, Mr. James P. Grant, working with his Assistant, Patricia. Prior to UNICEF, I had worked at the Regional Bureau for Africa in UNDP. In August 1982, I was appointed Secretary to the Chief, Africa Section to work with Mr. Dickson Nkembo. In 1983, Mr. Nkembo was reassigned to a field office, and Mr. Fouad M. Kronfol became Chief, Africa Section.

There is an old saying which comes to mind every time I remember Africa Section and Fouad Kronfol during that period 1983 to 1988:

“The tone of an office is set by the length of the shadow cast by the man at the top”.


Not only did Fouad cast a long shadow, it was equally wide and encompassed the entire Africa Section. I consider it a wonderful blessing to have had him as my immediate supervisor. His management style/skills made working for him a joy not a chore. When he started at Africa Section in August 1983, I remembered that Mr. James P. Grant brought his Assistant, Patricia, with him to UNICEF from their previous position. Feeling that Mr. Kronfol was “inheriting me”, on his second day in office I said to him:“Sir, if there is someone with whom you have worked, and who you would like to bring to work for you, all I ask is that you would please help me get another position in the Organization.” His response was: “Let us give it a try for three months.” It turned out that we worked together for fourteen years in Africa Section, the Bamako Initiative, and the Division of Personnel .

As I had worked in a “British” environment, the tradition, at the workplace, was to address everyone by a title - Mr. or Sir, Mrs. or Madam, Miss. It was, therefore, very difficult for me to address any of the Supervisors in Africa Section by their first name, particularly, the Chief, my immediate Supervisor. I struggled with that for weeks, and still could not bring myself to call him “Fouad”. One day he said:  “If you do not stop to call me Mr. Kronfol, I will start calling you Mrs. Williams". I was shocked and immediately responded: “You cannot do that”. I work for you – you are “Mr. Kronfol”. His response was: “Okay! Let us compromise. You call me “FK”, and I will call you “MW”. I changed the “MW” to lower case “mw” out of respect for him.To this day, whenever we communicate with each other, he is “FK” and I am “mw”. I do not think he ever noticed the distinction I made using lower case letters for myself.

At that time, the plight of mothers and children in Africa was in focus and UNICEF was mandated to bring about change to that continent. Africa Section grew in size. The new staff joined in the commonality of purpose articulated by our “Chief”.

The staff. at that time, consisted of:
  • Isaac Gomez was assisted by Mirielle (Mimi) Desmangles.
  • Simon Spivac was assisted by Yves-Marie Zamor.
  • George Kassis was assisted by Kassech Alley.
  • James Mohan was assisted by Marina Kmentt.
  • Boris Beliak was assisted by Esther Robertson.
  • Shahida Azfar was assisted by Renee Kohn.
It was then that “FK” decided to implement the “Open Space” configuration for the Section. To the General Service staff, it did not matter as we were used to sitting in an “open space” - the corridor - and we learned to shut out all extraneous distractions. The “Open Space” took some getting used to by some of the International Professional staff but it broke down barriers, encouraged congeniality, and did not, in any way, affect productivity. Lasting friendships were made ..

“FK’s” quiet confidence permeated the entire Section. He gave us assignments, and we worked to achieve our highest potential - because we knew that was what he expected from us - and we delivered.We worked as a well-oiled machine toward well-defined goals. When there was a particular task , everyone assisted to ensure its success. It was team work at its best. It was not my work or your work – it was the Section’s work. We did not only make him proud, we also made ourselves proud. He gave us the space and the opportunity to grow and excel.

I made many lasting friendships from working in the Africa Section. There are others who impacted my life, and I am grateful that our paths crossed including Simone Malak, Veronica Luard, Joan LaSalle, Valerie Royal, Brenda Paul, Janet DeGrasse,.

My special thanks go to Shahida Azfar, the only woman in Africa Section at the International Professional Level at the inception of the “Open Space” configuration. She was gracious, sophisticated and generous. Despite her many achievements, she remained true to herself. In the Africa Section, many of her colleagues called her “Princess Shahida”. To me, she was one of the kindest and humblest persons I have had the privilege of working with. I will always remember her with great respect.

One of the ways “FK” kept us together was through frequent lunches at close by restaurants. We all went together, and each Supervisor paid for his/her Secretary’s meal – that was a real treat !!

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