UNICEF People

“UNICEF saved my life” – an early beneficiary tells her story

© Photographer unknown/Collection of Joanna Stark

Prior to Joanna’s adoption this photo was taken for her then prospective parents to send to their families for approval. Support for her adoption was unanimous.

Joanna Maria Stark as told to Stacy Lu

In December of 1946 the UN General Assembly created the United Nations International Childrens' Emergency Fund – now UNICEF – for children in countries devastated by World War Two. Much of the aid included food and clothing for children in displaced persons camps. Help found its way to a small girl, stranded between families and countries. This is her story.

My first year of life was spent in a displaced persons camp in post-war Germany where food and supplies were short. 

I had been born during the summer of 1946 in Germany to a young, unmarried Dutch artist. A couple of years before she had been rounded up, along with other women from the Netherlands, and brought to Germany to "entertain" officers in the Third Reich. I was conceived a few months after the end of the Second World War. I don’t know who my father was.

My biological mother could not bring herself to return to her family with an illegitimate child. She decided to stay in Germany until she could figure out what do. She relinquished her infant to a displaced persons’ camp and worked as a maid for a German family, buying food and clothing for her baby when she could. 

Much needed assistance

Some months later UNICEF workers came to the camp with much needed food, medical supplies and milk for the children. The infant mortality rate was very high, and there is no doubt that UNICEF saved many lives. However, the lack of proper nutrition and health care before UNICEF arrived was most likely the cause of my permanent hearing damage.

I have been told that a UNICEF worker named Ingrid was particularly kind to me. When she was in the area she made sure I was clean and fed. She even took me for strolls in a nearby park. 

Chester L. Hunt, a chaplain in the United States (US) Army, and his wife, Maxine, were stationed in Germany immediately after the war. A German family who befriended the Hunts knew they wanted to adopt a baby. The family’s conversations were overheard by their maid -- my mother. She came forward and confessed that she had a baby girl, and would consider giving up the child for adoption.

My adoptive parents often told me about the first time they saw me. I was alone, they said, sitting in a makeshift crib in a dark corner, eating lint that that had gathered there. They said I was small but seemed healthy and loved being held.

All parties agreed to the adoption and papers were signed. However, obtaining administrative action in war-torn Germany was horribly confusing. My parents, anxious to have the adoption finalized, boarded a train with me hidden in a basket and headed for the Austrian boarder. They recounted two harrowing instances when the basket was almost discovered by German conductors. I was protected by fellow travellers who were probably caught up in the plight of adoring parents and the child who needed their love. I became a US citizen in 1952.

© Photographer unknown/Collection of Joanna Stark

Joanna today with her husband Ron and daughter Raya.

Trick or Treating

My parents encouraged me to ‘Trick or Treat for UNICEF’ when I was old enough and I did so with great enthusiasm. My parents’ compassion for others, which they instilled in my sister and I, and my knowledge of my own link to UNICEF gave me a sense of purpose and gratitude even during my earliest years.

I went to college, worked for the Peace Corps in Northern Nigeria, West Africa. I did everything from clerical work to teaching English  and healthcare classes. Many aid organizations worked in cooperation to provide education and healthcare.  This is how I once again encountered UNICEF, as Peace Corps workers were sometimes asked to help distribute UNICEF supplies and it was a joy to do so.  

I married and eventually moved to south Texas, where I adopted a baby girl of my own. (My own daughter also was a UNICEF Trick or Treater who seemed to understand the importance of the event as well.)

While living Texas my friends and family often traveled to Reynosa, Mexico which was only 10 miles away. We learned of very young girls who where forced into prostitution. La Casita was a safe house for girls that we established and I ran for nearly 10 years. We provided housing, medical care, schooling and therapy. It was supported by private donations and organizations such as the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers groups. The Nigeria group was particularly helpful.

Helping those in need

It became increasingly dangerous to maintain the house and we decided to place the girls in traditional orphanages in the spring of 2001. Here again I turned to UNICEF. I could not believe that such young children could be forced to live this way. One night, in despair,  I logged on to the UNICEF website and and read statistics that shocked me -- 2 million children are believed to be exploited through prostitution and pornography -- but strangely also comforted me, because I realized that someone else knew about the horrors these children face.

Today I work part-time as a youth consultant for the Braille Institute and run a non-profit environmental education organization.

My Peace Corps experience and my work in Mexico has given me insight into the problems that children continue to face for survival. I have seen children dying. I have seen unforgivable abuse. I have seen those who could help turn away.

The numbers are overwhelming but UNICEF, which has always had the image of deep concern, positive action, effective education and ongoing stability as an organization, is one of the great hopes humanity holds. 

UNICEF saved my life and hundreds of thousands of others.