Norway High School - Caduceus Yearbook (Norway, ME)

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28 THE CADUCEUS in lands where war has destroyed homes and the country itself. UNICEF helped seventeen million children in seventy- two different countries last year. Where WHO is for all people, UNICEF is just for children. It is financed by United Nations and voluntary contri- butions. United Nations Educational, Scientif- ic and Cultural Organization, better known as UNESCO, is an organization to forward peace in the different coun- tries by the co-operation of the nations in education, science, and culture. It works through UNESCO commissions in the member nations, which arrange for the nations to exchange teachers, students, and many kinds of craftsmen. Its headquarters are in Paris, France. UNESCO is going to set up five United Nations centers in different parts of the world to train teachers. UNESCO teams have gone to Bolivia, India, the Philippines, Thailand, where WHO, too, is working. It was organized in 1946, about the time UNICEF was organized. World Health Organization, called by many WHO, was founded in 1948, later than UNICEF and UNESCO. Its aim is to better health conditions around the World by a world wide attack on diseas- es. In 1949, April 7, was proclaimed World Health Day. WHO is working to destroy yaws, a tropical disease. in Haiti and Thailand. Before WHO stepped into Guatemala, Costa Rica, and other Central American countries, about three-fourths of their people were suffering from malaria. WHO has cut the :number of malaria cases in half by draining the swamps and spraying the houses with DDT. It has also been working to' destroy yellow fever and ty- phus in the samelands. WHO helps all people, young and old. Its headquart- ers are in Geneva, Switzerland. The Food and Agriculture Organiza- tion has headquarters in Rome, Italy. Its purpose is to expand food production and improve food distribution. FAO sends experts to advise the farmers on methods of farming in general, irriga- tion, and to treat cattle against disease. In Ethiopia, FAO is winning a fight against a disease that has killed one million -cattle a year. In Asia FAO is teaching farmers how to grow more and better crops, and it is also teaching the fishermen how to catch more fish. In India FAO is teaching the farmers how to get more crops with their old-fash- ioned machinery. These are the most widely known of the United Nations' Helping Hands. With these organizations working to help the peoples of unfortunate lands to live better, get the most crops from their land, be healthy and be better educated, this will be a better land in which to live-Thanks to the United Nations. -J. Emily Foster, '57 October 24 was the U. N.'s birthday. The U. N. came into existence on that date in 1945. It is located in New York and occupies three modern buildings in which representatives of sixty member nations work on problems that concern the entire world. The three buildings are: The Secretariat building is thirty-nine stories high. There four thousand secretaries, translators, messengers, clerks, and others keep records, trans- late speeches and prepare for United Nations meetings. The head of the Secretariat is Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden. He has a big job directing the office staff and keeping things going smoothly at the U. N. The second is the General Assembly

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THE CADUCEUS 27 cational, Scientific and Cultural Organ- ization, November 4, 1946, was organ- ized to promote collaboration among nations through education, science, and culture in order to further justice. 3. WHO-World Health Organiza- tion, was formed April 7, 1948, to aid attainment by all peoples to the highest possible level of health. Here are some of the problems the United Nations has faced. The Korean War began in June 1950. Less than twenty-four hours after North Korea invaded South Korea, the Security Council met in a special ses- sion calling for a cease fire within twen- ty-four hours. On June 27, it was obvi- ous that the North Koreans were going ahead with the invasion. American air and naval forces were ordered to help South Korea. Within the next twen- ty-four hours, forty-seven nations said that they would send aid. Thus the Korean War became a United Nations project. Now the lighting has stopped after three years, and the prisoner exchange is carried out. India and Pakistan engaged in limited warfare in 1948 to decide which coun- try should control the state of Kashmir. The United Nations obtained a truce early in 1949. It failed. Two more attempts were made and failed. Fin- ally India and Pakistan were persuaded to withdraw their troops from Kashmir and let the people of Kashmir decide which country they wanted to join. People who visit the United Nations in New York City, may think that this is the only place where it functions, but many of the organs hold meetings in other parts of the world. During the past year the United Na- tions gave milk to children in the Bel- gian Congo and opened a library in In- dia. It fought against malaria in Afri- ca and helped Arab refugees in Pales- tine. United Nations experts travel all over the world to help those who are poorly clothed and sick and hungry. -Marilyn Dudley, '57 The United Nations is a world organ- ization which hopes to bring peace to the world. It was organized in 1945 with Hfty member nations whose repre- sentatives helped to write its charter. At that time World War II was being fought-which the League of Nations had failed to stop. The charter mem- bers of this organization hoped to write a charter which would guide the nations to lasting world peace. The United Na- tions is now eight years old and has made much progress in helping coun- tries who have been partially or totally destroyed by war. Its many special- ized agencies and organizations such as UNICEF and UNESCO have done much in the progress of the United Nations. In the United Nations the main parts are the International Court of Justice, the General Assembly, and the Security Council. There are three other main branches in the United Nations. They are the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat and the Trusteeship Council. These all branch from the General Assembly. From the Econom- ic and Social Council, the General As- sembly, and the Secretariat come UNICEF. This is the United Nationa Interna- tional Children's Emergency Fund, one of the most important of the United Nation's specialized agencies. It, in co- operation with WHO, has examined millions of children for tuberculosis and is fighting the disease by giving them shots. It was organized in 1946 to help feed, clothe, and doctor needy children

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THE CADUCEUS 29 Building. The front of the building is made of glass and marble. Atop its sloping roof is a copper-covered dome. It has seven bronze doors which Canada gave to the U. N. In the lobby is an information desk and book store. Stairways and elevators lead to the huge auditorium where the General Assembly holds its meetings. The hall is seventy-five feet high. The walls have window-like openings. In this room are newspapermen, translators and radio, and T. V. announcers. The auditorium has six hundred thirty-six seats for the delegates and places for eight hundred visitors. Each seat is equipped with a tiny switch- board, and a set of earphones. On the switchboard are tive buttons, one for each of the five languages spoken in the United Nations. The General Assem- bly needs a big room for its meetings. It is the largest of the U. N. divisions. Each of the sixty Nations belonging to the U. N. may send five representatives to the assembly, but the five representa- tives together may cast only one vote. The third building is the Conference Building. With three divisions-the Security Council, the Trusteeship Coun- cil, and the Social and Economic Coun- cil. The building has a garage for 1,- 500 cars, a fire-fighting squad, a print shop, a cafeteria, and a post oflice. The main part of the building is made up of three big rooms-one for each of the councils. The Security Council meets almost every day. Its big job is to keep world peace. Eleven nations belong to the Council. Nationalist China, France, Russia, Britain, and the United States are the permanent members. Six oth- er Nations are elected by the General Assembly to serve for two-year, terms. Present two-year members are Chile, Greece, Pakistan, Columbia, Denmark, and Lebanon. Turkey, Brazil, and -New Zealand took theiplaceof Chile, Greece, and Pakistan this month. Though 'it is small, it is the most powerful groupf- The Trusteeship Council meets twice a year in January and June, to help nations that cannot exist independently. Other nations take a weak country in trusteeship until it can stand on its own feet again. The Economic and Social Council has are elected by and serve for eighteen members who the General Assembly , three-year terms. They workdfor high- and education er standards of living around the world. ' Henry Cabot Lodge, the chief United States delegate, represents our nation in several branches of the U. N. Besides Lodge, nine other people are serving from the .United States in the General Assembly. They' are: Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, Governor James Byrnes, Representatives Frances Bolton, James Richard, Archibald Ca- rey, James Zellerback, Henry Ford, Dr. Charles Mayo, and Mrs. Oswald Lord. More women than ever before are attending this year's U. N. General As- sembly session. The present assembly has thirteen member delegates and thirteen alternates. India's Madame Pandit, the president of the Assembly, is the best known. Another of the women leaders is Mad- ame Paul Bastid of France, head of one of the U. N .'s courts. The largest number of . women come from Cuba, which has sent three. Most of the women have served at U. N. meetings before. Several are lawmakers in their own countries and hold government positions. ' ' -Betty Eaton, '57