18SOPHIA MAGAZINE Vol. 18The Smiles of Children Eating School MealsTsumura spent 15 of his 26-year career in Africa. After assisting with emergency aid in Kenya, he served as a Program Officer in the Central African Republic, and then worked in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia.Engage Only in Work You Can Be Proud ofConflicts and natural disasters continue globally, and people con-tinue to suffer from hunger. WFP’s role is significant, but it can-not provide unlimited support facing funding shortfalls given that WFP entirely depends on voluntary contributions from its do-nors. Therefore, difficult choices have to be made sometimes.negotiate for HQ support to field operations.”“As a Program Officer, I was responsible for the over-all food assistance operation, including planning, im-plementation and monitoring, as well as coordina-tion with NGOs and local government and donor countries. Since our office in the Central African Republic was small, I also handled much more than was handled at larger offices, where certain opera-tions would have been done by other officers. Though the work was challenging, it was a valuable experience in my early career that let me understand how our field offices operate.”Tsumura served as Deputy Country Director in Mauritania and Sierra Leone, and as Representative and Country Director in WFP The Gambia, leading teams and making crucial decisions.“The Country Director has ultimate responsibility, and this makes the role very rewarding. While some decisions were not easy, I provided space for open dialogue and understanding among staff. As a leader, managing people effectively is crucial, and I strived to be as humane as possible.”In The Gambia, a disaster-prone country with frequent floods and droughts, Tsumura also served as the lead in emergency pre-paredness and response among the UN agencies, a role typi-cally managed by OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs). He had the honor of working with the Vice Presidents of The Gambia, who publicly commended him for his work supervising the national emergency management. In addition to emergency relief and disaster response, WFP also supported the national school feeding program in The Gambia. “I felt immense pride as a WFP member at that time. It brought me incredible joy to see the children enjoying their school meals after the COVID-19 lockdown was lifted. Their smiles always re-minded me of the core purpose of our work.”“We need to show scientific evidence to assess the needs and tar-get the most vulnerable, and then devise efficient distribution systems, and deliver appropriate assistance as quickly as possible, without waste or oversupply, to those truly in need, leaving no one behind. Our operations in the field often face difficulties and challenges due to local conflicts and political situations, but these should not be excuses for inaction. We should never engage in work we cannot be proud of. No matter the challenges, it is vital to remember our mission to serve people and society. We face local challenges dynamically and with flexibility, focusing on pragmatic realities rather than seeking perfection to deliver our assistance.”Last July, Tsumura became Director of the Japan Relations Office. He aims to raise awareness of global food issues and WFP’s ac-tivities, especially among young people.“Currently, around 750 million people worldwide suffer from hunger, with numbers increasing in the Middle East and Africa. WFP is working to eliminate hunger, but achieving this is a com-plex endeavor. Hunger happens wherever there is human conflict. Localized, acute hunger may never be eliminated. However, I am very confident we can eradicate chronic hunger where entire pop-ulations struggle daily for food. Many countries have now grap-pled with and overcome hunger.”Tsumura emphasizes that the issue is not one only of distant lands.“The world is interconnected. Conflicts and climate change in one country impact Japan. If Africa, with its vast lands, could pro-duce crops and become a food export zone, for example, global food dynamics would change, bringing benefit to Japan as well. Eradicating hunger is the first step. I want to create opportunities for Japanese people, especially the younger generation, to under-stand and discuss these issues as their own.”
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