Berkley Center

Background: Jorge Vivanco has wide experience in humanitarian affairs and in business, in Mexico and the Americas. He has been a co-organizer of the Ahimsa Forum that brings together health professionals from the public and private sectors and religious communities. This exchange reflects his discussion with Wilma Mui (WFDD) during the June 2017 Ahimsa Forum in Annecy, France. The exchange was amplified and expanded in exchanges with Katherine Marshall in June, 2020. The focus is on his remarkably diverse career and on what took him into the organizations that work with the poorest communities in Mexico and globally. His focus today is strongly on core values and on preparing for the remarkable changes that are taking place in the world.

“So we have to prepare for the future. But not in terms of technology. We have to prepare in terms of values, in terms of human qualities. We have to prepare in terms of experience, of analysis of people, because sometimes, I believe this new generations just lives within their gadgets”.

To start with the extraordinary events that are happening now, what is your sense of what is happening in Mexico but also along its borders? This was a dramatic crisis where psychic energy and attention were focused, but it has almost vanished from the news.

To understand how the COVID-19 outbreak, that we have suffered since March, affects us in Mexico, we have to see the whole picture. Mexico is a country affected by large, continuing, dynamic movements of people.. At least 300,000-400,000 people are moving at any time from Central America to Mexico, most of them trying to reach the US to get a job. Beside these people seeking jobs, there are 400,000 to a million people (it varies a lot by year), who for a century have also been moving and looking to the US for jobs but also inspired by the American dream. So Mexico has several hundred thousand people moving all the time, mostly northwards.

When the COVID-19 outbreak began in March, the Mexican authorities acted to try to stop that migration from the southern border and along the northern border, this because of some agreements they had reached with the Trump administration. They have deployed around 5,000 people from the National Guard along the southern border and 15,000 on the northern border. This of course has curtailed migration to those destinations and it has decreased to at least to one third of the normal numbers. So although migrants are still coming into Mexico and many are still entering the US, the movement of people has been sharply reduced. This does reduce the risks for the COVID19 outbreak, but it has many other effects.

What is happening in the borders? Along both borders there are two big stories in what is happening. One is that the more official channels are supporting people, through official hospitals and other public services. The other is what happens alongside that, through the NGOs, World Vision, WHO, and many other organizations, including many churches. They are supporting all these people, trying to supply the goods and resources needed to avoid and treat the outbreak. What these NGOs have been doing is an amazing effort. I talked recently with the people responsible in Tapachula, near the southern border, and in Tijuana, the most important border crossing with the US. The numbers they gave me are amazing. They are operating 40 or 50 shelters along both borders. They have almost no cases of COVID and all cases that have been discovered are under control. People have enough supplies.

So where is the tragedy? The tragedy is all those thousands of people who do not reach these shelters and that are somewhere, trying to survive, waiting for ways that they can find to cross the border easily and reach the territory of the United States. Nobody knows the fate of these thousands of people because they are not in the shelters and if they cross borders they don't have papers. Nobody knows the numbers and their welfare. But we could be talking about hundreds of thousands of people who are just hidden somewhere, waiting for the outbreak to decrease.

Thus, we are fairly optimistic about COVID cases among the known communities and about the mobilization efforts, but we are concerned about all the other people as we don't know where are they and their situation in regard to COVID.

Is the support organized, or is it generally spontaneous?

Fortunately, from about four to five years ago, there are very good coordination mechanisms among all these organizations. I would say UNHCR [ACNUR in Spanish] is playing strong and positive roles here in Mexico, along with WHO, World Vision, UNICEF, and many religious organizations. They have a board (the ‘International Protection Board’), where they meet regularly, and, from the very start, they have tried to ensure that there is no duplication of action. When I was in World Vision working on such programs we realized that poor coordination was a real problem. In some areas, for instance, World Vision had a program monitoring the weight of newborns. One day we realized that some newborns had been weighed and monitored by five different organizations. We agreed that this was crazy, so we organized a mechanism, trying to identify where each organization was strong, and where tasks could be divided among us. We agreed to split the job. Of course, this made us more efficient. So, when the outbreak came, we already had a coordinating mechanism in place, both for the US border and for the Guatemala border. They meet regularly now, of course very often, and they report on numbers of requests for help. They share resources and knowledge. They also share people. This has been working astonishingly well.

What are your thoughts on the current crisis and paths forward?

Humankind is indeed living through an unforgettable season. We mourn and grieve for the suffering that so many are experiencing. But we also must take advantage of the experience. Humankind, I believe, has to reset their hard disk. We have to come to an analysis of the basics, and to reconsider the potential of collaboration and the potential for teamwork. I know that these two subjects are used constantly, everywhere: teamwork and collaboration. But believe me, we have seen results that show the enormous potential that humankind has if we really work together.

Let me give you an example of something I learned about just a few months ago, and in highlighting it I want to underline that the problem is not necessarily always money.

I visit a school on the Mexican border with the US, in Tijuana, a school with probably 1000 students and very low levels of educational achievement – let’s say on a scale of one to ten, they were about five. They were concerned and looked for ways to improve. They collaborated with some schools that World Vision was working with in El Salvador. In El Salvador, there was an experiment in a group of schools. In each group of 50 students, they took the five with the highest marks and the five with the lowest and assigned the first group to work with the second. They taught the first group of five mentors how to handle things, and then arranged for each to meet with a student from the lowest group every day, for one hour before they the end of the school day. They met in a classroom that kept them isolated. Then each one of the mentors helped the students to understand what they had not understood during the day. Just like that: simple, no money needed. And after six months the average scores of the schools increased by 25 percent, with no money invested, just collaboration.

We have the resources right in front of our eyes. But we need to learn from these experiences to work together, to collaborate. The joint efforts of groups of faith inspired organizations with WHO, UNICEF, and others have achieved astonishing results, just with collaboration. We need to do that. We need to reset, and we need to come back to basics, to achieve what we can and must do.

The world needs now to focus on core values. We all have to review our own values, in our homes, in our jobs, in our ministries. If we don't do it now, we will never do it.

You have had a varied and demanding career. Can you tell us about your path?

I was born and raised in Mexico City, although even when I was young became a compulsive traveler. My career has combined different sectors, public and private. After studying at the national university in Mexico to become an industrial engineer, I worked in heavy industry for many years, manufacturing tractors, trucks, machinery, and cars. I was involved in the area of planning, designing, and production control. After about ten years, I moved to work in Mexico’s central government, as a bureaucrat, in budgeting control. After some years I returned to my original career, planning and control of machinery production.

I then took a senior position with Mexico’s Social Security administration and spent five years there. This is a huge organization in Mexico, covering over 50 million people. I was in charge of developing relationships with suppliers to support all the institution’s needs. This was probably the most gratifying job I ever had.

I next moved to the pharmaceutical sector. I was managing director of a group that integrated four corporations. After a year, and with sufficient funds, I decided to become independent and founded my own company. It was a distribution company representing different corporations in the diagnostic field. When I was working on Social Security, I had realized that this was a weak field that very few companies were serving. I ran that company for 20 years. BioMerieux, a transnational company based in France, proposed that we form a joint venture to set up a subsidiary in Mexico. I agreed and took on leadership of both companies. I was with BioMerieux for 15 years. I then closed the original company and focused entirely on BioMerieux. In 2008, I retired from these corporations and decided to do something new with my life.

In 2004, I was invited to be part of the board of World Vision, and I accepted immediately. I was a board member for a year, then served as vice president, and then as president of the board. That was in 2009-2010. I chaired the board for six years. In 2016, I reached the time limit that the government’s rules allow, and I left World Vision. I was also a board member of Vision Fund, which is linked as a sister organization of World Vision. I had been working with them since 2008, and in 2016 I became president of that board as well. In parallel I have participated in several smaller, less fancy organizations.

I have been a member of different boards of Christian churches. I work for at least three Christian churches in Mexico, from different denominations, like Anglicans, Presbyterians, or Charismatic.

What took you from your private sector career to humanitarian organizations and ones that have a faith inspiration?

An important milestone in my life came when I was 40 years old. I got involved working in the slums in Mexico.

I was reading the newspaper one night, and there was an eight column headline with the question: “Who will give him back his wings?” I wondered what that meant so I read the report. It a story about a plumber who went to work by bicycle. One day, a lady hit him hard with her car. He suffered very severe injuries, with his spine broken in two pieces, and was left a quadriplegic, with no possible solution. He had six children, and lost his wife, his job, his house, everything. He was living in one of the poorest slums in Mexico City in a tiny shack that was three square meters, made of cardboard. People would pass by and throw him food they could not use, just as you would feed an animal. A young journalist, who is now very famous in Mexico, interviewed him and wrote the article that I read. In the published article, she used the term ‘Wings’ because Jesus’ nickname was ‘The Eagle’. When I read the article, I decided that I was the one, and the next day I went to his shack and took responsibility for The Eagle and his six kids until I was sure that they were prepared to face life. Two years ago, the oldest of the sons, Emilio, called to tell me that his father had passed away. This experience helped me to know what my role in life was to be. Emilio and his five brothers and sisters have overcome the challenges that this accident presented to them so suddenly.

That is why, later on, I joined World Vision and Vision Fund. I became involved in many activities that I call compassionate love. I believe this is really my role. All the other things I do are just to prepare me for this, which is the key. Of course, I take care of my family. I take care of my wife and my daughters, but I believe I have a calling that takes me to a broader service.

I began very young. When I was 12 years old, I volunteered in a psychiatric hospital and I continued with similar efforts, in hospitals and orphanages. I am not sure why, but I was always convinced that this was my calling. That’s why I’m with Ahimsa, because Ahimsa is also working towards this goal, though with a large, international scope, looking to major institutions that can have an impact on millions of people. That’s why I was so interested. I’m not getting dirt on my hands in Ahimsa, but I know that my job benefits people, perhaps not now, more likely in five or ten or twenty years. That’s why I’m involved here.

You have served on the boards of several different churches; what is your own faith background?

It’s a complex question. I believe in God; I believe in Jesus. But I believe that the doctrine that more aptly fits to my thoughts is the Jewish Tradition, the Torah. So, I’m Christian, formally, but I really believe that the people who are following more closely the spirit of the Bible are the Jews, and I identify more with them. It is somewhat strange, I realize. Some might call me a Messianic Christian, another group where I fit quite well. I completely agree with what the Bible says, I am very clear on that. But I believe, ultimately, that everyone has their individual approach to religious beliefs and practice.

In your role on the board of World Vision, how did you see the work that they did in the community? What were your most important contributions?

World Vision works on many, many projects. The first initiative we took while I was on the board was an effort to have a clear view of how the organization itself worked. There was no system to deal with strategic decisions, so we implemented a balanced score system. World Vision globally has nothing comparable.

In the past, the board used to make decisions related to operations. That’s not something I thought it should do. The board should focus on the strategic decisions. That’s why we picked the balanced scorecard system, to ensure that the board would be involved only in strategic decisions, leaving all operational decisions to the managing director. This was very difficult, and it took us three years. I believe most corporations don’t split these functions well. There’s a line in the water and you don’t know clearly what the respective responsibilities of the board and the managing director are. If this is not clear, it affects your operations. Therefore, that was the first thing we did when I was at World Vision.

Second, we changed our way of fundraising and we increased our focus on it in Mexico. Fundraising in Mexico doubled or tripled in those years and it has continued to grow. In four or five years, World Vision Mexico will, I believe, be independent in terms of resources. This reflects significant support from Mexico’s private companies.

And third, we clarified the Christian identify of some programs for our employees. What we wanted was for people to be aware of Christian principles while applying their daily jobs.

What percentage of the employees were Christian?

Supposedly everyone: about 300 people, with in addition about 600 volunteers.

Why did you think it was important to reinforce Christian values?

Somebody asked me whether it was true that if you wanted to work for World Vision, they asked you if you are a Christian. If you aren’t a Christian, you cannot work in World Vision. Is this discrimination? My answer is that because we work guided by these values, you cannot work with the organization if you do not believe in them. This is not discrimination.

In Senegal, where the population is 94 percent Muslim, World Vision does have Muslim employees, and because there are so many shared values, there is no conflict. However, when you are applying to work with World Vision, they ask you about your faith and you have to check a box.

Do you know about the tragedy we had in Pakistan? The killed almost everyone in the office. I was in World Vision as the president when this happened. This can be a risk and a high cost.

Where do you see the future of World Vision, Vision Fund, and other NGOs in social entrepreneurship?

In any process, let’s say for animals, there is a sort of circle. Mammals come at the end. The pig eats everything that others don’t eat. In the ocean, the clams and the lobsters eat all the garbage, and they close the circle. That keeps a balance in the system. In our economic system, companies and governments create wealth: they provide services, and they do things. But they are very imperfect, very far from perfection. The products they produce need to be fixed by organizations like World Vision and Vision Fund. They try to complete the circle. We don’t succeed 100 percent, but that’s the essential system as I see it. Otherwise, we wouldn’t need to have World Vision or Vision Fund.

I recommend a book, a very old one: The Republic, by Plato. He helps us to understand what the role of government is, the role of the judicial system, and the role of people. If we all followed this conception of different roles, we wouldn’t need government, we wouldn’t need policy, believe me. We at World Vision are doing what we do because the system, our economic and social systems, are so imperfect that you have to create many systems around them to fix all these problems.

At this stage in your career, with the various organizations that you’re involved with, what are your dreams or objectives? What are your current areas of focus?

In some ways I am at the stage of life harvesting, or, to put it another way, I am teaching. In still another way I’m resting. And in another way, I’m preparing for a landing. Thus at present I don’t have large new initiatives. However, in practice I have many different things I am involved in. When I count, I realize that I have 12 different activities. I didn’t mention that I also preach in churches and give Bible courses. It would be difficult for me to start something completely new.

Eleven years ago, when I retired, I thought, “What am I going to do with my life? What is the area of the economy I know least?” I said, “Food.” I don’t know anything about it. I was aware of the car industry, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, construction, many things. But I knew nothing about food. So, I founded a food company. I now have my own food company, which is starting to grow and will probably explode in the years ahead. So, I can’t be at a standstill! My wife says I have no ability to say no.

Looking at Ahimsa, have you been involved from the very beginning?

Yes, I started to talk about Ahimsa with Jean-François [de Lavison] many years ago, twenty years ago. He was my boss at BioMerieux when we became partners in 1996. I’ve known Ahimsa from its earliest roots.

How do you see the main goals, including those that link global health and religion?

Ahimsa will be moving to a maturation stage. I believe it is now in an embryonic stage. The goals for fifty years for now are not clear. An organization like this needs a scheme, a vision. What do we want to have in 50 years? What resources do we need? What partners do we need? And what is the strategy to move it forward? You can fix and adjust that when you start to be mature as an organization. Now, at this embryonic stage, we depend on Jean-François’ ability to gather people and to interact with them. We are starting to harvest things and to see results, but still there is still movement, something pulling in different directions. But I believe that we are on the path that we have to follow to get somewhere truly significant. It’s not easy to create an organization that depends 100 percent on experience that is in the minds of people. This is our only asset, and it is not simple.

We have focused a lot on the youth population. How do you see the youth engagement in Mexico, and also on the global scale?

The sole concern of people my age must be to prepare the youth. I, like anyone my age, am astonished at the capabilities the new generation has. And believe me, I’m a gadget man, I’m a technology man, I’ve used computers since I was in school. But I am astonished at what we are seeing every day. What will the world be like in the next thirty or forty years? I cannot imagine. It all seems so crazy.

So we have to prepare, but not in terms of technology. We have to prepare in terms of values, in terms of human qualities. We have to prepare in terms of experience, of analysis of people. Sometimes, I believe, new generations just live within their gadgets. Yet there’s an outside world. We have to prepare for how we live, to have a good balance in life.

Sometimes it seems that people believe they experience the world through their gadgets, but they’re really not experiencing anything at all.

Many teenagers live in a virtual world. Believe me, they live in a virtual world. And they confuse the two. Because they have access to everything, to so much, they feel and believe that they are experiencing things in the real world, but they’re doing it passively, through their gadgets. But one day, they may have a big, big disappointment, so we have to be prepared for that.

What recommendations do you have for the youth of today?

Learn from old people. Listen, read. People are truly not ready to do that. I took a flight from Mexico to Geneva, a big jumbo. Among the people waiting to board, guess how many people were reading a book? One. Few people read now. Some might have been reading a table, but only one in three hundred was reading a paper book. Two hundred were on Gmail, the Internet, Facebook, Instagram. Where is this going to take us? How does this help you to build character? I don’t know. I have a teacher who said the world seems to be about collecting toys. This is dangerous. Technology is great, but the risks are greater.

The world is going to suffer a dramatic crisis of unemployment in the years ahead. Everything is going to be done by robots, automatically; people will not have jobs. Wealth is going to be controlled by very few, and the world is at risk of having a world revolution driven by social problem and a lack of jobs, lack of opportunity, and lack of hope. This is what I see in the next generation, my grandchildren’s generation. My daughters, they will survive, but my grandchildren, they will face this. This is my mission and I’m not very optimistic about the path.

How can we address the unemployment crisis, before it gets too widespread?

We have to come back to basics. Values, values, values. What are you looking for in life? Happiness. What is happiness for you? For me, happiness is being here, sitting with you. This is happiness for me. For some people, happiness is something completely different: being drunk, dancing, being with Nintendo, Xbox. If you could do a poll, trying to define happiness for people, you would be surprised what happiness means. I fear it would show the loss of values.

Japan, one of the countries with the best social structure, with the highest level of income, is not in the top of the happiness scale; it’s low. And Mexico is one of the top countries for happiness.

Money helps, but the problem is values. The Scandinavian countries in general, have a good balance of values, income, and beyond. But everything is relative. Contentment is the key. Today’s world is too much driven by greed. Not by sex. Not by pride. By greed. This is what drives the world today. This is terrible.

As Mother Theresa said, go to your home and love your loved ones, that simple. Love your people, that’s all. No one is going to fix it for you. We need to do what is before us. In our room, in our house, in our neighborhood, in our city. We need to do as much as we can.

And looking ahead? What are your thoughts?

There’s a Mexican metaphor: “the drop in the glass that caused it to spill.” When I was young, I began to investigate why when a container was filled with water it could hold more than the container’s capacity. I soon understood that water has a capacity called surface tension that allows molecules to coalesce in such a way that they withstand great pressure until it exceeds the limit of the capacity of the molecules. Then the water spills out. But, curiously, not only the molecules that broke the limit spill. They drag thousands of other molecules along, a consequence of having broken that veil of molecules that created that liquid’s surface tension. I fear we are living such a point today.

For centuries, humanity sought to live better and used its capacity for reason and memory to create technologies that allowed it to achieve these objectives. Watersheds in this story are the creation of agriculture, which helped end wandering tribes and the industrial revolution, born in the UK in the 19th century. This technological movement allowed humanity to mass-produce goods at very low costs.

What our species did not consider was that the environmental balance that made it possible the for many species to live in harmony with human being was breaking down. The crisis we face as a result will change culture and ways of life in short time. We have to return to basic principles, so this does not end our stay on this planet. We live in a civilization capable of producing unlimited quantities of goods but at the cost of destroying forests, rivers, water, species and the atmosphere. Our planet is now like the glass of water about to overflow.

The most severe crisis is that of values and leadership that are the essential foundations. Lack of leadership results from the erosion of values, as there are no commonalities that bring unity of criteria and purposes.

We must prepare as a society to face this challenge once we have defeated this pandemic.