WE WANT MORE BEER

It must have been 1974, when I was working in Vietnam, that I heard Henrik Beer was visiting New Zealand. At that juncture in history, New Zealand was listed as second in the World in beer consumption, just a tad behind Denmark.

Henrik Beer's visit to New Zealand was a resounding success after productive meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, meeting volunteers and the staff at HQ of the New Zealand Red Cross, and reaching out to beneficiaries of New Zealand Red Cross programmes.

Some months after he left, I received the monthly edition of the New Zealand Red Cross News with the headlines WE WANT MORE BEER

And the New Zealand Red Cross indeed got more of Henrik Beer through his constant leadership, guidance and the deep interest he took in our national society. Many of us who knew Henrik Beer, came to work for him in Geneva and in the field, and we couldn't get enough of Henrik. Henrik Beer.