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AAFSW/Secretary of State's Award for Outstanding Volunteerism
2005 Winners
Robert Blumberg - Colombo, Sri Lanka (SA)
Robert responded to the needs of the many lost dogs, cats, and other animals that were roaming loose as a consequence of the Sri Lankan tsunami. Robert recognized the danger of rabies that unvaccinated pets posed to the general population. He formed a coalition group, funded with donations, to vaccinate as many animals as they could. They placed a red collar on the animals to indicate that they had been treated, and over 14,000 animals were vaccinated. He went on to found the Tsunami Memorial Animal Welfare Trust to carry on the sterilization program for a longer term, and to help find homes for those animals whose owners were killed.
Robi Keyes - Bangkok, Thailand (EAP)
Robi began working with prostitutes in a Thai beauty shop that supports and aids bar girls. She went on to found with three other expatriates and a Thai woman a non-profit organization called "NightLight," which provides a program of alternative employment and support to bar girls who want to leave prostitution. Robi encouraged girls to quit working at the bar and come to the "NightLight" center where they learn to make jewelry for a fair wage, speak English, and have a place to heal physically and emotionally. She wrote a grant proposal for hundreds of thousands of dollars for the growth of the "NightLight" project, including the development of a children's center. Robi helped write bylaws and plan for long-term funding and leadership of "NightLight."
In addition, Robi ran a small bi-weekly health counseling clinic for girls. By using her nursing skills to recognize physical symptoms of illness and reaching out to the medical community for needed assistance, Robi has also helped save lives.
Jaimee Neel - Sao Paulo, Brazil (WHA)
Because of her background in inner-city school teaching, Jaimee was deeply touched by Sao Paolo's endemic problem of 4,500 children homeless on the streets. Channeling her enthusiasm for work with an at-risk population, Jamie brought together her colleagues at the Consulate General, newly sited in a mixed-income neighborhood, and the Santa Amaro Youth Home, a home for street children that teaches professional skills. When Jamie met the woman who runs Santa Amaro, she knew she had found a struggling organization that would benefit from the involvement of the FSN and FSO community. Jamie helped these communities come together.
Jamie helped bridge the FSO-FSN divide, long a source of tension in the consular section, by inspiring them to lose themselves in service to others. She applied for and received a J. Kirby Simon Foreign Service Trust grant to implement her vision, and used that as a catalyst for improvement. The Youth Home has received a dental clinic, a computer lab, two washing machines, a small adjacent house, and countless toys and supplies due to the snowball effect of Jaimee's fundraising efforts. Morale is soaring in the Consulate, and the Youth Home is prospering, all thanks to this volunteer.
Sandra Patterson - Lusaka, Zambia (AF)
Sandra became deeply involved with the local HEAL project, a support facility and school for over 60 children who have lost one or both parents through the HIV/AIDS epidemic. She uncovered an unusual need in a neighborhood where most families have no electricity, access to water, transportation, and other services: no nearby toilet facilities. Sandra applied for and was awarded a grant from the J. Simon Kirby Trust. She then undertook the administration of the grant, which involved the planning and construction of a borehole and toilets. She helped raise necessary funds, championed solicitors, and made pleas for donations for the improvements.
Sandra has also supported the HEAL project by transporting ill children to clinics for treatment and enrolling them in appropriate HIV/AIDS programs, including testing and ARV treatment. In addition, she created a project called HEALING STITCHES, after soliciting and receiving a donation of sewing machines. Not only did Sandra teach women to sew, she encouraged the marketability of these skills by helping set up a booth for them to collect money and provide receipts for their purchases. Sandra helped raise money for wheelchairs for young children and hosted a "moms and tots" play-day, assisting orphans, widows, and others particularly affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Eglal Rousseau - Rabat, Morocco (NEA)
Eglal recognized the needs of the children's hospital, Centre Hospitaliere Universitaire, and the families that used it. Many of the patients and their parents could not communicate in the common French business language used at the hospital, and the high rate of illiteracy further diminished their access to information and assistance. Eglal served as an advocate for countless parents of sick children and used her language skills to bridge the gap. In addition, she helped renovate an activity room and formed a partnership between the hospital and an association that will care for children beyond the capacity of orphanages.
Eglal also helped hearing impaired young adults through the El Nassr Association. She was able to forge a bond between the group and the American International Women's Association, which resulted in the donation of badly needed land to construct a professional/social center.
Mark Wilson - Skopje, Macedonia (EUR)
Mark showed extraordinary personal concern for improving the lives of hundreds of residents of Macedonia 's mental health facility in Demir Kapia. He started a volunteer effort called "Computers to Classrooms" to improve the technology resources available to these residents, as well as disadvantaged children attending rural schools. He solicited donations of new and used Information Technology equipment, and spent hundreds of hours of his own time collecting, refurbishing, setting up, and networking the many different types of IT equipment he received. He even used his own funds to purchase needed equipment and repair parts. As a result, the mental health facility now has two fully-equipped computer labs with Internet connectivity.
Mark built the foundation of a digital culture among the students to help them realize their dreams of technical literacy. They can acquire computer knowledge and skills that will enable them to be productive members of the community and enthusiastic employers or employees.
The volunteer activities of the other SOSA nominees are equally impressive, and they are to be gratefully commended for their work. These Honorable Mentions include:
Cleo Appleton: Prague, Czech Republic
Romi Ballesteros: Manila, Philippines
Liz Blair: Bucharest, Romania
Luisa Bonaguro: Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
Shirley Connuck: Vienna, Austria
Janae Cooley: San Jose, Costa Rica
Debi Fairman Bogota, Colombia
Fatima Goodspeed: Amman, Jordan
Ivy Gordon: Oslo, Norway
Leslie Harnish: Baku, Azerbaijan
Debby Harrison: Pretoria, South Africa
Gerard Imbaking: Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
Ginger Kopp Monterrey, Mexico
Jim Landherr: Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Laurie Louis de Villa: Warsaw, Poland
Debra McFarland: Sofia, Bulgaria
Annie Milstead: Bangkok, Thailand
Mari O'Connor: Lisbon, Portugal
Harold Price: Lima, Peru
Robert Raines: Guangzhou, China
Kevin Rubesh: Muscat, Oman
Stephanie Tansey: Tel Aviv, Israel
Alan Elrod, Sarah Erdman, Jack Swope and Michael Scanlon: Dublin , Ireland
Nelda Villines/Fernando Bermudes: Mbabane, Swaziland