The Foreign Service Journal, April 2010

A P R I L 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 35 visa chief served a TDY in Santo Domingo. Those of us who remain at our various posts feel that our work in maintaining normal opera- tions here in their absence is very much a part of the department’s overall support for Haiti. Wendy Stancer Consul Embassy Buenos Aires ‘T HE R EFLECTION OF A C OMMUNITY ’ One of our Marines here in Rangoon, Corporal Kerby Telemaque, lost his mother in the Haiti earthquake. Thanks to instant action by the embassy management sec- tion, he flew out the day he received the news to be with his family. The embassy community, through the Com- munity Liaison Office, collected over $2,200 in cash within a few hours for Kerby to take along to Haiti to use for fu- neral costs and to help his family get back on their feet. The wife of our chargé d’affaires, Paula, and her son, William, happened to be on the same flight. They added a bed to their Bangkok hotel room so Kerby would not spend a lonely night in the airport. The outpouring of sup- port and donations from everyone, including local em- ployees, was a reflection of our community. We are a small embassy in a very poor country, one which was rocked by Cyclone Nargis in 2008, yet almost every person who could give something in Kerby’s time of need did so. Tamar S. Weisert, Community Liaison Office Coordinator, and Staff Sergeant Nicolas Carranza Embassy Rangoon “G OT A GOROT ?” Inspired by an overflowing jar of loose change, the Embassy Tel Aviv New Profes- sional Association proposed a cash drive to benefit the Locally Employed Staff Emer- gency Fund for Haiti. NPA Board Co-Chair Leah George im- mediately began to help coordinate and pro- mote the effort. The NPA sought and obtained the support of the Fi- nancial Management Office to con- vert the coins to U.S. dollars. After obtaining approval from the front office to hold the fund- raiser, the organizers swung into ac- tion. NPA member and LES Sahar Kalifa located ideal coin collection jars at the local market and spear- headed USAID’s contribution to the effort. The jars and flyers were soon distributed throughout the chancery, to satellite offices and to other mission agencies. Some members of the mission dropped in large bills as well, including a $100 bill in the consular section jar. Both U.S. and Israeli currencies were accepted. A week later, NPA members gathered to sort the money into denomi- nations to ease FMO’s task of converting it, with help from several locally employed staff and one of our Marines. In just one week, the campaign raised more than $2,180 to support locally employed staff and their families in Haiti. Embassy Tel Aviv also assisted the relief effort by facilitating the Israeli Defense Force’s Field Hospital’s entry into Haiti via U.S. military trans- F O C U S The outpouring of support and donations from everyone, including local employees, was a reflection of our community. Embassy staff in Tel Aviv raise money for FSNs at Embassy Port-au- Prince. Ruben Harutunian