The Foreign Service Journal, November 2004

AFSA Award Winners Share the Wealth In a fitting affirmationof their selection for AFSA’s Avis Bohlen Award for aForeignService familymember in2004,DawnMcKeever and Helene DeJong have used their award money to fund a year of schooling for six children in Uganda, AFSA News has learned. DeJong and McKeever received the Bohlen Award for their vol- unteer activities supporting education in many areas of Uganda through the establishment of libraries and other activities. The money has been given to Jeninah Nagaba to pay her chil- dren’s school fees, following the death of her husband Ben in a car accident. Ben, an Anglicanminister, and Jeninah were very active incommunitydevelopment projects. Jeninahworkswith thewomen of Banda Slum, andhelpedbringMcKeever andDeJong to the pro- ject as well. DeJong also worked with a community group estab- lishedbyBen that starteda community library anda school for chil- dren whose parents cannot afford regular school. The couple has fourkidsof theirown, andalsosupport anieceandnepheworphaned by AIDS. (As this is a long-term need, anyone interested in con- tributing can contact Helene at africahelene@yahoo.com.) “We had been wondering how we could raise the money for the school fees when we got the word about the award. We both immediately thought of Jeninah. The award was a miracle to us, and really an answer to a prayer. … It has given Jeninah some peace of mind while she tries to rebuild her family without Ben.” AFSA is honored to know that the awardmoney is being used to continue their good works. FS Life Inspires Award-Winning Science Fiction The grown son of Ambassador JoeLake, JayLake, haswonthe2004 John W. Campbell Jr. Award for Best New Writer. The Campbell Award is science fiction’s premier recognition for up-and-coming science fiction writers. Jay Lake spent his childhood as a Foreign Service dependent, pri- marily in Taiwan andNigeria. He attributes much of his literary suc- cess to theunusual perspectives and experiences afforded tohimby the Foreign Service lifestyle. Lake now lives in Portland with his family. His day job is in high-tech marketing and sales, involving a lot of writing. In addition to the Campbell nomination, Lake and colleague Deborah Layne have been nominated for the 2004World Fantasy Award for their editing work on the Polyphony anthology series. Lake’s story, “Into the Gardens of Sweet Night,” was also nomi- nated for theHugoAward in theBestNovelette category. Publisher’s Weekly had this to say about it: “JayLake’s ‘Into theGardens of Sweet Night’ is a quirky meditation on personal freedom and responsi- bility that follows a cosmos-trotting pug namedWiggles as it leads a young boy on a surreal journey to the supposedly mythical gar- den of the title; think William Burroughs meets ‘Men in Black.’” In a 2003 interviewwith StrangeHorizons , Lake noted that: “My first memory of reading is a Cat in the Hat dictionary in French, inabout 1967, when Iwas 3 andmyDad’s job tookus toDahomey. My first publishing credit was some poetry in the English-language ChinaPost inTaiwan around1974, when Iwas 10. After that, there was this really long dry spell until I was 36.” Nowhe’s writing and being published at a rapid pace. Check out Jay Lake’s Web site at www.jlake.com. H is fiction can be found on Amazon.comand at independent bookstores nationwide. Hometown Hero Norma Todd Norma Todd, widow of the late retired FSO James Todd, has beenhonoredwith theHometownHeroAwardby the townof Red Bank, N.J., for her community servicework. Now83, she has been volunteering at LunchBreak, a soupkitchen, for over 20 years, since she and her husband retired back home to Red Bank. She is the director of theorganizationandcan still be foundhardatwork there every day. Shemakes sure the kitchen is ready to feedup to85peo- ple a day, and also helps people prepare for job interviews. Norma Todd spent 35 years traveling the worldwith her FSO husband, who was one of the first African-American U.S. diplo- mats. Among their Foreign Service postings were Israel, Ivory Coast, Germany, Indonesia, Pakistan and Nigeria. At each post- ing, Ms. Todd became involved in the local community. Her two daughters, Cynthia andCoralie, are currently finishing up a book about the family’s overseas adventures, entitled WatchOut for the Elephants. Profiled inboth the AsburyParkPress and TheMonmouth Journal , Ms. Toddclearlyhasmany admirers inher hometown. She received the Hometown Hero Award at a celebration held on Sept.18. Alumni Award for FSO FSOKarenWilliams received the 2004 Young Alumna Career Achievement Award fromDrury University, where she graduated in 1985. Williams is a public diplomacy officer who has served in Paraguay, Kazakhstan and Bosnia-Herzegovina. ▫ INSIDE THE FS COMMUNITY 6 AFSA NEWS • NOVEMBER 2004 Jay Lake