|
Thanks for the Opportunity to Serve
Making way for a new Chair
My friends, with profound feelings of gratitude toward you all, I
have stepped down from the position of Chair of the Board of
Trustees of Friends of Liberia. I took over the position three
years ago when Jim Gray stepped down from his yeoman’s work for
FOL. Jim helped sustain FOL for over ten years and it was with
great trepidation that I became the interim President of FOL as
well. This was just before the climactic events of July 2003 began
to unfold in Liberia. I look back with great pride and great
satisfaction as a dedicated team of hard working volunteers have
come together with one common thread, the love for the people of
Liberia.
This dedicated team has
accomplished much, renewing FOL as the leading non-profit
organization dedicated to peace, development, and the people of
Liberia. Working together, our list of accomplishments includes the
following:
-
Tapped Stephanie Vickers from Oregon to lead an
energetic group of teachers back to Liberia on several occasions
as part of our LEAP teacher training initiative that has now
reached hundreds of Liberian K-3 teachers and schools.
-
Selected Stephanie Vickers as the President of
Friends of Liberia; she now oversees much of our day-to-day
operations.
-
Transformed the American-based LEAP into the
Liberian-based NGO Liberian Educators for Action and Peace.
-
Created the FOL E-ZINE under the artistic
direction of Winthrop University student Hugh Orr and the
editorial guidance of Bill Faudree in New York.
-
Renewed our membership services through the hard
work of Jim McGeorge in Arizona.
-
Solidified our financial transactions through the
good efforts of Jim Bowman, working out of New Mexico.
-
Refreshed our Web presence thanks to Mike Waite in
Mississippi.
-
Transferred the FOL email news distribution system
into the good hands of Verlon Stone at Indiana University to
broadcast timely updates and public service announcements.
-
Reoriented our continuing Washington, DC, presence
through Candace Eastman.
-
Created a sustained small projects development
effort because of John Kucij in New York.
-
Maintained a most effective advocacy effort
coordinated by Jeannette Carter now in Monrovia.
-
Posted on the FOL website “THE CASE FOR
IMMEDIATE INTERVENTION IN LIBERIA FOR AMERICAN AFRICANS” on
July 4, 2003.
-
Posted on the FOL website and distributed the
press release “THE LIBERIAN CRISIS: A CALL TO ACTION” on
July 7, 2003 (subsequently posted on many other Web sites).
-
Assisted in drafting and signed the Advocacy
Network for Africa (ADNA) letters of May 30, 2003 and July 21,
2003 to President Bush urging American assistance to Liberia.
Also supported an open letter to the US Government of August 12,
2003. Endorsed a Liberia Watch letter to President Bush of August
14, 2003.
-
Provided interviews, consulting, or background
information to the following media: The Globe and Mail (Toronto);
CASH Magazine (Zurich); Fox News TV (Charlotte); KPSA radio
(Berkeley); National Public Radio (Washington); Voice of America
(Washington); National Geographic (Washington); The Herald (Rock
Hill, SC); Charlotte Observer; Augusta Journal; WBBW radio
(Youngstown, Ohio); ABC TV (Schenectady, NY); TalkSport (London);
BBC Radio 5 (London); et. al.
-
Had articles published in the Charlotte Observer;
The Herald (Rock Hill, SC); San Francisco Chronicle; and Jonesboro
Sun (Arkansas); et. al.
-
Joined Liberia Watch, a non-partisan coalition in
Washington, DC, concerned with bringing peace and post-conflict
reconstruction to Liberia by keeping member NGO’s informed of
events in Liberia and supporting advocacy efforts for US
Government initiatives in Liberia.
-
Continued membership in InterAction, the largest
alliance of U.S.-based international development and humanitarian
non-governmental organizations, and provided updates for their
“Emergency in Liberia” initiative. Participated in their
Humanitarian Policy and Practice Unit Liberian Working Group
meetings.
-
Provided testimony before the Congressional Human
Rights Caucus on “Liberia: A Case for Intervention? The Human
Rights & Humanitarian Background,” on July 9, 2003.
-
Supported the “Situation in Liberia,” a statement
of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold on the Senate floor, July 9, 2003.
-
Assisted White House peace demonstrations and
vigils in July 2003 and on August 22, 2003.
-
Signed Liberian Studies Association petition for
intervention to the US Government, July 23, 2003.
-
Attended an invitation only working group on
current conditions and to explore ideas about how best to support
peace and reconciliation in Liberia by the Carter Center, Atlanta,
GA.
-
Exchanged Web links with various NGO’s such as
Action Against Hunger.
-
Authorized sponsorship of the Academy of
Educational Development forum on Liberia.
-
Signed a statement addressed to Members of the
United States Congress requesting an allocation of 1% of the
Emergency Supplemental (now limited to only Iraq and Afghanistan)
to Liberia and West Africa. This statement was circulated by IRC,
USCR and OXFAM.
-
Supported testimony by Liberians before the US
Congress seeking permanent refugee status thanks to Torli Krua in
Boston.
-
Relied on Jane Martin from Pennsylvania for
coordinating the Liberian Women Peace Initiative with UNESCO
backing.
-
Revised our organizational by-laws thanks to the
counsel of Peter Levitov of Nebraska.
-
Conducted our first Friends of Liberia Reunion in
Myrtle Beach, SC.
-
Identified Joanna Carty of Delaware to assume my
position of Chair of the Board of Friends of Liberia.
I am always hesitant to
name names as I have just done in thanking people for one is bound
to forget someone because of a “synapse lapse.” Please forgive me,
if I have done so. However, my undying personal gratitude goes to
Pat Reilly who brought me into FOL and eventually back to Liberia in
1998 as we designed the LEAP project. Pat has now agreed to take on
the role of Vice President of FOL. She is simply an amazing person
among a group of many amazing people!
Please understand I am
not going away … I am just stepping back a little as my work at
Winthrop University continues to challenge and excite me. I would
be also tremendously remiss without acknowledging my administrative
assistant at Winthrop, Barbara Davis, who from the goodness of her
heart has always been there after hours helping me get FOL business
done. To Anthony DiGiorgio, President of Winthrop University, I
also owe a debt of deep gratitude for allowing my FOL work be my
small contribution to community service, albeit on the world’s
stage.
Thank you for allowing
me to be the Chair of the FOL Board of Trustees. At my institution,
Winthrop University, we ask incoming students to make Winthrop
better for their having been here. I hope I have made Friends of
Liberia better for having been here.
God speed,
Frank Ardaiolo
Rock Hill, South Carolina |
