Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award
The National Peace Corps Association, NPCA, gives out several awards every year. The Harris Wofford Award, named for an influential leader of the early Peace Corps, is the highest.
Kul Chandra Gautam and my husband Clem after Kul’s award
It “honors an outstanding global leader who grew up in a country where Peace Corps volunteers served, whose life was influenced by Peace Corps, and whose career contributed significantly to their nation and the world in ways that reflect shared values in human dignity and economic, social, and political development.”
The winner this year was Kul Chandra Gautam of Nepal. Clem and I arrived at the Peace Corps Connect Conference last Friday just in time to see him receive the award. He spoke with passion about Peace Corps’ influence on his life.
Winner at Scrabble
His home was in one of the poorest sections of Nepal and the nearest school was three day’s walk away. The Peace Corps volunteer at the school saw his talent and ambition. Besides academics, the volunteer taught him to play a board game.
Scrabble – my sister and I love to play
When the US Deputy Ambassador to Nepal visited the school, Kul was introduced as the little boy who beats the Peace Corps volunteer in Scrabble!
Through the influence of Peace Corps volunteers he applied and was accepted with a full scholarship at Dartmouth. Then he had to wait two years to get his Nepali passport, an exercise in patience.
During his years at Dartmouth he became a Peace Corps trainer at UC Davis before going on to grad school at Princeton. He continued his connection when he went to Congress to lobby against cutting the Peace Corps budget.
Career at the UN
He joined the UN, and eventually became Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF, serving under Carol Bellamy, former Peace Corps Director! He was also Assistant Secretary General of the UN and served his country in senior positions.
Clem and I enjoyed speaking with him later. He asked if we knew Ambassador Ibrahim Gambari, who was Nigeria’s Ambassador to the UN. We told him we did. Kul spoke highly of him.
Obi of Onitsha Speaks Out Against Divisions in Politics
The Obi of Onitsha, whom Clem and I met a couple of years ago, has spoken out against regional politics. He believes that Nigeria should elect a president for the whole country, not based on a region or tribe.
He said, “the country will not get out of its woes until there is a collective resolve to do away with ethnic and regional presidency.”
https://www.today.ng/news/nigeria/obi-onitsha-nigeria-divisive-president-145941
Granddaughter Nkiru and Grandpa on Race
At our dinner table last Saturday night we were joined by our daughter Beth, her husband Kelvin, their son Kenechi with his girlfriend Mary who is white, and their daughter Nkiru and her friend.
Our son Sam, middle of 3 adults, and his 2 kids with friends at Tarkwa Bay, where we went with our kids when they were little! Teya looks just like Nkiru!
Discussion was lively. I can’t remember how we got to the topic of race, but it’s not a surprise; we often do.
Beth mentioned the assumption that a Black woman cannot be a doctor. Kelvin surprised her when he told us that he’s been asked more than once, “Your wife’s a nurse, isn’t she?” by a person who recalls that Beth is in the medical field but doesn’t quite recall her role.
Beth is a gyn oncologist. In addition to her MD degree, she also has a master’s in public health. But as she said, people often assume that a Black woman in medicine is a nurse!
Who is African-American?
Nkiru told us she looked forward to getting back to Syracuse University for her sophomore year. She has her gang of Black girls, her African American group of friends. This is a contrast to her high school where she had more white friends. There were few Black girls at the high school in a Philadelphia suburb.
My husband who is Nigerian said, “You’re not African American.”
She countered, “Of course I am! And I’m proud to be Black and African American!”
(After my last post where I wrote about Nkiru’s statement, my sister said, “Why shouldn’t Nkiru be glad she is African American, she is! Or is she African American American??)
But Clem couldn’t accept this, and kept contesting her self-description.
Finally Mary said, “Just think, Nkiru. If you work hard at Syracuse, and get good grades, you can become a nurse!” which caused us all to break up in laughter.
My Gender Bias Shows
I let my own unconscious gender bias show earlier in the day. Kelvin had told us about his back pain. He’d seen his doctor. “What did he say?” I asked.
Beth laughed. “You mean what did she say!”
4 Comments
Leave a reply →