48 49

EXPATSGIVINGBACK

AFRICA & EUROPEPART TWO OF THREE-PART SERIES

BY ANNE O'CONNELL

The reasons people have for giving back to the community run the gamut from the feel-good

sense of helping others to alleviating boredom and gaining experience. Some approach these

charitable activities very pragmatically and others do it because it’s part of their genetic makeup. They may even be addicted to what has been called that

‘helper’s high’.

For either group o! altruistic individuals, research shows that there is an added bonus: that it will help boost their health and well-being and even increase

their longevity. “Research demonstrates that volunteering leads to better health and that older volunteers are the most likely to receive physical and mental health bene!its from their volunteer activities,” says a report o! the Corporation for National and Community Service in Washington, DC. The report goes on to say: “Those who volunteer have lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates o! depression later in life than those who do not volunteer.” And, people who volunteer tend to report greater life satisfaction and higher self-esteem. Whatever the motivation behind the giving and the unexpected windfall o! better health, communities around the world are bene!iting from the work o! thousands o! altruistic expats.

CASES IN POINT A little village called Bwiza has become a thriving community full o! enterprising individuals thanks to the commitment o! volunteers like Karl Deringer, a dual national Canadian/American whose !irst volunteer experience with Canada World Youth included helping in

Karl Deringer with children.Image by Anne Casper

50 51

!"#:

$%&'

( )*

A++

( C&

,#(-

; )"!

!"%

: $%

&'(

#-".

$/(/

)*

B&-)

&-&

R"'"

,0$

a small-town psychiatric hospital in Calgary, Canada. The experience inspired him to become a psychiatric nurse. Deringer wound up marrying a U.S. diplomat, and one o! her postings brought them to Rwanda where they lived for three years. He put his experience in psychiatric nursing to good use, working part-time at a health clinic at the U.S. Embassy and, before long, became enamored with a little village he had been brought to, seeing great potential in its enthusiastic yet very poor inhabitants. They were mostly day laborers working for others, with little enterprise happening in their own village. Deringer took note one day that there were no cows, which are seen as a source o! wealth in Rwanda. “The dream o! owning a cow would be like a kid in the U.S. dreaming o! owning a corvette,” said Deringer. He learned that the villagers (formerly known as pygmies) were very low in social status. They didn’t have cows because it was a widely-held opinion that they couldn’t properly care for them. The village leader told Deringer it was only because they hadn’t been given a chance. Wanting to help them overcome the stigma, Deringer set about !inding them their !irst cow. One pregnant cow led to several others and also gave birth to Deringer’s and the local government’s long-term commitment to the village, and a growing sense o! pride among the people. “The cows were very transforming for the village in the perception o! themselves and in the perception o! others,” he said. “They also have become a source o! milk for their children and a future source o! money.” Deringer was one o! the 2012 winners o! The Secretary o! State Award (SOSA) for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad. The award, established in 1990, is sponsored and administered by the Associates o! the American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW). “Accompanying spouses/partners sometimes struggle to !ind their niche in a new country and may even be at risk for depression,” said Patricia Linderman, AAFSW president. “From what I have seen in 22 years in the Foreign Service community, volunteering and truly making a difference can be one o! the best antidotes to this.” “The individuals volunteer not for recognition but they volunteer because it gives them a greater value and ful!ilment in their own lives,” agreed Lara Center, AAFSW

board chair and past SOSA winner. “Also, volunteering gives someone the opportunity to get to know their host country better.” According to the website, nominees are judged on the scope and reach o! their volunteer activity, sustainability, ingenuity and leadership, all o! which were apparent in Deringer’s involvement with his adopted community. Deringer discovered Bwiza through an organization called Pygmie Survival Alliance (PSA) that his wife had found while researching charities in Rwanda. A representative from the organization took them both to visit the village in the hopes they could help in some way. “They were as poor as poor can be and were literally starving on a hillside,” recalls Deringer. “They were living mostly in nothing more than poor mud houses, or less.” The day they visited there was a mother who had been in labor for more than 12 hours and wasn’t doing well. It was obvious to them she wasn't going to make it. Deringer picked

Karl Deringer

her up, carried her to their embassy vehicle and took her to the hospital where she had a C-section. She and her baby survived. When he returned to the village to visit again, they sang and danced to thank him for helping save their friend’s life. “It completely melted my heart, and most all my other ideas o! what I would do in Rwanda melted away, and I decided to help this village help themselves.” Along with the cows (that now number over 30), Deringer helped the village with tree planting and growing their own food, as well as setting them up to herd goats and raise guinea pigs. “To see a child hug a bag o! beans that I helped his family grow … that is a great feeling,” said Deringer. “I! you get a high when others do better, i! you want to make the community you are living in a better place, then get involved.” Truly engaging with the community and listening to their concerns allowed Deringer to make a long-term impact. “SOSA winners are just a small subset o! the amazing expat volunteers active around the world,” said Linderman. “Because Foreign Service people spend only a few years in each country, I think they can set an example showing what can be accomplished in such a short time. These volunteers not only put their own efforts into helping others, as so many o! us seek to do abroad, but they also take the extra step o! getting others involved and creating a long-term mechanism that will continue to provide bene!its after they have

left the country.” Barbara Rogoski is another altruistic expat who has had a long-term impact on her adopted home. Rogoski is an American who has been living in The Hague for 22 years and has become part o! the very fabric o! her community. A minister and small business owner, she is passionate about social justice and equality. Rogoski’s day job is running her company Successful Speaker Now that helps celebrities and executives improve their presentation skills. Like Deringer, she has put her expertise and altruistic spirit to work, embracing projects such as Meals for the Homeless, which she founded through the Catholic Church o! The Hague. “I have always been devoutly Catholic, and my role model Oprah, and her Angel Network, inspired me to take action to serve and to ‘bloom where I was planted’,” said Rogoski. “I loved the experience to meet the people, look in their eyes and touch them on the shoulder and talk with them about their troubles, and be compassionate in all contact.” Touched by the plight o! the homeless, Barbara also co-authored a book called How to Achieve Heaven on Earth. She was in good company.

DERINGER AND ROGOSKI BOTH STARTED ‘GIVING

BACK’ AT AN EARLY AGE, AND VOLUNTEERISM AND

PHILANTHROPY HAVE BECOME PART OF THEIR

DNA.

Barbara Rogoski

$%&'

( )*

A++

( C&

,#(-

52 53

$%&'

(, (1

(2!

3 -$

'4!)

#-"

.$/(

/ )*

B&-

)&-&

R"'

",0$

$%&'

( 5"

#*-$

'4!

S"1

&-,(

.(+,

678

9 :,

(/ :

+/(-

1$5(

+,(

2-"%

S4:!

!(-,

!"50

.

“My essay was featured in the racial harmony section called, Homeless Meals and Racial Harmony. It was quite successful and I was a co-author with Barack Obama and Tony Blair!” Rogoski’s !ight for social justice in The Hague has expanded beyond homeless issues to encompass support for the gay and lesbian community. She takes a global approach with a focus on promoting equality, acceptance and justice for all. She recently wrote a children’s book called The Adventures of Super Lorelei, which has a strong anti-bullying message. “The main character is a superhero who happens to be gay,” said Rogoski. “I am working with a stichting (foundation) to bring this story to all primary schools in The Netherlands.” Deringer and Rogoski both started ‘giving back’ at an early age, and volunteerism and philanthropy have become part o! their DNA. “In the U.S. growing up, I often bought Christmas presents to give to poor families in the area, as every child should have presents under the tree. This was in my early teen

years,” said Rogoski. Deringer has similar memories o! his !irst foray into the world o! volunteerism. He recalls being inspired by his father’s community work. “I think it came from watching my father when I was young. His entire life, into his late 80s, he was always involved in some kind o! charity work,” said Deringer. “I don't remember a time when I decided to start to give back; I just knew after high school that I wanted to go overseas and help.” Deringer also recounts a story where his mother collected money from family and friends in Canada. “You couldn't go into her home without emptying your pockets o! change,” he said. “We used that money and lots o! my own to run projects in the village, and we still do.” Deringer and Rogoski !it into the ‘feel-good sense o! helping others’ category. They are each motivated by a deep-seated belie! that was nurtured from a young age. “I am an ordained interfaith minister and Reiki Master,” said Rogoski. “I am called to be o! service to every person I meet. On

my ordination in May 2008, this is what I committed to for life. It may sound corny, but I am committed to help others and i! I don’t do things often, I start to get restless and look for more opportunities.” Like many expats, both say the hardest thing about living overseas is being so far away from family and friends. It makes it easier that their adopted families in faraway places are the obvious bene!iciaries o! their life-long commitment to giving back. “Serial expats, like those in the Foreign Service, who move from country to country every few years, also have the great advantage o! being exposed to many ways o! thinking and many potential solutions, so they can act as cross-pollinators, in a sense, carrying ideas that have worked in one place and applying them in a completely different setting,” said Linderman. Deringer echoes the sentiment o! ‘cross-pollination’ in his belie! that people give back in order to “leave the world a little better because you've been in it.”

DERINGER AND ROGOSKI FIT INTO THE ‘FEEL-GOOD SENSE OF HELPING OTHERS’ CATEGORY. THEY ARE EACH MOTIVATED BY A DEEP-SEATED BELIEF THAT WAS NURTURED FROM A YOUNG AGE.

Barbara Rogoski (left) and friend.

Barbara Rogoski (left) acting as emcee for event.