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Donor Profile: International Aid Worker Supports AFC from Abroad
Leslie Wilson, new AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) donor and international aid worker with Save the Children, recently logged onto her computer from Kabul, Afghanistan to join AFC's monthly donation club, "Friends of the Foundation." She graciously took time from her demanding schedule to talk about her commitment to social justice issues and to AFC. AFC: What type of work do you do? How long will you be in Afghanistan? LW: I am the Deputy Director responsible for Communication, Advocacy and Program Support, and I expect to be in Afghanistan for a couple years, at least. I am responsible for seeing that our home office, the press and donors understand our programs and accomplishments for children and families where we work (which is in Kabul city, the Shomali plains north of Kabul, communities/villages in some provinces nearby Kabul as well as communities/villages in four provinces in northwest Afghanistan). My advocacy work, like AFC's, is about trying to create more and better awareness and understanding of the importance of the issues that children of Afghanistan face (see "The Children of Kabul" report, for an example of some of our advocacy work). Finally, in my program support role, I take on a variety of tasks. Mostly, this part of the job finds me editing and writing reports for grants we have and for writing proposals for new grants in support of our work. Additionally, as the Deputy Director, I have an overarching role to support the Director, particularly with regard to program strategy decisions and planning, and by representing Save the Children (US) in the UN/NGO/government ministry communities in Afghanistan. AFC: How long have you worked with Save the Children? LW: On September 15, I will mark my 5th anniversary of working for Save the Children. I started out a Major Gifts fundraiser, based in Chicago, and with responsibility for private sector fundraising and donor stewardship for the Heartland -- Ohio to Colorado. In July 2002 I left Chicago for a seven-month temporary assignment as Acting Country Representative for our programs in Bangladesh, and I joined the Afghanistan team on March 1 of this year. AFC: When and how did you come to be involved in social justice/change? LW: Well, I started out to be a Social Worker, as my mother is, and my bachelor's degree from Saint Mary's College (South Bend, Indiana) is in that discipline. But, I decided I did not want to work, professionally, in the field. So, I pursued my vocation of working for social justice and change as a volunteer for a variety of social justice groups for many years. Then, gradually, I realized -- particularly during my time as a volunteer for a home visiting/care program for Chicagoans with HIV/AIDS -- that I needed to do more. So, at age 35, I left my job in alumni relations at Northwestern University Medical School and I joined the Peace Corps. I served as a community development Volunteer in southern Thailand from 1990-1992, and have since worked, professionally and voluntarily, for social justice and change worldwide. I have worked in the Republic of Moldova (former Soviet Union) and Mozambique (southeast Africa) as well as the Asian countries mentioned. AFC: How did you find out about the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC)? LW: From my dear and admired colleague and friend, Tom Buchanan, who is also a former Peace Corps Volunteer and who was the Executive Director of CARE's midwest fundraising and donor relations operations when I was the head of Save the Children's midwest efforts for the same things. AFC: You are giving so much of your time and energy right now to an incredibly important cause, why did you decide to make a donation to AFC at this time? LW: Because of Tom and my respect for him, and because of the challenges posed by HIV/AIDS are ones that we must face on a global scale along with the problems of global hunger, water and sanitation access, basic health, education and economic opportunity. The problems are all inextribably linked. I got involved with HIV/AIDS issues as a volunteer in Chicago because so many of my friends were affected by the initial explosion of the epidemic in the States. I have stayed involved because, everywhere I have since worked -- from Thailand to Mozambique to eastern Europe -- is confronted with the challenges of addressing HIV/AIDS. * What would you say to encourage people to continue giving to their favorite charities at a time when many are feeling the strain from the economic downturn? LW: I would remind my fellow philanthropists that it is our opportunity (in fact, our privilege) to continue to give, not from our surplus, but from the core of our resources, which, relatively speaking, are great. |
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Factsheet on Save the Children - Afghanistan (PDF)
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