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Hawke Awarded for Work
Dr. King Commemorated
Hawke Awarded for Work
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Left to right: Founder and president of the Doe Fund
George McDonald, Romanian Ambassador to the U.S. Sorin
Ducaru, Leslie Hawke, U.S. Ambassador to Romania J.D.
Crouch II, Dr. Hill, and Ethan Hawke.
Shane MacCarthy, USAID |
NEW YORK—Leslie Hawke was given the USAID Outstanding
Citizen Achievement Citation by the Bureau for Europe and
Eurasia Jan. 10 for her work with Roma street children and
their families in Romania.
“The citation was created to pay tribute to people
like Leslie—ordinary Americans who make extraordinary
contributions to the international community through volunteer
service,” said Dr. Kent R. Hill, the bureau’s assistant
administrator and keynote speaker at the event, which brought
together some 200 people at the New York University Kimmel
Student Center.
A native New Yorker, Hawke now lives in Romania, where she
is the founder and administrator of programs—collectively
called Gata, Dispus si Capabil (Ready, Willing, and Able)—that
offer impoverished Roma families employment and social support
and help their children stay in school. She has helped hundreds
of families in the past five years.
Three days after receiving the award, Hawke attended a private
screening of a short USAID-sponsored film playing tribute
to her work for Administrator Natsios and USAID senior staff.
The film is narrated by actor and director Ethan Hawke, Leslie
Hawke’s son.
“Anywhere else in New York that evening, Leslie would
have been introduced as Ethan Hawke’s mother,” said
Dr. Hill, who spoke at both the New York and Washington, D.C.
events. “But at our event, he was introduced as Leslie
Hawke’s son.”
Jennifer Citrolo contributed to this article.
Dr. King Commemorated
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Reverend Samuel “Billy” Kyles, keynote speaker
at the annual commemoration ceremony of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. Kyles urged USAID employees to follow their
dreams.
USAID |
Inspiring words and songs at the Ronald Reagan building marked
Jan. 11 the annual observance of the life and legacy of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. The event’s theme was “Remember!
Celebrate! Act! A Day On…Not a Day Off!”
Reverend Samuel “Billy” Kyles, who spent time
with Dr. King in his last hour and was an eyewitness to his
assassination, was the keynote speaker. He shared stories
about Dr. King’s life and spoke of the importance of
following through on one’s dreams.
“We have flight because of someone’s dream,”
he said. “The Wright brothers had many failures on their
way to success. They held fast to their dream.”
Kyles reminded the audience that Dr. King held on to his
dream of an integrated country despite struggles in the civil
rights movements.
“Dr. King had a dream that his four children will one
day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the
color of their skin but by the content of their character,”
he said.
“They held on to their dreams, they had a will to live,
they survived.”
Following Kyles’ message, the audience was entertained
by stirring medley of choral music by the highly acclaimed
Washington-based Heritage Signature Chorale.
Carol Peasley, Counselor to the Office of the Administrator
at USAID, told the audience: “By what he taught and how
he lived, Martin Luther King set high standards for Americans.
But what he was really asking of us was to live up to the
principles we ourselves espoused.”
She added: “We at USAID continue his legacy by creating
a workplace environment that respects the individual. We also
carry on his legacy by working throughout the world for the
causes he espoused: human freedom and the dignity of each
individual.”
The program also included remarks by Sarah Moten, Bureau
for Africa’s education division chief, and concluded
with the customary reading by USAID employees of the litany
“Let My People Go.”
The program was co-sponsored by the Office of Equal Opportunity
Programs and the USAID chapter of Blacks In Government.
Gloria Greene-Blackwell contributed to this article.
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