25 Jun 2017

Benwende Returns Home!

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Benewende – BEFORE

Host family of Benewende

Little Benewende came over to the United States from Burkina Faso when she was just 1 month old for life changing surgery.  She stayed with a family in Ohio for over 1 year.   Katherine Pannuci volunteered to escort her home….and in her words “I wasn’t sure if they were going to let me take her. All crying and it was hard , they had her for a year. I was even surprised she went with me. She was a little baby doll , a snuggle bug. What a joy to turn her over to Air France employee Christophe’ Fanjat who continued with her on the way back to her home in Africa.  I had met him before he is an amazing individual and escort with these children.

It is a beautiful story

Katherine and Benewende on the flight

Reunited with her family in Burkina Faso
13 Jun 2017

Flight Attendants Care for Sick Children on Worldwide Flights

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Check out this great article – a full page feature on Mothers Day by Jamie Sotonof:

” Flight attendant Bunny Doi falls asleep each night thinking about the 150 children she’s escorted on flights around the world during her 19 years as an Airline Ambassadors International volunteer.

There was the badly burned Chinese girl. The baby from Burkina Faso who was on oxygen the whole flight. And the Ivory Coast girl with four legs who had surgery in March at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Park Ridge.

The charity arranges for flight attendants to escort these children on flights to and from the U.S. where they’re coming for specialized, charity-sponsored surgeries.

Doi, a former Mount Prospect resident, said she feels for the parents of these children — many of whom are very poor and probably haven’t been on an airplane themselves, yet they hand their child to a stranger to be taken to the other side of the world. Host families in the U.S. care for the children, often for months, until they’re well enough to return to their parents.

“These mothers let their children go so they can have a better life. They’re heartbroken doing so,” Doi said, choking back tears. “As a mother, I can understand. They are trusting me with their child’s life.”

Taking your own children on an overseas flight can be a challenge. Now picture taking a child you’ve never met before, who doesn’t speak English and might have medical issues.

Suburban flight attendants who volunteer say it’s not always easy, but it’s immensely rewarding. Among their many stories are children who cried for most of the flight, one who nearly died over the Atlantic Ocean and another who kept trying to breast-feed.

They also must deal with common travel woes like flight delays, visa issues and getting bumped from overbooked flights, leaving them to wait for hours with the child in an airport. Yet, they all say it’s worth it.

“All we are is part of the chain that gets them here,” said volunteer flight attendant Linda Feeney, of Geneva. “We just get to be a little part of the miracle.”

The 175 volunteers — mostly female American Airlines flight attendants and moms who are active with other children’s charities — use their days off, their company benefits to provide the child’s ticket and their own supplies of diapers, books and snacks to escort the children.

They end up being mothers in the sky in many ways. Not only are they medical escorts, but many are trained to keep an eagle eye out for human trafficking.

Ambassadors founder and President Nancy Rivard said her flight attendants gave a tip to police that broke up a child pornography ring in Boston, saving 86 children, and also helped uncover 14 cases of human trafficking, including a dramatic story that happened in February on an Alaska Airlines flight. A flight attendant left a note in the bathroom for a teenage girl who was traveling with a suspicious-looking man, asking if she needed help. The girl wrote that she did, and the police met the man as he exited the plane.

Most of the job, though, is bringing children to and from the U.S. for medical care. While the volunteers are not allowed to administer medicine, they are made aware of the child’s condition and needs.

Volunteer flight attendant Maria Horgan, of Geneva, who has a 23-year-old son, joked that she now remembers how awful it is to change diapers on an airplane. But she’s never had a child misbehave, scream or cry a lot. Most of the children are exhausted by the time they get on the plane, so they’ll often sleep.

Horgan recalls one 5-year-old African boy who cried “Mama! Mama!” after the airplane’s doors closed and he realized his host family wasn’t coming with him. “I just said, ‘You’re going back to see your mama in Africa!’ … and he was fine,” she said. “Kids adjust so easily. It’s totally amazing. I wish I could volunteer more often.”

Feeney once flew nine hours from Paris to Chicago with a 7-year-old Jordanian boy whom she adored, even though he only spoke Arabic. The two played card games like “War,” read books, took the magazines out of the seat pocket and pointed to photos, and ate the snacks she’d packed. She doesn’t bring junk food because children from other countries might not recognize it. So she’ll pack things like bananas or microwaveable rice bowls.

The program was founded by Rivard, who noticed the empty seats on some international flights.

“I thought, ‘Why can’t we use this space to help people? Why can’t we, as flight attendants, model a new way of travel? Traveling to make a difference,'” she said.

Fired up about the idea, she presented it to airline management and other flight attendants, but no one was interested. So Rivard started doing one thing a month to help a child, even if it was collecting the soaps and shampoos from hotels and donating them. Then she volunteered to fly a child back to Cambodia. When the other flight attendants saw what she was doing, they wanted to join too. The volunteer program was born.

“You get to be a little part of something that changed this child’s life,” Doi said. “But the families that host these children (in the U.S.), and the doctors that treat them, they’re the real stars.”
15 Jul 2017

Peru Mission July 2017

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Peru Mission July 2017

Thanks for our team providing aid to 186 families in Carapongo, close to Lima, many of whom had lost their homes during recent devastating flooding.  Our AAI team hand delivered clothes, diapers shoes and dozens of brand new ‘CROC’s shoes.  See this short video of the aid donated by Fundacion Angeles de Esperanza, local Rotary Clubs El Polo and San Borja, and Airline Ambassadors.

The team distributed rice, oil and 60 cases of water to families,  while 56 kids played games in a festive atmosphere.  Besides the truckload of humanitarian aid, we provided a new stove set up for the community kitchen.  This was vital to the community’s well being, as many families had lost their kitchens altogether. Many thanks to Lourdes Venes, AAI Board member who mobilized local support to join the effort and to Jose Redondo, Mission Coordinator – who identified the project and led the effort. 

Thanks also to Maricela who flew in from Mexico and our our local partners, Humberto Martinez from Angeles de Esperanza and Maria Inez Morales, Christian Carthy , Cesar Canales representing local Rotary clubs and all the volunteers who showed up to help. 

Airline Ambassadors hosted its second mission trip to Carapongo, Peru. In the wake of the severe flooding that tore through Lima this past March, AAI’s goal is to aid the community’s efforts to rebuild. Alongside Angeles Esperanza and San Borja and El Polo Rotary Clubs, our volunteers provided Carapongo’s community kitchen, and other donations to 186 families.

While our immediate goal was disaster relief, AAI is also taking the opportunity to pair sustainable community rebuilding with sustainable community education, by initiating partnerships for future training in human trafficking education and prevention in Peru.

As part of Airline Ambassador’s Core Vision, this mission trip provides opportunities for volunteers to help others, spread goodwill, and bring compassion into action.  AAI team worked with local organizations, such as the Rotary Clubs of Peru, and Angeles Esperanza to amplify our aid and develop a lasting partnership.

We look forward to returning to Peru to help this community and provide long term support. On our next mission we plan to provide an oven & lessons in bread-making so the community can provide for themselves.

For more information please contact angels@airlineamb.org with the subject line “Peru Mission 2017”.  Any donations are appreciated and can be given on our Donation Page.

Please feel free to contact us with  questions.

Jose Redondo –
619.395.0179
Jose.redondo@airlineamb.org

Lourdes Venes – AAI Board Member
703.868.1211
Lourdes.venes@airlineamb.org
louvenes@aol.com
05 Jun 2017

Senate Testimony July 12, 2017

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Testimony to U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation

 Force Multipliers: “How the Transportation Industry can Combat Human Trafficking”

Nancy Rivard
President
Airline Ambassadors

The critical infrastructure of our transportation system can no longer be used as a tool to implement human trafficking, or modern day slavery. This is also the fastest growing crime in the world. It is linked to drug trafficking, human smuggling, arms trafficking and terrorism, also; human trafficking aboard aircraft is a cabin safety issue.

Traffickers often use the speed, convenience and comparative safety from detection of commercial air travel. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows 3.6 billion global passengers in 2016 and U.S. serving airlines carried 928.9 million domestic and international passengers..

Airline personnel can be ‘eyes in the skies” providing vital intelligence to law enforcement. They can be a force multiplier in the fight against human trafficking. One flight attendant interacts with a minimum of over 500 passengers per week. This translates to 24,000 passengers per year.

Airline Ambassadors International (AAI) was established in 1996 as a non-profit organization made up of members in the airline industry. AAI has led advocacy on human trafficking awareness since correctly identifying trafficking on four flights in 2009. Working with Congressional members and government agencies they developed an “industry specific” training, which has been provided to 5,000 frontline personnel at 57 U.S. airports and international locations. This training is provided by volunteer flight personnel and survivors of human trafficking and is consistent with the “Blue Lightning” protocol of the Department of Homeland Security.

The story of an Alaska Airlines flight attendant, Shelia Fedrick who saved a little girl with a note in the bathroom, went viral in February 2017 with over 2,000 media citations. Shelia is an AAI trainer and this is only one of dozens of stories of victims who have been saved as a result of these prevention efforts.

Airline Ambassadors International commends the leadership of Senator Thune for the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2016 (S.2658) which includes the requirement that flight attendants be trained to identify and report potential trafficking aboard flights. Since the new legislation, most airlines have now adopted a human trafficking policy and have implemented a minimum level of training for flight attendants. However, there is still more work to do to strengthen this momentum.

PROBLEMS STILL NEEDING SOLUTIONS

AIRLINE INDUSTRY

Oversight

There is not adequate oversight evaluating effectiveness of training on human trafficking awareness in the airline industry. There is not motivation for companies to ensure maximum effectiveness of such training of flight attendants, or to train other critical employee groups at major human trafficking transit hubs, including airports.

 Flight Attendants

Positive momentum has begun with several airlines adopting the DHS Blue Lightening computer based training, or a few slides in the on line portion of recurrent training. However many airline professionals have said they do not pay close attention to on line trainings and the typical flight attendant glosses through on line trainings as fast as they can, and very little of the information is retained. The issue of human trafficking awareness is not even mentioned by the training staff of most U.S. based airlines during annual training. Emphasis by trainers is needed in recurrent training.

Pilots

When flight attendants report suspected trafficking situation on board they are to inform the pilots, who are to radio the upcoming airport, to contact law enforcement for evaluation. However, in two recent cases the pilots refused to report despite the fact that flight attendants were concerned and the procedure was in their “In Flight Manual”. The pilots stated that they were reluctant to cause a problem for the passenger and the suspected trafficker and victim deplaned unhindered. . This issue needs to be addressed in pilot recurrent annual training so pilots will feel comfortable following the procedure.

Operations personnel

Operations personnel are also not trained. Their responsibility is to monitor hundreds of flights arriving at each major airport location.   When questioned recently on what action would be taken if a pilot radioed in a potential human trafficking on the flight, one supervisor replied that he would take no action, as this issue was not related to aircraft security.

Passenger Service Agents

Agents also see trafficking indicators when interacting with customers checking in for flights and are not trained how to respond. Some have shared that they have seen many potential cases but did not know who to report to and were even concerned about risking their jobs. Many have said they would like training so that they know what is expected of them, and most are quite willing to act.

Lack of Corporate Commitment

Although the private sector is critical in this fight, most airlines truly do not understand the importance of human trafficking awareness and hesitant to integrate new actions into their corporate cultures.   They are nervous that vigilante flight attendants will make false accusations and cause a lawsuit. They have no motivation to ensure proper training for employees, eliminate trafficking in the supply chain or adopt policies on this issue that include providing of training and job opportunities for victims. When AAI sent a letter on April, 2017 to the CEO’s of 24 airlines and hospitality companies to support human trafficking policies and being open to hiring survivors – there was no response.

Data Sharing – Law Enforcement

The Department of Homeland Security was created under the Patriot Act to coordinate information among agencies and partners to secure our critical infrastructure, but this information is not shared. Despite formal FOIA requests for how many tips came from airports where trainings were given, no information was shared and thus, evaluation of training programs cannot be measured.  Although details of law enforcement cases should remain confidential, the sharing of information on how many tips were received, and if they led to arrests or prosecutions would provide valuable data for NGO’s, airlines, academia and the American public.

Reporting Mechanisms

The current public reporting systems for receiving human trafficking “tips”, cannot receive data rich information from the partners that is seeks to empower. For example, AAI employs a smartphone application that can transmit encrypted trafficking data in critical real time, but law enforcement and NGO partners cannot receive such data, including video, recordings, text and pictures.

Department of Homeland Security has spent millions of dollars on an excellent advertising campaign on human trafficking awareness with posters highlighting sex, domestic servitude and labor trafficking, but

  1. The reporting phone number is different from the National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH ) # which is confusing for the general public.
  2. The DHS Hotline is not a direct number
  3. Although the National Human Trafficking Hotline can receive texts there is no mechanism to receive data rich information by either Hotline, which many AAI trained professionals are equipped to provide.

Recommendations

 Oversight

  1. The relevant critical infrastructure oversight agency (FAA or DOT) should be established to provide minimum results based educational standards to oversee compliance to human trafficking training for airline transport industry.

 Enhanced Training for Airline Personnel

  1. Minimal, on line training should be supplemented with classroom mention and training should be required for all frontline or relevant employee groups – flight attendants, pilots, operations personnel and passenger agents.
  2. Legislation to require airlines to train staff could provide resources for live Train the Trainer programs on human trafficking to training staff of major U.S. based airlines. Such training should include live participation of survivors of human trafficking to make the issue come alive for trainees, so training staff of each airline will understand the issue and emphasize it during annual recurrent trainings.

Corporate Commitment

  1. Legal protection offered to airline and employees who report potential trafficking be established along with a reporting protocol to FAA or the Department of Transportation.
  2. Tax incentives be considered for companies for providing minimum standards in compliance to combat human trafficking, (including training of employees, elimination of trafficking in the supply chain and willingness to provide jobs to victims of trafficking.)
  3. Federal government consider providing incentive to airline companies by deciding to book government travel only on those air carriers meeting minimum standards for corporate social responsibility in this area.

Data Sharing

  1. A system be established to measure the number of trafficking tips received from airports, airlines and airport employees and number of “tips” which lead to actual cases and prosecutions.
    1. That data be shared with relevant partners or academic institutions for evaluation.

Strengthen Reporting Mechanism

    1. Establishment of an email address to be monitored 24/7 as a system for reporting potential human trafficking “tips” for quick response and the ability to receive data rich information – phone, text, email, pictures, video and geo-location to ensure prompt action and the ability to receive rich data – rather than just a phone call or text

In the words of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, APFA: largest flight attendant union in the United States:

“We are committed not only to preparing our membership to recognize and report suspected instances of human trafficking, but also to raise public awareness of the problem. Flight attendants have thwarted these criminals in the past, but putting an end to human trafficking will require a coordinated and sustained effort as well the commitment of the entire transportation industry.”

Mexico — Airlines are being urged to train more flight attendants to help prevent human trafficking, placing cabin crew on the front line of the fight against sexual exploitation and slavery.

Airline leaders meeting in Mexico will be briefed by the United Nations agency responsible for tackling the largely hidden crime, which the United Nations says nets smugglers $150 billion profit a year.

“We want … airlines to join our campaigns and our initiatives in order to make human trafficking and migrant smuggling visible,” Felipe De La Torre of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), told Reuters ahead of the June 4-6 meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

According to the International Labour Organisation, almost 21 million people are in forced labour, meaning three out of every 1,000 people on the planet are enslaved at any given time.

In a case that sprang to public attention in February, an Alaska Airlines flight attendant helped rescue a teenage girl from alleged trafficking onboard a domestic U.S. flight in 2011 by leaving her a note in the toilet.

Shelia Frederick told NBC TV her suspicions had been aroused by the girl’s dishevelled appearance compared to the smart clothes and controlling attitude of her older male companion. The pilot alerted police who arrested the man on arrival.

More than 70,000 U.S. airline staff have been trained to identify smugglers and their victims in that way under the Blue Lightning initiative, launched in 2013 with the support of JetBlue, Delta Air Lines and others.

Such training has since become mandatory.

But Nancy Rivard, a former flight attendant hailed as a pioneer of such training, said the U.S. federal programme is poorly funded and that the majority of foreign airlines are barely starting to focus on the problem.

“This exists in every country in the world. There is room for improvement but at least we are beginning to make changes,” Rivard, founder of Airline Ambassadors International, said.

online training does not go far enough, she added.

AWARENESS PLEA

Airlines are asked to report suspicions to authorities but not step into the shoes of investigators. UNODC has produced a card called #BeAwareOfTheSigns it wants airlines to distribute.

“When you see a person who’s afraid or threatened, or suspicious interactions in a couple, or a very old person with a small child and they are not related or emotionally connected, those are possible signs,” De La Torre told Reuters.

Although some airlines have mounted campaigns, this week’s meeting of around 200 airline bosses marks the first time the issue has been discussed globally in aviation. Further steps could be discussed at IATA’s next full meeting in 2018.

“It’s a growing concern and our industry is strongly mobilised to fight against human trafficking,” said IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac.

Still, some of IATA’s 117 nations face criticism over allegations of forced labour and some delegates questioned how willing they would be to draw attention to the issue, while airline chiefs may be reluctant to put their brands at risk.

JetBlue, which took part in an online discussion on the issue on Sunday, urged airlines to put aside such concerns.

“There is no downside. There is only upside in saving and helping people with their lives so we encourage all airlines to get on board,” senior vice-president Robert Land told Reuters.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher in Cancun; Editing by James Dalgleish
30 May 2017

Spring Mission to the Philippines

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Airline Ambassadors International, May 2017May 6th, 2017

First Officer Phil Page and Ella

On Our Way Home

 We have made our journey to the Philippines. We come together today, among chaos, laughter, love, pain and the busyness of our individual lives to this place of peace. I am finally home, with all of you and I am grateful to be in this magical place called Shepherd of the Hills! 

You are my family. Everyone here today:

 My daughter Kim: I longed for the time you would be here with me to experience this together!

My life partner and best friend: “Uncle Philip.” You are supportive and kind. Thank you for joining me on your third journey to the Philippines!

To the person in this room who has known me the longest, and much more importantly, who has done the most, in such a short period of time, for the kids here at SOTH: “Uncle Brian.”

Uncle Brian and Rose

To my lifelong friends, Patty and Karen, you will never know how much your presence means to me.

 To Sarah, I remember the day that you were born. You are growing up to be such a beautiful person inside and out!

Hugo, Hugo, Hugo, “Uncle Hugo,” Your enthusiasm has transformed all of us with AAI.  We have had to “step it up” and go beyond…because of you!

I want to extend a special thank you to our three, energetic “Delta Girls”: Megan, Heather and Jamie for just being here. Your youthfulness inspires the kids, and you can sing some of the same songs! 


Auntie Christine and Casey

To Monica: for liking this place immediately, and especially for following your heart to be here again 

Maricel, Kim and Faye

today.

To our new friends: Lucy, Jade and Casey for finding your way to the Philippines.  Lucy, thank you so much for your fundraising efforts and for your donation of $1,800. This is so amazing and we truly thank you!

I also want thank Connex, Leah, and all of the teachers and staff for welcoming us home once again!

 With all of this, however, I am saddened that our dear Ruth is not here to hug and greet us today. We have memories, but there are no words to express the loss we all share.

When I look around this room today, I am absolutely overjoyed too by God’s glory, Ruth’s wisdom, her children, and her legacy. Ruth has given the ultimate gift. She gave us life. She touched us as a mother and gave us hope.


She led Airline Ambassadors International here through her gracious hands. Ruth life’s work continues in me and in you. I can see her clearly now through your eyes.

Thank you to Nathan for being the father of us all, for enduring such hardship and loss, and for continuing to provide for others. Your life’s work is expanding to provide education, art and music for the community children. We truly appreciate you opening your home and hearts to us once again. And thank you to your family and all of the children here at Shepherd of the Hills for the love that you share with us today!

        Auntie Christine

 

 

 Bravo to Lucy – Youth Ambassador who made a difference! 
 – here is her report:

Hi Everyone!

Almost two weeks ago I returned home from my trip to the Philippines. I spent an amazing week at the Shepherd of the Hills orphanage in San Antonio, and am pleased to inform you that you have helped me to raise approximately US$ 3,117/ € 2.788 for them!

There are approximately 60 children at the orphanage there, ranging from 3 – 18 years old. The older kids work at the orphanage, and they all treat each other like family. They’ve built their own “huts” where they sleep, a school building, and a church. The community is lovely and feels very safe, and those living there have the opportunity to play sports, learn, and work.

This experience really opened my eyes, as hearing all their unique – but also sad – stories and experiences taught me a lot in the sense of being thankful for the opportunities I have, and wanting to make the most of them. I was very glad to see how happy the children are there, and how they care for each other like they do.

We spent a lot of time playing games and teaching them new things. Because the children have very few belongings, and as recommended by the project leaders, I spent some of the money raised to purchase stationary and various materials for them to work with. We also made gift bags for all the children, filled with things that they would normally not have access to, such as school bags, stuffed animals, games, hats, crayons, and many other materials. During the day some children and volunteers played music, and a few members of our group brought their guitars to teach the kids how to play. 

We also took the children out to the cinema, as they had never been to one before. This new experience was an enormous treat for them. Their appreciation really brought me joy.

The rest of the money raised will be donated directly to the orphanage. It will be used to buy clothing, school materials and other items that will help satisfy their basic needs. Some of these funds will also contribute to assuring clean drinking water. When converted into Philippino Pesos, the amount donated will have much more purchasing power than it would in Europe or the USA, which amplifies the impact that your donations will have!

Below are some pictures with the children.

Thank you again for supporting my efforts, and for donating to this great cause!

Warm wishes,

Lucy

18 May 2017

Jose Receives President Award!

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AAI Mission Director – JOSE REDONDO received the 2017 President’s Award from the President of American Eagle in May 2017 acknowledging his volunteerism and humanitarian efforts with Airline Ambassadors.  In Jose”s words:

“First of all I am very grateful to my mom Bertha M. Raffo for all the words and all the support, all the teachings you’ve given me throughout my life always, for trusting me all in time and for giving me that confidence to always seek to grow and never give up. Olivo Santiago-Madera, thanks for all the support always, I am grateful for the nomination and hope and I will always be giving my 110 percent effort to give my most of every day.

Also many thanks to Maricela Perez, thank you for your support love and friendship always.”
18 May 2017

Claudia Returns Home

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Before facial reconstruction surgery

After Reconstruction- Claudia played a mouse in Cinderella!

Claudia was accompanied by ORD Flight Attendant Anne Tepe from CVG to CDG and ASF escort Sylvie Paillieux from CDG home to Cotonou.  Sylvie was also the escort who brought her to CDG from her homeland and she could hardly believe Claudia’s dramatic transformation.

  ****
Below letter from Annie Gauf Program Manager for Childspring, to all who helped Claudia:

Dear Team Claudia,

After eight months in Cincinnati and multiple facial reconstructive surgeries, Claudia safely returned home to Benin and is reunited with her family! During her final weeks in the US, she participated in the school play “Cinderella” in the role of a mouse, went ice skating, and performed many songs and dances with her host sister. Perhaps most exciting, though, she celebrated her “fake” birthday! Her birthday isn’t until August, but one of her wishes was to have a birthday party since she observed the tradition on her host siblings’ birthdays. Her host family invited their friends and extended family for the celebration. In the attached picture you can see her cake adorned with her favorite Disney characters, Moana and Elsa.

Claudia’s long journey home was uneventful and late Sunday night she was greeted at the airport by friends and family. Her mother, happy to see her daughter healthy, expressed her gratitude saying, “Thank you for saving my daughter’s life.”

Childspring extends our deepest appreciation to “Team Claudia” who was instrumental in making this life-saving opportunity possible for her.

All my best, Annie Gauf

CLT flight attendant Kathleen Haas just brought Baby Timothy from Minsk, Belarus to Grand Rapids where he will have donated cardiac surgery. While in Minsk, Kathleen, who is also an RN, stayed in the baby’s home so they could become more familiar with each other.

Danielle deBeauffort also recently accompanied Edin, age 15 from SAP to MIA. Edin, a burn patient,  was enroute to BOS for treatment for his severe burns. We had to replace an escort at the last minute who was scheduled to accompany him to BOS and were unable to find a replacement escort for the last leg of his trip so Danielle waited at the BOS gate until after his flight departed. His host mom in BOS called to let us know when she met him and all was well. Having to replace an escort two days before departure is something we never want to have to do and fortunately, it seldom happens. It was a bit upsetting to Edin, also, because it was his first airplane ride, first time leaving his family, and he speaks no English. Kudos to Danielle who quickly volunteered to accompany him up to MIA and saved the day for us. She was only off one day so was unable to continue on to BOS with him.”

 
01 May 2017

An AA – AAI Star!

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Many thanks for generous donations and support from Stephanie Lathos Polanco who is also a United Nations Representative for Airline Ambassadors!

American Airlines also acknowledged her for being an all round exemplary employee and we are so proud to have her part of our team:  See this LINK

Stefanie Lathos-Polanco dedicates her life and career to servant leadership

 Download PDF  Format (opens in new window)

At American Airlines, it’s not uncommon to hear stories of great bravery, quick thinking or clever resourcefulness occurring behind the scenes on tarmacs, in airports or somewhere along the aisle in an aircraft.

Each quarter, American recognizes hard-working team members who are often the ultimate team player with a positive attitude with the aptly named Above & Beyond awards. A&Bs, as they are called, are awarded to peers for great work and servant leadership.

Peers like Stefanie Lathos-Polanco. After becoming a Phoenix-based flight attendant in 2011, Stefanie wasted no time before getting involved. To name just a few of her pet projects: American Airlines’ Critical Incident Response Team, the Flight Attendant Recruitment team, Airline Ambassadors International and Do Crew. Stefanie is also active Phoenix Flight Service team she organizes every year for the Susan G. Komen Walk — even decking out the crew room in pink to raise awareness for American’s annual Be Pink campaign. And then there’s the pet projects that involve pets themselves, including the Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA.

“I try to continue [my father’s] legacy and be as involved as I possibly can in all the amazing outreach and humanitarian projects American Airlines has to offer.”

But the organization that really stands out on her laundry list of good deeds is UNICEF’s Change for Good program, in which travelers on selected international American Airlines flights can donate unused currency onboard the aircraft. Last year, the “Champions” gathering the donations — aka, flight attendants — collected $1,048,668. The money was used to curb child malnutrition in Guatemala, support UNICEF’s response for children during the earthquake in Ecuador as well as Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, contribute to UNICEF’s flagship girls education initiative, “Let Us Learn,” and support maternal and child health initiatives in Nicaragua and help children who need it most across the world.

This year, Stefanie was nominated by her peers to be one of the four Champions of the Year, recognizing her for her passion, leadership and dedication to children around the world.

Chairman and CEO Doug Parker recognized the 2016 UNICEF Champions of the Year at the quarterly State of the Airline.

When asked what draws her to the Change for Good Program and all of the other teams focused on helping people, the answer comes easily. “I automatically think of my father,” says Stefanie, of her dad who passed away in 2006. “He dedicated his entire career and life to assist others, opening countless nonprofit organizations in California and the Northwest. He instilled a strong need to give back to our community from the time I was little.”

As a matter of fact, she took her first international humanitarian trip with UNICEF on the weekend of her Dad’s birthday. “I couldn’t think of a better way to honor him than to be starting officially with the program on his special day. I have a feeling he’ll be looking down and feeling very proud. I have American Airlines to thank for that.”

Knowing all of this about Stefanie, it was no surprise that she was nominated for an A&B in 2016. Each quarter at the State of the Airline address, American Airlines CEO and a “specially chosen assistant” conduct a raffle-style drawing, pulling the names of countless A&B nominees out of a large rotating drum. The prize? Ten thousand dollars.

In the second quarter of 2016, Stefanie’s name was drawn. But it’s what she did with the money that was the biggest surprise of all: She gave it all away.

“I chose to pay it forward, so I gave my gift of American Airlines’ $10,000 to my favorite charities,” Stefanie says. “I knew that the money really never felt like mine. I knew that it really belonged to people that were in need.”

But her story doesn’t end there. Really, that was just the beginning.

In honor of Stefanie’s generosity, at the next quarter’s State of the Union meeting, CEO Doug Parker decided to pull three additional names from the drum full of A&B nominees — each to be given the $10,000 grand prize. As Stefanie, the ”specially chosen assistant,” reached inside the drum and pulled the names, Doug said, “These are the ‘Stefanie winners.’ They only won because you were so generous with your winnings.”

In typical Stefanie fashion, she gave him a hug. Truth be told, there are a lot of “Stefanie winners,” people throughout the world who have benefitted from her generosity. Later, Stefanie had a chance to reflect on the whole experience. “I’m thankful to just be a small part of that story,” Stefanie says. “If anything at all, really I’m just grateful.”

This fall, she’ll head out on her second humanitarian mission with Airline Ambassadors International, this time to Nepal where she’ll spend time with the kids at The Divine Light School and teach English to monks at the Namo Buddha Monastery. As part of that organization, she was asked to be a United Nations Representative for AAI, advocating for children’s rights.

“Some of my favorite childhood memories are volunteering in our neighborhood, and in those less fortunate as well,” says Stefanie of her own childhood, including those precious memories with her father. “This is why I try to continue his legacy and be as involved as I possibly can in all the amazing outreach and humanitarian projects American Airlines has to offer.”
28 Apr 2017

Escort Stories April

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Carrie Quilici, (left) PHX F/A hands 5 year old Saido over to ASF escort Christophe Tabit in CDG as he continues his journey home to Burkina Faso. Carrie accompanied Saido from ORD to CDG and Saido begged to stay with Carrie until she finally told him that if he stayed with her he wouldn’t see him mom. So then he was ready to go on with Christophe.

Not only did Carrie Quilici and Bunny Doi take Baby Dominique and sweet Saidou back to CDG, they also brought 3 more kids back to the US – Yvan and Ma, both 4 years old and Ibrahim, age 8 who will all go to CMH for donated medical care. The two boys are orthopedic patients and little Ma is having a re-check for her retinablastoma surgery.
This pic (right) was made in CLT as they exited customs and handed the kids over to our domestic escorts who accompanied them on to CMH. In the pic  L to R in their flight attendant uniforms are Betty Taylor, PHLAA F/A,  Bunny Doi, ORDAA F/A,  Carrie Quilici, PHXAA F/A, and Michelle Burge, ORDAA F/A. The others are CLT people assisting with wheelchairs.
 Many thanks to our coordinating team and all the selfless escorts who make these life changing journeys. 
27 Apr 2017

AAI in VIENNA May

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Modern Day Slavery is the human rights issue of our time

Airline Ambassadors coordinated an official side event at the Commission on Crime Prevention at UNODC headquarters in Vienna May 22-26, 2017 on social innovations for effective crime prevention in Human Trafficking. Austrian Representative, Birgit Karner coordinated a great agenda for the AAI team, Youth for Human Rights and Human Trafficking Investigations and Training Institute to present at Acadamie Diplomatique as well as strategy meetings at OSCE, the US Embassy and Parliament to explore opportunities to expand our efforts to raise awareness of human trafficking.  Here are short videos from some of our team

Tereza Garza; Zeljika Momirovic; Nancy Rivard; Mary Shuttleworth; Lourdes Venes

Representatives from the AAI, UNODC, YHRI, HTITI will present their joint efforts on promoting awareness of human trafficking among flight crew, police, military and civil society, as an innovative way to use education as a tool to effectively reduce crime and promote efforts to prevent crimes. Speakers will showcase the concrete results of their partnership so far implemented in many countries that can be tailored to reach a wider audience.

Panelists will present ways to detect signs of human trafficking, as well as how to react appropriately to prevent serious crimes from happening right within one’s sphere of influence. Following that they will also elaborate and discuss how similar programs can be implemented throughout other states and within a larger global alliance or public-private partnership.

The public is invited to ask questions and to exchange ideas.

THE PARTNERS WANT TO THANK THE DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY FOR COOPERATION AND SUPPORT
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