” Just a quick up date. Jennifa is safely home. What an amazing reception she had filled with so much love from her family. I’m currently in the UK getting ready to catch my flt back to EWR.
H
ello everyone,
I can’t thank you all enough for all the wonderful memories we made with the children at Shepherd of the hills Children’s home and families at the dump site. All your efforts for joining the trip really means a lot to me. I’m still very sorry about Brian….I’m hoping you can join us again.
The families at the Dump site really appreciate anything we do for them….I will make sure we take lots of small things for the children next time. The feeding and fresh water program is so important and they really need it…thank you all so much for your help with this.
Everyone at Shepherd of the hills are always so grateful for everything that we do, I think they really loved the playground (the rest will be delivered soon) and bicycles, they bought 4 small bikes for the younger children….(I left the money from us for that). I’ll send you all a picture next…they look so nice with the younger kids riding them. All the extra things that made our trip so very special….Attending the graduation was an honor, church time, singing and dancing, the Easter egg hunt, making loom band jewelry, playing sports, walking to the river (some of you running), the traditional boat ride and Island hopping, finding great shells and sea glass, swimming with the kids, ice cream time, late night talks and singing, pizza making, helping the kids learn how to ride bikes, and henna tattoos (that was a first) …. And so much more.
As you can all see the children mean so much to me and I know you all feel the same way, they never forget us and always ask where and how we are doing. Many people make the trip many times….it’s all because of love for the children. I can’t tell you how this makes me feel to share this with such a wonderful group. Everyone contributed something so special and I thank you all so much.
We all get busy in our lives but please let me know if you need anything. The next trip will be October 21-26 …the dates may change by 1-2 days but these are set for now, just waiting for final word from Ruth. October 21 Dump site visit, 22-26 Shepherd of the Hills. If anyone is interested let me know!! There will be a large group going and some of us will get the chance to stay in a cottage if you want…. Or air conditioned room !!
I will also send you the break down of all the funds spent…I’m working on that today. It’s always nice to see where our money went.
Thank you for all who sponsored a child…this really helps with their education, since so many are passing the exam to go to a private school. This means so much.
Thank you for the beautiful note book….the notes from everyone are very special to me, I really appreciate it and will treasure it always !! Judy you left before you signed it….do I have to come find you ??
Please keep in touch and let me know what you are all doing from time to time.
It was very nice meeting all of you and I look forward to seeing you again,
All my Love,
Cheryl
Our AAI team of ten returned from another amazing mission to the Philippines on April 14, 2015.
The first stop was to the dumpsite in Abatex where we provided enough food and clean water for three months. The families were so grateful and girl shared this was the first food she had eaten in two days. The kids put on a great performance for all of us. We noticed that they needed a basketball net and on the way back, Linda Winslow found one at the market to provide some recreation for the children here who have so little.
We arrived at Shepherd of the Hills Children’s home and were greeted by the lovely children with lei’s made of ribbon. The whole team got to participate in the graduation of the elementary school children in a touching ceremony. We shared an overnight at the beach, went island hopping on outriggers, swimming in the ocean and the pool…and .everyone got temporary tatoos. 
Many thanks to Cathay Pacific Airways who provided transportation allowing Airline Ambassadors extra money to provide 21 bikes and a new playground for the children! Dave Rivard even starting a running club with the older kids and laid out a training course for the new team. We made pizzas, did crafts and even coordinated a night Easter Egg Hunt with glow in the dark eggs. After an inspiring church service, and plenty of interactive time….the kids put on a spectacular closing show, topped off by the surprise donation from Carol Kemm (from USDA) to start a sustainable agriculture program and Nancy Rivard presented another significant donation representing the spectacular success of the new sponsorship program. She acknowledged Christine Davidson, sponsorship coordinator…..and 4 more children were sponsored on that trip as a result of connections made! It is these personal connections, that blesses us as much as the children we serve. Read the heart felt letter from Mission Leader, Cheryl Robinson HERE
Join us September 16 – 19, 2015, to distribute backpacks filled with school supplies and toiletries to the children of Diakonos’ Small Community of Family in Carrefour, Haiti and Kids’ House elementary school and other children in the community who are in danger of missing school because they cannot afford to purchase their school books and basic school supplies.
Help us send 60 disadvantaged school children living in Haiti to school this year fully furnished by collecting and donating new backpacks and the schools supplies found on the side list.
All donations MUST be in no later than September 4th, 2015.
Registration is $135.00
Deadline for registration will be August 21, 2015
Cost of mission trip is $540.00 (excluding airfare and food.) This includes a tax deductible donation of $100 to the Diakono’s Small Community of Family home to help with the children’s tuition and uniforms.
Leaving MIA to PAP: September 16th 10 AM Return PAP to MIA: September 19th 10:35 am Sign up at http://www.diakonosintl.org/volunteer- recruitment-form.html to receive more information
WE ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO ENTREAT THE HELP OF YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, CHURCH AND CO-WORKERS SO WE CAN BE A BLESSING TO 60 DISADVANTAGED SCHOOL CHILDREN. THEY CAN DONATE BY VISITING: http://www.diakonosintl.org
AT LEAST 1 BACKPACK AND SELECT SUPPLIES FROM THE LIST BELOW.
PENCILS / PENS: Blue, Red,
CRAYONS
RULERS
ERASERS
PENCIL SHARPENERS COMPASS SET GLUE
COMPOSITION BOOKS PENS/PENCIL HOLDERS CANDIES/COOKIES
BACKPACK/BACK TO SCHOOL MISSION TRIP ITINERARY: Total cost of the trip $540 (excluding airfare and meals)
Participants will be responsible for their meals except for lunch during the day of arrival and of school distribution.
The price of the mission trip per person includes lodging and transportation in Haiti, PAP airport’s gratuity as well as our donation and beach day on the last day, gas and $50 donation to Kominoté Ti Fanmi Nou de Diakonos Children’s Home to help with their tuition budget. We ask each participant to:
1) Please fill out the VOLUNTEER FORM. Scroll on the bottom and on the left you will see the PAYPAL links to pay for either your registration or reservation fee (Due to limited space availability a deposit of $135 per volunteer is required to reserve accommodation and transportation)- 2) Donate at least 1 BACKPACK to provide each participant with a school bag. (As a 501(c)(3) charitable program your gift may be tax deductible for federal income tax purposes)
Wednesday September 16th
MIA – PAP AA Flt 1665 10:15-12:15 Noon
2:00 pm – Transfer directly to Kominoté Ti Fanmi Nou de Diakonos Children’s Home 3:00 pm – Volunteer orientation and Welcome Lunch at KTFN
4:30 pm – Depart to Auberge du Quebec
Thursday September 17th
8:30 am – Depart for Kominoté Ti Fanmi Nou de Diakonos Children’s Home
9:00 am – Meet and greet the children and staff of Our Small Community of Family 10:00 am – Back to School Distribution
1:00 pm – Tour of Port-au-Prince
4:00 pm – Return to Auberge du Quebec
Friday September 18th
10:00 pm – Depart for Tour of Petionville
1:00 pm – Lunch at local Restaurant in Petionville
Saturday September 19th
7:00 am Depart for Airport Toussaint Louverture
PAP –Flt 377 10:35 Arrive in Miami – 12:45pm
DISCLAIMER: AIRLINE AMBASSADORS NOR DIAKONOS INTERNATIONAL WILL BE RESPONSIBLE IF VOLUNTEERS CHOOSE TO ARRIVE BEFORE OR DEPART AFTER THE PLAN DATES AND TIMES. VOLUNTEERS WILL BE RESPONSIBLE TO ARRANGE FOR THEIR HOTEL ROOM AND TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM THE AIRPORT.
“Train the Trainer”
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Flamingo Hotel, 3555 S. Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas NV 89109
The training is required before providing a public training for Airline Ambassadors on Human Trafficking Awareness and will be a great refresher for current trainers and we welcome new trainers as well!
TV Journalist Chris Hansen will join Airline Ambassadors team in Las Vegas on April 28, 2015 to provide a Human Trafficking Awareness Training to the Board of Directors for the Association of Flight Attendants. The training is now full.
The Association of Flight Attendants is the world’s largest Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for 67 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions. Nearly 60,000 Flight Attendants form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. www.afacwa.org.
The following day 25 flight crew will also participate in the 2nd Train the Trainer program for Airline Ambassadors.
Click HERE for more information.
Join us for this Yoga and Nature Charity Mission to Bogota, Colombia July 10 – 13 to brighten the lives of children at Orphanage “Rompiendo Cadenas” in Bogota, Colombia. Each day will start with optional yoga instruction and we will also share this with the children.
Thank you for your interest in attending our Mission to Bogota, Colombia “Reconnect with Nature” from July 10th to 13th, 2015. Please be sure to bring lots of love and smiles!! If you want to collect items from friends and relatives, you are allowed TWO checked bags free of charge on AA. Max weight is 50 pounds each. You can collect things like: toiletries, Towels, hotel shampoos and soaps, toothbrushes, hair accessories, underwear, clothing (ages 3 to 17), shoes, socks, toys, notebooks, pencils, coloring pencils,
The basic cost of this mission is $440.00 for single occupancy tourist room for 3 nights or $800.00 for two to share room ($400pp) The price includes:
- * 3 night hotel stay, tourist single occupancy Additional nights add $65.00 for single and $95.00 for two.
- * Daily Hot Breakfast included.
- * 3 day local transportation to our activities and shared taxi back to the airport.
- * Sunday bus transportation for all the kids and us to Mitanni Farm. (All day outdoor activities)
- * Sunday snacks and meals for all the kids and adults Does not include: Daily meals, except breakfast, and any other tour activities. The following room upgrades are available: From Tourist Room to Standard Room: add $8.00 per night X3 = $24.00 From Tourist Room to Suite Room: add $50.00 per night X 3= $150.00 Tourist Room: 215 sq. ft. of bedroom space. Standard Room: 365 sq. ft. of bedroom space plus living room. Suite Room: 613 sq. ft. of bedroom space plus living room, equipped kitchen and terrace. Basic Itinerary (subject to change)
Please email me alex.restrepo@airlineamb.org with any questions. Alex
See video from 2013 spring mission and enjoy this video montage – from similar mission in 2014 and follow up letter below.
Hello everyone,If you think it was just another weekend in your life, think again. It was a gift given to us, it was our gift given to them, and the only appropriate response is “gratefulness”. The appreciation of the incredible range of colors that nature give to us every day for our enjoyment and we take for granted so many times… We all looked at the sky and saw the clouds this weekend and we rarely do that in our everyday lives. We just think of the weather: good weather or bad weather. We all enjoyed the rain and the sun as we relaxed and appreciated the beauty of nature at the farm… None of us really cared about the rain, certainly not the kids. We have so many gifts and sometimes we don’t appreciate them. We open a faucet and there is hot water, cold water, we flip a switch and there is electrical light, we go to the bathroom and there is toilet paper and towels and drinkable water. Millions of people don’t know what it is to have all those 
gifts, but yet live very happy, like the kids from the foundation. They have never taken a hot shower in their lives. Each kid has an incredible story behind their faces — and sometimes we would never ever understand it. I wish you all open your heart to all these blessings and whoever meets you will be blessed by your eyes, your smile by your touch… just by your presence! Thank you for your presence in my life this weekend. I honor your friendship.
Love, Alex Restrepo
In the words of Terry Drew Karanan ” We serve not to be served, yet in the act of service we receive so much in return.“ Check out more of his thoughts here
Many thanks to Connie Turvey for leading three missions to Guatemala in November, February and March and inspiring more sponsorships giving children a key out of poverty.
She writes in her overview to volunteers: “I am a retired flight attendant from Southwest airlines. I came to Guatemala with one of my best friends in Feb 2008 to get out of the cold weather and I learned about Mayan Families. I came home and did a little research and decided to sponsor 7 students…obviously did not know what I was doing…. so I went back to check out Mayan Families the following April and decided they were miracle workers. I fell in love with the people and it has been history ever since. You will hear more of my testimony when you arrive in Guatemala. Happy and safe travels to you all. I am very excited about sharing what I love so much with all of you and especially those who are coming for the first time.
Connie or as I am known by the locals..Cony
Click here for more and a preview of next year’s missions: https://oldsite.airlineamb.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=4244&action=edit
Hello everyone! My name is Kylen and I am the new AAI UN Youth Representative! I was very excited to attend my first UN briefing at the UN Headquarters this past Thursday. The topic of this briefing was on Women and Slavery:
The briefing focused on African American women who had advocated for the abolition of slavery and how they essentially began the women’s rights movement. Susan B. Anthony stated “There will never be complete equality until women themselves help to make laws and elect lawmakers.” Elizabeth Maurer spoke about how only “15% of the content in American History textbooks involve women, and that every time a girl opens a book and reads a womenless history, she learns she is worth LESS.” The briefing also discussed modern day slavery and how there are more slaves today than there ever have been before. Francoise Verges stated “There is always a part of bonded labor in everything we buy today.” When African Americans were being bought and sold into slavery in the Americas, there was an unbalance between men and women. There were more slaves that were men, which led to a large number of sexual assaults among female slaves. For example, there was a plantation with 800 slaves; there were only 80 females.
This briefing was enlightening and I am happy to have been able to attend. Please stay tuned for more blog posts in the near future!
Help AAI Stop Human Slavery – a $150B Business
The buying and selling of women, girls and boys is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world. Airports in the United States and abroad are major hubs of entry and exit for perpetrators. Did you know that hundreds of thousands of victims are trafficked across international borders annually,or that in the United States, it is estimated that 100,000 domestic minors are forced into sexual slavery every year? These children are deprived of food, education, basic comforts and perhaps most importantly family – and they are forced to serve depraved people.
Airline Ambassadors International and your donations ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE but we need your help to continue. AAI is taking the lead in bringing awareness of one of the greatest human rights issues of our time to the airline industry. AAI believes that flight crews can be the frontline of defense in stopping this horrific crime https://oldsite.airlineamb.org/our-programs/human-trafficking-awareness/aai-presentation/ .We developed a training curriculum for airline, airport and hospitality partners consistent with the Blue Campaign of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security,which is the unified voice for the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to combat human trafficking.
Thus far, AAI has provided 27 trainings at airports across the U.S. and provided the very first training of flight crew in Europe ever, in Kiev, Ukraine in 2013. To continue, AAI desperately needs your help to expand our training program in 2015. Please show your support for this important training.
To make an immediate, tax-deductible gift to AAI, please visit https://oldsite.airlineamb.org/ and click on the DONATE button to donate now.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. 
