Beginning with the common threads we share, we can spin the beginnings of peace, knit together neighborhoods and weave together a world that we give to our children to do the same; a world that seeks the best in each of us and where those common threads become the fiber of our being. —Anonymous
The three Named IPS Fund recipients, each weaving a thread
to make the world a better place, are Briar March, New Zealand;
Susanne Stromdahl, Sweden; and Holly Wiles, Zimbabwe.
Briar March is the recipient of the Named Jean Negus Malmo International Peace Scholarship award, Chapter BL, Seattle, Washington. Her field of study is documentary film and video and she is attaining her master of fine arts degree at Stanford University in California. Briar is a documentary filmmaker with more than eight years of experience working in the film and television industry. Her most recent feature, “There Once was an Island,” which explores the impact of climate change in the Pacific, has been on the festival circuit for just six months and has been screened in seven countries, receiving numerous awards. Briar states, “My documentaries have helped raise awareness on issues close to my heart, such as cultural identity, human rights, feminism and climate change. Making films also challenges my own cultural and social perceptions and has forced me to develop an active voice on the issues I am exploring and become an active participant in my community.”
Dr. Susanne Stromdahl is the recipient of the Named Ventura Neale International Peace Scholarship award, Chapter M, Miami, Florida. Dr. Stromdahl is seeking her master of public health with a focus on global health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. Susanne has been working as a physician specializing in internal medicine/infectious diseases. She has spent time studying/working in Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Tanzania and South Africa. Her research field is looking at high-risk behaviors for HIV/AIDS in rural low-income settings in Tanzania and South Africa. In Tanzania, she says, “We found great joy as we witnessed the improvement and survival of AIDS patients in response to the antiretroviral treatment. One mother’s survival meant that her children were rescued from being orphaned, homeless, hungry and unable to attend school. This experience had a great impact on me and I became motivated to help in the struggle against poverty and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.”
Holly Kate Wiles is the recipient of the Named Gladys E. Knowles International Peace Scholarship award, Chapter Y, Billings, Montana. Holly will be the first fully certified audiologist in Zimbabwe when she receives her clinical doctorate in audiology from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Holly tells this story: “One day two summers ago, I stared at a frightened little boy who was hiding behind his father because he couldn’t talk. Ten minutes in an audiologist’s office in the United States would have opened the door of sound to this boy but within the entire country of Zimbabwe, there is not one doctor of audiology. This is my home. Zimbabwe has become an impoverished African nation with limited healthcare and very limited resources for those with language and speech disorders. I want to fulfill this need.” In addition, Holly wants to establish a non-profit organization to test and treat underprivileged hearing-impaired people across her country.
