I was inspired by former American Ambassador to Bahrain Francis Cook, who celebrated July 4th in Bahrain by engaging with the local community and volunteering for a good cause. She and her colleagues made a permanent difference and inspired me to help a local District school in celebration of those two historic occasions.
I called Michelle Rhee, Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools, who along with her team selected the school for us – Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School on Capitol Hill – which was already planning a “Community Beautification Day on Saturday, August 22.
We closed the Embassy the day before, August 21, to donate our time and also contributed $17,000 to Ludlow-Taylor. This amount of money is exactly what we spent the year before on a big hotel luncheon.
It was a memorable day for all the embassy and school staff who worked together doing basic clean-up inside and out, clearing brush and watering, cleaning windows, painting walls, creating bulletin boards, and other needed tasks. We loved being useful with our hands and our hearts.
Of course, both His Majesty King Abdullah II and Her Majesty Queen Rania’s leadership in promoting education, empowering the youth and encouraging the spirit of volunteerism in Jordan and beyond is reason enough for us to lend a hand to our American friends here in Washington. The day was a modest token of appreciation for the friendship our two countries have enjoyed over the past 60 years. Hopefully, other ambassadors and embassies will be inspired by the idea and embark on similar projects.
