ANNUAL REPORT 2010 - WBFN

WORLD BANK FAMILY NETWORK
ANNUAL REPORT 2010

World Bank Family Network
annual report
July 2009 – June 2010
Editor: Louise Shimizu
Assistant Editor: Christinne A. Secrest
Layout: Gilda Dadush
Printing: World Bank Group Printing and Graphics

WBFN—The Year in Numbers
We welcomed over 480 newly arrived families!
FUN
• 270 people participated in our October Family Picnic;
• 809 kids and parents enjoyed our Children’s Holiday Party;
• 60 volunteers helped make our Annual Exhibit a great success;
• 129 of our children participated in the Children’s Art Competition Awards Ceremony;
• 310 children and adults participated in the Family Arts and Science Festival;
• And let us not forget our numerous neighborhood activities!...
INFORMATION
• 120 members attended five sessions of the Spouse/Partner Orientation;
• 69 members improved their English thanks to nine different English language courses;
• 69 members became computer literate with our computer courses;
• 70 members learned how to manage through the financial crisis with our financial classes;
• 302 members/staff attended our Information Seminars on legal, tax and benefits matters.
COMMUNICATIONS
• 12 volunteers teamed up to produce 10 issues of our Mosaic newsletter;
• 6 volunteers worked continuously on our website;
• 7 volunteers worked on a new concept for our publications, posters and flyers;
• 20 volunteers met repeatedly to synchronize Mosaic and the website;
• 17 volunteers toiled to improve/update our new member management system.
OUTREACH PROGRAMS
• The Book Project had 2 large shipments to Malawi and Tanzania (to 8 libraries, 66
schools and 2 Colleges) and 2 small shipments to schools in India and Philippines.
• 14 scholarships were awarded by the MMMF: 8 to women studying in Canada or the
U.S.; 6 to women studying in Cape Town or Pretoria, South Africa.
• Over $53,000 were raised at the International Arts and Crafts Fair to benefit the MMMF.
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Table of Contents
WBFN—The Year in Numbers 3
From the Editor 5
Highlights of the Year 8
President’s Report 10
President-Elect’s Report 18
Keeping Things Together 22
Special Events 27
Activities & Programs 36
Arrivals and Welcoming 38
Communications 42
Education and Information 46
Members Abroad 53
Parents and Tots 56
Social and Cultural Activities 59
Family & Personal Support 67
Spouse Issues Committee Report 69
WBFN Outreach Programs 73
The Book Project 75
The Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund 78
Salute to Volunteers 89

From the Editor
Following tradition, this Annual Report is a compilation of
the reports of the leaders of each of the WBFN activities. It
aims to increase understanding of all aspects of the organization
and serve as a written record of its accomplishments.
As you read it, you will experience the diversity of WBFN’s
activities and of its leaders, since each one reports in her/
his own style. Where the leader has not submitted a report,
others have filled in to the best of their knowledge, for the
sake of the record. You will also witness the commitment of
all of these creative, good-willed individuals from around the
world, who on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis make
space in their lives to further the mission of WBFN, to contribute
to the community that helped them when they were newly arrived and struggling
to adapt to a new home and culture.
A revision of the WBFN By-laws now allows the Annual Report to cover one entire fiscal
year without any overlap. This year the period is FY10, July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.
We have basically kept to the design cleverly developed for the report two years ago by
WBFN volunteer Gilda Dadush. WBFN is grateful to Gilda for so kindly applying her
expertise to the layout again this year, enabling us to continue to produce this report
completely in our office, with the exception of the final printing (for which we thank
the WBG Graphics!). You will notice a few small changes, however. Notably, we have
included an overview of some of our annual statistics as well as our new organizational
chart, and moved forward the section about how the volunteers steer the organization.
Speaking of leading WBFN, one volunteer who gave her all to the organization in FY10
was Anne Folliet. Anne, as WBFN President, generously took time away from her own
family to lead the World Bank Family Network into its 38th year. With a pizzazz like no
other, and a background in advertising, she extended WBFN’s hospitality everywhere she
went—not only to its existing but especially to its prospective members, partners and
sponsors. She seemed never to tire of explaining what WBFN is and why it is important.
Anne understood that an organization of nearly 40 years could still be for the newcomer
an unknown yet potentially valuable asset. Anne especially made efforts to reach new
Bank staff and their families through an improved easily recognizable “corporate” image,
extending special efforts to reach those at the somewhat distant IFC. She also stretched
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eyond, and together with Global Mobility, presented WBFN to outside professionals
and organizations at the Families in Global Transition (FIGT) annual conference. Very
much thanks to Anne’s perseverance and active prodding, WBFN is today better known
and actively involved both within the WBG and beyond!
The winds of change have come this year also to the WBFN Office. Midyear, WBFN
learned that the Bank plans to relocate the WBFN Office to the World Bank J Building
during the next fiscal year. Many planning meetings took place involving the World Bank
architects and members of the WBFN leadership, and the move is now scheduled for
June 2011, a big but somewhat exciting transition to look forward to in the coming year.
Another change has been in the WBFN Office staff. Catherine Mathieu started work
on August 2, 2009 as the new WBFN Coordinator, following my retirement on July
31. Many at WBFN already knew Catherine through her work as WBFN Welcoming
Chair (2006-2008), participation in the MMMF Selection Committee, involvement at
her children’s schools and Batala Band performances. Catherine is known for her clear
thinking, strategic planning, hard work and fairness, and these combined with her vast
experience, multiple skills, talents and good sense of humor have brought much to the
WBFN Office over the past year. She smoothly weathered the transition from volunteer
to staff and over the year has revamped several office systems and worked hard with her
team and the volunteers to keep the office functioning smoothly and efficiently, while at
the same time developing a close relationship with Global Mobility.
Also worthy of mention are the milestones reached by our two Program Assistants,
Christinne Secrest and Mimi (Sercalem) Besha. This year was Christinne’s 10 year anniversary
of working at WBFN, and Mimi will complete her 10th year in September. During
the year they both moved more toward specialization, each building on her relative
strengths. Christinne championed the office support for communications, including the
monthly Mosaic layout, WBFN website updates, and Annual Report assistance (Thank
you, Christinne, for so patiently soliciting and compiling these reports!), while Mimi
mastered and ever so patiently and diligently carried out the maintenance of the new
Member Management System (registrations, database updates, etc.). Besides this, they
together continued to handle a wide range of requests for information from members
(and staff!), provide support for all WBFN programs and events, and welcome volunteers
and visitors to the office.
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If WBFN is about reaching out, this year it reached beyond. The Annual Picnic drew the
largest crowd ever; male spouse/partner participation grew radically; a partnership with
the Art Program and Smithsonian expanded the Children’s Art Competition to include a
Family Arts and Science Festival; Members Abroad activities saw a revival; and the Book
Project launched a charitable collection of French books for Haiti as WBFN’s response to
that country’s tragic disaster. The list could go on and will as you will read in the ensuing
pages of this report. Not that it is necessary to reach beyond to keep the work at WBFN
dynamic and continually exciting. With an ever-changing membership from around the
world, simply accomplishing WBFN’s core mission brings a string of challenges and rewards
daily...again, as these pages will prove. Please read on to see how this all happens.
Louise Picon Shimizu
Editor
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Highlights of
the Year
The overview of activities of WBFN in the pages of this Annual
Report bears witness to how much can be accomplished by the
relatively few.
We hope that this record will serve as an incentive to those who
have yet to take that first step of calling us to say, “I want to help.”

WBFN LEADERSHIP AT WORK

President’s Report
WBFN is a unique organization, difficult to describe and explain
in its diversity, scope, generosity and effectiveness. We are much
more than a “caring community;” we are a “support network.”
From our origin in 1972, we have built activities, programs
and events or otherwise acted for the good of our members, the
spouses and partners of the WBG community. We have added,
adapted, modified according to the changes in the WBG community
over time. But nothing is ever really new in any given
year at WBFN: the miracle goes on. Mystified?
How Does the Miracle Continue?
The WBFN Volunteers—Diversity is their first characteristic:
they may be young (more and more) or “less young” and they come (like the rest of the WBG
community) from all corners of the world, with different cultures, languages, backgrounds.
They may be experiencing their first expatriation or have almost never lived in their “passport
country.” Some are settled in the Washington area or (increasingly) are in DC for a short assignment.
For most, “volunteering” is not woven in their habits or their customs.
At first, they may have been welcomed by WBFN as newcomers to the WBG community.
Feeling a sense of belonging, instinctively, they may come back again to see some WBFN
members or to obtain more information. Spontaneously, they begin to give a hand with
something, and gradually they may take on responsibilities. They have found a new “Home
Away from Home,” as WBFN has been called.
Most WBFN volunteers are professionals (IT engineers, event planners, photographers,
economists, marketing specialists, graphic designers…). More and more are looking for a
job, and they, sometimes a bit reluctantly, leave us when they find one. We rejoice for them:
we do not lose the friends; we only lose some professional expertise (at least temporarily, until
we meet another member with the same gift willing to help us).
These professionals work “for free,” expecting nothing in return. They dedicate their relentless
work, energy and creativity in order to improve the support that WBFN provides to others
belonging to the same WBG community.
I feel humble and marvel continuously at this generous and wonderful friendly feeling prevailing
at WBFN.
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The Smooth Functioning and Continuity of WBFN—From its start in 1972, WBFN established
three main lines of action:
• Welcoming: to help newcomers through a caring multicultural community
• Informing and educating: to give our members tools to empower themselves
• Advocacy: to participate in the development of WBG family-friendly policies and
guidelines
The “welcoming community” grows naturally through a multi-step “Welcoming” process,
inclusion in the community through activities and events, our E-community, and our outreach
programs (the MMMF and Book Project). WBFN also serves as an informational and
educational hub regarding knowledge of the WBG and its benefits, particularities of the new
environment in which newcomer families find themselves, specificities of expatriation, and
learning opportunities for our members (offering language, financial literacy, and computer
classes, etc.). A unique other dimension of WBFN is that it is a caring advocate for its members,
providing a caring community for members to share concerns, worries and hopes; helping
individuals to find solutions to their challenges; and advocating on behalf of members
when a systemic trend is noticed.
However, this incredible endeavor would not be possible without the strong recognition
and support from the World Bank Group, nor without the clear conceptual framework of
WBFN.
Four main ingredients remain responsible for this successful partnership with the WBG.
These are the strong recognition by the WBG President and Senior Management of Human
Resources of the importance of family support for assignment success; the commitment of
the WBG in terms of financial and staffing support; the partnership with the relevant units
within the WBG (especially Global Mobility and Orientation); and regular meetings with
WBG Senior Management.
On WBFN’s side of the equation, we find a supportive community with relations with its
members based on trust/ credibility/ accessibility/ confidentiality. It also remains that the
WBFN volunteers, including the leadership of the organization, are themselves stakeholders
(they are themselves spouses or partners of WBG staff members). And it is important that
WBFN is a professional organization with a strong structure, established by-laws and great
institutional memory.
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What is Still Missing?
Too many spouses and partners of WBG staff members do not know of WBFN’s existence
and true purpose. They do not know that they are our members automatically: no fee is required
and we are there for them!
What the WBG Can Do
This year, IFC published a detailed article about WBFN on their intranet; this was done in
the past on the WBG intranet. But WBFN still lacks exposure. In the list of WBG acronyms
on the Bank intranet, we were still listed under our former name of WBVS (error erased). In
order to find us, someone on the WBG website has to look into “Favorites” then scroll down
to “Family Network.” An icon stating “Family Network” on the front page would solve this
problem of visibility.
Furthermore, an added system of alerts from HR would help us. Now we receive “alerts” from
HR when a new family joins the WBG and when they change duty stations. WBFN also
introduces itself during the 4-day orientation of the new staff. But, what about the families of
all the staff members already working at the WBG before we had such alerts? And what about
staff who “find love” while working at the WBG? WBFN does not receive alerts on “changes
in the family status” (if a spouse or partner is added to the knowledge of the Bank).
What WBFN Can Do
WBFN must continue to improve the way it communicates about itself and its programs
with the WBG, with staff, with its partners and with its members. This year, we worked on
several dimensions of our communications:
Posters—One of our members, Margret Kroyer, designed a specific “format” for our posters.
And all our communication designs since, carried out by Gilda Dadush, Iris Buchinger,
Miguel Barreto and others not only adopted this schema, but also further developed it into a
pure, recognizable WBFN style: catchy, concise and meaningful.
Newsletter—Our monthly newsletter Mosaic was praised not only for its new “look” (attractive
single photo covers and modified layout of the articles) but also its content. Vidya
Rangan, Mosaic Editor, and her team made sure that each month there would be articles of
interest for our members wherever they were in the world.
Website—Thanks to Gilda Dadush and Swati Srivastava our website never stops improving
and keeps being updated. Our members are only an internet-click away from us and can
enjoy online Mosaicplus (with more photos than the printed version and occasional extra
articles).
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Organizational Chart—Our conscious efforts to explain the scope and diversity of WBFN’s
reach and actions, led Annmarie Brink Olsen to conceive the idea of a “WBFN Tree”, which
Iris and Margret then designed (see page 96). It is an innovative way to symbolize all our
activities. (Take a closer look at all the little red fruits stating “Volunteering”; they are everywhere!)
Miguel Barreto took this creation a step further, elaborating with photos and details
on the different “branches” and sub-branches of the (always growing, living) tree and turning
them into posters.
Booklet—In trying to present WBFN’s genuine identity, I could not dream for a better text
than that written by our former WBFN President, Rula Ghani. We published it as a small
booklet, The World Bank Family Network: What, How and Why (with the “WBFN Tree” on
the cover); it captures the essence of WBFN and is the best up-to-today attempt at “explaining”
WBFN.
Record of Statistics and Achievements—As we did at the end of the past year, this year too
we summarized in one page our “The Year in Numbers” (see page 2 of this report). On the
reverse side of the page, we listed some achievements and milestones, anchoring this year in
the continuity of the years past, with the heading, “Nearly 40 years of Experience, Challenges
and Successes 1972-2010” (spread over the years as “WIVES,” then “WBVS” and up to today
“WBFN”).
Interaction with Partners—In March, we participated in Houston in the “Families in
Global Transition” 3-day international conference. Of course, we gathered as much information
as we could to help our members with their TCK children, their career-in-a-suitcase or
their adaptation to their new environment. But we also went to present a “win-win case”:
“The Partnership between an Organization—WBG—and a Volunteer Family Association—
WBFN—for Relocation Success.” This unique synergy comes from the constructive and constant
collaboration between WBFN and various units of the WBG. At our Annual Dinner in
May, President Zoellick congratulated us “on this very special accomplishment.”
Is the Mystery Solved?
All this seems logical, pragmatic and organized. I may be naïve but I still believe that there
is a magic ingredient in WBFN. How else can we explain the succession of great people (on
purpose I do not say “ladies” since they are the majority but not the entire body of our volunteers),
people with incredible effectiveness, professionalism and generosity? They seem instinctively
to aggregate, forming a great community where any new member can instinctively
feel they belong, a group with inborn solidarity and natural team spirit. But as truth comes,
like in any relationship, both parties involved are responsible for the outcome! The WBG is a
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leader in its way of caring for its community and it can take pride in its accomplishments and
go on strengthening its efforts in that direction.
Thank You
I wish to thank all the WBFN volunteers! Some have helped their fellow WBFN members for
more than 20 years, like Monika Sergo, Caroline Berney, Hada Zaidan, Catherine Gouarne,
Vim Maguire, Helen Maybury. Some began to help on the first week of their arrival in the
U.S. like Karim Derrahi and Sadeem Alkhadi. All deserve our recognition and thanks!
This year’s Executive Committee Members were truly amazing persons. I felt honored to
work with them!
Maaike le Grand, of course, our next President, has an incredible inborn welcoming power.
Her organization and team building efficiency and effectiveness know no limits. We will be
in good hands next year!
Sally Macartney, our Secretary, guided us through properly—almost—timed meetings,
which she captured in her thorough minutes.
Aminata Bojang was not only a wonderful Nominating Chair, approaching potential nominees
with tact and kindness, but she was also a pragmatic, efficient—indispensable—help in
putting together the holiday party.
Nefertare Galiba came on board in September as our Welcoming Chair. She impressed all of
us by the quantity and the quality of her work in certainly the most demanding and crucial
of WBFN positions.
Vidya Rangan, what can I add to the fact that she is our Mosaic Editor and that, very much
thanks to her reliability and creativity, everyone has been able to appreciate the quality of this
newsletter’s content?
Daniela Drapakova was always there to help in welcoming, event planning, photo taking,
organizing.
Belkys Lopez Rabello, with her contagious smile and positivity, came to help us at Welcoming
after a full day of work.
Annemarie Brink Olsen relentlessly worked on Mosaic and Spouse Issues but also on any
other matters where we needed her poised pragmatism and her positive outlook on things.
Swati Srivastava could never say “No” to any responsibility or help required of her! She was
especially our indispensable “Mosaicplus Director”!
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Uta Steckhan organized the event that set the mood for the year: the so friendly Family
Picnic in October. She also organized with our sister organizations of IMF and IADB a Networking
event for the job seekers.
Birgit Sheldon developed a wonderful community around the Parents-and-Tots of Virginia
and joined the team working on Spouse Issues.
To the 12 people of the EC we added a non-voting participant:
Robert Marson, our Male Spouse/Partner Coordinator, gave life and various shapes to that
group. This was vital in the context of changing demographics in our WBFN community.
(At the last Spouse Orientation Program, in spring 2010, out of 19 participants, 12 were
gentlemen!)
We also benefited from the wise input of two inspiring ladies who are former presidents of
WBFN and who acted as Senior Advisors:
Rula Ghani, I accepted to become President-Elect for the privilege of working with this
amazing person. She went on guiding us wisely this year again.
Gilda Dadush, our webmaster, but so much more! Gilda is the creative force behind the intriguing
Mosaic covers, the creator of the new layout, the patient teacher or lead of any team
or team member for anything related to computers/art/communication and WBFN, or just
about anything else related to WBFN.
At the EC meetings we benefited also from the wise input of our “ex-officio” members: the
presidents of the MMMF and of the Book Project:
Hilary Welch, to say that she is the thorough and organized lead of the Book Project represents
only one facet of Hilary’s involvement. She partnered with Annemarie on Spouse Issues,
and she was always available to help us surf the intricacies of “business English!”
Caroline Berney is going to leave her presidency at the head of the MMMF, when for a lot of
us it seems that “MMMF” implies Caroline’s quiet strength, her diplomacy and her hospitality.
In the past, she also served as WBFN President, and she was a founding member of the
Book Project! This is a perfect illustration of an impressive and generous dedication of time
and energy.
The WBFN Representative Council is formed by all the volunteers leading its various groups
and activities. Thanks to them, WBFN members can meet, attracted first by a common interest,
but then by developing friendships and helping each other. It is through these groups and
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activities that the links strengthen within our community, and it is through them that WBFN
members find their “Home Away From Home.”
My heartfelt thanks and gratitude go to the leaders and the active participants of: the Book
Groups, the Language and Literature Groups, the Parents-and-Tots Groups, the Bridge
Groups, the International Cuisine Group, the Quilting Group, the Financial Literacy Classes,
the Investment Club, the Male Spouse Group, the Teen Summer Program, the International
Cultural Group, WBFN Gallery, the Surviving Cultural Shock Team, the Spouse Issues
Team, the Website Team, the Mosaic Team and the Members-Abroad Team, as well as the
Welcoming Team, Buddy Program and the Event Planners. And let me not forget the new
additions of this year: the Expecting Mothers Group, the Chess Club and the Gentlemen’s
English Conversation Group.
Our thanks go to all the RC members for their dedication and generosity!
Our Partners in the WBG also deserve WBFN’s heartfelt thanks! I hereby take this opportunity
to thank all those of HRS, IFC HR, HSD, GSD, ISG, Security, Legal and Ethics, as
well as the Staff Association, the 1818 Society and the Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union
who provided us with useful advice and services. All year long, they have tried to help us find
solutions to our problems and have shown dedication to helping WBG families.
In particular, I would like to extend WBFN’s special and warm thanks to WB HR Vice President
Hasan Tuluy, HRSCS Director Rajesh Vidyasagar, HRS CAO Adrian Poffley, HRSCO
Lead HR Specialist Fons Marcelis, HSD Director Bernard Demure, GSD Director Robert
Van Pulley, Director of IFC HR Cheikh Oumar Seydi, IFC CHRFM Manager Elizabeth
Casqueiro, IFC Internal Communications Senior Communications Officer Rita Jupe, Chief
Counsel David Rivero, Pension Administration Manager Kerry Mack, Ethics Senior Program
Officer Kurt Nemes, Security Specialist Tanya Sisler, GSD Corporate Real Estate & Facilities
Senior Project Manager Hisao Kimura and Project Manager Ariella Lerman, HRSPD Director
Paolo Gallo and acting HRSGM Manager for the latter part of the year Negar Rafikian.
Without forgetting each and every member of the Global Mobility team working for our
members’ relocation and career issues.
Our Office Staff was crucial in the smooth and efficient running of our office. Without those
ladies the office simply would not work!
Catherine Mathieu, known for her intelligence and her commitment; she overwhelmingly
won everyone’s admiration for her dedication and her accomplishments in an incredibly difficult
but crucial position as WBFN Coordinator.
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Sercalem Besha, known to all WBFN members as Mimi, is our Program Assistant whose
smile passes over the phone! Her genuine kindness in welcoming people in our offices only
hides an incredible energy and positive adaptability.
Christinne Secrest is our other Program Assistant and the one who masters anything computer-related
and who shows so much patience when we are changing—last second—all the
layouts for Mosaic.
Cecile Ferri took over a giant task of MMMF Coordinator and over-did in hours/days and
energy anything humanly possible to be asked of a single person.
Other indispensable persons you could meet in our offices all year long were:
Mariela Eberhardt, our long-term volunteer who assembles our Welcoming Kits and performs
various other office tasks.
Tania Gnesdilova, who helped us to master, refine and develop our Member Management
System according to the needs of our Welcoming unit.
Louise Shimizu, whose experience, knowledge and kindness know no limits. Her dedication
to WBFN and its community led her from volunteer-Welcoming Chair to staff-WBFN
Coordinator, and then, once retired, to come back and work relentlessly on advising and
helping us on all fronts.
In summary, I would like to repeat my heartfelt “Thank You” to all the WBFN volunteers.
They constitute the backbone of an incredible organization, WBFN. I would like also to acknowledge
the staff spouses or partners who generously shared them with us!
I want to extend my sincere thanks to our staff members and to our partners from the Bank’s
units helping us help others from our common community.
“Thank You” to the highest authorities within the WBG who support and encourage us!
Thanks to all those energies combined, WBFN will go on providing families with a helpful
and friendly network of people sharing their experience of life’s transitions and stages, of international
relocation and multicultural families. Day after day, we can see how useful we are
at WBFN, on a small or on a big scale for our members.
“Thank You” to all involved in WBFN since 1972, “Thank You” for WBFN of today and
“Thank You” for WBFN of tomorrow.
Anne Folliet
President, June 2010
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President-Elect’s Report
Supporting the development of new activities and initiatives
at WBFN is one of the exciting tasks of the President-
Elect. The following were initiated over this past year.
Within WBFN
Expecting Moms Group Launched—Early in the year Rula
Ghani had the idea to start a group for expecting moms in the
DC area. Having your first baby is already a big change in your
life, but when you are in this transition without the nearby help
of sisters, mothers and friends, whom you can reach only via
Skype with all the time restraints, it can be even more stressful.
We contacted WBFN member Gertrud Bojo, a licensed nurse
and midwife, and a pilot program was successfully launched in the Fall. A group of about
seven pregnant moms met every other week for two hours and discussed various aspects of the
coming event. There are facts that you need to know about the ER and the Labor-Delivery
Rooms, and about the U.S. health care system. Participants also highly valued the intimate
forum where they could come with their questions, knowing that any question is valid. Being
well prepared for childbirth helps everybody immensely and can add a feeling of accomplishment
and control of the new situation.
Potluck Lunches for all English Students—WBFN discussed with the English teachers
ways to encourage their students to get to know one another better and to be more a part
of WBFN activities, such as visiting the Book Project, the International Cuisine, or another
activity, and reporting about it to their fellow students during the next lesson. Some students
indeed did so as a part of their curriculum. As a start, all students met for coffee at the WBFN
Office before their first class. This initiative worked out well, and during lunch students
could be seen teaming up and feeling more comfortable. Two following potluck lunches were
organized by the students themselves, and provided them with the opportunity to get to
know one another better, as well as to share their self-prepared food, chat with other WBFN
members and feel more a part of “the WBFN family” while practicing their newly improved
English.
Pre-buddy System Re-launched—As has been observed over the past few years, our membership
is changing. We see an increase in young members who are juggling a career with
(young) children. This is a daunting task, even with the help of nearby friends and family, let
alone when transplanted to a new environment and having to start from scratch. This is why
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Tracy Russell, one of our members, spontaneously started the Buddy Network. It is a system
where newcomers are paired with a “buddy” to help them find their way in the new post.
It evolved over the years from buddies located in the same state, to buddies from the same
cultural background. Tracy did the bulk of the work: calling newcomers to find out what
their needs are, and pairing them with buddies. In the meantime the WBFN office developed
a new member management system, with more possibilities, and Tracy moved overseas. We
started then to train a team of (relative) newcomers to do the pre-buddy calls. The goal of
these calls is to assess what the needs of the newcomers are, and to make sure we make the
best possible buddy-match. In the training, we conducted several mock calls, listened to a
few real calls, and discussed them afterwards, to raise awareness of how to best connect during
the call and tune in to what the newcomers say. The team is broad, with many young
multi-lingual members, from Africa, Asia, South America and Europe. Nefertare Galiba and
Monica Zhang have set up a system to streamline preparation and handling of calls and information.
Conducting this pre-buddy work in a broader team brought many more possible
links, suggestions and ideas to the table.
Reviving Our Outreach to Members Abroad—World Bank Group families living abroad,
or planning to, must deal with a lot of different logistics, benefits and relocation policies in
the new country. Families need to know practicalities like schooling facilities. Work permit
policies are of great importance, especially since the career possibilities of the spouse or partner
often play a role in the decision-making process of the relocation. We spent considerable
time this year exploring what services other than WBFN’s are available to our members when
posted in Country Offices, what could be possible ways to address the most pressing needs of
our members overseas, and what are the different roles and tasks of WBFN and its partners
(such as Global Mobility and HR-Services) in assisting families living abroad. This exploration
is an exciting one, as we stand at the crossroads of several new developments:
• a new direction that the Bank is taking in becoming more decentralized
• a new database with a blank slate for Members Abroad, and many possibilities
• numerous new technical possibilities for communicating—Skype, videoconferencing,
Facebook, etc.
• a new Members Abroad Team with a lot of valuable input from different points of view
See the “Members Abroad” section of this Annual Report for more on this topic.
Further Fine-tuning of the MMS Database—WBFN discussed with HR representatives
Sudhir Viswarajan and Srikumar G. Kuttuva some remaining problems in the data that the
WBFN Office was receiving from HR. Neelam Subramanian (ISGIS), Nefertare Galiba, Tania
Gnesdilova, Catherine Mathieu and Maaike le Grand discussed the six main problems,
19

including missing email addresses, missing spouse names, and undecipherable last name/
first names. WBFN also kept missing single parents. The outcome of the discussions was a
delay of a few days in the timing of when HR sends the data, to make sure that the staff’s
email address exists and an automatic way of getting the staff’s email address. This has greatly
improved the accuracy of our data.
Updating Legal Matters—Carrie Tipton, a new Bank spouse, who has lived many years in
Virginia, had useful additions for our information packages. She is an attorney at law and
WBFN is very grateful for the updating she has done on the legal parts of our materials.
Revival of Gatherings for Job Seekers—During discussions with our sister organizations we
concluded that it is mutually beneficial to organize Happy Hours for job seekers and their
working partners at the WB/IMF/IADB, where they can practice networking, sharpen their
“elevator pitch,” meet with staff partners, and learn from some attendees how they found
their job and what helped. A Happy Hour was organized in February, hosted by the IDB
Family Association. The attendance was good, and clearly the setting and timing enabled a lot
of young staff and their partners to mingle and exchange experiences.
Annual Exhibits and Events—Another duty of the President-Elect is to oversee the preparation
and organization of the Annual Exhibit and Annual Dinner. Many attendees of the
Annual Dinner told us afterwards how struck they were by the friendly atmosphere, and
the cheerful congeniality. These events and the dinner are covered in the following “Special
Events” section of this Annual Report.
With our partners inside the Bank
Fine-tuning of Our 5-year-old Spouse/Partner Orientation Program—The Spouse/Partner
Orientation Program that WBFN organizes five times a year with the invaluable help of
Reet Jukkum and Kathy Fishburne from Staff Orientation underwent some fine-tuning. With
the input of Rula Ghani, Annemarie Brink Olsen, Jyoti Chitale and Nefertare Galiba, several
little changes in the program were discussed. The program aims to inform spouses about details
of the medical insurance plan, G4 visa, how the Bank deals with ethical problems, etc.
Presentations are given by experts on the topic in the Bank.
WBFN contacted Francois Verleysen of the Credit Union, to discuss our wishes regarding
their presentation at the Spouse Orientation and the needs of our members on this issue. As
a result, the presentation of the Credit Union has greatly improved and now treats topics like
how to build a real credit history, what to do to prevent identity theft, teens and credit cards,
etc. Reet suggested to present parts of the program, like the HSD and Credit Union parts
in the form of a play/quiz, scavenger hunt, etc., to elicit more activity from the participants.
20

Presentations would be more in the form of entertainment, where the handouts could contain
the detailed information. The suggestion resulted in a WBFN quiz about some facts and
figures of the day. The take-away answer sheet contains the detailed information on joint accounts,
wills, medical plans, etc. that have been discussed and presented throughout the day.
Maaike le Grand
President-Elect, June 2010
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To function, throughout the year WBFN conducts meetings
of its leaders where they review the various activities
and policies of the organization, make decisions and determine
the future course.
Keeping Things
Together

Yes, we can!

Annual Membership Meeting
Held each year toward the end of the fiscal year (July 1 to June 30), the WBFN Annual Membership
Meeting is an opportunity for the WBFN leaders to report on the achievements and
challenges of the year, for members to voice their suggestions and concerns, and for all to vote
on the slate of executive committee members for the coming fiscal year.
On May 13, WBFN President Anne Folliet opened the FY10 Annual Meeting in Room
JB1-080, under the theme, “WBFN, always a supportive community.” About 40 members
attended.
WBFN is indeed going on strong, trying to adapt to the changing times, as was reflected in
the contributions by the Male Spouse Coordinator, Robert Marson, and the presentation
of the new workshop for Expecting Moms by Gertrud Bojo. WBFN is also continuing its
main programs such as Information Seminars, Welcoming programs and Annual events for
families and children.
WBFN keeps refining its tools, as is visible in the highly popular financial classes, the greater
possibilities of our office systems to keep track of what is happening, the website, and the
online Mosaicplus. With each year more attractive items like photo-albums and direct links
to the different activities and programs are added.
Nominating Chair Aminata Bojang presented the new slate of candidates. A vote was held,
and the new slate approved. Anne Folliet then thanked all present and handed the gavel to
the newly elected President, Maaike le Grand.
Executive Committee
The WBFN Executive Committee (EC) assisted by the WBFN office staff, is responsible
for all WBFN activities. Furthermore and through the year, EC members meet with WBG
staff to address the concerns of WBFN members and Bank families and to reach solutions
together. As per the WBFN by-laws, the EC can include up to 12 voting members serving
terms of either two or three years. Non-voting members also attend the monthly meetings,
namely the respective heads of the Book Project and the MMMF as well as two past presidents
of WBFN in the capacity of Senior Advisors. This year, for the first time, the “Male
Spouse/Partner Coordinator” also joined the meetings as a non-voting observer.
The five regular EC positions are President, President-Elect, Secretary, Nominating Chair
and Welcoming Chair. This year, the Mosaic Editor joined the EC. The other members
were Members-at-Large working on diverse issues and projects such as Careers, Spouse Issues,
Event Planning, Teen Program or Members Abroad.
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The list of the persons working on the FY10 EC is actually slightly different that the one
published at the end of FY09 for this year, since Nannette Deduque had to leave us. At the
September EC, we felt happy to vote in and welcome onboard Nefertare Galiba as Welcoming
Chair and Uta Steckhan as Member-at-Large.
Just an anecdote about this very special EC: it may have been the first EC in WBFN history
with a gentleman present on a regular basis at the meetings (even if non-voting), but it was
also very likely the first one to include three pregnant ladies!
Nominating Committee
The role of the Nominating Committee is to identify suitable candidates eligible to fill existing
openings on the EC by attending various programs during the year and getting to know
the volunteers. Names of candidates are then presented for discussion at EC meetings and,
eventually, a slate of EC officers for the following year is finalized and published in the Mosaic
and on the WBFN website at least 30 days before the Annual Membership Meeting, so that
members can voice their concerns before voting on the slate. The slate includes the five positions
of President, President-Elect, Secretary, Nominating Chair and Welcoming Chair, plus
additional positions (up to a maximum of twelve as per the WBFN By-laws).
For this year, Aminata Bojang was the Nominating Chair. The slate presented for the FY11
EC included the five permanent positions plus six members-at-large and the Mosaic Editor.
Executive Committee Alumni Meeting
The FY10 EC Alumni Meeting took place on April 29, 2010 at the home of Gilda Dadush.
Present were 32 persons: EC alumni, FY10 EC Members, EC Nominees for FY11 (elected at
May 13 ’10 Annual Meeting), and Global Mobility representatives.
Coming To Be” of Work/Life Services / Global Mobility was the theme of the meeting. The
focus was on what happened in the past and whether there lessons on how to keep our organization
functioning well in its interactions with Bank units. Hada Zaidan, Elena Kuznetsova
and Elizabeth Legrain all started with WBVS and then went to work at the World Bank HRS
Global Mobility unit. Each carried on some of the agenda that had been started in WBVS.
They and others EC Alumni explained how Global Mobility became what it is today. They
described it as a story of WBFN’s advocacy.
Tribute to Ruby Wingate—Since Ruby Wingate will leave Washington and return to her
native Canada, WBFN and the MMMF paid a special tribute at the meeting to Ruby, honoring
her for her long years of service to Bank families and the organization. WBFN presented
her with a certificate of appreciation, designed by Gilda and Lois Khairallah, and featuring
25

various photos illustrating Ruby’s contributions. The MMMF also presented Ruby with a
gift. In her speech, Gilda mentioned that in preparation she had reviewed the WBVS History
and was amazed to find that so much of what WBFN is doing now was already in place or
being put in place during Ruby’s term as WIVES Executive Committee Chair (1974-1977)
or as Co-founder of MMMF (1981).
Representative Council
The Representative Council (RC) meets twice annually, with a “business” meeting in the fall
or winter and a recreation/appreciation meeting in late spring. Most members of the RC are
listed in each issue of Mosaic under the “Contact Information” section and “Activity” pages.
RC members are the ones most frequently in direct contact with members, creating or leading
programs and activities reflecting member interests. Many RC members hold gatherings,
which range from book group meetings, language classes or parents-and-tots play groups, as
well as Get-Togethers to welcome newcomers. RC members may organize information seminars,
arrange cultural tours or coordinate events such as the Picnic, the Holiday Party or the
Children’s Art Competition. New to the wide panel of opportunities for our members this
year were the Chess Club, the Downtown Babies, and the Expecting Moms. New events were
the Job-Seekers Networking Happy Hour and the Family Arts and Science Festival.
RC Annual Business Meeting—On November 16, as a follow-up to the much appreciated
seminar he had given to the FY09 RC on the “Enneagram” types of personalities, Chris
Wright, a licensed family counselor, came to facilitate a workshop based on the “Couples
Enneagram Handbook”/ “Understanding Each Other’s World and Being Responsive to the
Other’s Core Needs.”
Hopefully, this full day of presentation and reflection has given the participants a better understanding
of the inner intricacies of relationships and of communication.
RC Appreciation Outing—On May 27, the RC members were invited to a day of surprises.
The guided tour started very close to the World Bank buildings on Pennsylvania Avenue, facing
the White House. A very unusual guide, Tony Pitch, part journalist, part historian, part
writer, and part story-teller mesmerized his audience with the “Curse of Lafayette Square.”
The two hours of stories and history linked to that small area of town left all the audience
asking for more!
The setting of the lunch following was also unexpected: the Corcoran Café (also so close to
the WBG). In that majestic setting, after enjoying a very nice lunch, the RC members received
certificates and thanks for all their past year’s commitment to the WBFN.
26

Special Events happen only once a year. They involve longterm
planning and fall under the leadership of either an
EC Chair or Member-at-Large. They require a huge input
from our WBFN volunteers and attract a large number of
members and their families.
Special Events

CHALLENGING OUR TEENS

Annual Family Picnic
The Annual Potluck Picnic at Bretton Woods on October 3, 2009 was a grand success, thanks
to an excellent team led by Uta Steckhan. Uta has a knack of bringing people together in a
very happy manner, which makes it feel as if the team is a smoothly oiled machine that hops
from fun to fun, and the fun was contagious. Almost 300 people attended, and it was claimed
by some to be “the biggest and most entertaining picnic ever!”
The registration table team welcomed all who attended with the most beautiful smile, making
them feel relaxed. The food table looked mouth-watering and the food was delicious—
homemade sushi, regional specialties, salmon, vegetables, fruit, fried won tons, homemade
cakes, and yet, the 20 pizzas that were ordered disappeared in no time! It was a pleasure to
discover that although we come from different countries, the games we played as kids were
very similar! The games featured a shoe-box run, scavenger hunt, and delicious no-hands
donut-eating game. Sometimes the simplest things turn out to be the best: the hat contest
was a blast. Even some very serious husbands created crazy hats and wore them the whole day!
Every volunteer pitched in to do their little bit and was enthusiastically available to help
the whole day. Laura Brea and Noosha Tayebi did a great job at the registration table. Olga
Golovko had brilliant ideas for games and prepared a challenging scavenger hunt. Annemarie
Olsen reliably helped in transporting all the things from and back to the office and with the
games and cleanup! Maaike le Grand managed the teens very well! Rula Ghani and Nefertare
Galiba helped at the food table for hours. Catherine Mathieu was great, helping everywhere
and a great support during the preparations. Daniela Drapakova never lost sight of the overview
and helped wherever necessary, even managing the carpooling! Elena Pevzner, Selene
Sopelana and Miren Fernandez had great ideas for games and were a great support before and
during the picnic! Sadeem Alkadi managed to turn the huge picnic area into a stylish environment.
Margret Kroyer and Gilda Dadush did a super job with the poster; the family pictured
on the poster came to the picnic and was really happy to receive one of the posters as a present
from WBFN President Anne Folliet. Sharmi Kulkarni and her elegant henna painting were a
big hit. Ibrahim Turk, a photographer by profession, took many amazing pictures!
Children’s Holiday Party
The December 5, 2009 Children’s Holiday Party, with the theme, “A Winter Wonderland,”
was celebrated amidst a backdrop of beautiful snowfall that could be seen through the panoramic
glass wall of the MC Atrium. Handmade paper snowflakes, beautifully decorated
holiday trees, snowmen, bright red poinsettias, and nutcracker toy soldiers welcomed nearly
700 people as they entered the Atrium.
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For the children, an array of exciting and festive activities, all manned by wonderful WBFN
volunteers, provided crafts tables, with the opportunity to make their own key chains, holiday
wish lists, festive masks, and holiday cards, as well as nail painting and “tattooing” stations.
The most popular again this year was the face-painting, where kids were transformed into
brave action heroes and graceful butterflies. Games included the “Daring Darts” station, the
“Big Time (can) Bowling” game, and “Pin the Nose on the Snowman.” The band “Alex and
the Kaleidoscopes,” provided award winning entertainment. The younger children jumped
up and down to Alex’s “Boing, boing, boing, goes the Kangaroo,” and twisted to his holiday
version of the “Twist.” There were plenty of parents also swaying! And of course Santa’s arrival
brought a big smile to the faces of kids and adults alike. There was a renewed joie de vivre as
they lined up patiently awaiting their turn to get a picture with Santa.
Snacks ranged from panettone to several types of cheeses, brownies, holiday cookies, cakes,
dried fruit, muffins, juices and clementines.
The contest this year featured the first prize “Wii” console system. Four lucky winners were
awarded the prized gifts. Proceeds from both the children’s entry fees and the contest were
again this year donated to the Children’s Law Center (CLC), a nonprofit organization that
provides free legal services to children, families and foster caregivers in DC (www.childrenslawcenter.org).
The funds allowed WBFN to “adopt” 10 children for the holidays, all clients
of CLC. Many of CLC’s children struggle with poverty every day and their families do not
have the means to celebrate or buy gifts. We hope our gifts of $200 to each brought joy to
their holiday season.
The thank-you message that CLC wrote to the WBG families included the following: “This
year has been especially tough on the smallest DC residents—our children. One-third of
DC’s children still live in poverty. Abuse, neglect and domestic violence are increasing, and
there are fewer and fewer places to turn for help. East of the Anacostia River, the unemployment
rate is 30%. Working families live paycheck to paycheck. In 2009, Children’s Law Center
attorneys directly helped 1,192 children and impacted thousands more through advice,
training and advocating for policy solutions city-wide.”
Credit for the party’s success goes to the volunteers under the able guidance of Aminata Bojang
and Amber Van De Genachte. A little imagination, lots of creativity, marvelous decoration,
delicious food, intriguing activity stalls, enjoyable show, untiring volunteers, meticulous
planning and hours of work, was all it took to pull off this Children’s Holiday Party! Surely,
it was no small feat!
30

Toys were also collected for the “Toys for Tots” drive and will be delivered to the organization
that manages it along with those collected at the FY11 event.
Annual Exhibits
As in the past, this year WBFN showcased its activities and programs for three days, April 12,
13, and 14, 2010 (Monday–Wednesday) in the MC Atrium. While we were preparing the
setup of our booths and the children’s artwork on the Friday before the event, we got word
that the WBG had just advised staff to work from home on Monday and Tuesday of the
next week, as they expected major traffic disruptions in Washington DC caused by 45 visiting
heads of states. You can well imagine our dismay. Several months of preparation and the
prospect of no one to see our Exhibits on the first two days of the 3-day exhibition!
In spite of this, on Monday and Tuesday the attendance at the Exhibits was quite nice, and
we received many positive reactions to the layout and the active participation and visibility of
the male spouses, the English teachers and the quilters. The new tree (see page 96) designed
by several of our members which explains our organization was eye-catching. Our display in
the MC Atrium with manned round tables more or less in the middle of everything invited
many Bank staff to stop and have a closer look at the many different activities and programs
WBFN has to offer.
Unfortunately, the Washington International School choir director got severely burned and
had to cancel the concert. The impromptu substitute concert by Otaviano Canuto and his
colleague Morana Song was very moving and illustrated exactly what WBFN is all about: a
caring place for the families.
The organizers of “Fashions from the East” put a lot of effort into getting costumes and models.
Although until the very last moment we were not sure if we would have enough models,
somehow they all showed up and more! Asmin Sen not only came up with the idea behind
this dashing show, she also participated in it as a model with her daughter and additionally
prepared a beautifully designed coffee ceremony. The Book Project had a prominent and inviting
setting for their sale. And visitors to the Exhibits could easily participate in the various
interesting workshops offered by WBFN members.
The teamwork was fantastic; many incredibly committed team members contributed their
time, energy and enthusiasm. Ideas kept bubbling up when creative minds like Asmin Sen,
Amber Van De Genachte, Fani Papalamprou, and Kalterine Vrenezi sat together to think
through the layout and the details. Our now famous new tree-design was the result of such
discussions; it’s a work of art, conceived by Annemarie Brink Olsen, to which Iris Buchinger,
Margret Kroyer, and Miguel Barreto notably contributed the design. Invaluable advice was
31

egularly given by Aminata Bojang, who has an enormous experience in event planning, helping
us to avoid serious mistakes.
Children’s Art Competition
Our traditional Children’s Art Competition took a special and very festive form this year, the
first ever Children’s Art and Science Festival. On Saturday, April 17, 2010, we started with
a very artful dance, Pushpanjali, of the classical Indian Bharathanatyam form, by 10-yearold
Aditi Sundararaman, a magnificent solo performance, all by herself in the middle of the
Atrium, surrounded by hundreds of surprised parents and children. This was followed by the
announcement of the winners of this year’s art contest; 130 children between the ages of 3
and 15 had submitted their artwork on the theme of “Germs.”
This year, a special cooperation with the Bank Art Program Curators Marina Galvani, Maria
Del Carmen Cossu and Elena Grant resulted in an exciting, varied program for the children,
which began after the announcement of the winners. Art and science were involved in many
forms: music production, chocolate production, electricity lab, storytelling, painting and the
designing of a Germ Art Work, which after completion will be exhibited in the World Bank.
The Bank Art Curators had brought in many professional artists from the Smithsonian and
other venues around the theme of Germs. They were assisted by many volunteers who did
a great job in guiding the kids from one activity to another and helping out here and there.
Without the incredible help of Amber Van De Genachte, Fani Papalamprou and our invaluable
Mimi Besha, however, we would never have been able to successfully manage the event.
They made sure all artwork was neatly framed, judged and displayed, and all children could
properly register and enjoy a fantastic time after the announcement of the winners. They not
only ably put together a team of nine judges, but also an army of volunteers who made the
whole day a big success.
Multi-Organization Meetings
Networking Event—The family associations of the WBG, IADB and IMF organized a Networking
Evening for job-seeking spouses/partners of WBG, IADB and IMF staff plus potential
employers and spouses / partners who have already found work in the DC area. The IDB
Family Association hosted the event on January 21, 2010 on the terrace of the IADB building;
100 professional, enthusiastic and interesting people from around the world attended.
The food was great, the speakers were great and business cards were flying. Many participants
asked why such opportunities are not offered more often. Clearly, the need is there. It was suggested
that next time members are invited together with their spouses/partners—not only to
make the evening even more enjoyable, but also among them may be “potential employers.”
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Workshop—The March 26, 2010 workshop organized by WBFN for the three sister associations—WBFN,
IMFFA and IDBFA—was very lively and informative; 22 members of the
organizations participated. Candice Hughes, a psychologist and a former expat parent returning
to the U.S. after some years in Europe presented the topic, “Expat Children and the U.S.
School System.” Participants first thought about how their own school systems worked, how
they learned, and how the school and teachers were perceived by the students and parents.
The idea was to make all aware that expectations towards schooling here and elsewhere are
formed by these experiences.
The speaker then presented her knowledge about the U.S. schooling system—the values that
drive it, how to differentiate among the schools, how to become aware of the varied curriculum
among states, districts and schools, and how important it is in the U.S. for parents to
be involved in the schooling of their children. There was a significant difference of opinion
between the members born and raised in the U.S. and the rest of the attendees on how they
viewed the U.S. schooling and its values.
Annual Dinner
On that May 18th evening, in the majestic setting of the 12th floor of the MC Building,
WBFN celebrated one more year of support for our WBG community. It was a wonderful
pretext for our members to meet in a festive setting with the various WBG staff and outside
professionals who have supported our organization and have collaborated with us through
the year. The spouses and partners of our volunteers also had an unexpected insight into
WBFN reality and achievements.
The evening started with the introduction to President Zoellick of the eight MMMF 2010
recipients and of two recipients from 2009 who came back to meet their successors. Then,
President Zoellick addressed the audience of 150, commending WBFN for its achievements,
which have benefitted the WBG community, and praising its volunteers for their
“selfless hard work.” “The Family Network’s projects,” he said, “extend beyond supporting
staff members and their families. It also helps fulfill the Bank Group’s mission to promote a
sustainable and inclusive development by paying special attention to individuals.”
Other speeches followed during the evening. But, they were neither long nor boring; they
were all heartfelt, precise and edifying descriptions of the actions and accomplishments
of the past fiscal year at WBFN, MMMF and the Book Project. The entertaining way in
which some aspects of the achievements and “adventures” were presented led to general
laughter laced with amazement. The “professional” qualities of WBFN volunteers were
overwhelmingly obvious and appreciated.
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The table setting was enhanced by beautiful flower arrangements prepared (as for so many
years past) by Na’ava Feder. The big tree (see page 96) in the background, on the other
hand, was far from a mere “décor item”; it symbolized the life, growth, and intricate,
multiple branches of the WBFN organization. The dinner guests were provided with takeaway
“reading material”: a fact sheet for WBFN-FY10 and a little booklet with the “tree”
on the cover. The text inside the booklet, written by Rula Ghani, captures perfectly the
essence and some of the “hard-to-explain” and astonishing characteristics of this organization.
There is also a short recapitulation of the WBFN advocacy efforts and achievements
through the years.
Illustrating further the generous nature of WBFN volunteers, a beautiful quilt, appropriately
named “Circle of Friends,” was displayed. It was the result of hand-sewn work of more
than a year by the ladies of WBFN’s Quilting Group. Its winner was announced and the
proceeds of $2000 raised thanks to it were later presented to the House of Ruth, a shelter
for women and children of the Washington, DC area.
The event was also graced by the presentations of some talented WBFN members. Annemarie
Brink Olsen charmed her audience (as she had one year before) with a long romantic
ballad from Leonard Cohen. And, at the end of the evening Otaviano Canuto joined by
Morana Song accompanied his Brazilian and American songs with their guitar and bass
melodies (as they had done during our Annual Exhibits in the MC Atrium).
The friendly atmosphere of this ‘couples’ evening was a genuine illustration of ‘WBFN magic.’
Teen Programs
The Teen Summer Program, now in its 4th year, was held June 29 through July 16, 2009, in
cooperation with the family associations of the IMF and the IADB. It once again proved that
a few creative volunteers with very limited resources but enormous dedication and commitment,
can successfully provide a life-turning experience for our next generation. Thirty-two
teens, sons and daughters of WBG, IMF, or IADB staff, ranging from 16 to 18 years of age,
gathered 4-days-a-week for a crash initiation into the world of international institutions of
global development and finance. Thanks to the joint effort of many WBG, IADB and IMF
staff, the teens learned about governance reform in Asia and Africa, the history of the WBG,
the life cycle of a “mission” from inception to conclusion, rules of ethical behavior, IFC’s
collaboration with the private sector, HIV/AIDS, Integrity investigations, and much more.
It was a chance for the teens to discover the working environment that absorbs so much time
from their parents. It was also an opportunity to add an eye-catching entry on their CV for
those looming college applications. But most of all, it was an occasion to meet other “third-
34

culture kids,” to discover an immediate affinity with other youngsters who, like them, are
global nomads and are straddling many cultures and hopping from one country to the other
every so many years.
Articles about the program appeared on the World Bank and IFC intranets. The WB article
featured a photo of Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala greeting the teens on their first
day. “Maybe some of you will join us in the future,” she mused while encouraging them to
learn more about development and to quiz their parents on such topics as, “Why is there
still so much poverty in the world? How is your work helping them?” Reet Jukkum helped
the teens navigate the history of the WBG, was impressed: “Some of them had read so much
background information in preparation for the program that they were even better prepared
than some of the new staff that we recruit to the Bank!” Chief investment officer, Reyaz
Ahmad, and Head of the Independent Evaluation Group, Sid Edelmann, both of the IFC,
wrote in the IFC intranet article:“After two and a half hours of hard work, the “campers” got
it – they know what we do at IFC and, in a small way, they have done it themselves. While
they can’t yet throw around the ‘jargon’, they were introduced to the concepts of development
effectiveness, IFC additionality and even independent evaluation. They spoke about advisory
services, made investment decisions and took a Fortune 500 company to North Korea—
something not even IFC has done yet!”
This year, the group also included a dedicated reporter, young Arjun Awashti who filed in
daily reports. As he aptly sums it up, the program was “educational and productive in many
ways…the basic nature of this program was—relationships. How they were created in a short
span of a few days and how they may hopefully sustain for a much longer period.” But there
is more. One parent from last year remarked, “I gave you a kid, you gave me back a leader.
I did not even know he had it in him!” In the words of WBFN President Anne Folliet, “All
the young people involved in this year’s program also gained from it: some knowledge, better
understanding, maybe also some maturity or better insight into themselves, or, who knows…
a purpose in life?
WBFN sincerely thanks all of those who contributed to this program, especially its chief
coordinators, WBFN volunteers, Georgine Ahmad and Miren Fernandez.
In the months that followed, a series of articles written by the teens were published in Mosaic.
These are easily accessible through the Mosaic archives on the WBFN website and Mosaicplus.
35

Activities &
Programs
Activities and Programs are organized and take place
throughout the year, they fall under the leadership of either
an EC Chair or Members-at-Large. This year WBFN sponsored
on average thirty activities/programs per month.

Sharing Views & Experiences

Arrivals and Welcoming
The Welcoming is one of WBFN’s key activities, with its main goal of easing the relocation
of the new WBG families in the DC area.
This year, we kept the four steps developed in the past to welcome and help the newcomers:
Welcoming Coffee/Information Session, Get-Together, Spouse/Partner Orientation Program
(SOP) and Surviving Culture Shock Workshop.
An examination of new registrations over the year shows a significant increase in the number
of male WBFN members, from 17% (previous fiscal year) to 20%. Also, the average age of
the newcomers seems to have decreased a little, which is difficult to verify, as age is not part
of our registered data.
A New Structure
The beginning of the year started with a new division of the welcoming tasks, between the
WBFN Office and the Welcoming Team, due to the new Membership Management System,
which was still in the process of development.
The Welcoming Team is still in charge of welcoming newcomers, giving them information
and inviting them to the main events organized to facilitate their transition, but the registrations
in the Access database are now done by the office staff, either manually (walk-in registrations)
or automatically (with SharePoint, where the alerts from HR about new staff, staff
terminations or staff changes in duty station are processed). This second case will now become
the majority, which means less manual input and a registration in two steps, as the first email
is sent automatically to the staff to obtain only the main contact information, to be followed
by a more in depth registration by the spouse/partner once the initial contact has been made.
Over the year, from July 2009 through June 2010, a total of 547 new members were registered
in our new database (407 last year) and contacted.
Tania Gnesdilova, the database administrator, has continuously worked with the Welcoming
Chair to improve the design of the database, the basic element in our member management
system, according to newly identified needs. All this work began in July 2009 at a meeting
with Tania, Daniela Drapakova, Nefertare Galiba, Catherine Mathieu, Maaike le Grand,
Sercalem Besha, and Louise Shimizu.
The main changes are in the queries and reports created to work separately on specific tasks,
which are convenient for distributing the work to the Welcoming Team members.
Now, we can edit various lists to allocate these tasks:
38

• Send the welcoming kits
• Send the complimentary form to complete information imported from SharePoint
• Call the new members newly arrived in DC area
• Contact non-English speakers in their own language by phone or email
• Update expired addresses
• Send Get-Together attendees a list of contact information for all attendees
The Main Venues
Welcoming Coffee & Information Session—This program is held generally every first Tuesday
of the month in the World Bank H Building, where the WBFN office is also located.
The setting is informal and newcomers can bring their young children. Several WBFN members
briefly introduce aspects of relocation such as child care possibilities, the legal aspects of
living in the U.S., getting a driver’s license, etc. Participants get an overview of the various
activities, seminars and classes that WBFN has to offer. Usually, most of the attendees come
to the office after the session and some stay to have lunch with us.
This year, we initiated the idea of updating the presentation and trying to make the sessions
more interactive, but this is still a project-in-process.
From July 2009 through June 2010, 12 monthly sessions were held and a total of 70 newcomers
attended.
Get-Togethers—These gatherings provide an informal meeting place for both newcomers
and longer term members. See the description in the “Social & Cultural Activities” section
of this Annual Report.
Spouse/Partner Orientation Program—Five Spouse/Partner Orientation Programs (SOP)
are held throughout the fiscal year, generally in September, November, January, March and
May or June. This one-day program is a shorter version of the four-day orientation that a new
World Bank staff receives. Reet Jukkum and Katherine Fishburne of HRSLO, Lara Koroye
of IFC and a member of the WBFN facilitate the program. WBG staff make presentations
similar to those made to the staff but with an emphasis on the spouse/partner’s perspective.
Usually, the November and March SOPs are hosted by IFC.
The SOP continues WBFN’s role of welcoming spouses/partners to the WBG community
and helping them settle as quickly, as smoothly and as far as possible in their new environment.
It introduces the participants to the history and the work culture of the Bank, and gives
them an overview of the benefits for staff and families, U.S. visa issues, work permits for G4
-visa holders, taxes, wills and retirement benefits. The program also familiarizes them with the
39

health services for the staff and families, health insurance, the Security Operations Center, the
Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union, the Global Mobility services and Family Issues. Last
but not least, the SOP introduces the participants to the work carried on by WBFN, all its
programs and resources, and the ready-made support network that it provides.
Besides the informative presentations, many come to meet new people and discuss some of
their common problems and concerns. Some members of the WBFN Representative Council
and the Executive Committee also attend these orientation programs to help newcomers feel
welcome and provide a variety of pertinent information.
In March 2010, we revised the evaluation form in order to be able to keep track of the gender
of the attendees and whether they are affiliated with IFC or WB. We also created an Excel
spreadsheet generating all the information from the evaluation forms for the entire year. This
means that at any time we will be able to see how many have attended to date, how they rated
the topics and what they found most useful.
Unfortunately, the fifth Orientation this year, scheduled for May 20, 2010, had to be cancelled
due to an insufficient number of registrations. However, in FY10, 89 persons attended
the program and of these, 69 had been in the DC area between a few weeks and one year. All
in all, the attendees were very satisfied with the topics. The evaluation form asks for a rating
of the various topics using a scale of 1 to 3, with 3 as the highest; 77% of the attendees rated
five of the topics in the top area and 52% to 61% rated the other five topics in the top area.
The most useful topics were Health Insurance and Visa, but all topics were useful as expressed
on the evaluation forms. More than 83% of the attendees had heard about the program from
their spouse. This means that our effort at the Staff Orientation Program and through Share-
Point pays off and that many staff do inform their partner about WBFN.
Surviving Culture Shock Workshop—This program is described on page 48 of this Annual
Report.
The Welcoming Team
One of the biggest challenges this year was to find volunteers that could be involved on a regular
basis. This is a necessity for the Welcoming Team, due to the diversity of time-consuming
tasks to do. The volunteer job description was one of the good ideas of the year to ease the
recruiting of volunteers.
To facilitate the training of new volunteers, Tania created a manual for the database and a
manual specifically for the Welcoming Team will be available soon.
Thanks go to all the volunteers for their contribution to the Welcoming activities:
40

• Maaike le Grand and Daniela Drapakova, who trained me in most of the Welcoming
tasks and kept on helping when I took on the responsibility of Welcoming Chair
• Tania Gnesdilova, who translated each need into a reality in the database and wrote the
MMS Manual
• Mariela Eberhardt, for her fidelity in the preparation of the Welcoming Kits; Sowana
and Pradeepti Consul helped us with this during Mariela’s vacation.
• Uta Steckhan and Maaike, who gave the presentations to newcomers during the Information
Sessions at the Welcoming Coffees
• Annemarie BrinkOlsen and Anne Folliet, who took care of the SOP and staff orientations
• Monica Zhang, who managed the Pre-buddy Team in charge of calling newcomers:
Tracy Russell, Iru Serra, Selene Sopelana, Kalterine Vrenezi, Laura Brea and recently
Shubhanghi Rele and Diane Muteguya
• Robert Marson who, as male spouse coordinator, organized activities in an outside the
office.
See also the “President-Elect’s Report” for more about the Pre-buddy System and the Membership
Management System and the Male Spouse Group section for details of that activity.
41

Communications
Annual Report
The Annual Report chronicles the Family Network’s varied activities and events and highlights
the diverse talents of its members. It brings to the readership a concise summary of WBFN
achievements and challenges, programs and activities during each fiscal year. All the chairs
and coordinators of the various projects and activity groups submit reports of their work
along with the names of the volunteers who helped organize these projects and events.
This year, at the Annual Meeting, a vote was taken to change the WBFN By-laws so that the
Annual Report is now due at the end of September of the following fiscal year, instead of at
the May Annual Meeting, when several activities of the year may not have been completed.
Mosaic
Crafting Mosaic every month can be likened to a flight take-off or piloting an aircraft. Some
months the take-off is smooth and we glide effortlessly to the printers. Sometimes there is a
VIP who needs to be onboard and we scramble to find the best place for him. Some months
we are flying half empty…there is no rush to fill the seats and we have to figure out how
to fill the space, so the team members are forced to wear the writer’s mantel and come up
with creative articles themselves. At times it is a tiresome tarmac wait…we are not sure what
should be taken out and what should be put in! Many a time, we are overbooked, and we
plead with willing passengers to take the next flight. Finally, we all look forward to the offseason
months of July and August when we get to use the lounge, sit back, relax and plan for
another hectic year.
You might have noticed, and you’re right, that in all these experiences there is a definite hint
of adventure and thrill. Luckily for me, every member of the Mosaic Team is a spirited team
player willing to participate in the excitement.
Extending the analogy to my team members, it is my privilege to begin with our Air Traffic
Controller, Anne Folliet. Right from her deliberate decision of including articles from members
who are overseas each month, down to her constructive criticism of the fonts and colors
used on the cover page, she has helped this newsletter evolve in an unparalleled way. She gives
strategic directions and assists us in every crisis. Thanks, Anne!
Next, our Chief Engineer, Gilda Dadush helps fix problems in the print version and makes
the transition from print to web a breeze. She does regular maintenance work, finds mistakes
during inspections and drives us all to achieve perfection each month. She has found an able
assistant in Swati Srivastava, and we are thankful to both.
42

My dependable Co-captain is Annemarie Brink Olsen; she dutifully supports us, lends her
experience, watches for glitches, handles communication and takes over the controls in the
absence of the Captain. Thanks a ton, Annemarie, for always being there!
Our Strategic Input Officer is Maaike le Grand, who participates vigorously at meetings, gives
us guidance, offers critical advice and writes eye-opening articles. Thanks, Maaike!
Our Compliance Officer, Louise supports a wide network of resources, provides workable
solutions to complex issues, works her magic on difficult content to make it readable, and
provides vital support in clarifying WBFN history, procedures and policies. What would we
do without you, Louise? Thanks!
One of our reliable Stewards is Henry Kerali. He faithfully attends our meetings, helps us
whenever we need him and can always be depended upon to write succinct and interesting
articles. Thank you, Henry!
A new addition to our team this year was our Design Expert Iris Buchinger, who brought in
fresh perspectives and novel ideas to many concepts in Mosaic and to the posters for events.
Thanks, Iris, for your creative help!
Our reliable Ground Staff Catherine, Christinne and Mimi lend constant and consistent support.
They understand our needs and assist us in every way possible. A big thank you to them!
Getting to captain this creative endeavor each month is an absolute pleasure. As Captain, I
do need to ensure all is correct, carry out pre-flight checks, communicate with members, understand
and interpret data and react quickly and effectively when something is amiss. But I
love being a part of it and am deeply grateful to all my teammates who support me on various
aspects of the publication.
Our Frequent Fliers MMMF and the Book Project are always onboard as well. Like any VIP,
they get their own perks: their elite status and acquired miles help them earn extra pages when
needed and work around design aspects of their content. We hope to continue this amazing
relationship in the future.
I also want to extend my thanks to Rula Ghani, Mariel Escudero and Mary Lee Kingsley, who
are always there to help and all our writers who send in articles each month. Special thanks
to Ibrahim Turk who provides us with amazing pictures to use as well. Thanks also to Global
Mobility, HSD, Credit Union, HUB and all our activity heads for contributing each month.
The reach of Mosaic this year has exceeded expectations. We now see more and more Bank departments
interested in announcing their activities through us, like the Staff Association and
HR. From a mere communications tool, Mosaic has evolved into a “Go-to-bible-of-sorts,” as
43

a member referred to it. This year we received numerous and diverse letters addressed to Dear
Mosa. We are working on new concepts for our cover pages and we have successfully done
templates for all our showcase pages. I am happy to share that we have received enthusiastic
responses to our changes on both these fronts. Our series on “Volunteering” and “Teens” as
well as our “Members Abroad” articles were well appreciated, and we hope to carry a similar,
useful series of articles in the coming year too. All of the series were varied in subject and style,
but all brought original viewpoints, member involvement and reactions while also covering
topics that were useful and entertaining to our readers.
Our venture into the electronic sphere continued this year and we now have our fledgling
Mosaicplus flying on its own wings. True to its name Mosaicplus gives our readers more
pictures, more extensive coverage of our activities, more timely announcements and more
updated information.
Our challenge each month is to have not only a smooth take-off but also a safe landing. We
need to cruise at a level that is comfortable for our members and make it a pleasant travel
for them. We need to provide them with useful yet interesting in-flight entertainment. I can
proudly say that we have successfully achieved that!
In conclusion, I would like to add that the fun thing about any high flying experience is the
unpredictability—you never know what will happen or when and there is the assurance that
things will change at the last moment. I personally think the newsletter that rises out the
organized chaos is the one that is the most fruitful and fulfilling. I am sure you agree too!
Here’s to wishing us all pleasant takeoffs in the coming years!!
Mosaic’s Allied Partners—Website, Design and Photo Teams
Our endeavor to succeed and fly high can never be a success without our allied partners—our
Web, Design and Photo Teams. In today’s rapidly changing technological environment, our
graphics, website and online Mosaicplus, need constant monitoring and scrutinizing to keep
them soaring.
Our Communications Coordinator Gilda Dadush has a clear view of what will work in both
the print and the online versions of our materials. She also has a good understanding of the
needs of the WBFN members. She coordinates and guides a competitive team of design
people—Iris Buchinger, Margret Kroyer, Miguel Barreto, Swati Srivastava, Daniela Drapakova
and Ibrahim Turk—who give concrete shape to our thoughts. They bring a holistic
completion to our needs and requirements—be it the showcase page of Mosaic, our @-glance
e-bulletin, flyers and posters, web pages, brochures or our photo albums and videos. This
group excels at planning and operation, works well with available human resources, pays
44

special attention to safety and security of member information and labors hard in stressful
situations. What better partners can we ask for than this group of talented individuals?
WBFN President Anne Folliet’s prodding for the development of a new corporate WBFN
image and our successful alliance last year helped us achieve an upgrade in our communications.
Daniela and Ibrahim were able to provide better in-flight entertainment in the form
of vibrant and colorful pictures and videos on our web. Swati ensured the on-time take off
of each issue of Mosaicplus, with regular content transfer from Mosaic. Iris, Miguel and Margret
spread the word of our programs and activities through A-class posters and flyers. Our
website continues to keep members informed, following the flight routes charted last year.
Finally, as Gilda joins me in bidding adios amigos to all our volunteers who have helped us
carry out a successful year of production, we also hope that we can safely count on theirs and/
or other volunteer help again next year to keep our work soaring possibly in a bigger aircraft
with better technology and more infotainment!
WBFN Yellow Pages
Many of our WBFN members are professionals who would like to make known to other
members the services or goods that they offer. This is why for the past 20 years, our organization
has published the Yellow Pages of Members’ Goods and Services. A few years ago, keeping
pace with the mobility of our membership, we transferred this publication from the hard
copy to an online version, thanks to the hard work of WBFN members Sahr Mbayo, Jo
Bartlett and Gilda Dadush.
Unfortunately, it has been noticed over the past two years that, while members from time to
time request to have their information listed, due to either the lack of a more user-friendly
search function or other reasons, the online Yellow Pages appear not to be as widely used as
envisioned. It is thus recommended that WBFN look into this matter during the next fiscal
year and find a solution to this problem.
45

Education and Information
Surviving Culture Shock Workshop
The Surviving Culture Shock workshops are for those who have arrived for the first time in
the DC area and for those returning to DC after some time away.
The challenges that face World Bank Group partners, including the loss and gains involved in
moving from country to country and in changing cultures, as well as the psychological aspects
of moving, the process of change and American values and culture are discussed.
Workshops were co-facilitated by Nancy LeBaron, Yvonne Quahe and Kate Lu with support
assistance provided by Mimi Besha, Catherine Mathieu, Anne Folliet, Maaike le Grand, and
Nefertare Galiba.
Two Surviving Culture Shock Workshops took place in FY10 with a total of 19 participants:
14 on October 29, 2009, and 5 on May 10, 2010. A third Workshop scheduled for February
16, 2010 was cancelled due to a snowstorm.
Those attending felt that the number one benefit to them was the realization that they are not
alone and that others are facing the same challenges that they face. The Workshops provide
the opportunity to meet new people and participants are encouraged to exchange contact
details as this is a starting point for them in building a new support group.
Feedback from participants indicates that aspects of American culture are especially challenging
to newcomers. A segment of the Workshop which specifically addresses American values
and culture has been favorably received and appreciated by participants.
Computer Classes
Every other week, mornings (9:30–12:30), one or two of the following courses were offered:
Windows, MS Word Introduction, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Access, Adobe Dreamweaver
Parts 1 and 2 and Internet Explorer.
A total of 64 students attended the courses. This year we had on average four students per
class, but Dreamweaver, Parts 1 and 2, as well as the Excel courses were well-attended and in
demand. We are thinking of adding some advanced courses for Excel next year as many have
expressed interest. We still hope that we can offer the Adobe Photoshop course sometime in
the future as lots of interest has been expressed.
Thank you to all my wonderful students who attended the courses as well as to the never-tired
Mimi Besha and Christinne Secrest for their help, and a big thank you to Catherine Mathieu
and Gilda Dadush who helped in organizing and maintaining the courses.
46

Language Classes and Groups
English Classes—From October 2009 until May 2010 three levels of English classes met
twice weekly, for two hours each time, in seminar rooms in the World Bank H Building.
The teachers, Michele Schimetal O’Neal, Sarah Brau, and Carmela Cosans, created courses
designed to fit the requirements of the students, who were assigned to classes based on individual
interviews with all three teachers and written placement questionnaires. Students paid
a fee for the course to help cover the course expenses, including the fees of the teachers who
were employed by the World Bank as short-term consultants. All teachers have had extensive
experience in teaching international adult learners.
Every effort was made to keep the class sizes small, ranging from five to ten participants, to
enhance the progress of the students, many of whom were quite new in the Washington area
and were adjusting to changes in living situation as well as language.
The teaching philosophy was to provide a warm and encouraging background around which
to build competence and confidence among the students to help them function and thrive
successfully in their new situation. Using textbooks and a range of readings from other sources,
students were encouraged to build vocabulary in English across a wide range of subjects,
to improve listening skills, and to practice writing skills.
All students met in one group at the beginning and end of each semester to facilitate making
friends and conversation. A potluck lunch was a chance for all to share favorite foods from
many countries. The group also reserved tables after class in the cafeteria to continue conversations
among students and teachers.
Students visited the Book Project for a field trip and organized visits to area movies and other
events of interest. The thriving program continues to be in demand for next year, with even
more emphasis on preparing for employment and practical approaches to volunteer jobs,
childcare, finding housing, and finding friends and companions. The consensus seems to be
that the most valuable part of the classes was the opportunity to learn from other students
about their countries and cultures and to enhance their understanding of their host country.
We, the teachers and students, wish to thank the WBFN staff who facilitated registration and
communication with students and staff, the World Bank for providing space, and the generous
support of WBFN for making this program possible.
Business English—During the FY10 course year, the WBFN calendar included the same
offerings for Business English as were offered the previous year and the same teacher, Frank
Sterrett, taught the classes. The courses were: Communicating in Business, Business Presenta-
47

tions, and Cross-Cultural Negotiations. The series totaled over 60 hours of classroom time. It
came to light that both the teacher and the students needed to spend a minimum of 1–2
hours preparation outside the class, in order to maximize the utility of class time for all concerned.
Unfortunately, the Negotiations course was after all not offered, due to the illness of
the teacher. Enrollments in the other two courses were a total of 25 participants.
The first course was an overview of the full range of spoken business communication skills;
the second focused on business presentation skills; the third was to have addressed crosscultural
negotiation skills. Methods used included case studies, group and individual presentations
and peer critique, as well as the more traditional methods associated with language
learning, such as grammar and usage exercises and pronunciation. Although there was a
structured content outline for each course, the interactive approach to learning directed the
sessions towards the learner’s needs and drew on their professional and life experiences. Thus,
although these were primarily language courses, participants developed and applied business
skills, including problem solving, teamwork, and business relationship building. These skills
are easily transferable and vital to individual success in a U.S. business setting. Feedback from
participants has been very positive and it is likely that Business English courses will be offered
on an ongoing basis.
Advanced English/Introduction to Literature Group—This group, taught by Helen Maybury,
met every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. to improve their English grammar and vocabulary
through reading and discussions.
English Conversation Group for Male Spouses—New this year, this group was led by
Vidya Kumtakar and David Welch. Scheduled every week in the WBFN Office, an average
of the same 6 to 10 male spouses/partners attended regularly.
Intermediate French Group—Taught by Catherine Gouarne, this group met on Thursdays
from 10:00 a.m. to noon in Bethesda. She is to be recognized with heartfelt thanks for having
shared her time, her house, and her talent as a teacher so generously now for 20 years!
Advanced French Conversation Group—This group met on Tuesdays, 10:00 a.m. to noon.
Taught by Brigitte Juhel, participants read and discussed plays or novels.
Advanced Spanish Conversation Group—The group met every Friday from 11:00 a.m. to
1:00 p.m., except during summer, at various members’ homes. We read short stories of wellknown
Spanish-speaking writers and numerous articles from newspapers and magazines. As
in previous years, our group undertook many activities. We went to theaters, movies, museums,
and concerts. Our traditional Christmas party at the house of Firoze Khan was a great
success. Our spouses were our special guests.
48

Financial Education
WBFN offers a series of three basic courses: a two-day seminar and two computer-based
e-learning courses, which are designed to introduce participants to the financial world and
equip them with tools to make informed decisions about spending, saving and investment.
There are two additional one day seminars, Getting On With Money and Time Management.
The WBFN office staff provides invaluable assistance for all of the financial courses.
Money Matters Seminar—Our longtime financial literacy trainer, Cary Clark, presented
her popular Money Matters Seminars on October 6 and 8, 2009, and again on February 23,
24 and 25, 2010, open to current and former financial course participants. Topics covered
included de-mystifying financial jargon, understanding your family’s pension plan, how the
stock market works, and how to construct a portfolio appropriate for your particular circumstances.
Aydin Tuncer, Vice President, Investments of the Global Wealth Management Group
at Raymond James & Associates, Inc., made a presentation on how to find and evaluate a financial
advisor. He also discussed the differences between the services provided by a financial
planner and a financial advisor. An extensive and lively question and answer session followed.
A total of 32 people attended the classes. The participants’ reviews of the classes were highly
favorable, and many signed up for the online Family Budgeting Course.
Getting On With Money Seminar—Cary Clark led this one-day seminar on March 1,
2010. Participants examined their attitudes towards money, looked at the impact these have
on the way they manage their finances, and identified strategies to improve financial planning
and decision making. There were 7 participants.
E-Learning Courses—The Family Budgeting and Savings and Investments courses are e-
learning courses originally developed by Cary Clark and now retired World Bank staff member,
Kathy Tanner. The courses were used as part of the program to introduce WBG staff to
the net pension plan started in 1998. WBFN has continued to make these courses available
to WBG spouses with the financial backing of the World Bank HR, the courtesy use of the
World Bank Institute website, and the assistance of Cary Clark, WBG staff members, including
Sheila Jagannathan of WBI, and the WBFN volunteer facilitators. This year the WBFN
volunteers were Sally Macartney, Djyldyz Kydyrova, Tessa Ravry and Corina Urdaneta.
The e-learning environment replaces the traditional classroom with a “virtual” classroom online.
Students can participate at any time of day from any location with Internet access. They
communicate with other participants on the website’s discussion boards. Facilitators encourage
student participation and discussions and answer questions. Interest in the program and
49

participation by members in country offices has been growing. Classmates can be around the
corner or halfway around the world.
Introduction to E-Learning—Many financial course participants have little or no previous
experience with online courses. The WBFN offers an Introduction to e-Learning class to
familiarize the participants with the e-learning environment and the course software. WBFN
course facilitators conduct the class in a computer training room prior to each online course.
This year a new online e-learning orientation course was introduced. Course participants become
familiar with the e-learning environment, learn how to navigate the course website and
interact with fellow participants in a virtual world through practice assignments.
Family Budgeting—The Family Budgeting course establishes the foundation for successful
personal financial planning: setting up efficient recordkeeping, creating a budget, tracking
expenses, getting out of debt, setting financial goals, determining net worth. Learning to
manage household expenditures paves the way for savings and investment decisions covered
in the Savings and Investments course. The five-week course contains one unit per week, with
a homework assignment for each unit. Participants also discuss topics of interest in a general
online forum. Everyone is encouraged to share their opinions. The Family Budgeting course
was offered this year starting in October 2009 and again in March 2010 after the Money
Matters seminar. A total of 49 people participated.
Savings and Investments—The online Savings and Investments course helps participants
prepare for future financial needs, especially retirement. Participants estimate their savings
requirements, investigate their family pension plan, learn about the trade-offs of putting their
savings in stocks, bonds or cash and research sources of information and investment advice
to manage their portfolios in a global economy. The course scheduled for January 2010 was
rescheduled to start September 20, 2010.
Wandering Winners Investment Club
In 2010, WWIC celebrated its 9th year of investing and learning. Formed in June 2001, the
Club’s purpose is to benefit its members both educationally and financially. Membership is
open to members of WBFN and the IMF and IDB Family Associations. Many of our members
have attended the WBFN Financial Literacy courses taught by Cary Clark.
Using Scottrade as its broker, the Club invests in securities while employing fundamental
principles and techniques of sound investment practices. Our biggest stock winner this year
was Google! We’re always learning how to conduct better research on stock sectors, industries,
and companies. To better organize our information and analyze individual stocks, this
year the Club purchased a laptop and Toolkit 6 “Stock Study” software developed by NAIC
50

(National Association of Investment Clubs). The Club is registered with the NAIC, which
hosts the Club’s “myiclub” website, where we track and analyze the history of our portfolio
and file our club’s bylaws, the WWIC membership list, minutes of our official monthly club
meetings, and educational presentations.
In addition to attending the Club’s official monthly meetings, many members participate
in weekly mini study group sessions, where informal but focused and lively discussions and
research take place. We are all on a learning curve and find these meetings very rewarding.
This year members prepared in-depth presentations on the following sectors: Energy (petroleum
and natural gas industry, solar and wind power), Mining, Services (discount and variety
stores). We developed better technical analysis skills by learning more about Balance Sheets
& Ratio Analysis, Moving Averages and Ballinger Bands. Each club member is responsible
for monitoring and reporting on a stock in the Club’s portfolio. In December we revised our
Stock Update form, used in these reports, to incorporate many of these technical indicators.
We also improved our trading knowledge, learning about placing limit orders, stop loss orders,
and trailing stop loss orders with the broker. In total the Club approved 12 stock trades
this year: 7 buy and 5 sell transactions. Such decisions are discussed at the Club’s monthly
meetings, which are held on the second Wednesday of each month, and then voted on by
email. A big decision we made this year was to discontinue our practice of purchasing selected
stocks to “dollar cost average.” Learning how to better manage the Club’s portfolio is an ongoing
mission. The year 2009 was brutal for most investors and for the WWIC as well. We are
grateful for the continuing efforts and interest of Club members and to be able to report that
our portfolio has now regained the paper losses recorded in 2009. What a learning experience!
This year members attended the J.W. Marriott Annual Meeting of Shareholders in Washington
D.C. They also attended Investment Outlook Workshops sponsored by Raymond James.
Several guest speakers this year focused on the Investment Outlook. The Club also participated
in the WBFN Annual Exhibits, sharing a booth with the Financial Literacy Program.
As WWIC Club President this past year I would like to sincerely thank the Club officers:
Tessa Ravry, Vice President; Patricia Caicedo, Treasurer; Sally Macartney, Parliamentarian;
Brinda Prakash, Secretary; Geeta Chandrasekar, Audit Committee; Mari Parker, Archivist. I
would also like to recognize all the members for their commitment and active participation
throughout this year, including offering to help others learn. We owe the continuing success
of the WWIC to this generous spirit of cooperation.
51

Information Seminars
Since 1985, these seminars, arranged by Monika Sergo, have been providing information
geared to help WBG families better understand how U.S. laws and WBG regulations apply
in areas where foresight and careful planning can significantly influence the outcome of various
difficult situations. The seminars focus on topics such as Work authorization; Permanent
Residence in the U.S.; Estate Planning; Inheritance Tax and Income Tax in the U.S. All seminars
were well attended and much appreciated. Attendees benefited greatly by having this opportunity
to get valuable and reliable information and clear answers to their many questions
presented to our experienced and professional guest speakers on a range of important issues.
The following seminars were offered in FY10:
• Work Authorization for WB spouses with G4 visas.
• How to qualify for Permanent Residence in the U.S.
• Understanding Estate Law in the U.S.: Planning ahead and taking prudent standard
precautions while living in the U.S.
• Estate/Inheritance Tax in the U.S.
• U.S. Income Tax: Preparing and paying
• WB Pension Plan: Why careful planning ahead is so crucial
• Estate Planning options available in the U.S.
52

Members Abroad
As mentioned in the President-Elect’s Report above, WBFN has made considerable efforts
this year to revive our outreach to our members overseas.
Brainstorming
During the year, a team of several WBFN members met to discuss the topic of Members
Abroad, considering what WBFN might do now as well as in the event of a greater Bank decentralization
and staff mobility. The team was comprised of several members with experience
in being posted to Country Offices as well as those skilled in electronic communications and
project management. After much discussion and research, several conclusions were reached.
1. Two main needs of our members overseas were identified: a) a structured content where
members can find information on housing, car rentals, schools, etc., and b) a social
network platform, where they can post questions and communicate among each other.
On our WBFN website we have posted a host of practical information for newcomers
to the DC area. However, it was decided that retooling a part of the information for
members overseas is not easily feasible as information gets quickly outdated. Instead, it
was thought that posting templates for spouses in the respective Country Offices to start
and maintain themselves might work better.
2. Another way of reaching out to our Members Abroad is the already very successful endeavor
of the online Budgeting and Savings and Investment courses. These courses,
which are hosted on the WBI server, are currently taught by Cary Clark and facilitated
by Sally Macartney and other volunteers. Participants have been not only WBFN members,
but also UN spouses/partners and many other women in countries like Afghanistan
as well as marginalized populations in the UK. Future possibilities of interest to spouses
might be other online courses, and perhaps an online facilitator course, since this is a
transportable skill.
3. For some years, WBFN has played a role in introducing WBG families who are to be
posted overseas to families already at the new duty station or who have recently returned
from living there. This role is a very helpful way of easing the stress on the move and one
which WBFN can potentially easily maintain, especially with the recent alerts from HR
which include not only newcomers to the WBG but also Terminations and Change of
Duty Station.
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Questionnaire
To confirm the above conclusions and identify members in Country Offices willing to assist
in these endeavors, the team created an updated list of Members Abroad and a questionnaire
to send to them. However, as the situation of the Bank’s decentralization and the committee’s
understanding of WBFN’s role in it lacked clarity and continued to change, the questionnaire
was not sent during FY10.
Division of Roles
Concerning the different roles and tasks of WBFN and its partners at Global Mobility
(HRSGM) and HR Services in servicing families living abroad, we found that it is important
to discern clearly between each other’s goals, competencies and possibilities. WBFN should
not try to cover grounds already covered by one of our partners. Strengths of WBFN are its
independence and the breadth and accuracy of its database, which is automatically fed by
HR alerts. Another is the trust we have from our members. This gives WBFN the ability to
communicate with its members overseas, send newsletters, introduce families to each other
and encourage them to support each other, as well as inform HRSGM and HR Services about
needs and comments of members where appropriate. We will continue to advocate for the
appointment of more Community Liaison Officers and encourage Country Directors to give
spouses and partners a little space in Country Offices, where they can access information, use
a computer and meet with one another.
Contacts
WBFN met with Petra ten Hoope-Bender, the coordinator of the UN/Dual Career and Staff
Mobility program, who is stationed in Geneva. This interagency program was established in
2004 by 13 international organizations, including the United Nations. The WBG joined in
2006. Its explicit goal is to assist globally mobile families of the organizations adapt to new
duty stations and provide information that may facilitate the spouses/partners’ in their job
search and maintaining their professional careers after relocation. Spouses/partners register at
www.unstaffmobility.org. and have the option of joining or establishing Local Expat Spouse
Associations (LESA).
Another interesting contact was Patricia Hoban, an expat spouse herself at the Jakarta Country
Office who is one of the first Country Liaison Officers (CLO’s) ever to be assigned by the
WBG the job of welcoming spouses and partners at a Country Office. In this case, the stars
seemed to be all well-aligned: a very supportive Country Director, someone who came up
with the idea, a spouse who is perfect for the job, an extremely helpful security officer, and
some trust funds that could be used. An interview with Patricia was published in the March
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2010 Mosaic to encourage other Country Offices to follow this excellent practice. Some
members told her, that their move to Jakarta had been the best move ever.
A third contact was Mishka Cira, a spouse in Vietnam who set up a successful Yahoo group
for spouses, where members are, for example, asked to welcome new families to Hanoi and
are updated on the latest interesting activities. They can also post questions and get quick
answers from other members on a host of practical topics.
Looking Forward
In summary, we are still in the preliminary stages of exploring how we can best serve the needs
of our members overseas. Putting members in touch with each other is important and has
been our traditional role. Liaising with other expat spouse organizations in the field is also an
observable possibility. Another obvious resource is our website, where we can post information
and links to other useful sites. These will all likely be our focus as we proceed, unless the
results of our survey of members overseas to be sent out early in the coming fiscal year, lead
us elsewhere!
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Parents and Tots
Groups meet weekly in various venues, providing much-needed time and space for
parents and children to socialize and find a sense of belonging: an invaluable service
to WBFN members, and fun for their children, too.
Expecting Moms
During a few winter months, expectant members met six times for up to two hour sessions.
The intention was to prepare the women for the birth of their children by reviewing different
subjects, to create a forum where any question could be asked, and to build a network of
friends who were in the same situation. Areas we covered were pregnancy, labor and delivery
in the USA, pain management and breathing, breast and bottle-feeding newborns, baby care
and common questions. Our members were from: Cambodia, the Czech Republic, Egypt,
Germany, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, the U.S. and Venezuela. Thanks go to Birgit Sheldon who
shared her advice from a physiotherapist’s perspective.
The majority were far away from friends and family who would otherwise be the natural support
system for an expectant couple. The group and classes provided a way to overcome the
lack of immediate family nearby and have personal resources to contact when needed.
A rewarding aspect was to be reminded of the fact that we share so many things, regardless of
where in the world we come from. Women have the same worries and hopes when pregnant,
we all want healthy children. It was a privilege to share this time with these mothers; thank
you and good luck in parenting.
Whenever WBFN has among its members interested mothers-to-be, I will be happy to start
a new prenatal group.
DC Mothers & Tots
This group is for parents from around the world with children between zero and five years of
age. Most are affiliated with the WBG or IMF, but it has been open also to others who want
to join.
They usually meet one afternoon a week with a focus on fun activities for the kids—either at
a playground, pool, the zoo or somebody’s house. The commitment of all is essential for the
success of the group. All members are asked to get engaged and initiate a playdate as a “host”
every now and then. In the past, they also had a “moms’ night out” at one of the numerous
restaurants. They always were a big success!
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Efforts were made this past year to try to revitalize group as members had moved away or the
children had outgrown it. A group of new mothers which has come to be called Downtown
Babies eventually emerged to fill the gap and will continue next year.
Maryland (MD) Parents & Tots
The Parents & Tots group is a playgroup for World Bank and IMF spouses and their young
children (typically 0-5 years old). The playgroup is a place for stay-at-home parents to get
a chance to chat with other grown-ups over a cup of coffee and for the children to try out
someone else’s toys. Currently we meet Tuesdays from 10 a.m.–12 p.m. and on average five
families attend each gathering. Generally, a member hosts the playgroup at her/his home,
but occasionally we meet for an outing to a puppet show, a playground or some other childfriendly
activity. In addition, we try to meet one evening every two months, without the
children, for a “night out” at a local restaurant.
In the past year we have had the pleasure of welcoming several new members to our group as
well as the sadness of saying goodbye to others who have left the DC area. It’s been an especially
busy year with lots of younger siblings joining in on the fun. Most of our playgroups
this year have been at member homes with only a few outings to either a playground or a
nature center. The children have been doing a good job of sharing their toys and the adults
have been able to have a few half finished conversations about life in DC. As a special activity
this year, we did successfully organize a Sunday brunch for the whole family on April, 11th.
For the fourth year now, we have been using Yahoo! Groups and it has proven to be an efficient
way of organizing ourselves. Besides using it to do all of our scheduling, we have
continued to share information via its various functions about things of interest to our group
members. Those interested in joining our group can do so at http://groups.yahoo.com/
group/BankFundKids/.
Virginia (VA) Parents & Tots
We are a group of mothers and young children (currently no Fathers) who live in Virginia.
The age range of the children is from newborns to four, when the children move on to kindergarten.
We mostly meet at each other’s homes to socialize and for the children to play with
children of a similar age. The past few weeks we have met in a park and we hope to explore
other parks and other activities of interest to members. The group serves as a social network
for spouses of World Bank employees. We have no fixed activity during playgroup, it is just
an opportunity to get together with other parents in a similar situation. As we all know, being
new to a country can be very daunting especially when one loses the social and community
networks of one’s motherland. In this way, the playgroup provides a necessary support sys-
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tem. We are a culturally diverse group. We meet once a week on a Thursday morning from
10 a.m. until noon. There are usually between three and six members at each meeting and we
welcome new members. There have been changes this year: a new coordinator since January,
a new baby born to one of our new members, and one member left to give birth in her home
country. We look forward to a baby shower in June, a birthday celebration for two members
and a goodbye to a long-standing member. We would like to thank all those members who
have made an effort to attend every week. We hope to create a Yahoo group soon and hopefully
this will attract new members.
Spanish Maryland (MD) Parents and Tots
The Spanish MD Parents & Tots playgroup is for children aged four or below. The group
meets on Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. One of the playgroup’s goals is to create
an environment where children can develop Spanish skills. It attempts to take a first step at
deepening the children’s relationship with a language different from the one they will mostly
hear while watching educational videos (e.g. Baby Einstein) or listening to baby lullabies.
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Social and Cultural Activities
Book Groups
African Book Group—The African Book Group meets every third Monday of the month,
with a hiatus from July to August. Meetings take place in the homes of the participants. We
enjoy tea or coffee with sweet and savory accompaniments before getting down to discussions
of the books. We try to read books from authors from all areas of Africa.
The December potluck includes spouses. The June potluck is in conjunction with the English
Literature Group.
Our roster includes 13 members, with most meetings being attended by 5 to 7 members.
Melitta Carter maintains the roster, and sends out emails to members every month, as well as
gives details to Mosaic. Monica Schott researches the author before each meeting and keeps
attendance records.
The books we read this year between September 2009 and June 2010 were:
• The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (Congo)
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria)
• Measuring Time by Helon Habila (Nigeria)
• I do not Come to you by Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (Nigeria)
• Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan (Nigeria)
• Land of a Thousand Hills by Rosamond Halsey Carr (Congo/Rwanda)
• An Elegy for Easterly by Petina Gappah (Zimbabwe)
• Without a Name by Yvonne Vera (Zimbabwe)
English Book Group—Sabine Tourreilles and Myra Jacobs steer the English Literature
Group. We have a list of about 30 members. Attendance at our monthly meetings has grown
over the past two years to around 18-25. This taxes the seating capacity in our members’
homes, and our principle that everyone has a chance to participate in the book discussion. As
a result, we have had to announce that our group is for the moment at capacity. We have also
extended the length of meetings by 30 minutes to allow for an initial hour of schmoozing
over brunch, and 1.5 hours (or so!) of discussion, so that everyone can have their say about
our chosen book.
Good friendships have developed among our members, and the group provides support and
encouragement in times of need. New members have always been able to settle in easily, as we
have in common a love of reading and discussing books. We regularly arrange group outings
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to movies, theatre and exhibitions, particularly those related to our readings, or involving our
members.
We take turns hosting meetings on the fourth Wednesday of most months. Exceptions are
July, August (no meeting), and early June and December (Potluck events). We have very
diverse backgrounds, and indeed, English is not the native tongue for most of our members.
The variety of material we read is broad—suggested by members, this includes recently released
novels, classics, non-fiction, memoirs, including translations into English. We read
eight to nine works each year. Discussions are always lively, informed by our varied life experiences
and viewpoints.
Between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010 we read the following books:
• The Idiot by Dostoyevsky (September)
• The Overcoat by Gogol (October)
• The Glass Castle by Janette Walls (November)
• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (January)
• Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (February)
• When a Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin (March)
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett (April)
• The Life Before Us (“Madame Rosa”) by Romain Gary (Emile Ajar) (May)
Many thanks to Inga Luhde, Sabine Tourreilles, Monica Schott, Margaret Lane, Mercedes
Irigoyen , Sigrid Blobel, Trish Stephens and Rosario Jones for hosting discussions of the above
works, and for providing luscious brunch buffets.
Our summer and Holiday Potlucks are highlights of every year. For the fourth year in a row
we joined forces with the African Literature Group for another glorious June Potluck event
hosted by Vim Maguire. Vim always arranges good weather for this event, so we can enjoy
our meal in her beautiful garden. We were treated to an entertaining presentation by Willem
Ziyp, retired after 20 years in the World Bank in agricultural extension work. Willem told
of his experiences during a 10 month long solo sail trip in a 39 foot boat, his motivations,
and meticulous planning. He drew the biggest laugh for relating his wife Miriam’s comment
on the need to check radar every 25 minutes, round the clock: “Now you know what breastfeeding
is like!”
Our traditional December Potluck dinner for members and their significant others was graciously
hosted by Dianela and Dilip Ratha. A bumper crowd turned out for an evening of
superb food and merriment, in the welcoming Ratha home. It was a wonderful start to the
festive season.
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A big “THANK YOU” goes from all members, and especially from Myra, to Zane Stuggins.
After about 10 years of expert and charming coordination of our group, Zane is traveling
more and handed over her reins to the capable hands of Sabine Tourreilles in October 2009.
On the saddest note, in July 2009, our much-beloved fellow reader, Christine Saddington,
passed away untimely in Canberra, Australia after a courageous battle with cancer. Christine
was a former WBFN EC member, and was the former longtime solo coordinator of the
Group, until she handed over to Myra and Zane about 10 years ago, upon Mike’s retirement
and return to Oz. Our condolences to Mike, and their grown “kids,” Edwina, Matt and
Amelia.
French Book Group—As in the past, the French Book Group met, from September through
June, on the third Friday of each month at the houses of our members.
We began the year reading the classic play Phèdre by Jean Racine. For October, we read
D’autres vies que la mienne by Emmanuel Carrère. The following month, we read La naufragée
des amazones by French explorer Jean Godin des Odonais, inspired by his wife’s account
of her survival in the Amazon. In December, we discussed Une saison avec Marcel Proust by
René Peter, a childhood friend of Proust. January’s book was Lettre à D., une histoire d’amour
by André Gorz. In February, we read a mystery by Philippe Doumenc, Contre-enquête sur la
mort d’Emma Bovary. Our choice for March included two short books by Japanese-Canadian
author Aki Shimazake, Tsubaki and Hamaguri. In April, we read a novel about the plight
of an Iraqi youth trying to find his way to London, Ulysses from Bagdad by Eric-Emmanuel
Schmitt. May’s book came from Algerian author Yasmina Khadra, Ce que le jour doit à la nuit.
We concluded our year with La vie d’un homme inconnu by Andreï Makine.
All members contributed wonderfully through their thoughtful discussions and welcoming
hospitality.
German Book Group—This German Book Group meets every third Wednesday of the
month. Members take turns at hosting the event. They concentrate on reading contemporary
German literature from German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland);
they also read and discuss contemporary books from other European countries that have been
translated into German. In every session, they discuss a number of different books, since they
order only one copy of the books to be discussed during the year. Their discussions usually
last two hours and are followed by a luncheon provided by the host.
Bridge
Friday Morning Duplicate Bridge—This group gets together at different members’ homes
on Friday mornings, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Representing a wide range of nationalities,
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they play at the intermediate level. Although the total strength of the group is around 25,
they usually have 3 or 4 tables. While the bridge is serious it is a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere
with socializing and snacking between rounds, not to mention the support system
they provide each other. They welcome new members any time.
Another Duplicate Bridge Group meets the third Wednesday of every month from 10:30
a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Chess Club
This club meets on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Started and led by Willy Raparaoelina, it
has attracted members interested in learning strategy and discovering the practical side of life
enjoyably through the international game of chess.
Get-Togethers
These gatherings provide an informal meeting place for both newcomers and longer
term members.
This year, from September 2009 through June 2010, a total of 12 Get-Togethers were organized
(of these only 11 took place as the one in February was cancelled due to the blizzard) and a total
of 120 WBFN members attended. One Get-Together was organized in Maryland and one in
DC for both September and October. After that, since usually this event is more attended by
longer-term members, in order to try to attract more newcomers, only one Get-Together was
organized each month in either Maryland or DC with the goal of finding a host/hostess as close
as possible to a metro station.
It has been suggested that WBFN think about a new formula for people who cannot attend
such events in the morning.
International Cuisine
Once a month, on Fridays, around 10:30 a.m., we met for a cooking demonstration, selected
from around the world. A participation fee of $15 was required. Copies of the recipes were
provided to the attendees. All WBFN members interested in tasting different cuisines or sharing
recipes from their country were welcome to join.
The meetings featured:
An Autumn Lunch: Hosted by Catherine Labaste, the menu consisted of Pissaladiere with
anchovies, marinated salmon with green peas and wasabi, and for dessert, rhubarb tart with
tarragon. (October)
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Indian Cuisine: We had a demonstration of tandoori prawns, chicken curry with eggplant and
pulau rice, and fruits for dessert. Brinda Prakash was the host. (November)
Coctail Party: Hosted by Catherine Labaste, on the menu was mojito, yakitori sea scallops,
Thai salad and for dessert, small chocolate cream pots and cream puffs. (December)
Tea Party: We had a demonstration of scones with chives and cheese, cream and marmalade,
cucumber tea sandwiches, eggs and cress sandwiches. The tea party was hosted by Michele
Schimetat. (January)
Moroccan Lunch: Kawtar Khnejer hosted a Moroccan lunch. The menu consisted of harrira
soup, Moroccan pancakes, and for dessert, couscous with dried fruits. (April)
Egyptian Meal: Hosted by Leslie Younes, we had a demonstration of Egyptian style lentil soup
and vegetables, rice with vermicelli, grilled shrimp with Mediterranean seasoning, and for
dessert, semolina cake with cream and lemon syrup, and peppermint tea. (May)
British Picnic: Hosted by Michele Schimetat, the menu consisted of pimms and strawberries,
various kind of sandwiches, and for dessert a carrot cake and a tea cake. (June)
The coordinator of International Cuisine Cooking group activity was Catherine Labaste.
Many thanks go to the hostesses who showed their culinary talents, which was greatly appreciated
by the participants.
International Cultural Group
The International Cultural Group meets whenever an educational or culturally interesting
place, activity or event (exhibition/show) is identified. There are no fixed dates for International
Cultural Group meetings and the number of events per year is also flexible.
During the past year, the International Cultural Group events were:
Terra Cotta Warriors: This highly popular tour took our members to the National Geographic
Museum exhibit of 2,000-year-old clay figures, “Guardians of China’s First Emperor,” on
loan from their burial site in Xian, China. On display were 15 life-size figures, weapons,
armor, coins, and more. (November)
The American Visionary Art Museum: The tour brought our members to Baltimore Inner Harbor
where this museum houses art that is “produced by self-taught individuals, usually without
formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in
the creative act itself.” (April)
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Woodworking Workshop: This tour was planned to visit the beautiful wood turning lathe and
workshop of Donald and Harriet Maloney near Leesburg, VA, and see some of their artistic
creations which are sold at local fairs and wine festivals, art shows and museums. The tour
would be followed by a visit to a nearby winery and lunch at a restaurant. Unfortunately, this
tour was cancelled due to an insufficient number of participants. (May)
The International Cultural Group seizes the opportunity to sample some of the unique cultural
experiences available to those who live in the greater DC area. Participants in the tours
tend to be longer-term members. It is hoped that these programs will be brought more prominently
to the attention of newcomers so they can take advantage of the special arrangements
made by the group.
Male Spouse Activities
I have been Male Spouse/Partner Coordinator since June 2009, thanks to Maaike le Grand,
who asked me to handle this activity, and to WBFN President Anne Folliet, who appointed
me and asked me to attend the Executive Committee meetings as a non-voting member as
well. Actually, Anne revolutionized the structure, since I was the first male spouse regularly
attending the EC meetings, even if just as a guest observer.
A special thanks to Catherine Mathieu who has also been a key player all along. Thanks a lot
to Mimi Besha and Christinne Secrest for their help as well.
At the beginning, I had many ideas to share with my fellow male spouses/partners, because
I lived the same situation. My idea was to create many groups which would allow the male
spouses/partners to be in touch regularly, especially those who share the same interests.
However, I noticed that the attendance was not always regular. Actually, with more than 60
people contacted, we had an attendance of only 8 to 10 people in every meeting we organized,
and always half of them were new to the meetings, i.e., people would attend once and
then not come back.
From this observation, I started to review my plan and thought about which kind of group
would attract more people and would be attended regularly. That is why I decided to set up
the English Conversation Group, with the help of Vidya Kumtakar and David Welch, whom
I would like to thank so much. This group, scheduled every week, is currently attended regularly
by an average of the same 6 to 10 people.
After that, thanks to the help of Willy Raparoelina, whose perseverance I would like to salute,
we established the Chess Club, which is very interesting especially for those who may be interested
in strategy. The group needs more advertising, though. And last but not least, I would
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like to thank Philippe Futa in advance; we are finally going to start a French Conversation
Group at the request of many people who are interested to be part of it.
The first purpose of these groups was to help people to be connected and why not, to make
friends. It is also an opportunity for us to learn about each other’s cultures as we come from
different countries.
The second was to show people that WBFN is not a wives’ organization. I guess that currently,
no one can say that anymore, since two or three times a week they surely have noticed
the presence of male spouses/partners within the office.
Therefore, I can say that we are well on our way to drawing more people and to reassuring
more families that their stay in DC will be smooth, instructive and enriching.
Quilting Group
The quilt started in autumn 2008 and was completed during the summer holidays of 2009.
With a view to raise money for the Charity “House of Ruth,” the completed quilt, baptized
“Circle of Friends” by its makers, together with four cushions, was much advertised in Mosaic
and at the WBFN office. Members of the group then had great pleasure in showing it off
during the WBFN Exhibits held in April 2010 in the Atrium of the MC building. To draw
attention to “Circle of Friends” and the fundraising, the quilters worked on their next project,
sewing and “patchworking” live around a table. The winning ticket was drawn during the
WBFN Annual Dinner on May 18, 2010, and the lucky winner was Vivienne Mordasini.
The total proceeds of the tickets sold amounted to $2,000, and a check of this amount for
the House of Ruth was presented to its Director of Development, Carolyn Stevens, at a lunch
held in the WBFN Office on June 15.
In the autumn of 2009, the Quilting Group decided to start a new project, using a pattern
called “Cobblestones” and made entirely of batik fabrics. The members met once a week, on
Wednesday afternoons from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. This is our biggest project yet, measuring 84”
x 96”, which will perfectly fit a double bed. The “patchwork” was completed beginning of
May 2010, and then the work was put aside to be completed during the autumn and winter
months of 2010/2011, allowing the members of the group to concentrate on their own projects
during the summer months.
The active members of the Quilting Group during 2009/2010 were Patricia Garcia Uribe, Sophia
Sinmao, Anja Gutschera, Gabriele Hofmann, Stefanie Borchert and Vivienne Mordasini.
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WBFN Gallery
All WBFN members, immediate relations, spouses/partners, and parents of long term consultants
are welcome to display their creations in the WBFN Conference Room, H2-201. We
enjoy a large variety of work, including fine arts, jewelry, photography, ceramics, drawings,
cloth and textiles. Exhibits hang/display for one month or more. The artists can promote or
sell art work during special events like the receptions. The artists are allowed and encouraged
to have an opening reception at the WBFN Conference Room, while the exhibit is on, and
inform the Bank’s Staff of the event by posting flyers.
From December 2009 to mid January 2010, Marie Dominique Bondet De La Bernardie
exhibited her mixed-media collages named, “Art Is A Love Story.”
From early March to mid April 2010, Gonzalo Ruiz Navarro displayed his work titled, “Spanish
Visions.” Forests, fountains, gardens and palaces of Spain, all have been the inspiration for
years and left an imprint on the artist’s life and his work.
From mid April to the end of May 2010, Nadia Azumi, an Italian artist married to a Japanese,
shared with us her Painting on Silk. For 30 years Nadia has studied and taught Japanese Arts.
In 2007 she began concentrating on silk painting and in 2009 went public with her unique
style and began teaching in county centers.
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Family &
Personal
Support
By helping members know their resources, WBFN provides
them with the tools to function optimally in their new environment.
Nevertheless, problems may occur, and WBFN is
there to support and guide them through the crisis.

Working jointly with the WBG

Embracing and supporting the families of the WBG is the mission of the WBFN.
Our primary goal is to help families relocating around the world to settle happily
into a new environment. Our programs and publications are filled with information
to raise members’ awareness of their rights, benefits, responsibilities and resources.
These range from the Spouse/Partner Orientation Program to the Information Seminars
to the toolkit Planning Makes a Difference. Nevertheless, sometimes problems
are simmering under the surface, or come to a head, and need to be addressed.
WBFN sees its role as guiding its members to the various resources available to
help resolve the issues.
Spouse Issues Committee Report
First of all, I want to thank those who have worked, or supported our work, this year. There
are many, but I especially want to mention a few:
My colleague on the Spouse Issues team Hilary Welch, with whom I have had a fruitful and
giving dialogue over the year on all the issues mentioned in this report.
The WBG Domestic Abuse Prevention Coordinator, Elizabeth Legrain, who relentlessly
works on DA cases and DA prevention issues for the benefit of WBFN members in general
and of those who become victims of this criminal offence.
Our President Anne Folliet for her valuable input at the Task Force meetings, which she attended
for Hilary, and for our discussions on the issue as well.
Our President-Elect Maaike le Grand, whose social skills are well known and include keeping
contact with Hilary, Elizabeth and myself, keeping herself informed on Spouse Issues as well.
And Gilda Dadush who helped with her computer graphics knowledge and skills during the
long process of revising the image of the DA brochure.
Also, thanks go to Birgit Sheldon who is leaving the team. She raised awareness in the team
on the importance of trying to reach the young families with information and discussion
groups in order to prevent DA situations from developing. I wish her luck with mothering
her sixth baby, and I hope she will get time in a year or so to develop her fine ideas into action
or to engage some of the other young families in carrying out her ideas.
I send thanks over the ocean to Chantale Holzmann and Rosa Lia Troch, and over the border
to Barry McIsaac, who also this year provided the historic background for our work. Rosa Lia
and Barry were here in early spring and attended a couple of our meetings, contributing from
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their specialized knowledge on the area. Rosa Lia also helped with sorting the old files on the
Barry McIsaac Fund while vacationing here.
I thank WBFN Coordinator Catherine Mathieu for being instrumental in providing all the
hard facts and figures on the Barry McIsaac Fund.
I think it is appropriate also to thank Helene King and Mahalat Baig-Amin from COPE for
being very cooperative and helping in our ongoing process of finding an effective form for
the quarterly reports from COPE.
Our team has in the last two months invited and welcomed one new member: Diana Vainstein,
who is a counselor for family problems. Within the short time she has been a part of
the team, she has applied her skills and passion in various forms. We look forward to working
with her in the coming year too.
I used to think that the Spouse Issues Committee was a small group working on these issues
but looking at this list of thanks it occurs to me that we are but the tip of the iceberg.
Let me first talk of the future and the list of the things we need to work for and on during the
next WBFN year, before I tell about the achievements and activities this year.
Concrete Tasks Ahead—WBFN needs to update and revise its wbfn.org DA webpage. For
this, we need a skilled communicator and DA passionate volunteer. Please come forward if
you think it is you or you know somebody who will dedicate their skills and time to do that
in collaboration with the Committee and Gilda Dadush, our Publication Coordinator.
Advocacy in the WBG—The World Bank Group needs to update the HR webpage on Domestic
Abuse and allocate staff for doing so. As it is, it has not been properly updated since
last year. This hampers the usefulness of the site for the victims or other interested persons
and we will advocate for its update a.s.a.p.
There are more DA cases being reported from the Country Offices than before, but the DA
Coordinator is still facing problems with finding professional support for the victims in the
countries. It will take time to solve but, nevertheless, WBFN will advocate for it to rank high
on the WBG Domestic Abuse Task Force’s agenda and To-Do List.
No security is in place for the financial support of ex-spouses when staff retire and choose to
leave the country. WBFN will keep working for this and advocate that the Bank will apply
U.S. laws on this matter in the future.
And very importantly, the WBFN Spouse Issues Committee has with growing concern seen
Elizabeth Legrain’s work area expand more and more without the necessary staff allocated
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to back up her efforts in working with cases and prevention activities. Elizabeth has been a
short-term consultant for 5 years, and WBFN will advocate for the Bank to create a full time
job for the DA Coordinator. We will also support any decision on allocating a part-time or
full-time support staff for the DA Coordinator.
And now to the record of the year, our main tasks have been:
• To raise awareness among the WBFN membership
• To support the DA Coordinator in her work
• To act as a link between the DA coordinator and WBFN
• To advocate on behalf of spouses/partners regarding DA issues within the WBG
• And to recommend allocations from the Barry McIsaac Fund
All of this has been in play during this year’s work at the Committee
These days the final touches are being made on the revision of the DA brochure, which is
placed in all restrooms in the WBG buildings. It now has new graphics, the result of cooperation
between Gilda Dadush and myself, Annemarie Brink Olsen. The text has been revised
with input from Elizabeth Legrain and edited by Louise Shimizu. Hopefully, it will go to
print before July 2010.
This year, every issue of Mosaic carried a short article written by me on a DA-related subject,
facts on new regulations at the Bank or write-ups from events or seminars on the issue organized
by Elizabeth. The heading for the page in Mosaic is, “Stress in the Family.”
The June article was about the revision and technical amendment of Staff Rules 2.01 and
3.06. The work started in 2008 is now completed. The revision of 2.01 is, in short, that now
any spouse or registered partner of a WBG staff can obtain information on salary, benefits
and pension within five business days after a written request has been submitted to the Bank.
Before, the staff could block the information to be released unless the spouse obtained a court
order. Staff Rule 3.06 has been amended technically so that now spouses and children who
have a court order with a date for when financial support should start only have to wait five
business days for the staff to comply with the court order before the Bank will withhold the
money and deposit it directly into the account of the spouse. Formerly, it was 30 days.
DA issues have within the last year also been included in several of the Bank’s productions:
• The Ombudsman has made a training manual with paragraphs on Domestic Abuse
Prevention (respectful work advisors)
• The new Code of Ethics includes Domestic Abuse (The Ethics unit trains all staff)
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• The DVD “Silent Storm” on how Domestic Abuse affects the workplace, was shown to
all WBFN Executive Committee members at one of our meetings
• The Spouse Issues Committee met with Elizabeth Legrain almost every week, held
meetings with Helen King from Cope twice and attended the WBG Domestic Abuse
Prevention Task Force meetings every month
• We also attended and supported several seminars, panel discussions and big meetings,
all initiated by Elizabeth. Especially of note were the launch of the DA awareness
month with Ambassador Melanee Verveer as the key speaker, a seminar on Bullying,
and in April Mrs. Mildred Mohammad talked about healing after trauma. All good and
interesting information on a subject still tabooed.
The work on next year’s events to be held during the Domestic Abuse Awareness month in
October has already started. Events like these take many months and man-hours to pull off.
The Spouse Issues Committee hopes that all WBFN members will have benefitted from our
work either by getting wiser on the subject or being directly helped by some of the actions
we have supported.
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WBFN Outreach
Programs
In 1982 and 1983, World Bank spouses started the Margaret
McNamara Memorial Fund and the Book Project. Today,
WBFN volunteers continue to manage these two charities,
which support the education of women and children
in the developing world: the Front Line of Development.

Packing books can be fun too!

The Book Project
During the past year the Book Project has continued its mission of assisting the education of
children in developing countries through book donations.
We are asked, so very often, by our colleagues on the EC and at Mosaic to report on the latest
news and activities at the Book Project. At the Book Project news happens slowly! A minimum
of three months is needed to pack 30,000 books into 552 boxes on 24 skids to fill a 40
foot container for just one shipment. But this year has been slower than we would have liked.
Like many fulfillment operations, the Book Project depends on the availability of materials
and manpower. It takes more than 1,500 hours to pack a large shipment and this year
manpower has been in short supply. Several volunteers have left as their spouses retired and
we have lost many volunteers to employment, usually in the Bank. We have been sad to lose
them, and despite their delight in finding a job they have been sorry to go. Two come back
and visit with us. Some have been replaced by new volunteers, but the Book Project increasingly
depends upon a small core of stalwarts. Volunteer hours this year are running at 80%
of last year.
The summer brings student volunteers. Some are ‘volunteered’ by their parents, others come
to complete community service hours, and a number have come back to the Book Project
after spending time with us as part of the Teen Program; several have been repeat summer
volunteers.
Looking ahead, it is unlikely the Book Project will have the number of people needed to pack
the four large shipments the Bank is willing to fund. The changing nature of WB new hires
and the stated objective to decentralize will reduce the pool of potential volunteers.
Holidays and the weather also reduced the number of man hours this year. Few volunteers
are in Washington during the long Christmas holiday, so the Project closes; and no sooner
had packing begun again when the snows came and we were closed again.
Last year we reported our concerns about the future supply of materials. As the recession
took hold and education budgets were cut, what would happen to the supply of books? U.S.
schools change curricula and text books very frequently and the Book Project has been the
beneficiary of this policy. The relationships built by our Donations Coordinator are paying
off and the counties that were regular donors have continued to support us throughout the
past year, although in some instances to a lesser degree. Private schools continue to donate
to us and we are particularly grateful to the United Nations School in New York that paid
the shipping cost to send us three consignments of good quality books. Overall donations
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are down by 6%. Counties are now under some pressure to demonstrate green behaviors and
donations to the Book Project have helped Montgomery County reach their recycling targets.
But we have also learned that where they can, school systems are selling used text books.
It should be noted that the WBFN Book Project is not the only non profit collecting and
donating books to children in developing countries; there are many other organizations out
there, one at least noting they are supported by the World Bank so we are in competition for
a shrinking supply of materials.
All donated books are sorted and those we cannot send are made available for sale either on
our shelves or at book sales held outside the cafeteria in the MC and at the Annual Exhibition.
Money raised enables the purchase of new books, dictionaries, atlases and encyclopedias
to include in the shipments. This year we have raised $670 from sales in the packing room
and $2,731 from Book Sales, including the Annual Fair.
Our policy of continuous improvement is ongoing. We have made changes to simplify some
of the processes involved in sorting books. We met with our book dealer to clarify what old
volumes might have some value and which he could then sell for us. We improved the format
of the book Request Form that seeks information about the schools, colleges and libraries
asking for books, to better understand what books would be of most use. The number of
educational institutions sharing a shipment has been reduced to simplify both the packing
and distribution, and a new system for marking the boxes has been implemented.
We have continued the policy of working with distributors we can meet. This gives an insight
into the needs of the schools and helps plan the content and composition of the shipment.
Even with donated books we do our best to match the requirements of the school.
Large shipments this year went to:
Malawi via Bina Kakusa, a World Bank Staff member here in DC and the Country Office in
Lilongwe. The recipients were 7 libraries and 46 schools
Tanzania via Dr. and Ms. Kimaro to the Moshi/Himo/Mwika area where recipients were 1
library, 20 schools and 2 colleges.
Small shipments to individual institutions need sponsors to cover the cost of shipping as the
Bank will not pay for these. A small shipment, 500 books in 17 boxes, went to the Philippines,
to a school supported by a World Bank staff member. A shipment of 2 skids has been
sent to Tamil Nadu. With fewer volunteers we were not able to accept requests for small shipments
from organizations that were able to pay for books shipped to them directly.
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We continue to be grateful for the support from the World Bank, which not only provides
us with our office and packing room, but this year enabled the office and our break room to
be redecorated. The Bank also allows us storage facilities at Sterling and the staff there is ever
accommodating bringing in the skids of books as soon as we ask for them. And of course, the
Bank pays the cost of shipping from Washington to the port of entry.
But the Book Project would not be the Book Project without the volunteers and their continuing
commitment to put books in the hands of children.
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The Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund
Overview
Since its inception in 1981 to honor the life of Margaret Craig McNamara, whose husband
was President of the World Bank from 1968–1981, the Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund
(MMMF) has granted scholarships to women from developing countries for university study
in fields which benefit women and children in their home countries. From 1983 through
June 2010, MMMF has awarded 167 grants, including two merit awards grants, totaling over
$1.45 million to women from developing countries.
Regional distribution of the MMMF Recipients from 1983–2010 include 86 from Sub-
Saharan Africa, 44 from Asia, 21 from Latin America, 8 from Middle East/North Africa, and
8 from Europe/Central Asia. The largest areas of study of recipients from 1983–2010 have
been Health/Nutrition/Nursing/Counseling for 47, Education for 35, Other Social Sciences
for 16, and International Development/Affairs for 11, followed by Agriculture/Rural Development/Veterinary
for 9 and Social Work for 9. Other fields of study have also been pursued
by smaller numbers of recipients.
In May 2010, MMMF awarded eight scholarship grants for the academic year 2010–11
to women studying at accredited institutions in the U.S. or Canada. Together with the six
Overseas Scholarship Program recipients who had received their grants earlier, this brought
the total number of FY10 recipients to 14, plus two merit recipients.
The MMMF is a U.S. tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public charity under the umbrella of the World
Bank Family Network. Its primary fundraiser is an International Arts & Crafts Fair held each
fall at the World Bank. The MMMF is extremely grateful for all the donations of time and
money from the WBFN community
New MMMF Structure
The MMMF Board of Directors appoints officers for the Fund, makes policy and raises
funds. Its 15-member Board meets monthly for 10 months of the year, generally on the
fourth Thursday. Standing Committee meetings are held throughout each month.
MMMF grant recipients are painstakingly culled from many worthy applicants, in a process
conducted by the MMMF Selection Committee. Applications of the top candidates are then
referred to the Selection Panel which makes the final recommendations to the Board for their
approval.
In FY10 the Board President has been Caroline Berney; Vice President, Hada Zaidan; Kristine
Martin, Secretary; and Charlotte Jones-Carroll, Treasurer. New members joining the
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Board were Kristine Martin, Kathleen McNamara, daughter of Margaret McNamara, and
Yunying Chen.
Leaving the Board were, sadly, Ruby Wingate, one of its founding members, Nalinie Kouame,
having served as Vice President and a moving force behind the Overseas Program for Africa.,
Caroline Berney and Hada Zaidan (at end of term) and Yunying Chen, whose professional
obligations precluded her from continuing. Ruby Wingate was honored by the Board for her
distinguished service to the development of the scholarship program and the continued success
of the Fair since its inception.
MMMF Coordinator, Cecile Ferri, continues ably to facilitate the operation of MMMF. The
dedicated assistance of WBFN staff Catherine Mathieu, Mimi Besha and Christinne Secrest
is gratefully acknowledged.
New Initiatives
Overseas Program—Under the able leadership of, Elna van Greuning and Melanie Jaya
(Chairs), efforts to build the overseas program for Africa have continued. This year the
MMMF increased its grants from four to six for students from Africa studying at the University
of Pretoria or the University of Cape Town. Growing partnerships of volunteers and
staff in the World Bank Country Offices, as well as university representatives, have increased
the MMMF base of support. Twenty-four volunteers participated in the Overseas Program
for Africa Selection Committee and four Bank/IFC staff members served on the Selection
Panel. The Awards Ceremony for the recipients was held in March 2010, for the first time in
Cape Town, South Africa at the UCT International Funding Office, attended by Elna van
Greuning, Nalinie Kouame, and Corrie Bridgman. The ceremony included for the first time
an MMMF OSP Grants Recipients Forum at which the six recipients presented to the audience
their accounts of their academic pursuits, the obstacles they had to overcome and their
plans for the future.
New Board Officers Elected—Charlotte Jones-Carroll and Georgine Ahmad have been
elected by the MMMF Board to serve as President and Vice President of the Board starting
with the new fiscal year beginning in July 2010. Both are experienced volunteers with the
MMMF and have ably served in various capacities. Jayati Datta Mitra has also been elected to
be Treasurer of the MMMF Board, after serving ably in various capacities as a Board member.
Kristine Martin will continue as Board Secretary.
They follow in the footsteps of Caroline Berney, who served as President for two-and-a-half
years, and Hada Zaidan, who was Vice President for one-and-a-half years and who succeeded
Nalinie Kouame as Vice President. Under their tenure, the MMMF expanded its
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scope to include scholarships to recipients studying in South Africa from throughout Africa;
enhanced outreach to include other international organizations such as the IMF Family Association;
and increased efforts to upgrade the visibility and recognition of the organization as
a pioneering scholarship program for international graduate women studying in the US and
Canada. Both Caroline and Hada were voted in as Advisors to the Board at the June meeting
and all were thanked for their service.
Additional new Board members were elected and will join the Board in FY11 to replace those
leaving at the end of the fiscal year.
MMMF US/Canada Merit Grants—For the first time, the list of recipients of the MMMF
educational grants to women who are studying in the US/Canada was expanded on a onetime
basis by the MMMF Board, in conjunction with the MMMF Selection Committee. In
May 2010 merit awards of $6000 each were awarded to two finalists. These merit grants are
in addition to the eight grants mentioned below to women at US/Canada universities.
Alumnae Committee—Further contact with all recipients is being maintained and every
effort made to keep them in communication with each other and with MMMF throughout
the year. Significant improvements in communication with current and former scholarship
recipients have been initiated through the Alumnae committee, under Hada Zaidan and
by Andree Wynkoop. A recipient questionnaire was developed and sent by the Alumnae
committee to help evaluate their experience with the MMMF program. Monthly articles in
Mosaic continued the Board’s communications outreach. A successfully enhanced website for
MMMF and streamlined online application procedures have been projects of Board member
Gilda Dadush.
Investment Working Group—The Investment Working Group makes recommendations to
the Board on procedures to streamline financial decision-making and information flow. An
enhanced fundraising plan is also being created and new auditors were selected as part of a
rotation process.
Other Initiatives—During the visit to Washington of the FY10 MMMF Recipients (see
below), two new programs were introduced: a Knowledge Exchange and a Reception at the
IMF Family Association.
Selection of MMMF Recipients
The MMMF Board extends its gratitude to all the volunteer teams who worked on the various
aspects of the selection process for both the U.S./Canada Program and the OSP Africa,
including the volunteer team at ISG, and especially Luis Rivas, who worked on the MMMF
online application process.
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U.S./Canada Program—For the Selection of MMMF Recipients for the 2010-11 academic
year, the FY10 Selection Committee, comprised of 16 volunteers from 12 countries, received
and reviewed 237 applications for grants, up from 164 the previous year.
In the first and second rounds of reading, three different selection committee members read
each application. In the third round, a panel of ten members read all the finalists. Each candidate
was screened during all three stages against the criteria set by the trustees and listed
in detail on the MMMF website (www.mmmf-grants.org). The applicant needed to demonstrate
a commitment to improving the lives of women and children through her previous and
current course of study and through any paid or volunteer work; she had to show financial
need and be over 25 years old; and she must plan to return to her country or another developing
country within two and half years of receiving the scholarship.
In April 2010 a Selection Panel of five members of the Selection Committee and five women
from the WBG staff made the final choice of recipients to be presented to the MMMF Board
for approval. Eight finalists were awarded grants of $15,000 each.
Selection Committee (FY10): *Vesna Heysch de la Borde (Chair); Enid Burki* and Leila
Thomas* (Co-Chairs); Martina Adank, Solange Amorelli, Vania Castro, Jyoti Chitale, Marie
Diop, Glaucia Fernandes, Madeleine de Kock, Dorine Otieno*, Reiko Niimi, Swati Srivastava,
Olga Stein*, Judy Wolf, and Juan (Monica) Zhang (* also served on 2010 Selection
Panel). Selection Panel FY10: WBG Staff Members or Retirees: Isabel Chatterton, Katie
Fawcett, Marlene Jacome, Elizabeth Legrain, and Nakita Sunil Malik.
OSP Africa Program—A separate but similar application and review process was used for
the OSP, the only difference being that the applicant must already be enrolled in the University
of Pretoria (UP) or the University of Cape Town (UCT) and living in South Africa. The
application period opened in June 2009 and the deadline was August 31, 2009. Twenty-four
volunteers participated in the Selection Committee and four Bank/IFC staff members served
on the Selection Panel. In November, finalists were selected from a total of 50 applicants and,
after MMMF Board approval, awarded grants of $4,000 each.
Recipients Visit to Washington
Eight enthusiastic recipients of the 2010 MMMF US/Canada awards arrived in Washington
on Sunday, May 16 to participate in four days of planned activities to better acquaint them
with the folks behind the scholarship program and with the institutions that enable the
program year after year. During their visit, the recipients were welcomed, entertained, and
housed through arrangements made by the Hospitality Committee, led by Andree Wynkoop
and Georgine Ahmad.
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Beginning with the dinner reception at the home of MMMF President Caroline Berney, each
recipient met all the players in the process which led up to their selection and awarding of
scholarship monies. On Monday, May 17, a meeting with the members of the MMMF Selection
Committee was arranged in the H Building of the World Bank so that all involved in
the selection process could meet one another. May 17 the MMMF Grant Recipients Forum,
co-sponsored by the World Bank Gender Network, took place in the Bank’s MC Building.
The Forum brought together an audience of 150 eager to meet and hear the personal presentations
of the recipients. The keynote address by MIGA Vice President Izumi Kobayashi congratulated
recipients and encouraged them to continue their efforts toward improving lives
of women and children in their countries. The Forum gives the recipients the opportunity to
share their goals and achievements with staff, WBFN members, MMMF Friends and outsiders.
Each recipient presented to the audience their accounts of their academic pursuits in the
face of numerous obstacles and their successes. All eight expressed their gratitude for the vote
of confidence given them by their MMMF selection and for the volunteer effort which went
into the entire scholarship program. Questions and answers were pursued at the reception
after the forum. Following the Forum, contracts were signed and official photographs taken
of the recipients at the World Bank. A reception with the Friends of the MMMF took place
that evening at the IFC’s Pangea Artisan Market and cultural café.
An innovative Knowledge Exchange, organized by the Alumnae committee, took place on
Tuesday, May 18, in the World Bank H Building, where experts from within the Bank and
others met with the recipients and discussed problems and opportunities within their specific
fields. This effort to match individual recipients with experts in their fields both within and
without the Bank was a new approach to giving more personal meaning to their Washington
experiences. That evening recipients attended the WBFN Annual Dinner, where they met
World Bank President Zoellick and learned more about the volunteer activities of the WBFN.
On Wednesday, May 19, another innovation took place, when the recipients and the MMMF
Board were guests of the IMF Family Association for the first time at a reception and discussion
where academic and life experiences of recipients were presented to members of the IMF
Family Association. Olga Stein, member of the Selection Committee, introduced the recipients
and John Harper, IMFFA Board member, gave an inspirational and encouraging address.
Donors and Fundraising
Volunteers from the WBG spouses and partners donated generously of their time to raise
funds for MMMF grants through MMMF Fair participation and serving on the MMMF
Board and Selection Committee and Selection Panel.
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The 24th MMMF International Arts and Crafts Fair, chaired by Georgine Ahmad took place
in the H Building auditorium on November 3–5, 2009. The Fair raised a total of $51,000
net. Fair Treasurer was Charlotte Jones-Carroll assisted by Joanne Garrity. The MMMF Table,
featuring international items, was led by Miren Fernandez. The 2010 Fair will take place
November 2, 3, and 4, in the Preston Auditorium of the main World Bank Building, as the
H Building prepares for the move to a non-Bank occupancy starting in 2011.
MMMF is grateful to the WBG staff members who have designated the MMMF to receive
honoraria and gifts offered to them in their official capacities. Also some World Bank new
retirees have generously donated their retirement party funds to the MMMF.
MMMF Friends who respond each year to the Fall Letter Campaign with their generous
donations are also an integral part of the MMMF donor team. The Friends received a total of
$40,103 in FY10. Friends is under the leadership of Nadereh Chamlou, Chair, and Christine
Stover, Financial Secretary.
The Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union and the Gender Network are to be thanked once
again for their generous contributions.
Challenges
The greatest challenge facing MMMF has been the financial impact of market fluctuations
on the value of the MMMF’s investments. MMMF had been putting annual surpluses (after
grants were given out) into invested reserves to build a more sustainable source of funding
for future grants. By calculating drawdowns from reserve as % of a three-year average value
of investments and maintaining a balanced portfolio, the MMMF has attempted to smooth
the market fluctuations.
FY10 MMMF Recipients
Khitam Abuhamad (West Bank & Gaza)
PhD Candidate: Social Policy & Management, Health Policy; Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
Khitam’s research combines quantitative and qualitative research methods to develop an indepth
understanding of the fertility behavior among Palestinian women in the Gaza Strip
and explore women’s perceptions of service integration. In May 2011 Khitam will complete
her degree and return to Palestine where she will hold positions at the Palestinian Ministry of
Health and the Community College of Applied Science and Technology. Her goal is to create
and promote programs that will improve the health of women and children in Palestine.
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Birke Anbesse Hurrissa (Ethiopia)
M.Phil. Candidate: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; University of Cape Town
Birke’s thesis is titled, “Pathways to Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Care in the Division
of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, Cape Town.” Upon
completion of her degree, she hopes to continue as a clinician to strengthen the Child and
Adolescent Mental Health Unit of Ethiopia, a program she personally was instrumental in
establishing, leading, and coordinating. A widowed mother of two, she studied Psychiatry
previously and before that medicine at the University of Addis Ababa.
Tahreer Araj (West Bank & Gaza)
PhD Candidate: Sociology, Human & Community Development; University of Illinois at Urbana
Tahreer’s research examines how services provided by nongovernmental grassroots organizations
can lead to progressive community change. Her research will contribute to debates over
the role NGOs play in affecting gender equality in community-based, development programs
in Palestine. On completing her degree in Spring 2011, she will begin teaching courses on
gender at the Institute of Women’s Studies at Birzeit University and become chair of the department
on gender, training, and outreach. Her goal is to work at both policy and grassroots
levels to make a difference in areas of gender equality and social justice for Palestinian women.
Comfort Asoogo (Ghana)
M.Sc. Candidate: Nursing (Oncology); University of Cape Town
Comfort served as a nurse for eight years at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Ghana.
After completing her degree, she plans to continue not only the treatment of cancer patients,
but also to organize healthcare education and support groups for women and children in
Ghana. She realized early on in her work that there was a dearth of trained and qualified oncology
nurses in Ghana. Her interest in cancer research emanates from her desire to acquire
more knowledge on how to prevent and care for cancer patients, especially from the pediatric
care perspective. Her continued training in Oncology has led her to explore the reasons for
late presentation of breast cancer patients in Ghana.
Priscila Caçola (Brazil)
PhD Candidate: Motor Neuroscience, Kinesiology; Texas A&M University
Priscila’s research aims to enhance understanding of the potential of home and day-care environments
to optimize the motor development of children, as well as promote tools for
early intervention. On completing her degree in August 2011, Priscila will return to Brazil
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to teach at the university, continue her research, and train teachers in motor skills applications
for young children. She will work with women’s health centers in poor areas to promote
women’s access to healthcare from pregnancy to the child’s first years of life. These programs
will help to prevent low-birth-weight and preterm babies, which often lead to poor motor
development.
Christine Gumunya Manatsa (Zimbabwe)
B.Soc.Sci. (Honors) Candidate: Community Development; University of Pretoria
Christine’s thesis will assess why up to 90 percent of school age children in Zimbabwe do not
attend school due to the need to work with their parents on farms to sustain home incomes.
She says, “Female children as young as eight years old are being forced into marriage by their
families, as this is seen as a way of alleviating a burden yet gaining something from it.” She
hopes to offer individual farm-based education for children not attending school to encourage
school attendance.
Lillian Mukandiwa (Zimbabwe)
PhD Candidate: Paraclinical and Veterinary Sciences; University of Pretoria
Lillian’s dissertation is “Screening and Determining Efficacy of Ethno-Veterinary Plants Used
to Treat Cutaneous Myiasis (blowfly) in Southern Africa.” She holds an M.S. in Animal Science
and a BS in Agriculture from the University of Zimbabwe. After completing her studies,
she plans to establish Phytomedicine and Ethnoveterinary programs in Zimbabwe, continue
her research on medicinal herbs and plants that have a proven effect on livestock health, and
disseminate her information to farmers. She will also remain a lecturer at the University of
Zimbabwe.
Ruth Mwandira (Malawi)
PhD Candidate: Public Health, Health Management and Policy; Oregon State University
Ruth’s research examines factors that determine where households seek maternal and child
health care services, how much people can afford to pay for healthcare, and how healthcare
payments are distributed. She believes the results of her research will help address issues of
equity and efficiency in meeting Malawi’s healthcare goals. After graduating in September
2011, Ruth plans to return to her country to hold a research position at the University of Malawi.
This post will enable her to identify feasible financing strategies for Malawian healthcare
systems. Ruth aspires to be a mentor to women and girls in Malawi and throughout Africa.
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Rana Obeidat (Jordan)
PhD Candidate: Nursing, Oncology/Breast Cancer; State University of New York at Buffalo
Rana’s Ph.D. study is the first phase to develop “culturally sensitive decision and support
interventions” for Jordanian women with breast cancer. Educating women on treatment options
for breast cancer will enhance their ability to make informed decisions. On completing
her degree in 2012, Rana seeks to attain a leadership role in both clinical and educational programs
that will improve treatment and awareness about breast cancer for Jordanian women.
She will resume a position at Zarqua University, teaching and conducting research on women
with breast cancer and volunteer at clinics which care for cancer patients.
Lilyann Oyugi (Kenya)
PhD Candidate: Special Education, Disabilities and At Risk Studies; University of California,
Santa Barbara
Lilyann’s research evaluates how well teachers understand different elements of effective inclusive
education. It also assesses the impact of teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards
children with disabilities on the effectiveness of inclusive education practices in Kenya. After
completing her degree in June 2012, Lilyann will take a position at the Kenya Institute of
Special Education where she will conduct research, lead policy initiatives in teacher training,
and continue her advocacy for children with disabilities.
Evelyn Sakeah (Ghana)
Dr.PH Candidate: Maternal and Child Health; Boston University, Massachusetts
Ghana’s maternal mortality rate is among the highest in the world. Skilled birth attendance
is an effective strategy for reducing maternal mortality. Evelyn’s research makes the case for
expanding Community-Based Health Planning and Services, which will provide the skilled
delivery care needed to close the human resource gap for skilled delivery care attendance.
Neo Selikane (Lesotho)
Masters Candidate: Public Health, Monitoring and Evaluation; University of Pretoria
Neo’s thesis is on the relationship of commonly used biomass cooking fuels and the development
of acute lower respiratory infections in children below the age of five in Swaziland. She
hopes her research will lead to the development of safe and cost-effective alternative cooking
fuels. Neo plans to pursue a career dedicated to the control and prevention of HIV/AIDS and
strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems of the HIV/AIDS and other programs. Her
86

experience as a nurse for the Lesotho Planned Parenthood Association and Medical Rescue
International honed her determination to be a champion for women.
Refilwe Sello (Botswana)
MPH Candidate: Tropical Medicine; Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical
Medicine, New Orleans, LA
As a physician at the Botswana-Baylor Children’s Center of Excellence, which emphasizes
prevention as a strategy to halt the spread of pediatric HIV/AIDS, Dr. Sello conducted research,
provided care and advocated for HIV-infected children and their families. She also
managed The School Teacher Training Pilot Project. Dr. Sello organized and coordinated
a conference “Eliminating Pediatric HIV: Schools as Venues for Managing and Preventing
HIV in Botswana” and counseled families at an HIV-Positive Teen Club. Upon completing
her degree in May 2011, Dr. Sello will return to Botswana to continue to increase evidencebased
interventions in HIV/AIDS prevention and advocate for children with HIV/AIDS.
Evalina van Wijk (South Africa)
PhD Candidate: Psychiatric Nursing; University of Cape Town
Evalina’s research is in an underdeveloped area of sexual abuse trauma: that of the victims’
partners. “In most cases the partners receive no support whatsoever here in South Africa,”
she says. Upon completion of her degree, Evalina plans to remain a lecturer and course coordinator
of Mental Health Nursing at UCT. She began her career as a nurse in 1976 and has
been a teacher and practitioner of psychiatric nursing for the past 15 years. She has worked
in community outreach programs for women and children who were victims of trauma in
Cape Town, teaching social skills and the negative impacts of drug abuse to drug addicted
adolescents, and is a trauma counselor for church and local police.
FY10 Merit Award Recipients
Maggie Madimbo (Malawi)
PhD Candidate: Organizational Leadership, Education Sector; Eastern University, St. Davids, PA
Maggie’s research looks at the impact of mentoring of high school girls as a means of increasing
girls’ enrollment for college education in Malawi. Maggie is inspired to continue to help
increase the number of young women attending college in Malawi, not only at her institution—African
Bible College—but also at other colleges, through a program she created visiting
secondary schools to encourage girls to consider higher education. She hopes to develop
structured mentoring clubs for female students on her return to Malawi.
87

Clarice Reis (Brazil)
M.Sc. Candidate: Family Medicine; McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Clarice’s thesis is titled, “Barriers to Access Dental Care by Low Income Women in Montreal.”
Her research will examine how low-income women and children access dental care
and the attitudes of providers of such care. Clarice worked as a dentist for the Brazilian
Health Ministry in northeastern states, treating low-income women and children, and leading
women’s groups aiming to empower families in accessing dental health care. She plans
to continue such work on her return to Brazil, and to gain a position in northeastern Brazil
public universities to encourage new dentists to address the needs of lower-income families.
(Visit www.mmmf-grants.org to learn more about the MMMF recipients and the MMMF)
88

Salute
to Volunteers
An organization such as WBFN cannot exist except by
virtue of those who volunteer their talents, services,
and above all, their time, so willingly and unsparingly.
We gratefully thank all those whose names appear in
the following pages and sincerely hope that none have
been inadvertently omitted.

WBFN’s cornerstone—its volunteers!

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
July 1, 2009–June 30,2010
President
President-Elect
Secretary
Welcoming Chair
Nominating Chair
Mosaic Editor
Member-at-Large
Member-at-Large
Member-at-Large
Member-at-Large
Member-at-Large
Member-at-Large
Anne Folliet
Maaike le Grand
Sally Macartney
Nefertare Galiba
Aminata Bojang
Vidya Rangan
Daniela Drapakova
Belkys M. Lopez Rabello
Annemarie Brink Olsen
Birgit Sheldon
Swati Srivastava
Uta Steckhan
91

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
July 1, 2010–June 30, 2011
President
President-Elect
Secretary
Welcoming Chair
Nominating Chair
Mosaic Editor
Male Spouse/Partner Coordinator
Member-at-Large
Member-at-Large
Member-at-Large
Member-at-Large
Member-at-Large
Maaike le Grand
Annemarie Brink Olsen
Karin Metz
Nefertare Galiba
Belkys M. Lopez Rabello
Vidya Rangan
Robert Marson
Iris Buchinger
Marie Elisabeth Aubry-Camus
Philippe Futa
Sally Macartney
Amber Van De Genachte
92

Parents & Tots MD
EC Alumni
Investment Club
Volunteering
Social and Cultural Programs
International Cultural Group
Volunteering
WBFN Gallery
Bike Tours
Volunteering
Male Spouse Activities
Book Project
Volunteering
Fair
Volunteering
Donations
Sorting
Board
Packing
MARGARET MCNAMARA MEMORIAL FUND
Donations
Volunteering
Volunteering
Volunteering
Grants
Selection
Shipments
Children’s Holiday Party
Picnic
Annual Meeting & Dinner
Children’s Art Contest
Board
Recipients Forum
Annual Exhibits
Volunteering
Tots
Volunteering
Welcoming
Buddy System
Annual Events
Outreach
Parents & Tots VA
Mothers & Tots DC
Volunteering
Welcoming Coffee
Spouse/Partner Orientation Program
Volunteering
Downtown Babies
Parents & Tots Spanish MD
Get-Togethers
Surviving Culture Shock
Executive Committee
President
President Elect
Secretary
Chairs
Members @ Large
Welcoming & Networking
Mosaic
WBFN Website
Yellow Pages
Communications
MosaicPlus
Advocacy
Quilting Group
Book Clubs
Surviving Culture Shock
Computer Classes
Financial Literacy Classes
International Cuisine
Chess Club
Bridge Clubs
Information and Empowerment
Volunteering
WBFN STAFF
Careers
Medical Insurance Plan
Visas
Teen Summer Program
Language Classes
Volunteering
Brochures
Planning Makes a Difference
Family-Friendly WBG Policies
Volunteering
Welcoming Kit
Pension
Volunteering
Family Consultation Service
Emergency Preparedness
Spouse Issues
Multi-Organization Meetings
Flyers & Posters
WBG Intranet Articles
Annual Report
Volunteering
Volunteering

« «
Annual Family Picnic
Coordinator: Uta Steckhan
Volunteers
Sadeem Alkadi
Gabriela Amorelli
Lucas Amorelli
Vinicius Amorelli
Elsa Axelsdottir
Laura Brea
Gilda Dadush
Daniela Drapakova
Miren Fernandez
Anne Folliet
Diane Folliet
Thibault Folliet
Nefertare Galiba
Rula Ghani
Olga Golovko
Sharmishtha Kulkarni
Maaike le Grand
Margret Kroyer
Elena Pevzner
Annemarie Brink Olsen
Anja Reich-Gelen’s daughter
Stephanie Ong-Sang
Selene Sopelana
Noosha Tayebi
Ibrahim Turk
Carla Vetter
Annual Membership Meeting
Chair: Anne Folliet
Annual Report
Editor: Louise Shimizu
Assistant Editor: Christinne Secrest
Layout: Gilda Dadush
Arrivals & Welcoming
Chair: Nefertare Galiba
Welcoming Specialists
Laura Brea
Jyoti Chitale
Pradeepti Consul
Sowana Consul
Daniela Drapakova
Mariela Eberhardt
Anne Folliet
Tania Gnesdilova
Maaike le Grand
Helene Jouin
Belkys Lopez Rabello
Robert Marsdon
Diane Muteguya
Annemarie Brink Olsen
Shubhanghi Rele
Tracy Russell
Iru Serra
Selene Sopelana
Uta Steckhan
Sheetal Siwach
Kalterine Vrenezi
Monica Zhang
Book Groups
African Coordinators
Melitta Carter
Monica Schott
English Coordinators
Myra Jacobs
Zane Stuggins
Sabine Tourreilles
French Coordinators
Phi Fostvedt
Leonore Oblitas
German Coordinators
Sigrid Blobel
Ursula Revuelta
Book Project
Officers
President: Hilary Welch
Treasurer: Martine de Lusignan/Willy
« «

« «
Annual Exhibits
Chair: Maaike le Grand
Coordinator:
Volunteers
Georgine Ahmad
Marie-Elisabeth Aubrey
Kartika Audinet
Nadia Azumi
Henrietta Bakarr
Miguel Barreto
Caroline Berney
Mimi Besha
Dalida Benechenhou
Tessa Bliss
Aminata Bojang
Paolo Bolzan
Sarah Brau
Iris Buchinger
Mabel Cabezas
Otaviano Canuto
Pradeepti Consul
Carmela Cosans
Dale Crooks
Gilda Dadush
Vasia Deliyanni
Francoise Diawara
Karim Derrahi
Glaucia Fernandes
Miren Fernandez
Anne Folliet
Philippe Futa
Nefertare Galiba
Patricia Hoyos
Naushina Imtiaz
Charlotte Jones-Carroll
Lisbet Kemp
Henry Kerali
Lois Khairallah
Margret Kroyer
Sarah Larbi
Marie Leduc
Sally Macartney
Karin Metz
Vivienne Mordasini
Urzula Moss
Gonzalo Navarro
Doina Olievschi
Annemarie Brink Olsen
Fani Papalamprou
Pushpa Pherwani
Xin Pu
Vidya Rangan
Tessa Ravry
Duina Reyes
Indira Sampath
Asmin Sen
Michele Schimetat O’Neill
Masaharu Shimizu
Morana Song
Swati Srivastava
Frank Sterrett
Zane Stuggins
Sandipa Thapa
Amber Van De Genachte
Vanita Venegopal
Ana Villacampa
Kalterine Vrenezi
Ann Waters
Hilary Welch
Karin Wiedemann
Carlos Winder
Shaziah Zuberi
Annual Dinner
Coordinator: Maaike le Grand
Volunteers
Caroline Berney
Na’ava Feder
Rula Ghani
Annemarie Brink Olsen
« «

« «
Raparaoelina
Secretary: Tessa Ravry
Shipping Coordinator: Doina Olievschi
Packing Room Coordinator: Ann Waters/Tessa
Ravry
Book Donation Coordinator: Pushpa Pherwani
Volunteers
Suniti Bhand
Eva Clough
Anna Dahlborg
Oreana Ebanks-Taylor
Lucy George
Henry Kerali
Zebade Kebede
Niina Kinnunen-Tang
Yvonne Kurtz
Osvaldo Mabyaia
Antje Liese Muentinga
Sue Ramachandran
Caridad Pena Rogriguez
Nargis Rahman
Evelyne Taffin
Anna Villacampa
Bridge
Coordinators
Marlene Bolze
Farida Dossani/Leila Nelson
Kathryn O’Brien
Chess Club
Coordinator: Willy Raparoelina
Children’s Art Competition
Coordinator: Amber Van De Genachte
Judges
Huda Batterjee
Christine Carmody
Najat Dawaji
Vasia Deliyianni
Gonzalo Ruiz Navvarro
Nieves Rubino
Fernanda Nordlander-Noriega
Asmin Sen
Volunteers
Huda Batterjee
Sandipa Basnyat
Paula Alvarez-Couceiro
Lucas Amorelli
Vinicius Amorelli
Marie Elisabeth Aubry Camus
Karim Derrahi
Christine Carmody
Vania Dias de Castro
Dianne Dumais
Miren Fernandez
Anne Folliet
Thibaut Folliet
Corina Freije
Lea Gama
Priya Kumar
Maaike le Grand
Anuradha Mishra
Veronica Montfort
Annemarie Brink Olsen
Stan Onyango
Fani Papalamprou
Monica Perez
Elena Pevzner
Oleg Pevzner
Nieves Rubino
Michele Schimetat O’Neill
Louise Shimizu
Noosha Tayebi
Kalterine Vrenezi
Children’s Holiday Party
Coordinators:
Aminata Bojang
Amber Van De Genachte
« «

« «
Volunteers
Nicolas Alvarez-Couceiro
Gabriela Amorelli
Lucas Amorelli
Vinicius Amorelli
Hannah Anderson
Maria Eugenia Arias
Marcelline Assie
Arjun Awashi
Aryan Awashi
Samira Awashi
Henrietta Bakarr
Veronica Bedoya
Vianca Bedoya
Tien Comlekoglu
Tina Comlekoglu
Vasia Deliyianni
Monica Dorhoi
Daniela Drapakova
P. Noah Espinola
Nyah Espinola
Miren Fernandez
Anne Folliet
Diane Folliet
Thibaut Folliet
Ola Folusho
Lea Gama
Jessica Gelin
Rosanna Gomez
Inji Islam
Rafaela Izurety
Ragina Jha
Tanu Jha
Rajiv Krishnan
Shika Lakshman
Trisha Lakshman
Nicolas Legrain
Maaike le Grand
Belkys Lopez Rabello
Tian Lu
Veronica Marghescu
Antonieta Martinez
Isaura Martinez
Urszula Moss
Akiko Motohashi
Christine Mougin
Adriana Navarro
Aurora Navarro
Solveig Noll
Elena Pevzner
Fani Papalamprou
Luana Pop
Lucian Pop
Matei Pop
Nishi Raboanarijaona
Vidya Rangan
Natalia Rangel
Lynn Rice
Madeleine Rice
Jan Riggs
Sonia Rodriguez-Crane
Lubna Sebastian
Asmin Dilek Sen
Louise Shimizu
Pamela Song
Swati Srivastava
Uta Steckhan
Preeta Tanavade
Vanessa Marcela Mojica Tapia
Yuxin Teng
Josephine Tong
Susanne Tortola
Louise Touber
Ibrahim Turk
Ayten Turkileri
Amber Van De Genachte
Victor Vergara
Denys Yankin
Kamilla Zakirova
Tina Zang
Jana Zavadska
« «

« «
Computer Classes
Instructor: Tania Gnesdilova
EC Nominating Committee
Chair: Aminata Bojang
Expecting Moms
Instructors
Huda Batterjee
Gertrud Bojo
Financial Education
Coordinator: Sally Macartney
Financial Literacy Courses
Instructor: Cary Clark
Facilitators
Djyldyz Kydyrova
Sally Macartney
Tessa Ravry
Corina Urdaneta
Wandering Winners Investment Club
President: Lois Khairallah/ Tessa Ravry
Vice-President: Tessa Ravry / Mari Parker
Treasurer: Patricia Caicedo
Parliamentarian: Sally Macartney
Secretary: Brinda Prakash
Audit Committee: Geeta Chandrasekar
Archivist: Mari Parker
Get-Togethers
MD Hosts
Nefertare Galiba
Carla Vetter
Kawtar Khnejer
Aoufa Ezzine
Marlene Athie
DC/VA Hosts
Jyoti Chitale
Patricia Apell
Phi Fostvedt
Michele Schimetat O’Neill
Ank Treffers
Graphics Team
Miguel Barreto
Iris Buchinger
Gilda Dadush
Margret Kroyer
Duina Reyes
Information Seminars
Coordinator: Monika Sergo
International Cuisine
Coordinator: Catherine Labaste
Hosts
Catherine Labaste
Kawtar Khenejer
Brinda Prakash
Michele Schimetat O’Neill
Leslie Younes
International Cultural Group
Committee
Vim Maguire
Shirley Scheyer
Pat Streifel
Language Groups
English Teachers
Sarah Brau
Carmela Cosans
Vidya Kumtakar
Helen Maybury
Michele Schimetat O’Neill
Frank Sterrett
David Welch
French Teachers
Catherine Gouarne
Brigitte Juhel
Spanish Teacher
Isabel Moreno
« «

« «
Male Spouse Activities
Coordinator: Robert Marson
Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund
(MMMF)
MMMF Honorary Members
Charlotte Conable
Sukriye Karaosmanoglu
Patsy Preston
Hanna Woicke
Elaine Wolfensohn
MMMF Officers
President: Caroline Berney
Vice President: Hada Zaidan
Treasurer: Charlotte Jones-Carroll
Secretary: Kristine Martin
MMMF Coordinator: Cecile Ferri
Assistant Secretary: Catherine Mathieu
MMMF Directors
Georgine Ahmad
Yunying Chen
Gilda Dadush
Jayati Datta-Mitra
Joanne Garrity
Nalinie Kouame
Dominique Lallement
Kathleen McNamara
Ruby Wingate
Andree Wynkoop
Historian: Harriet Baldwin
MMMF Advisors
Sigrid Blobel
Helen Frick
Lois Khairallah
Margaret Lane
Priscilla Linn
Carla Scearce
MMMF Friends
Chair: Nadereh Chamlou
Financial Secretary: Christine Stover
Founding Member: Harriet Baldwin
MMMF International Arts and Crafts Fair
Chair: Georgine Ahmad
Volunteers
Caroline Berney
Rose Blakely
Sigrid Blobel
Sarah Brau
Enid Burki
Elide Cabello
Khanum Cheryan
Cleo Cruikshank
Gilda Dadush
Jayati Datta-Mitra
Ineke de Haan
Ursula Deheja
Marie Diop
Chinara Djienbekova
Fatma El Zahraa
Na’va Feder
Miren Fernandez
Phi Fosvedt
Joanne Garrity
Rula Ghani
Tania Gnesdilova
Roseanne Gomez
Caroline Hernandorena
Marlene Jacome
Charlotte Jones-Carroll
Anna Jubiz
Yvonne Kendall
Lilian Kew
Fran Klein
Sonia Kouros
Margaret Lane
Sarah Larbi
« «

« «
Maaike le Grand
Sally Macartney
Vim Maguire
Maimoona Maiga
Kristine Martin
Catherine Mathieu
Barry McIsaac
Don McIsaac
Karin Metz
Sakin Mohammed
Kimi Nyawata
Folusho Olusi
Michele Schimetat O’Neill
Mari Parker
Dhamayanthy Pathmanathan
Awo Poku
Tessa Ravry
Carla Scearce
Shirley Scheyer
Louise Shimizu
Zane Stuggins
Kay Tabarrah
Amy Thiam
Elna van Greuning
Carla Vetter
Elsa van Wersch
Judy Wolf
Andree Wynkoop
MMMF Recipients’ Hospitality
Coordinators
Georgine Ahmad
Andree Wynkoop
Hosts
Jayati Datta-Mitra
Charlotte Jones-Carroll
Dominique Lallement
Kathleen McNamara
Elna van Greuning
Andree Wynkoop
Hada Zaidan
MMMF Selection Committee, Africa
Pretoria Team Chair: Melanie Jaya**
Pretoria Team Volunteers
Rodney Chasumba*
Munyaradzi Chidakwa
Ruth Chikwete
Faith Babalwa Chirwa
Khetsiwe Dlamini
Conrad Jardine
Patrick Kabuya
Rosisang Mafereka*
Mustapha Ndiaye**
Thirumeni Thiru Naidoo-Swettenham*
Phindite Ngwenya
Washington Team Chair: Elna van Greuning*
Washington Team Volunteers
Enid Burki*
Debra Byam
Madeleine de Kock
Vesna de la Borde
Mamou Ehui**
Shirley Faragher**
Jocelyn Fofack
Sandi Jenkins
Selene Sopelana Loyo
Radhika Minocha
Juliet Muchenje**
Olga Stein
Leila Thomas
Dan Uzoaba
Judy Wolf
* Selection Panel
**World Bank Group Staff or Retirees on Panel
MMMF Selection Committee, US/Canada
Chair: Vesna Heysch de la Borde*
Co-Chairs
Enid Burki*
Leila Thomas*
« «

« «
Volunteers
Martina Adank
Solange Amorelli
Vania Castro
Isabel Chatterton**
Jyoti Chitale
Madeleine de Kock
Marie Diop
Glaucia Fernades
Katie Fawcett**
Marlene Jacome**
Elizabeth Legrain**
Nakita Sunil Malik**
Reiko Niimi
Dorine Otieno*
Swati Srivastava
Olga Stein*
Judy Wolf
Juan Monica Zhang
*also on Selection Panel
**World Bank Group Staff or Retirees on Panel
Member Management System
Coordinators:
Nefertare Galiba
Tania Gnesdilova
Members Abroad/Overseas Briefing
Coordinator: Maaike le Grand
Volunteers
Marie Elisabeth Aubry Camus
Enid Burki
Iris Buchinger
Rula Ghani
Veronique Hubert
Sarah Larbi
Sally Macartney
Karin Metz
Vladimir Solomenchuk
Noosha Tayebi
Atsushi Yamanaka
Mosaic
Editor: Vidya Rangan
Volunteers
Gilda Dadush
Mariel Escudero
Anne Folliet
Rula Ghani
Henri Kerali
Mary Lee Kingsley
Maaike le Grand
Annemarie Brink Olsen
Multi-Organization Meeting
Coordinator: Anne Folliet
Volunteers
Marie-Elizabeth Aubury
Jodie Bouverie
Karim Derradi
Marie Diop
Anne Folliet
Nefertare Galiba
Veronique Hubert
Maaike le Grand
Robert Marson
Annemarie Brink Olsen
Birgit Sheldon
Uta Steckhan
Ana Villacampa
Monica Zhang
Office Assistants
Mariela Eberhardt
Parents & Tots
DC Mothers and Kids Playgroup
Coordinator: Verena Braunoehler
Downtown Babies
Coordinator: Aminata Bojang
« «

« «
MD Parents and Tots
Coordinator: Katja Vinha/Adriana Ferreira
Heery
MD Spanish Parents and Tots
Coordinator: Gabriela Gonzalez
VA Parents and Tots
Coordinator: Birgit Sheldon/Louise Touber
Quilting Group
Coordinator: Vivienne Mordasini
Volunteers
Stefanie Borchert
Anja Gutschera
Gabriele Hofmann
Sophie Sinmao
Patricia Garcia Uribe
Representative Council
Chair: Anne Folliet
Spouse Issues Committee
Co-Chairs
Annemarie Brink Olsen
Hilary Welch
Committee
Chantale Holzmann
Barry McIsaac
Rosa Lia Troch
Diana Vainstein
Surviving Culture Shock
Facilitators
Nancy LeBaron
Kate Lu
Yvonne Quahe
Teen Programs
Coordinators
Georgine Ahmad
Miren Fernandez
Volunteers
Farida Assem
Dianne Dumais
Anne Folliet
Nefertare Galiba
Henri Kerali
Larisa Larilla
Belkys Lopez Rabello
Rajiv Parankusam
Sheetal Siwach
Uta Steckhan
Emile Takeu
Leila Thomas
Janka Zavadska
WBFN Gallery
Coordinator: Na’ava Feder
Exhibitors
Marie Dominique Bondet De La Bernardie
Gonzalo Ruiz Navarro
Nadia Azumi
WBFN Website
Webmaster: Gilda Dadush
Volunteers
Sadeem Alkadi
Swati Srivastava
Yellow Pages
Volunteers
Jo Bartlett
Gilda Dadush
Sahr Mbayo
« «

« «
WIVES/WBVS/WBFN PRESIDENTS
Anne Folliet 2009 – 2010
Rula Ghani 2008 – 2009
Chantale Holzmann 2007 – 2008
Gilda Dadush 2006 – 2007
Kristina Jensen 2005 – 2006
Rosa Lia Troch 2004 – 2005
Lois Khairallah 2003 – 2004
Chantale Holzmann 2002 – 2003
Elizabeth Medina-Tata 2001 – 2002
Barry McIsaac 1999 – 2001
Hada Zaidan 1996 – 1999
Katy Doyen 1994 – 1996
Caroline Berney 1991 – 1994
Ruksana Mehta 1988 – 1991
Anne Dickerson 1985 – 1988
Carla Peperzak 1982 – 1985
Miliza Wright 1981 – 1982
Paula Jeffries 1978 – 1981
Miliza Wright 1977 – 1978
Ruby Wingate 1974 – 1977
Ruth Isbister 1972 – 1974
« «

Another successful Spouse Orientation Program
www.wbfn.org
familynetwork@wbfn.org