On Monday, March 2, 2009, Nader Ebrahimi, the Director of Aziza’s Place tragically and unexpectedly passed away. It is a terrible loss that all of us, who were very close to Nader, are still trying to grasp. Nader’s passion and dedication to Aziza’s Place was unyielding, and we all loved him. He was a father-figure and role model to the 20 children who live here; he was a decisive leader and friend to the staff; and he was a profound inspiration to the hundreds of families that he worked with at Steung Meanchey, Phnom Penh’s rubbish dump. He will be deeply missed.
Nader's family, the staff and volunteers at Aziza's Place and Nader's many friends in Phnom Penh and all over the world have opened their hearts in supporting one another and the children through this very difficult period. As we all continue working together to process this tragedy, the Staff and volunteers are keeping a careful watch over the children to ensure that their emotional needs are being met. We have assured the children that Aziza's Place will continue to operate, as that's what Nader would have wanted. And that's exactly what we intend to do with Nader’s vision in mind and his presence in our hearts.
As we move forward, we have reorganized the responsibilities and the different aspects of the ongoing operations and administration of Aziza's Place. Dan Haney and Ali Robbins will return; both volunteered last year and were planning to return on a more permanent basis. Dan will serve as the Director and handle the financial and administrative duties and share the day to day running of Aziza's Place with Soy Socheat, our house administrator, who will now become the Assistant Director. Ali Robbins, scheduled to arrive in mid-may, will handle business development, including fundraising and donor & volunteer relations duties, and will work closely with Missy Washington on program development, while Missy continues to spearhead the communications efforts at Aziza's Place.
Our regularly scheduled February newsletter will be combined with the March edition sent out in early April.
Thank you to everyone who has been an enormous help this past week. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts through this difficult time.
In loving memory of Nader Ebrahimi
nung-eye
