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IOCC Board Chairman Alex Machaskee (left) on a field visit to Ethiopia with Executive Director Constantine Triantafilou. Machaskee and other IOCC board members travel overseas to inspect IOCC operations.
People stand in line for a once-daily hot food distribution at a tent encampment in the Petionville section of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. IOCC recently topped $3 million in aid to Haiti, one of 24 countries that IOCC is serving. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/ACT Alliance)
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This space is usually devoted to the people who benefit from IOCC's work around the world, those who are at the heart of our mission and the reason we exist. This month, however, I would like to acknowledge the men and women, behind the scenes, who make up IOCC's Board of Directors.
Like any governing board, IOCC's Board has decision-making and voting authority, and financial oversight of our programs and operations. But our Board is so much more than that. Many of our board members were there during IOCC's formative years, when the concept of America's Orthodox working together on common humanitarian interests was still a new concept. They were the leaders who powered that vision; who said that the Orthodox could work together and indeed needed to rise to the occasion. With the fall of Communism, our Orthodox brothers and sisters in Russia and Georgia were free but also suffering from economic chaos. It was also the beginning of Yugoslavia's civil wars and we needed to respond with emergency aid.
Today, our Board oversees a vastly expanded mission, to countries where the Orthodox are a minority and whose programs include long term development as well as emergency relief. Today's Board is as visionary and vigilant as ever, ensuring that IOCC's finances meet the highest standards in the humanitarian and non profit industries and that our strategic plans are in line with our mission and vision.
We are grateful for all that they do for IOCC, including their support of IOCC's various fundraising initiatives that make our humanitarian work possible. I want to thank those board members who travel at their own expense oversees to visit IOCC projects. That kind of face-to-face commitment to those we serve and support of our dedicated field staff is invaluable.
Please remember IOCC's board members in your prayers. That God would continue to give them the vision and skill to guide IOCC as we carry out our mission in the spirit of Christ's love to those in need.
In Christ,
Constantine M. Triantafilou
Executive Director and CEO
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Providing Work Opportunities for Women in Gaza
Responding to Gaza's high unemployment and the lack of opportunities for women, IOCC is working in cooperation with the Orthodox Society of Myrrh Bearers in Gaza to establish a kitchen where the women can start a business to prepare and sell pastries. IOCC has been providing blankets, food, and hygiene kits to thousands of families who were affected by the winter 2008-2009 conflict in Gaza. Last summer, IOCC also operated a summer camp that provided therapy and recreational activities for about 200 children from Gaza aged 8 – 15.
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