The U.S. Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs

Source: US Department of State
June 2013
 
About The International Visitor Leadership Program

The International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) is the U.S. Department of State’s premier professional exchange program. Through short-term visits to the United States, current and emerging foreign leaders in a variety of fields experience this country firsthand and cultivate lasting relationships with their American counterparts. Professional meetings reflect the participants’ professional interests and support the foreign policy goals of the United States. – See more at: http://eca.state.gov/ivlp#sthash.jS81Opfc.dpuf

Current and emerging leaders from across the world come to the United States on the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) to meet with professional counterparts and visit U.S. public and private sector organizations related to their field of interest. International Visitors typically travel to four U.S. communities over three weeks, although projects vary based on themes, Embassy requests, and other factors. Participants travel alone, with others from their home country, or they may be in a group of all different nationalities, depending on the theme.

While in the U.S., International Visitors typically start in Washington, D.C., then travel to three additional cities or towns that highlight the tremendous diversity of the U.S. They attend professional appointments with their American counterparts; learn about the U.S. system of government at the national, state and local levels, visit American schools, and experience American culture and social life.

International Visitors also share their culture and offer insight on best practices and perspectives with their hosts in the United States. International Visitors are accompanied by either foreign language interpreters or English language officers, contractors though the State Department’s Office of Language Services, who also facilitate travel and help explain American society, history, and culture.

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G8 Summit Opens in Ireland, With Africa Pre-Summit Conference in London

British Prime Minister David Cameron with Presidents of Ghana, Tanzania, Senegal & Guinea

Sunday June 16, 2013
Story & Picture Courtesy of eNews Channel Africa (eNCA)

Eight of the world’s leading financial powers are attending the 2013 G8 summit in Northern Ireland this week. Taking place on 17 and 18 June 2013, the agenda of the summit (below) lists items such as advancing trade, ensuring tax compliance and promoting greater transparency – in other words the “three Ts” – of which the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa is part.

The summit, as expected, has drawn much attention from anti-capitalist activists and various other
organizations worldwide who want their concerns heard.

On Saturday the British leader spoke at the Open for Growth event, a pre-summit conference in London, attended by the heads of state of Ghana, Tanzania, Senegal and Guinea; where he explained why the issue of real, beneficial ownership was so critical.

“For too long the international community has shied away from condemning the appalling degree of corruption and mismanagement of resources and the fundamentally bad governance that is destroying lives in some developing countries,” Cameron said.

“Oil exports from Nigeria are many times the aid flows that go to many African countries. The extractive industry payments to developing countries dwarf the amount of aid they receive. We have got to make sure these minerals are a blessing and not a curse,” he was reported as saying.

“Obviously you need honest government in those countries, but in the west we have a role to play. If you can still have shady secretive companies, we are simply not playing our part,” he added. London has been the scene of a series of demonstrations to mark the G8, with campaigners using the opportunity to highlight issues like Britain’s close links with the arms industry and big businesses.

The mood is lighter this year than previous anti-G8 demonstrations but the message is clear – in an age of austerity and economic crisis, the world’s economic leaders should shoulder some of the blame.

For some protestors, it was time for the banking sector to come under the spotlight, for others it was to draw attention to hunger in Africa.
The Guardian Newspaper in the UK reported David Cameron as saying “International gatherings are worthwhile, if they are done in the right way. The trouble is too many of them are about long communiqués with endless textual arguments.”

Cameron reportedly has a four stage diplomatic process:

“Step one – everyone admits there is a problem. Step two – everyone agrees to action plans for beneficial ownership. Step three – Britain takes the lead to say our answer is a register of beneficial ownership. Step four would be everyone doing that and then making it public,” the Guardian reported.

The Three T’s
Taxation
Discuss how to reduce tax evasion in both developed and undeveloped countries and collect tax-revenues owed to them.
Specifically target the practice of shifting taxable profits from areas where the business activity takes place to areas that have lower taxes.
Ensure schemes to prevent money laundering, money or assets obtained through criminal means and exchanged for clean money or assets, are effective in both developed and developing countries with rapid economic growth.

Trade
Support measures to extend free trade throughout the globe
Support trade agreements, including agreements between the E.U. and the US, Canada and Japan.
Encourage African countries to cut crossing times at border posts and double intra-African trade by 2022.
Work with governments, private companies and civilians to ensure relaxation of trade restrictions and investment barriers in countries at all stages of development.

TransparencySupport measures to ensure responsible use of land, fisheries and forests in the interests of national food security.
Encourage sustainable investment and management of land resources and increased global transparency of resource-extraction.
Provide data to citizens free of charge, made available on the Internet.

A Special Father’s Day Message from America’s First Dad / Dad-In-Chief

President Obama and his daughters, Malia, left, and Sasha, watch First Lady Michelle Obama on television, delivering speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention
Official White House Photo

The White House
June 15, 2013

President Barack Obama

Hi, everybody. This Sunday is Father’s Day, and so I wanted to take a moment to talk about the most important job many of us will ever have – and that’s being a dad.

Today we’re blessed to live in a world where technology allows us to connect instantly with just about anyone on the planet. But no matter how advanced we get, there will never be a substitute for the love and support and, most importantly, the presence of a parent in a child’s life. And in many ways, that’s uniquely true for fathers.

I never really knew my own father. I was raised by a single mom and two wonderful grandparents who made incredible sacrifices for me. And there are single parents all across the country who do a heroic job raising terrific kids. But I still wish I had a dad who was not only around, but involved; another role model to teach me what my mom did her best to instill – values like hard work and integrity; responsibility and delayed gratification – all the things that give a child the foundation to envision a brighter future for themselves.

That’s why I try every day to be for Michelle and my girls what my father was not for my mother and me. And I’ve met plenty of other people – dads and uncles and men without a family connection – who are trying to break the cycle and give more of our young people a strong male role model.
Being a good parent – whether you’re gay or straight; a foster parent or a grandparent – isn’t easy. It demands your constant attention, frequent sacrifice, and a healthy dose of patience. And nobody’s perfect. To this day, I’m still figuring out how to be a better husband to my wife and father to my kids.

And I want to do what I can as President to encourage marriage and strong families. We should reform our child support laws to get more men working and engaged with their children. And my Administration will continue to work with the faith and other community organizations, as well as businesses, on a campaign to encourage strong parenting and fatherhood.

Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned along the way, it’s that all our personal successes shine a little less brightly if we fail at family. That’s what matters most. When I look back on my life, I won’t be thinking about any particular legislation I passed or policy I promoted. I’ll be thinking about Michelle, and the journey we’ve been on together. I’ll be thinking about Sasha’s dance recitals and Malia’s tennis matches – about the conversations we’ve had and the quiet moments we’ve shared. I’ll be thinking about whether I did right by them, and whether they knew, every day, just how much they were loved.

That’s what I think being a father is all about. And if we can do our best to be a source of comfort and encouragement to our kids; if we can show them unconditional love and help them grow into the people they were meant to be; then we will have succeeded.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, and have a great weekend.

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DC Holds First Ever African Wellness Fête

Picture & Story: Courtesy DC Mayor’s Office of African Affairs

Thursday, June 6, 2013
T.E.A.M Africa Health Education Campaign Reaches over 1000 Linguistically & Culturally Diverse District Africans Over 300 residents joined Mayor Gray at the first ever DC African Wellness Fête
(Washington, DC) – On June 1, 2013, Mayor Vincent C. Gray and his Office on African Affairs (OAA) held the first ever DC African Wellness Fête. More than 300 District residents joined Mayor Gray at Brightwood Education Campus in Ward 4 to access health resources and celebrate the grand finale of OAA’s health education campaign titled Think. Eat. Act. Move. Africa (T.E.A.M Africa) which successfully connected over 1000 District residents to vital health information and services over a period of three months.

“In the District of Columbia we take the health of our residents seriously. In fact, we are often ranked second only to Massachusetts in ensuring universal health coverage for residents,” said Mayor Gray as he addressed the Fête attendees. “Still we have serious health concerns to address in our city and it is initiatives like T.E.A.M. Africa, which promotes healthy behaviors, that will help us eliminate barriers and improve health outcomes for all District residents.”

The DC African Wellness Fête was kicked off with remarks from OAA Director, Ngozi Nmezi who enthusiastically welcomed the crowd and emphasized the critical role access to health care plays in ensuring the individual and collective vitality of the rapidly growing African community in the District. Simultaneously emceed and facilitated in English, Amharic and French, the Fête featured over 35 government and nonprofit exhibitors, a dozen clinical screenings (including Hepatitis B & C, cancer, HIV, glaucoma, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc), four concurrent health workshops, cooking demonstrations, African dance workouts, and themed activities for youth. Attendees represented over 25 different African countries of origin, the largest representations being from Ethiopia, Nigeria, Cameroon and Togo.

In February 2013 OAA launched T.E.A.M. Africa to eliminate health disparities within the District’s African immigrant community and to tackle glaring barriers to access: language, lack of culturally competent education or care, stigma, and lack of affordable health care. Through March, April and May, TEAM Africa’s aggressive social media campaign, multilingual outreach teams and community/faith-based host partners reached over 1000 District residents. These residents participated in mental health, health literacy and nutrition workshops uniquely tailored to their ethnic, religious, and language groups. The DC-based host partners who participated in this initiative included the Ethiopian Community Center Inc, International Ethiopian Evangelical Church, Oromo Community Organization, Nigerians in the Diaspora Organization, the Carlos Rosario International Charter School, Eritrean Community Center, Muslim Society of Washington D.C. and Howard University African Student Association.

“The DC African Wellness Fête concluded, on highly energizing note, a groundbreaking initiative which mobilized the health resources government has to offer, the cultural competency and community ties of African community-based organizations, and the medical expertise of the large community of African health care professionals in the District to increase health literacy and eliminate disparities” said Ms. Nmezi. She added, “we are deeply appreciative of the sustained work and dedication of the TEAM Africa Coordinating Committee, as well as the support of government agency partners [Department of Health, Department of Mental Health, Department of Human Services, Department of Health Care Finance, and the Deputy Mayor’s Office for Health and Human Services], donors [AmeriHealth/Chartered Health Plan and MoneyGram], and volunteers who helped make this ambitious initiative a major success.”

OAA will continue to engage the District’s linguistically and culturally diverse African communities through culturally targeted health education and work across sectors – government, community-based partners and health care providers – to improve the health and quality of life of District residents.

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Sec. Kerry Swears-In New U.S. Ambassador To Libya Deborah Jones – Remarks

State Department Photo

Benjamin Franklin Room
Department of State
Washington, DC

June 11, 2013

MS. PAULI: This is a tall podium. Oh, I’ve never been this tall before.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests. My name is Rosemarie Pauli. I’m the Assistant Chief of Protocol, and your MC for this ceremony. It is my pleasure to welcome you at the swearing-in of Deborah K. Jones to be the next Ambassador to Libya. (Applause.)

We are also very privileged to have the Secretary of State, the honorable John F. Kerry, officiating our ceremony today. I would also like to acknowledge the Ambassador of Libya, His Excellency Ali Aujali – did I do that right – and the Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman, Her Excellency Hunaina al-Mughairi. Welcome, and thank you for coming.

And also I would like to welcome Christopher Gooch right here behind me, a new A-100 class graduate who will be going to post with the Ambassador, and he will be holding the Bible today.
Please join me in extending a warm greeting and lots of applause for all the participants and all of our distinguished guests. (Applause.)

Just a quick timeline: We will begin the ceremony this afternoon with remarks by the Secretary of State, followed by the swearing-in and taking of the oath, followed by the signing of the papers, and followed by remarks of Ambassador Jones. And now it is my great, great pleasure to introduce the Honorable Secretary of State John F. Kerry. (Applause.)

*SECRETARY KERRY:* Thank you, thank you. Rosemarie, thank you very, very much. Welcome, everybody. This is very exciting for a number of reasons, not the least of which it is a great pleasure to swear in a spectacular ambassador, but also this is my first swearing-in of an ambassador. Yeah. (Laughter and applause.) And I look forward to many more as the process moves forward. But it’s really a pleasure for me to be able to do this today, and I’m delighted to welcome our ambassador friends here.

Ambassador Aujali, thank you for being here. We’re sending you one of our very best ambassadors, sir. We’re very excited about it. And Ambassador al-Mughairi, I can’t thank you enough for the wonderful friendship and relationship we have with the Sultanate of Oman. I had a wonderful visit with His Majesty the Sultan just a few days ago, and I saw the most extraordinary collection of cars I’ve ever seen in my life. (Laughter.) I coveted every single one of them; I didn’t drive off in any of them. (Laughter.) But he offered me the chance to. It was pretty nice.

As I mentioned, we really are embracing a spectacular ambassador here, and I’m thrilled by her selection of Chris Gooch, who I just met, who is going to be going off, actually, to Riyadh. He is not going to be posted with her. That’s not fair. You’re not allowed to swear in and go be posted at the same time.

*MS. JONES:* Not yet.

*SECRETARY KERRY:* Not yet. Too much advantage. She’ll drag him, I know, over there soon, but Chris is the youngest member of the A-100 class, and the reason Ambassador Jones asked him to do this is that her progeny are off in New Mexico. I think they’re even Skyping in on this right now; is that correct? Are they?

*MS. JONES:* I hope so. I think so.

*SECRETARY KERRY:* You hope so, somewhere? I’m told they were, but I don’t see anybody holding up an appropriate device, which you can’t do in here anyways. But Chris is representing Ana and Izzy, who are off with their father in New Mexico on a trek. And we’re grateful to them for sharing their mom with us.

Deborah comes to this job with a remarkable level of experience. We really couldn’t be better equipped. She served in Argentina, in Ethiopia, in Iraq, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. And in fact, a young Kuwaiti woman voted Deborah among her top five role models, which is a tribute to her magnetism and her ability, her leadership, and frankly, her ability to reach beyond sort of the traditional role of Ambassador in ways that really help sort of connect with everybody, with the ordinary folks in the places that she represents us.

And it’s no secret that she is going to one of the toughest jobs in the Foreign Service. It’s also no secret, I am told by those who have worked with her in the past, that underneath the polished exterior and the great sort of – the brilliance that you see in her character as she greets you, there is a mighty tough person prepared to do a tough job. (Applause.) And we like that.

When you ask her friends to describe her, over and over again you hear the same words – feisty, fearless, funny, wicked funny, as we say in Boston – (laughter) – and they say she is someone who really knows how to get stuff done. And that’s why she is going to Libya. She personifies, really, the very best of the Foreign Service, and her willingness to take on the toughest assignments in tough places with grace and with dignity, with her special energy, is the mark of a true leader.

So I think we really couldn’t find anybody better to represent us in that tough part of the world at this critical moment in history. And we look to her to help Libya to move from that place of saying thank you when they held all those signs thanking us after Chris passed away, from transitioning from that place to a place where a democracy is commonplace and accepted and everybody understands how tangible the future is. And we will have played such a critical role in making that happen, and Deborah will have been a key part of that. She has to be.

And one of the good things about her going off to do this job is for her, it’s not a just a job; it’s a calling. It’s a mission, and she shares that with her predecessor, Chris. So I am absolutely confident that the dream of the Libyan people to be free and to exercise their rights and to enjoy democracy and to pull back from the militia and find the capacity to build the institutions that they need is going to be all of it embodied in her work. And these are going to be the critical next few years in this transformation. I know she has no illusions about the enormity of the task ahead. And her service in countries that have all faced instability and transition and enormous sectarian and religious, tribal, and other kinds of tugs, all of it is absolutely essential, and she understands there aren’t any shortcuts in this.

So, Mr. Ambassador, we know that we’re sending you somebody who is going to help strengthen the ties between our people, and I’m absolutely confident she’s going to be out and about among the people, helping to define our mutual sense of the possibilities of the future. I’m told that she set records during Ramadan for the number of Dewaniyas that she attended in one night. In fact, she made so many friends in Dewaniyas around the region, they regularly text or email her at an email address that will tell you a lot about her: “shakeadeborah.”

I predict that “shakeadeborah” is going to cultivate a whole new set of friends during this incredible assignment in Tripoli. She’s a thinker, she’s a doer, she’s a leader who thrives when charged in tumultuous situations. And I think she’s obviously somebody for whom no obstacle is too big.
So we’ve been able to rely on her in the past to tell us the truth, and I know she will. I can hear the phone call now. (Laughter.) And she’s never been shy about calling things as she sees them. So as you embark on this assignment, Deborah, please know that you have the great trust and confidence of the President of the United States, of me and all of your colleagues here in the State Department. We thank you for your outstanding service and we congratulate you on your assignment, on taking on this really critical role at this critical time.

It’s my honor now to ask you to step up and have Chris perform his functions, and I will read the oath – administer the oath to you at that time.

(Oath administered.)

*SECRETARY KERRY:* Congratulations. (Applause.)

That’s – I’m not repeating that.

*AMBASSADOR JONES:* No, you’re not. (Laughter.) Well, Mr. Secretary, thank you for your very generous and very diplomatic remarks, considering what you might have been able to say here – (laughter) – and for making the time to officiate at my swearing-in. Your presence here today underscores the importance the President and this Administration attach to Libya and our commitment to support the Libyan people. We are so fortunate to have someone of your experience, your knowledge, and energy at the helm of our ship of State during this turbulent period.
Ambassador Aujali, (in Arabic.) (Laughter.) A consummate diplomat, you have served your country with distinction over many years in important roles and places, and ultimately you played a key role in representing the new Libya’s Transitional National Council in Washington. And welcome also to Ambassador al-Mughairi of the Sultanate of Oman and to all my colleagues, my mentors, and beloved friends, some of whom have traveled from the distant planet of the West Coast to be here.
I also want to thank the desk, Elise and Lydia, Idamarie, and more recently, Liz, for bearing with me and organizing all of this, and for Jenny and the folks in HR and in Congressional Liaison for guiding me once again through the process. Thank you all so much for sharing this important day with me.
Unfortunately, as the Secretary noted, my biological family could not be here with me today. We had a wonderful week all together earlier this month, celebrating my youngest daughter’s graduation from high school, and now the girls are out west spending precious time with their dad, who is on leave from his post in Islamabad.

I am so grateful for my parents and their love and example and for my delightful, wickedly astute, and lovingly supportive daughters. But fortunately, I am surrounded today by members of my other family, my NEA family, the so-called mother bureau, one of whose newest members held the Bible for my oath, and as the Secretary said, will soon serve in Riyadh.

Swearing-in ceremonies are akin to weddings. Normally, your first is elaborate and large. Your second, a small gathering before the justice of the peace – (laughter) – wiser and more sober about the nature of the journey upon which you are about to embark. So why the hoopla today? Because our family needed it; our State Department family needed it. It is the weddings, with their optimism and promise of new life, that get us through the moments of grief that life invariably presents, the grief we now associate with Libya and the loss of our colleagues and NEA family members – Chris and Sean and Ty and Glen. And it is these rituals that remind us of what brought us to serve in the first place, the ideals we are privileged to represent, far beyond the din of Washington’s political noise.
I had wanted to do something to add a little pizazz to the event. I understand that one of my colleagues had a gospel choir sing at her swearing-in. (Laughter.) So I thought about one-upping her with a musical group affiliated with my own religious upbringing, but unfortunately, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir would have absorbed the room’s capacity.

But these ceremonial celebrations also infuse us with the optimism and the energy we need to carry on despite the inevitable tragedies and setbacks, and to remind us to keep our eyes on the elusive but nonetheless honorable prize, which is a world that enables every human being to fulfill his or her full potential. Everything we do is about making it possible for people to work and to love with dignity, period.

I suspect that in the wake of the various national uprisings and revolutions we have witnessed over the past two years, we all have a much greater appreciation for the governing architecture and political legacy of our founding fathers, enduring progress forged – to quote former President Clinton – in a cauldron – forged in a cauldron, not shaken or stirred in a cocktail glass, of both principle and compromise, and premised on the sovereign empowerment of the people.

The Libyan people endured 42 years of rule by intimidation. They courageously defeated a dictator and are now determined to experience governance by representation. The heavy lifting will fall to the Libyans themselves, of course. At the end of the day, their sovereignty will emanate from their own engagement, and they are more than capable of shaping their new country. It will take time, as we know, but sometimes conveniently forget from our own civil war in which current estimates that more than 720,000 soldiers and civilians died in battle over a four-year period, the equivalent today in relative terms of more than 6 million deaths.

In his famous second inaugural address just months before his murder, President Lincoln implored our badly shattered nation to seek reconciliation with malice towards none, with charity towards all, to bind up the nation’s wounds. Even so, the legacy of that terrible war cast a long shadow, aspects of which continue to this day. Inshallah the new Libya can find a better path.

Libya’s friends are here to assist to help build effective security institutions that provide a liberating framework for Libya’s democratic evolution, to support the development of civil society and governance that is accountable and transparent, and to strengthen Libya’s economic potential. I have been deeply moved by the commitment of so many of you here today to the success of a new Libya. I am also fully committed to supporting that success in the context of our important bilateral relationship, and I am excited to get to post and get working.

And if I may, I would like to close with a few words to our Foreign Service family, and particularly its less veteran members. We serve in challenging times under siege, often under siege on a number of fronts. It is hard work and it can be dangerous work, but it remains the best work in the world to advance the march of human dignity, and it remains a unique privilege and honor to represent the American people.

Our tragedies reveal our strengths. If I were to ask those in this audience who have lost a Foreign Service friend or colleague, officer, TDY, Civil Service employee, or FSN-LES staff to an act of violence to raise your hands, I suspect many hands would go up. And I am also certain the same people would raise those same hands to volunteer for duty again, just as Chris, Sean, Anne, my mentor, Arnie Raphel, and so many others have done.

So I hope you will join me in a virtual toast to these individuals. To Chris, to Sean, Ty, Glen, Anne, Arnie and to all those dear friends, colleagues, mentors, and family members who serve, because that’s who we are and that’s what we do. Thank you so much for being here today. (Applause.)

*SECRETARY KERRY:* That was terrific. Really, really terrific.

*MS. PAULI:* Thank you so much. You’re a rock star. (Laughter.)

*AMBASSADOR JONES:* You’ve had yours, I have mine, but anyway – (laughter) – cheers to all. To all of you, thank you so much.

Joint Statement By Ethiopia and U.S. Announcing the 2013 AGOA Forum

Office of the Spokesperson
Departmentof State
Washington, DC

June 11, 2013

The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, in association with the United States Government, will host the 2013 U.S.-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum also known as the AGOA Forum, on August 12-13, 2013 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The theme of this year’s AGOA Forum is *”“Sustainable Transformation through Trade and Technology.””* The Ministerial-level event will include a high level dialogue on the future of U.S.-Africa trade and economic cooperation.

The Forum will be preceded by private sector and civil society programs, as well as a program arranged by the Ethiopian African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP), on August 10-11. The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) in collaboration with the Ethiopian Chambers of Commerce and Sectoral Associations (ECCSA) will also organize a U.S. – sub-Saharan Africa Trade Exhibition to run concurrent with the Forum events.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is the U.S. Government’s signature trade initiative with sub-Saharan Africa. The United States is strongly committed to expanding trade and investment, and to supporting broad-based economic opportunity and prosperity in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Africa Update: Thinking of Mandela

Story & Picture Courtesy: Africa Update, June 2013 Issue
Office of Representative Karen Bass, Ranking Member Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Affairs & Human Rights

Born on July 18, 1918, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela became South Africa’s first democratically elected President after serving 27 years in prison. From his time as a founder of the African National Congress’s Youth League (ANCYL) to his time as ANC President, Mandela led the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and inspired an entire generation of peaceful protestors. As President of South Africa, his government tackled institutionalized racism, poverty and inequality, and sought to dismantle the legacy of apartheid via racial reconciliation.

The international community holds vigil over Mr. Mandela in light of his continued health challenges. As noted on his web site: “Nelson Mandela never wavered in his devotion to democracy, equality and learning. Despite terrible provocation, he never answered racism with racism. His life has been an inspiration to all who are oppressed and deprived, to all who are opposed to oppression and deprivation.” The Africa Update wishes Nelson Mandela a speedy recovery. He, his family, and all of South Africa are in our thoughts and prayers.

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