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EXPATSGIVINGBACK
AFRICA & EUROPE
PART TWO OF THREE-PART SERIES
BY ANNE O'CONNELL
The reasons people have for giving back to the
community run the gamut from the feel-good
sense of helping others to alleviating boredom
and gaining experience. Some approach these
charitable activities very pragmatically and others
do it because it’s part of their genetic makeup. They
may even be addicted to what has been called that
‘helper’s high’.
F
or either group of altruistic individuals, research
shows that there is an added bonus: that it will help
boost their health and well-being and even increase
their longevity.
“Research demonstrates that volunteering leads to
better health and that older volunteers are the most likely
to receive physical and mental health benefits from their
volunteer activities,” says a report of the Corporation for
National and Community Service in Washington, DC.
The report goes on to say: “Those who volunteer have
lowermortalityrates,greaterfunctionalability,andlower
rates of depression later in life than those who do not
volunteer.” And, people who volunteer tend to report
greater life satisfaction and higher self-esteem.
Whatever the motivation behind the giving and the
unexpectedwindfallofbetterhealth,communitiesaround
the world are benefiting from the work of thousands of
altruistic expats.
CASES IN POINT
A little village called Bwiza has become a thriving
community full of enterprising individuals thanks to
the commitment of volunteers like Karl Deringer, a
dual national Canadian/American whose first volunteer
experiencewithCanada WorldYouthincludedhelpingin
Karl Deringer with children.
Image by Anne Casper

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top:imagebyAnneCasper;bottom:imageprovidedbyBarbaraRogoski
a small-town psychiatric hospital in Calgary,
Canada. The experience inspired him to
become a psychiatric nurse.
Deringer wound up marrying a U.S.
diplomat, and one of her postings brought
them to Rwanda where they lived for three
years. He put his experience in psychiatric
nursing to good use, working part-time at a
health clinic at the U.S. Embassy and, before
long, became enamored with a little village he
had been brought to, seeing great potential
in its enthusiastic yet very poor inhabitants.
They were mostly day laborers working
for others, with little enterprise happening
in their own village. Deringer took note one
day that there were no cows, which are seen
as a source of wealth in Rwanda.
“The dream of owning a cow would be
like a kid in the U.S. dreaming of owning a
corvette,” said Deringer.
He learned that the villagers (formerly
known as pygmies) were very low in social
status. They didn’t have cows because it was
a widely-held opinion that they couldn’t
properly care for them. The village leader
told Deringer it was only because they hadn’t
been given a chance.
Wantingtohelpthemovercomethestigma,
Deringer set about finding them their first
cow. One pregnant cow led to several others
and also gave birth to Deringer’s and the local
government’s long-term commitment to the
village, and a growing sense of pride among
the people.
“The cows were very transforming for
the village in the perception of
themselves and in the perception
of others,” he said. “They also have
become a source of milk for their
children and a future source of
money.”
Deringer was one of the 2012
winners of The Secretary of State
Award (SOSA) for Outstanding
Volunteerism Abroad. The award,
established in 1990, is sponsored
and administered by the Associates
of the American Foreign Service
Worldwide (AAFSW).
“Accompanying spouses/partners
sometimes struggle to find their
niche in a new country and may
even be at risk for depression,”
said Patricia Linderman, AAFSW
president. “From what I have seen
in 22 years in the Foreign Service
community, volunteering and truly
making a difference can be one of
the best antidotes to this.”
“The individuals volunteer not
for recognition but they volunteer
because it gives them a greater
value and fulfilment in their own
lives,” agreed Lara Center, AAFSW
board chair and past SOSA winner. “Also,
volunteering gives someone the opportunity
to get to know their host country better.”
According to the website, nominees
are judged on the scope and reach of their
volunteer activity, sustainability, ingenuity
and leadership, all of which were apparent
in Deringer’s involvement with his adopted
community.
Deringer discovered Bwiza through
an organization called Pygmie Survival
Alliance (PSA) that his wife had found
while researching charities in Rwanda. A
representative from the organization took
them both to visit the village in the hopes
they could help in some way.
“They were as poor as poor can be and
were literally starving on a hillside,” recalls
Deringer.“Theywerelivingmostlyinnothing
more than poor mud houses, or less.”
The day they visited there was a mother
whohadbeeninlaborformorethan12hours
and wasn’t doing well. It was obvious to them
she wasn't going to make it. Deringer picked
Karl Deringer
her up, carried her to their embassy vehicle
and took her to the hospital where she had a
C-section. She and her baby survived. When
he returned to the village to visit again, they
sang and danced to thank him for helping
save their friend’s life.
“It completely melted my heart, and most all
my other ideas of what I would do in Rwanda
melted away, and I decided to help this village
help themselves.”
Along with the cows (that now number
over 30), Deringer helped the village with
tree planting and growing their own food,
as well as setting them up to herd goats and
raise guinea pigs.
“To see a child hug a bag of beans that
I helped his family grow … that is a great
feeling,” said Deringer. “If you get a high
when others do better, if you want to make
thecommunityyouarelivinginabetterplace,
then get involved.”
Truly engaging with the community and
listening to their concerns allowed Deringer
to make a long-term impact.
“SOSA winners are just a small subset of
the amazing expat volunteers active around
theworld,”saidLinderman.“BecauseForeign
Service people spend only a few years in each
country, I think they can set an example
showing what can be accomplished in such
a short time. These volunteers not only put
their own efforts into helping others, as so
many of us seek to do abroad, but they also
take the extra step of getting others involved
and creating a long-term mechanism that will continue to provide benefits after they have
left the country.”
Barbara Rogoski is another altruistic
expat who has had a long-term impact on
her adopted home. Rogoski is an American
whohasbeenlivinginTheHaguefor22years
and has become part of the very fabric of her
community. A minister and small business
owner, she is passionate about social justice
and equality.
Rogoski’s day job is running her company
Successful Speaker Now that helps celebrities
and executives improve their presentation
skills.LikeDeringer,shehasputherexpertise
and altruistic spirit to work, embracing
projects such as Meals for the Homeless,
which she founded through the Catholic
Church of The Hague.
“I have always been devoutly Catholic,
and my role model Oprah, and her Angel
Network, inspired me to take action to serve
and to ‘bloom where I was planted’,” said
Rogoski. “I loved the experience to meet the
people, look in their eyes and touch them on
the shoulder and talk with them about their
troubles,andbecompassionateinallcontact.”
Touched by the plight of the homeless,
Barbara also co-authored a book called How
to Achieve Heaven on Earth. She was in good
company.
DERINGER AND ROGOSKI
BOTH STARTED ‘GIVING
BACK’ AT AN EARLY AGE,
AND VOLUNTEERISM AND
PHILANTHROPY HAVE
BECOME PART OF THEIR
DNA.
Barbara Rogoski
imagebyAnneCasper

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images(left&right)providedbyBarbaraRogoski
imagecopyrightSolarseven,2013usedunderlicensefromShutterstock.
“My essay was featured in the racial
harmony section called, Homeless Meals and
Racial Harmony. It was quite successful and
I was a co-author with Barack Obama and
Tony Blair!”
Rogoski’s fight for social justice in The
Hague has expanded beyond homeless issues
to encompass support for the gay and lesbian
community. She takes a global approach with
afocusonpromotingequality,acceptanceand
justice for all. She recently wrote a children’s
book called The Adventures of Super Lorelei,
which has a strong anti-bullying message.
“The main character is a superhero who
happens to be gay,” said Rogoski. “I am
working with a stichting (foundation) to
bring this story to all primary schools in The
Netherlands.”
Deringer and Rogoski both started ‘giving
back’ at an early age, and volunteerism and
philanthropyhavebecomepartoftheirDNA.
“In the U.S. growing up, I often bought
Christmas presents to give to poor families in
the area, as every child should have presents
under the tree. This was in my early teen
years,” said Rogoski.
Deringer has similar memories of his first
forayintotheworldofvolunteerism. Herecalls
beinginspiredbyhisfather’scommunitywork.
“I think it came from watching my father
when I was young. His entire life, into his
late 80s, he was always involved in some
kind of charity work,” said Deringer. “I don't
remember a time when I decided to start to
give back; I just knew after high school that I
wanted to go overseas and help.”
Deringer also recounts a story where his
mother collected money from family and
friends in Canada. “You couldn't go into her
home without emptying your pockets of
change,” he said. “We used that money and
lots of my own to run projects in the village,
and we still do.”
Deringer and Rogoski fit into the ‘feel-good
sense of helping others’ category. They are
each motivated by a deep-seated belief that
was nurtured from a young age.
“I am an ordained interfaith minister and
Reiki Master,” said Rogoski. “I am called
to be of service to every person I meet. On
my ordination in May 2008, this is what I
committed to for life. It may sound corny, but
I am committed to help others and if I don’t
do things often, I start to get restless and look
for more opportunities.”
Like many expats, both say the hardest
thingaboutlivingoverseasisbeingsofaraway
from family and friends. It makes it easier that
their adopted families in faraway places are
the obvious beneficiaries of their life-long
commitment to giving back.
“Serial expats, like those in the Foreign
Service, who move from country to country
every few years, also have the great advantage
of being exposed to many ways of thinking
and many potential solutions, so they can act
as cross-pollinators, in a sense, carrying ideas
that have worked in one place and applying
them in a completely different setting,” said
Linderman.
Deringer echoes the sentiment of ‘cross-
pollination’ in his belief that people give back
in order to “leave the world a little better
because you've been in it.”
DERINGER AND ROGOSKI FIT INTO THE ‘FEEL-GOOD SENSE OF HELPING OTHERS’ CATEGORY.
THEY ARE EACH MOTIVATED BY A DEEP-SEATED BELIEF THAT WAS NURTURED FROM A YOUNG AGE.
Barbara Rogoski (left) and friend.
Barbara Rogoski (left)
acting as emcee for event.