In honor of the United Nations' International Day of Friendship, I would like to thank our friends for their support, in the name of the entire ioi community. I am very grateful for how our community has been coming together over the past 3 months to help ioi survive.
In May, we raised $11,000 dollars in our COVID Relief Fundraiser with your help. With these funds, we were able to continue our support for our ongoing programs as well as expand our assistance in food sovereignty for the Galapagos and help in the disaster relief efforts in Isabela. In June, you reminded us to help larger issues and to stand united with other causes, not only in Galapagos where our local communities adapt to new realities, but beyond. I have been impressed by the rise in social justice issues coming to the fore, in court and in the streets, and your overwhelming support for it. In July, you helped us by donating your possessions to our first online auction and by bidding on items, which aided us in getting through the pandemic related shutdowns.
First and foremost, however, I have been impressed by our staff. As I have mentioned in past newsletters, ioi's staff have been more than their usual impressive in 2020. They have taken all changes in stride, in an ever more dynamic environment. They have switched their fields of involvement from logistics to medical assistance and from environmental management to PPE-making without complaint and as a matter of course to help with whatever was needed in whatever situation.
As such, I want to especially thank Felipe Andrade and Kathryn Metzker, both of whom will be leaving ioi in August.
Felipe came to IOI 5 years ago as a facilities manager and logistical assistant. Felipe has always gone above and beyond any and all job descriptions and expectations—be it as a dance instructor, a sustainable chef in our community programs, a research assistant, or a budgeting advisor (he has an accounting background). Felipe is a jack of all trades that will be missed in ways we can not even foresee yet.
As our newest staff member, Kathryn has already been with IOI over 2.5 years. She came, she saw, and she conquered our sustainability programs. With a master's in human geography and loads of knowledge in urban and sustainable agriculture, she made happen our sustainable agriculture program in no time, and took it to unimaginable heights. We'd had plans to start a model garden and get Galapagos to be food sovereign for many years, but it would not have been possible without Kathryn's drive, knowledge, and womanpower. The results of her work are helping Isabela through shortages during the pandemic and will have a lasting impact on the food system in Galapagos.
I know they have touched the lives of many of our participants, and it is with the saddest of hearts that we see them go. We hope to be able to work with them again in the future.
