Swarthmore College
Class of 1968
David Thoenen
Spouse/Partner, children, grands and steps: | Spouse and Best Friend - Maria Ahmadi Thoenen; Children - James and Shayni; Daughter in Law - Jennifer; Grand Girl - Jordyn |
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Career History: | 35 years with IBM |
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City and State: | Raleigh, NC USA |
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David's Latest Interactions
My birthday has been a well kept secret. That's OK with me but over the years I've wondered ...
Posted on: Nov 20, 2021 at 3:16 PM
I'm taking a pause in the chaos of my life to add a bit of updated information to the item in our most recent class note regarding my involvement with an NGO operating in Afghanistan, Ascend - Leadership through Athletics. Since mid August Ascend has been working literally around the clock to extricate our Ascend family from Afghanistan.
First the numbers. To date Ascend operations have brought 130 + members of its community out of Afghanistan. While evacuation operations will continue, the emphasis now shifts to resettlement of those in transit. Twenty have arrived in their new home in Ireland. The first nineteen of twenty-nine are resettled in Chile. Five have transitioned from US care in Abu Dhabi to Germany. Four of eight are now in Denmark. Currently twenty are in US resettlement facilities in the US with more to follow. Others are in transit in Abu Dhabi, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan. A little over three months (a lifetime) ago Ascend was delivering women's empowerment programming in Kabul. Since then an awesome team of staff and international volunteers has worked seven by twenty four, managing a global migration of young women to new homes. Truly remarkable transition!
Reality check. Take a long look at the photo and think about it. I find it moving. These girls have just disembarked in Abu Dhabi. They are so much more than numbers to celebrate. They are teenagers just like your grand kids or the kids living down the street from you. Two are only fifteen. They and their families have made excruciatingly difficult decisions. Two days before getting on the evacuation flight in Mazar they said good bye to their homes and families not knowing if they would ever see them again. Their courage is mind boggling. It was the promise of a future free of Taliban brutality and an opportunity to acquire education and live as free women that motivated them to accept challenges that will test that courage. Their faith in Ascend gave them the strength to commit to a promising future. They are remarkable.
Ascend's strategic plan for 2022-2023 is emerging. Revised programming will continue in Afghanistan. The objective of the empowerment of Afghan women and commitment to Ascend's mission there remains unchanged. The board of directors will also be considering options for exporting the Ascend model to other countries with similar cultural characteristics (and mountains!) to Afghanistan. And the Ascend programming model is likely to be applied in refugee communities with one country already establishing a prototype organization. And the beat goes on!
The Taliban are in Kabul. That's one reality that Ascend will respond to. A more universal reality is that girls and women globally face challenges where the leadership skills that Ascend enables can be brought to bear. That's what Ascend is all about.
Posted on: May 14, 2021 at 9:36 AM
I remember the young woman in the photo! See, I can still remember stuff!
Cake headed to Delta. Watch for parachute over house mid AM (MDT) next Thursday. Handle with care upon landing to avoid candle flames igniting shroud. Return address for chute will be attached. I expect cake to be shared with Joann and Jan. George, Bob and Dave optional.
Posted on: Feb 26, 2021 at 4:33 AM
Posted on: Oct 01, 2018 at 10:11 AM
You back in NC yet? Need to get you over here for dinner.
I find Faris's passing very disturbing. No doubt because I haven't crossed paths with him for fifty years, but I can not imagine him as anyone other than the young, strong lacrosse player, my team mate, that I knew. He and I shared a Baltimore / Washington area high school lacrosse background (his of a better pedigree than mine) that brought us together in our first fall at Swarthmore. His upbeat contributions to our team were important and appreciated. A truly good guy. Feeling sad. For his family, of course, but also for myself.