Issue Position: Showing the Globe America's Best Values

Issue Position

Having served as Peace Corps Volunteers in Ethiopia, Congressman Garamendi and his wife Patti were distraught when war broke out between Ethiopia and its former province, Eritrea. In 1998, Garamendi organized a team of five returned volunteers, including his current Congressional Chief of Staff, and undertook a two-year mission to assist in securing peace. The team traveled to both countries to meet with the Ambassadors, Foreign Ministers and other local leaders. In the fall of 2001 they met with expatriates from both countries now living in the United States, helping them to reconcile their differences and urging them to send the message of peace to their homeland. The team was invited to the Peace Signing Ceremony in Algiers where both leaders praised the team for its pivotal role in the peace process.

Continuing their lifetime humanitarian work, in December 2007 Patti and John traveled to Honduras to commemorate the opening of a community hospital that will serve tens of thousands of people in this mostly impoverished Latin American Country. Patti continues her humanitarian mission in Afghanistan, building schools and supplying innovative laptops that enable Internet access in isolated regions.

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