[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 149 (Thursday, October 15, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H11436]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE HUMANITARIAN SERVICE OF ANN GLOAG

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GOHMERT. Mr. Speaker, a leading Scottish businesswoman and board 
member of the global charity Mercy Ships, Ann Gloag is being honored by 
the National Council of Women of the United States this evening at the 
United Nations as the inaugural recipient of the Susan B. Anthony 
Humanitarian Award in recognition of her humanitarian service in 
Africa.
  The reason someone from east Texas would take note of this 
philanthropic humanitarian from Scotland is because she has done so 
much for Mercy Ships. It may surprise some that such an oceangoing 
charitable enterprise would have an international headquarters in my 
east Texas district, but it does, due to its founders.
  Mercy Ships uses hospital ships to deliver free, world class health 
services to those without access in the developing world. Founded in 
1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens, Mercy Ships has worked in more than 70 
countries, providing life-saving and life-enhancing services to more 
than 2.16 million direct beneficiaries.
  More than 1,200 crew work worldwide, representing more than 40 
nations. They're joined each year by 2,000 short-term volunteers. 
Professionals, including surgeons, dentists, nurses, health care 
trainers, teachers, cooks, seamen, engineers, and agriculturists donate 
their time and skill to that effort. I've seen the results of the 
enormous charitable work this institution does, and it is gloriously 
moving.
  As for the devoted Ms. Gloag, she has supported various charitable 
organizations, providing much needed medical care, housing, and 
education in Africa for over 30 years. In addition to establishing the 
Balcraig Foundation, the Gloag Foundation, and the Freedom from Fistula 
Foundation, Ms. Gloag has worked with Mercy Ships, including the 
funding of the Africa Mercy Ship, the world's largest nongovernmental 
hospital ship providing free medical and humanitarian aid to the people 
of Africa.
  Through partnerships in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Kenya, the Freedom 
from Fistula Foundation alone is providing free surgeries to more than 
1,500 women this year. In her home of Scotland, Ms. Gloag has already 
been honored for her work with Mercy Ships and has worked with the 
Scottish Government to promote its international development work in 
Malawi, where Ms. Gloag has also helped to establish a hospital.
  Named for the American civil rights activist who helped form the 
National Council of Women of the United States, the Susan B. Anthony 
Humanitarian Award will be conferred annually on individuals dedicated 
to making a difference in people's lives, communities, or state of the 
world.
  Don Stephens, founder and president of Mercy Ships, comments, ``Mercy 
Ships champions the selection of Scotland's Ann Gloag as the inaugural 
recipient of the Susan B. Anthony Humanitarian Award by the National 
Council of Women of the United States. Ann exemplifies a modern example 
of Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and John D. Rockefeller, who almost 
delighted to use their wealth to assist the world's poorest. On board 
our new hospital ship Africa Mercy, I have personally observed Ann 
demonstrating her compassion for others at the bedsides of women and 
children who received a free surgery on the ship that she helped fund. 
In parts of Africa, health care infrastructure and delivery is 
nonexistent. Ann enabled Mercy Ships to bring hope and healing where it 
is otherwise often not available. Ann has found a powerful way to share 
her blessings.''
  We must congratulate Ms. Gloag for caring so deeply and acting so 
generously, responsibly, and personally to make such a difference in 
the world. May God bless Ann Gloag as she has so richly blessed others 
around the world.

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