[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16974]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         CONGRATULATING SUE LOFGREN--SCI VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

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                         HON. HARRY E. MITCHELL

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 7, 2009

  Mr. MITCHELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Sue Lofgren from 
my home town of Tempe, Arizona. Sue is being recognized as the Sister 
Cities International Volunteer of the Year at the annual conference. 
This year's conference takes place in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
  The cities of Tempe, Arizona and Timbuktu, Mali, West Africa have 
enjoyed an eighteen year partnership through Sister Cities 
International. This relationship has persevered, despite hurdles which 
would have daunted most people. Lack of modern communication methods in 
1991, the language barrier, as well as the physical difficulties of 
travel to that remote part of the world, were just a few of the 
hurdles. Sue found a way to overcome all of them.
  The number one issue facing Timbuktu was lack of water. Sue arranged 
for a retired water engineer to travel to Timbuktu--no easy task in 
itself--to assess the feasibility of drilling water wells. Once water 
was found 100 feet down, Sue's real work began. She organized a 
fundraising effort to secure the $7,000 needed to drill a well, by 
selling bottled water bearing the label, ``Water for You . . . and 
Timbuktu''. The next hurdle was getting the money to Mali as Timbuktu 
had no bank, no Western Union, no nothing. This was eventually 
accomplished through a third party. When the first well opened, people 
literally danced in the streets and named that first effort, The Sue 
Lofgren Well. She has since raised money for six more wells.
  When Sue made her first visit to Timbuktu, she packed her clothes and 
$11,000 of donated medical supplies, reading glasses, soccer balls and 
school supplies. While on her visit, she was home-hosted and saw first 
hand the great needs of these proud people. She returned home and 
redoubled her efforts on their behalf.
  To date, she has singlehandedly raised at least $200,000 in aid for 
Timbuktu. In addition to the wells, money has gone to purchasing 
wheelchairs, goats, sheep and camels, sewing machines, gardening 
supplies, medical and school supplies, as well as toilets and a millet 
grinder for the Women's Center. In 2008 she also facilitated a 
relationship with Project C.U.R.E which resulted in the donation of 
another $500,000 in badly needed medical equipment.
  All of this effort might seem to be enough for most of us, but not 
Sue. In addition to her efforts on Timbuktu's behalf, she volunteers a 
lot of her time to other programs of Tempe Sister Cities. She and her 
husband, Bob, have hosted international guests from Tempe's six other 
sister cities. She volunteers in the organization's gift shop, works in 
the kitchen for events and has organized the information booth at the 
annual Way Out West Oktoberfest. She is tireless in her dedication to 
Tempe Sister Cities, and especially to Timbuktu.
  I am proud to call Sue Lofren a friend, and prouder yet that her 
efforts are being recognized by this wonderful award. Please join me in 
congratulating this outstanding person.

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