Sarah Kenningham-Stamp '90

I graduated from UWC-USA in 1990 and am now a permanent volunteer with the International Movement ATD Fourth World, an NGO working to build peace via the eradication of extreme poverty and respect for human rights and dignity. I am currently based in Manila, Philippines with my husband and two small children.

Leaving England to attend the UWC in Montezuma at the tender age of 16 was really the first chance I had to see the world and learn about global issues and challenges. Consequently, it was also the time I decided to do something with my life to fight the injustice and inequality I found out about. Unconvinced that reading books alone would teach me what was really going on, after graduating from university with a Bachelor's degree in International Studies and Economics, I shunned the notion of postgraduate studies and started to look into opportunities for grassroots work in the voluntary sector.

With me in this endeavor was my now-husband, Daniel, and in 1997 we were fortunate enough to discover the International Movement ATD Fourth World. Together, we had our eyes opened to the existence of persistent poverty and social exclusion in our own country and met some deeply committed people with the strange title of "permanent volunteers."

When Joseph Wresinski and the families of a homeless camp on the outskirts of Paris, France founded ATD Fourth World in 1957, the first to come and join them were young people from different countries who volunteered their time and skills for as long as they could afford to. These families, however, were so broken and isolated after generations of suffering deep poverty in the midst of a wealthy society that they needed people who would live alongside them and build relationships of trust with them for years, not months. They needed people who would treat them as equals, support them in articulating and meeting their aspirations, and join them in fighting for access to the rights and dignity to which all human beings are entitled. And so the "Permanent Volunteer Corps" was born. Today there are around 350 of us worldwide and in return for a long-term commitment; we all receive the same basic monthly allowance, regardless of our position or length of service.

Daniel and myself have been ATD Fourth World permanent volunteers for ten years now and during this time, we have been in the privileged position of getting to know and learn from families who live on the margins of society all over the world. Many of them are hidden from view, especially in the rich countries of the north but, wherever they are, they face the challenges that each day brings with a courage that largely goes unrecognized. They also possess unique knowledge and insight about how to build a more inclusive society that largely goes untapped.

Before coming to the Philippines, we were members of teams in the UK, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Our activities have ranged from reading books to children on the street in languages we don't speak, to meeting politicians and civil servants in national and international institutions, to cleaning-out chicken coops on a holiday farm, to facilitating arts and craft workshops, to analyzing and modifying proposed legislation, to just being there for people when they need us.

More than the activities, all of our programs are pathways towards meeting disadvantaged families with dignity and respect in order to build mutual understanding together. Our measure of success is the active participation of the poorest.

To find out more about the diverse campaigns, projects and members of the International Movement ATD Fourth World in 29 countries worldwide, please visit our website: http://www.atd-fourthworld.org/

"Wherever men and women are condemned to live in poverty, human rights are violated. To come together to ensure that these rights be respected is our solemn duty."
Joseph Wresinski, ATD Fourth World founder