The 2008 Open World Program participants were guests of the Bluffton Rotary Club on September 24, 2008. Club member Karen Lavery, a host for two of the visitors, introduced the group from Russia who were visiting Hilton Head Island and Bluffton for a week as cross-cultural ambassadors. The Open World Program was established and funded by the Library of Congress to open and foster communications with people from the former Soviet Union. Each year, over one thousand professionals from the former Soviet Union visit the United States to gain new professional knowledge and exchange information with their American counterparts. Participants are recommended because they are leaders or future leaders in their field. This year's group of visitors, co-sponsored by the Hilton Head, Bluffton and Sunset Rotary Clubs, consisted of four social services professionals, their program facilitator, and an interpreter.
The four social services professionals were:
Igor Shcherbakov, Chairperson of the Social Program Expert Monitoring Center in VladivostokCity
Valeriy Aleksandrovich, Deputy Head of the Gorky District Social Service Center, Omsk Region, which provides services for children, the elderly and low income citizens
Anzhelika Ivshina, Director of the Social Service Center in Izhevsk, providing services to the disabled, elderly and children
Irina Kamynina, Assistant and Professor in the Psychology Department, VitusBeringKamchatkaStateUniversity. Irina was a pediatrician for 15 years and is married to a Rotarian, who is a former president of one of the four Rotary clubs in their region.
Ranging in age from 38-51, these two men and two women were making their first trip to the United States, and were very grateful for the hospitality shown them by their host families. They were also complimentary of the Open World Program and how well-organized, informative and helpful the program has been. While here, they visited schools, interviewed Dr. Bob Laughlin at HiltonHeadHospital, helped volunteers with construction of a Habitat for Humanity house, and visited the United Way and various social services agencies, among many other activities.
(From Hilton Head Rotary Soundings, October 2, 2008)
