At Alight, we start with giving. We always have. In the 1970s, our first volunteer teams in Southeast Asia gave their time, medical expertise, and hearts as they responded to the needs of displaced Cambodians. Around the world, Alight’s emergency response teams have given themselves fully to support people in crisis.
It may not always be obvious, but many of the individuals who shaped Alight from the very beginning were women. Doctors, nurses, community leaders, teachers, artists – women from all walks of life gave generously to support refugees and displaced communities and helped make the organization what it is today.
We owe so much to the women who have worked with and for Alight throughout the years. This International Women’s Day, we pause to reflect on and honor their extraordinary contributions. Their stories well reflect this year’s International Women’s Day theme: “Give to Gain”. While the complete list of remarkable Women of Alight would fill volumes, here we share just a few inspiring examples.
Dr Patricia Walker
Patricia Frye Walker, M.D., is one of the pioneering women whose leadership and courage helped shape the American Refugee Committee (ARC) – known today as Alight – and its approach to refugee health around the world.
Pat was a third-year medical student in 1979, when she joined the ‘ARC 15’, a small team of doctors, nurses, and medics deployed to Khao-I-Dang Refugee Camp on the Thai-Cambodian border. At the time, the camp sheltered over 160,000 displaced people, many suffering from malnutrition, tropical diseases, and trauma. Pat’s work went beyond treating immediate illness – she helped train Cambodian refugees to become medics, ensuring care could continue sustainably after the ARC volunteers returned home to the US.
Dr Patricia Walker gave her expertise, her time, and her heart. In return, refugee communities gained health, dignity, and empowerment, and Alight gained a model for sustainable, culturally competent care that continues to influence its programs worldwide.
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