AAFSW — Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide
Promotes Environmental Responsibility
Andrew Richley — SOSA awardee portrait

2024 SOSA Winner

Andrew Richley

300 trees. 250 crates a month. A food forest built to last.

Montenegro · Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs · Eligible Family Member

EUR

Andrew Richley is an arborist and forester by training. When he arrived in Montenegro, he found a city that had the land for something extraordinary — and the need. He established the Urbana Bašta Podgorica Food Forest, one of the largest urban gardens in Europe, and brought to it everything he knew: mapping and managing the orchard with professional precision, planting and cultivating more than 300 trees alongside thousands of vegetables, shrubs, and other plants, and organizing community events where Montenegrins learned sustainable agriculture by doing it. The garden's monthly harvest now yields more than 250 crates of food, donated to local food banks and home delivery services for those who cannot get out to collect it themselves. Richley also built the infrastructure that will keep the Food Forest running long after his tour ends — pursuing grants, managing funding, and ensuring the project does not depend on any single volunteer to survive. He grew something that will feed people for years.

Voices from the Field

“Watching refugee children enjoy their childhood again... after a few visits, children are dancing, creating beautiful art, making friends. Ukrainian mothers thank us every day.”
Meredith WiedemerMoldova
“It allows me to transcend languages and cultures and feel unified.”
Debra StockQatar
“It is communicating with the language of love. They have shown me that the impossible is possible.”
Debra StockQatar
“By volunteering, we exemplify the best of the American tradition of helping and raising our communities — whether in small town USA or at some distant outpost abroad.”
Denis RajicShanghai, China
“Serving as a volunteer is a means of giving back to a community that takes care of you.”
Vicki DanielShanghai, China
“Witnessing the project grow beyond my initial idea into something that the people of Madagascar have embraced is a priceless gift.”
Justin WimpeyMadagascar
2025 SOSA Winner
“Even small acts of service can create lasting ripples of hope, belonging, and connection.”
Jennifer SturgeonNetherlands
“Every year, I'm blown away by what people are doing overseas.”
James A. Baker IIISOSA Co-Founder
“Volunteerism by members of our Foreign Service community is not just a kindness. It is an essential and underappreciated dimension of American foreign policy.”
Susan BakerSOSA Co-Founder
“Watching refugee children enjoy their childhood again... after a few visits, children are dancing, creating beautiful art, making friends. Ukrainian mothers thank us every day.”
Meredith WiedemerMoldova
“It allows me to transcend languages and cultures and feel unified.”
Debra StockQatar
“It is communicating with the language of love. They have shown me that the impossible is possible.”
Debra StockQatar
“By volunteering, we exemplify the best of the American tradition of helping and raising our communities — whether in small town USA or at some distant outpost abroad.”
Denis RajicShanghai, China
“Serving as a volunteer is a means of giving back to a community that takes care of you.”
Vicki DanielShanghai, China
“Witnessing the project grow beyond my initial idea into something that the people of Madagascar have embraced is a priceless gift.”
Justin WimpeyMadagascar
2025 SOSA Winner
“Even small acts of service can create lasting ripples of hope, belonging, and connection.”
Jennifer SturgeonNetherlands
“Every year, I'm blown away by what people are doing overseas.”
James A. Baker IIISOSA Co-Founder
“Volunteerism by members of our Foreign Service community is not just a kindness. It is an essential and underappreciated dimension of American foreign policy.”
Susan BakerSOSA Co-Founder