AAFSW — Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide
Promotes Environmental Responsibility
David Bargueño — SOSA awardee portrait

2025 SOSA Winner

David Bargueño

The first embassy to show up. A community renamed a room in their honor.

Brazil · Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs · Foreign Service Officer

WHA

Fifteen minutes from downtown Brasília sits a recycling center that most of the diplomatic community had never heard of. David Barguéño changed that. The FSO spent a full year building a partnership with the largest cooperative of recyclable trash pickers — “catadores” — in Latin America, representing more than 2,500 low-income families whose daily labor quietly keeps the city clean. Barguéño mobilized the Embassy, the American School, and the wider community into a sustained fundraising and volunteer campaign that culminated in a hands-on upgrade of the recycling facilities on International Volunteer Day. His team delivered what the catadores had asked for: sewing machines, laptops, hairdresser equipment, bookshelves, books, and furniture. The cooperative's director noted that the United States was the first and only embassy to ever roll up its sleeves and volunteer there. At the end of the day, he made an announcement: the multipurpose room would be renamed Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall. That name is still on the wall.

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