That’s Teddy Gianopulos in the adjacent photograph. She worked for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEF) for approximately forty (40) years.
According to the official UNEF website (http://www.unep.org/) she met doctor James Ang’awa (Obama’s birth doctor) on December 5th, 1964 in Kenya:
Before joining UNEP in 1979 – I had worked for a number of UN Agencies in both Kenya and Ethiopia – but the powerful flashback that is permanently in my mind is the day that I graduated from College. It was the afternoon of Friday, December 5th 1964 – Prize Giving Day – which instantaneously changed the course of my life. My plans for going into Medicine and eventually specializing in Pediatrics were put on hold (or so I thought) as I was intrigued and fascinated by the work of the UN – especially that of UNICEF and WHO, who were providing Emergency funds for children and working on Tuberculosis. Fate was moving its huge hand and I felt an inner power of spontaneity that was guiding my every move. In those days, I was a rather shy youngster and certainly not the forthcoming extrovert that I turned into in later years!
At the prize giving, diplomas were being handed out by a very polite and soft-spoken man, the WHO Representative, Dr. James Ang’awa. When it came to my turn, I looked up into a gentle face when he asked what my future plans were? I didn’t hesitate with my response of very much wanting to work for the United Nations – especially WHO and UNICEF. In a flash, I saw a sad look cross his eyes when he told me that it was a shame that I didn’t have any experience as he had a vacancy in his office. He required the services of an able assistant to work together with a large number of doctors and experts in the research of Tuberculosis.
I lost my breath – but just for a split second – before I blurted out a rather impulsive and probably a cheeky request. “May, I please make a suggestion?” I asked, my heart thumping in my chest. “I will work for you, free of charge for a month and if I don’t prove suitable, there will be no hard feelings on either side.” I felt I was going to faint when he shook his head in agreement and very calmly said, “You can start on Monday!”
She then met Bruce Steadman!
That was the start of my 40 years of service in the UN! As luck would have it, I was offered a contract with UNICEF, in Ethiopia, two months later. I knew that a career with the UN was my destiny and I was to embrace every opportunity that was given to me.
When UNEP inaugurated its offices at the Kenyatta Conference Centre – before the move to Gigiri – Bruce Steadman, Deputy to UNEP’s first Executive Director, Maurice Strong, asked me to join him, as his Personal Assistant when he moved from Addis Ababa to join UNEP. Family obligations and having to care for a year-old baby, sadly forced me to turn the offer down. But, 2 years later, in February 1979, I joined UNEP to work with Peter Thacher, Deputy to Dr. Mostafa Tolba. I felt that the most valuable experience that I carried with me, at the time, was how to work in grueling circumstances having just survived one of the cruelest revolutions to take place on African soil. Our UNDP offices were bombed, colleagues were imprisoned, close friends lost loved ones while some even fatally collapsed in front of our eyes. That horrible experience helped me develop – in a weird sort of way – a sense of calmness and level-headedness in dealing with crisis. As luck would have it, this was put to test, in a much milder way, during the attempted coup in Kenya in 1981!
The forgoing was an excerpt from an article at UNEF.org titled, Reflections by Teddy Gianopulos, long-serving former UNEP staff member: Down memory lane – 40 years in the service of the UN.
I don’t think that this Bruce Steadman is our Bruce Steadman from here at WOBIK but we absolutely had to make a record of this strangeness!
We also found a picture (adjacent left) of UNEF’s Bruce Stedman, and a full page article regarding Deputy Executive Director Bruce Stedman, in a tangible publication called The Courier: European Community – Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (No. 45), September – October 1977.
Bruce was interviewed by The Courier at the Gigiri headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme which was located several kilometers outside of Nairobi, Kenya.
As you may have noted by now The Courier spells his last name as Stedman as opposed Steadman which is listed at the United Nations Environment Programme’s official website.
Which spelling is correct? Is this another example of doctor Helton Maganga vs Heltan Maganga?
From what we’ve been able to gather today we believe that the official UNEP.org website has the incorrect spelling (if there is such a thing) their ex-Deputy Executive Director. We believe that he probably spelled his name as Stedman.
Having said that, is it really so difficult to believe that Coast Province General Hospital in Kenya used the Helton spelling for doctor Maganga?
Directly below is The Courier full two page (pp. 51-52) article on Bruce Stedman writen by Roger de Backer:
Below please find an embedded PDF of the complete volume No. 45 of The Courier (78 pages):
The Courier: European Community – Africa Caribbean Pacific, No. 45, September – October 1977 by Lucas Daniel Smith
Please exercise your free speech in the comments section below. There are no stipulations of political correctness on this blog. Speak your mind, give us your thoughts, both objective and subjective. Share your ideas, hunches, inklings or your expertise. Please provide recommendation and corrections if you spot errors in fact within the blog report. Lastly, remember that posting a comment is much like casting a vote, so please do so.
Still not sure what the purpose of the article is. Nobody ever claimed Dr. Ang’awa doesn’t exist.
> Is this another example of doctor Helton Maganga vs Heltan Maganga?
No because that example would mean Mr. Maganga can’t spell his *own* name.
The INDOMITABLE and ALWAYS SURPRISING Lucas Daniel Smith!
Deputy Executive Director Bruce Stedman (Steadman?) appears to be an accomplished, intelligent, good looking fellow who serves as a worthy bearer of the venerable name that I proudly share!
@ The Magic M:
We never said that doctor Maganga can’t spell his own name. Morever, we never said that he even signed the birth certificate.
It’s likely that MJ Othigo, or some other admin staff, signed the document.
Furthermore, I’m not sure that their are any ‘correct’ spellings for any names.
I consistently run into Africans and people in Caribbean who spell their own names with different spellings.
Even my wife (she’s not American) spells her name with different spellings.
For some reason us Americans (and probably British too) seem to think that we (literally) are our names.
What I mean is the we are not our names. Our names are just a tag, and we can spell them as we please.
If you ever take up an extended stay in Africa or the Caribbean you may begin to understand what I am saying.
If you ever take up an extended stay in Africa or the Caribbean you may begin to understand what I am saying.
If Lucas Daniel Smith could document that he has ever spent any time in Africa, he might be more believable.
A newspaper in Kenya called The Star (previously known as the Nairobi Star) published an article on March 30, 2010 titled American ambassador tells of Kenyan experiences.
The article features a picture of Teddy Gianopulos standing adjacent Elizabeth Kyengo.
The Kiswahili speaking ambassador [Scott Gration] and his wife told of their life growing up in Kenya. They were both children of missionaries who had come to spread the gospel that were very close families. Unfortunately Judy who was born in Kenya, lost her parents and she was adopted by the Gration family. They grew up in Kenya doing their initially schooling here before moving abroad. He also shared details of his life in the military and the initiatives that the Americans are taking part in locally through the embassy.
According to Wikipedia, President Obama announced his intent to nominate Scott Gration as United States Ambassador to Kenya on February 10, 2011. His nomination was transmitted to the United States Senate on February 14, 2011.
He served for 13 months before resigning, citing unspecified “differences” with the Obama administration.
His tenure as ambassador coincided with armed intervention by Kenya in Somalia, in response to the growing influence of Al-Shabaab, a subsidiary of Al Qaeda. But news reports suggested Gration did not resign over “differences” with Washington. He resigned weeks before the scheduled release of a U.S. government audit highly critical of his leadership at the embassy.
In an August 2012 edition of the Daily Nation (Kenyan news outlet), Gration described media reports describing various theories as to why he resigned his post as “silliness”.
In an August 2012 interview with The Cable, Gration insisted that his one-year tenure as the U.S. envoy in Nairobi was a success.
In the Inspector General’s report cited “The Ambassador has lost the respect and confidence of the staff to lead the mission,” In a blunt assessment, the report found his leadership to be “divisive and ineffective.” He directed staff to work on projects with “unclear status and almost no value,” it found. It also portrayed him as a bit of a freelancer who did not read classified front channel messages, used commercial e-mail systems instead of secure government ones for official business (including work that included the use of sensitive materials) and ignored U.S. government policy.
@ bob: Mr. Smith will never document anything for the likes of you or your kind. Give up already, go back to Kenny’s and Billy boys sites and post. You are not accepted or wanted here.
@ Bruce:
>>> THAT DESCRIPTION FITS OUR FRIEND BRUCE ‘ STEADMAN ‘ . <<<
This report has been updated to show both the 1st and the 2nd page of the full two page article by The Courier on Bruce Stedman (Steadman?).
The said article was written by Roger de Backer (1977).
Larry Bland wrote:
Then his fantastical claims will continue to exist only in his mind. Meanwhile, President Obama will continue to be the president.
The owner of this site (which is not you) has invited commentary. I’m sorry dissent hurts your feelings; perhaps North Korea would suit you better.
@ bob:How about this Bob, you are a jag off, go fuck yourself!
Larry Bland wrote:
Vulgarity laden personal insults. How persuasive.
All because I pointed out that Smith habitually does not provide evidence to support his claims.
bob wrote:
That’s all birtherism has left. Its the only thing keeping Larry form swallowing the barrel of a gun.
@ bob: Try this again Bob, you are a jag off, now go fuck yourself!
@ I post drive by comments then don’t read the replies.: By your comment you have also identified yourself as a jag off, you can also go fuck yourself!