By Elizabeth Williamson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Back in the day, there was naught for a diplomatic spouse to do but bake and complain. But that was then: Yesterday, five State Department employees and spouses were recognized for charitable works abroad -- and two of them were men.

Every year, beside the holiday trees in the stately Benjamin Franklin Room on the department's eighth floor, Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide present the Secretary of State's Awards for Volunteerism Overseas, a mouthful of a prize for State employees and spouses whose pro bono goodwill benefits their host countries.

The awardees "symbolize the very best of our American diplomats and their families," said State Department Director General George M. Staples, on hand to present the awards. "They are a tribute to the generosity of the American spirit."

The AAFSW, whose "W" used to stand for "women," was founded in 1960 to advocate for better conditions for diplomatic spouses. (In a clue to those conditions, one of its publications was titled "What Do I Do Now?") Today the group sponsors educational programs, scholarships, online resources and the awards.

This year's uber-volunteers included spouses, full-timers or both.

Steven Carroll, posted to Kabul for a year, dove into Afghanistan's refugee community. After collecting clothes and money from American children for the city's orphanages, he delivered the loot in an armored car.

In Seoul, Kathy Hansen, an employed diplomatic family member, worked for a long list of schools and churches and seemed bent on providing blankets for babies. She also helped finance the adoption of Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese children.

Marian McGowan is a diplomatic spouse and a pillar of Jackie's House, a home for 36 abused, neglected and abandoned children in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Beyond food and supplies, McGowan and her volunteers taught the children to write, speak English and mentor the youngest among them.

A full-time embassy employee in Swaziland, where AIDS affects more than 40 percent of the population, Nelda Villines found time to visit scores of schools and hospitals, distributing food, supplies and 3,000 teddy bears made by U.S. volunteers.

Thomas Yazdgerdi, a political officer in Athens, used his time and clout to help Greece's needy immigrants, who are often subject to discrimination by in-country assistance groups. Yazdgerdi also helped renovate a multicultural day-care center and organized a benefit concert in Greece that raised $100,000 for those left homeless by Hurricane Katrina.