Cecilia was born in Chile and Argentina and was exposed to both cultures. Her first job working with refugees from Cuba and Southeast Asia at a refugee counseling program was very meaningful to her as she witnessed the resilience of refugees and generosity of the host community. She is now passionate about assisting organizations like Deltawomen that improve lives of women in Nigeria.

1. Meet CECILIA JACOMET NEWMAN
Graphic Designer, Volunteer, Activist
Cecilia was born and raised in Chile and Argentina. Being
of of French origin, she was exposed to the culture and
language of each of both countries.
As much as she loved work, she also
wanted to work in projects that Her first job, as a caseworker/graphic designer for a
combined the multi-cultural nature, refugee counseling program was a dream job and a life-
collaborative spirit and belief in a changing experience. She believed in the project’s
mission of her first job. Working mission to assist refugees (from Cuba and Southeast
with DeltaWomen has been just Asia), the host community with the cross-cultural
that. adaptation process, and to promote mutual
understanding and respect. However the most important
thing for her was witnessing the resilience, strength and
grace of the human spirit, so evident in the refugees,
and the generosity and hospitality of the host
community.
Cecilia is a passionate believer in women’s rights and honored to be able to assist an
organization like Deltawomen that is so strongly committed to improving the lives of Nigerian
women.

2. Meet CLAUDIA FIERRO
Journalist, Volunteer, Activist
Claudia’s activism started in school. Her family went to places of homeless kids to help. She
always worried about the plight of the homeless children. This influenced her decision to
study Journalism because she believed that this profession was the best way to denounce
the unfair situations around the world.
It was when she went to the University that she
realized the world was a little more complicated
and to denounce was not the way to build a
better world, so she started to work as a volunteer
with the solidarity team at the university. They
went to orphanages, worked with old people and
other activities. Since then, she had been working
for a cause, recently helped build two schools
and worked with the reporting flood system in her
country.
She has been working with Deltawomen which makes her very happy because this is also
the first time that she is able to use her Journalism expertise to contribute to a cause.

3. Meet KATHERINE VASQUEZ TARAZONA Joining Delta Women (DW) encouraged her to
Lawyer, Volunteer, Activist launch an international affairs blog with
friends. She is also now involved in a special
To Katherine, mankind is a mystery. She just project with fellow DW volunteer, Kirthi’s
can’t seem to pull her nose back when International Law Journal.
something interests her.
More to come? Definitely! An invitation to
While doing social work when she was at
interview for a positive think tank; acceptance as
school, she and a teacher put up a program
research associate for Open Briefing, prospects
to work with children and teens from a
with a youth magazine...endless.
shanty town in Lima. This marked her life.
She later joined forces at the “Commission
of Truth and Reconciliation” where she
helped terrorism victims and their relatives
get their voice out.
As a tutor and lecture assistant in law school,
not only was she just a link between student
and professor…to the students, she was
someone to assist and help them find
knowledge.
When she enrolled in an international
program, she found a global village where To Katherine, when one does something out of
understanding and peace took a new meaning belief and passion, one can’t really seem to feel
that changed her life. minutes go by.

4. Meet MATTHEW ARISS
Women’s Rights Advocate, Volunteer, Activist
The concept of women’s rights never entered Matthew’s radar until his third year of university.
He was then simply unaware of the plight that women faced. He was never told that women
should be treated like equals, because in his world it had never been necessary. It was just
something that was done.
The women in his family were all as educated as the
men, often more so. The women he befriended were
all as capable as him, even smarter. It wasn’t until he
had his first room mate and heard some of her stories
that he began to understand how unfair the world
can be. She grew up with a father who didn’t really
care and a mother who was forced to take on all of
the responsibility. This left her with a keen desire to
create a little more equality in the world, and she
start him on his journey out of his little bubble.
He has great hopes for humanity. He hopes to someday explore the stars, walk on strange
planets, see wondrous life forms, to turn this green and blue rock called earth into a bustling
mecca of discovery, hope and creativity and solve the mysteries of the universe. But none of this
will happen if half of its population is oppressed.
Matthew hopes to help people understand that equality makes sense.
It makes sense morally. It makes sense economically.
It makes sense for simple day to day happiness.

5. Meet CHARLOTTE LAZARUS
Advocate, Volunteer
In her early teens, Charlotte realized that knowledge was power. She pursued the attainment of
knowledge (history, politics, competitive mindset) through schooling, reading, listening,
speaking to diverse people and allowing life to impose its sometimes ugly side. In the passing
years, she realized that knowledge also involved cultivating the true essence of her being, her
heart and extending compassion to others, directly and indirectly.
She always wanted to work with people and
impart knowledge. She knows for certain that her
true life path involves helping and empowering
vulnerable groups particularly women and
children. Deltawomen has given her the
opportunity to fulfill her heart’s desire and gain
knowledge. Her hope for the future is to see
Deltawomen flourish and see more women and
children healed from their past and move
forward towards a brighter future.
To Charlotte, activism involves positively building up minds and hearts to help their
fellowmen and trying her best to live a life full of integrity and honesty.
She believes activism is a key to holding wrongdoers accountable for their actions.

6. Meet GLORIA ADERO
Volunteer, Activist
Gloria was born into a family of strong minded girls and is the 6th child. Living in Kenya exposed
her to experiences that she otherwise would never have experienced had she not been a girl.
She and her sisters started a library in their rural home
(Kisumu Kenya) to encourage literacy among the youth.
The idea came up in 2009 when they decided to convert
their late parents’ rural home into a library in their
honor, for educating and teaching them its importance.
They wanted to share this with others.
This year they managed to ship 11,000 books from the
U.S. for the library. Though not yet fully operational,
they surely have gone a step further to realizing their
dreams.
She became an online volunteer in June 2012 because she always wanted to help in projects
that were cause-oriented. Volunteering became an excellent opportunity for this and she found
it so inspiring that she encouraged her sister to join as well.
What’s ahead? Gloria plans to see the success of the library until the end and is working towards
gaining entry into a career in community development now.
To Gloria, action and not apathy is what will make the world a better place.