2006.04.04: April 4, 2006: Headlines: COS - Bolivia: Safety and Security of Volunteers: Lowell Sun: Scholarship created for missing volunteer Walter Poirier
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2006.04.04: April 4, 2006: Headlines: COS - Bolivia: Safety and Security of Volunteers: Lowell Sun: Scholarship created for missing volunteer Walter Poirier
Scholarship created for missing volunteer Walter Poirier
In their efforts to honor Poirier, Akashian, Dubuque and other members of Lowell High School's class of 1996 are coming together to establish a scholarship in his name. "We decided to start something because Walter affected many people," said Akashian, a local attorney who came up with the idea for the scholarship with his wife. Poirier was 22 years old when he was declared missing on March 6, 2001, while working in the Zongo Valley, two hours north of the administrative Bolivian capital of La Paz, as part of the Peace Corps' ecotourism project.
Scholarship created for missing volunteer Walter Poirier
High-school pals band together to create scholarship in honor of missing classmate
By HIROKO SATO, Sun Staff
LOWELL -- Five years after Walter J. Poirier vanished without a trace during a Peace Corps mission in a Bolivian jungle, his friend Mike Dubuque refuses to consider him dead.
"We don't want to talk in a past tense, because you never know," Dubuque said of the ongoing search for Poirier.
"He was very selfless and cared about other people," said Brian Akashian, a good friend of Poirier's.
In their efforts to honor Poirier, Akashian, Dubuque and other members of Lowell High School's class of 1996 are coming together to establish a scholarship in his name.
"We decided to start something because Walter affected many people," said Akashian, a local attorney who came up with the idea for the scholarship with his wife.
The Walter J. Poirier Scholarship fundraiser will be held on Friday at 7 p.m. at Mt. Pleasant Golf Club in Lowell, at 99 Staples St. The event, which includes a raffle and music, will serve as a prelude to Walter J. Poirier Scholarship Golf Tournament to be held at Mt. Pleasant on Wednesday, May 17.
Hoping to raise $20,000 for the scholarship, the group is asking for donations of $15 for Friday's fundraiser. The 18-hole golf tournament will cost $400 per foursome, including golf shirts, golf cart, dinner and prizes, such as $10,000 for a hole-in-one. Cost of sponsorship is $250 for a hole, $500 for the tournament and $1,000 to be a platinum sponsor, which will include a foursome.
Once $20,000 is raised, $1,000 will be given annually to a Lowell High School senior who was a member of the varsity golf team -- which Poirier was also a member of -- for at least two years. Special consideration will be given to any student who will attends the University of Notre Dame, from where Poirier graduated. This arrangement would allow continuous endowment without any additional funds, according to Dubuque.
Poirier was 22 years old when he was declared missing on March 6, 2001, while working in the Zongo Valley, two hours north of the administrative Bolivian capital of La Paz, as part of the Peace Corps' ecotourism project.
His disappearance sparked a comprehensive feseral review of the Peace Corps' treatment of its volunteers as Peace Corps officials were unaware that he was missing until they received a phone call from his mother, Sheila Poirier, on March 4, 2001. The U.S. Government Accounting Office found that Peace Corps workers, such as Poirier, were often thrust into unfamiliar and often dangerous countries with little or no direction or protection.
In June of 2004, the Peace Corps, under pressure from Massachusetts legislators, agreed to hire an investigator to probe Poirier's disappearance.
But there still has been little progress in finding out what really happened to Poirier, according to his friends.
"This is a frustrating situation and a very sad story," they said in the brochure for the scholarship fundraiser.
Reached by The Sun by phone yesterday, Sheila Poirier said the family has been closely working with Jimmy Langman, a U.S. journalist living in Chile, to explore leads since August of 2004.
She noted the family has received support from many legislators over the years.
"As long as your child is missing, there is never any closure," she said, adding that she does not like using the word "closure."
She said her family appreciates the efforts her son's friends are making for the scholarship, because it shows the strong bond formed among the high-school classmates.
"We consider this as quite an honor for Walter," she said.
Akashian said Poirier was charmingly mischievous and had his way to make people smile. He always put others first, Akashian said.
U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Lowell, who helped push for the investigation, donated $500 to the scholarship, according to his office.
"This has been a painful experience for Walter's family and friends, but I still remain hopeful that the Poiriers will soon learn what happened to their son," Meehan said in a written statement e-mailed from his office to The Sun. "I think the Scholarship in Walter's name is a wonderful way to honor his ideals and his commitment to serving others."
For more information about the scholarship fund, call Akashian at (978) 884-2923 or Dubuque at (617) 839-7750.
Hiroko Sato's e-mail address is hsato@lowellsun.com
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Story Source: Lowell Sun
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Bolivia; Safety and Security of Volunteers
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