The annual Jean-Pierre Tchang Award was created in 2009 to highlight the exceptional contribution of a volunteer to the IRIS Mundial mission. The 2022 award has been given to Mihaela Mara-Somogyi, an optician and regional director for IRIS and a volunteer for IRIS Mundial since 2016. The award was presented to her during the annual meeting of IRIS Mundial volunteers. Several people made moving speeches about her at the event.
Johanne de Champlain, president of IRIS Mundial, talked about how Miha’s contagious smile lights up a room. She recalled a mission during which Miha somehow managed offer her volunteer friends cold cappuccino made with instant coffee! Miha is a solid team player who can always be counted on. And as Johanne concluded, she is like a pearl of culture found in an oyster at the bottom of the sea.
Laura Giry-Doublet, a volunteer for IRIS Mundial and regional director at IRIS and a long-time colleague of our laureate described how she wanted to “find the definition of Miha” since the automatic spell checker always underlines her first name. She asked their other colleagues to contribute. .Miha rallies people together; she is endearing, full of smiles and energy. Miha is the kind of person everyone dreams of having around. The well-being of others is not only her priority but her reward! She is a mother to her dear friends which is why her colleagues call her “mama Miha”…!
Eric Babin, IRIS Mundial volunteer and IRIS president could not be present, but he congratulated her through a short video. He said he is happy for her to receive this well-deserved recognition, but at the same time, he is not at all surprised! He described her as a genuine, caring, loving, generous person who always puts others first.
Miha has completed 3 missions with IRIS Mundial, two of them as the head of the dispensary. In addition to the missions, Miha is involved at different levels within the organization. She has been a member of the board of directors since 2016 and a participant in several working committees: the material management committee, the risk management and safety committee, the IRIS committee, the ethics committee, the former finance committee, the committee for the evaluation of general management and recently the eyewear committee of the First Nations project. She has established win-win partnerships with two Cégeps in visual orthotics. Despite her busy schedule, Miha always finds time for IRIS Mundial! A golden volunteer, a volunteer with talent and heart, we are very lucky to have her among us and this award is totally deserved!
Thank you Miha for your dedication!
