March 2024 – SAMU First Response. SAMU Foundation

Nicole Ruiz is partnering with SAMU First Response in Washington D.C through the U.S. State Department’s Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative. For four weeks, Nicole, an emerging international young leader, is working at SAMU First Response collaborating in outreach and preparing the Entrepreneurial Leadership Action Plan (E-LAP) they will undertake upon their return to Aruba.

For four weeks, Ms. Ruiz will play an important role in the programs implemented by SAMU First Response to benefit migrants received in Maryland and Washington D.C. through their participation in outreach activities to connect with potential donors and community members. In addition, the fellow will be able to conduct the intake process to know first-hand the conditions in which migrants arrive in the United States and learn new intake practices so that she can implement them in her country of origin, Aruba.

“We are very excited to have Nicole as part of our staff, and we are very interested in making the most of her abilities and talents based on the programs available to the migrants we receive in the capital of the United States. Nicole will learn about the family admission process, learn first-hand the reasons why migrant families leave their countries and how, at SAMU First Response, we help them integrate into the United States. Also, she will help us generate strategic alliances for the organization that increase our reach,” said Andrea Gallegos, managing director of SAMU First Response.

As part of the fellowship experience with SAMU First Response, the fellow will also have access to the entire training package that the organization has for its staff, such as Psychological First Aid, how to act in case of epilepsy, and DC mandated reporters where she will learn how to report child abuse and neglect.

Nicole’s long-term goal is to continue to support non-profit organizations to help achieve their goals.

Launched in 2015, YLAI empowers emerging entrepreneurs from the Western Hemisphere to enable the full economic potential of the region’s citizens. This year’s YLAI fellowship program launched in October 2023, bringing together 280 young leaders from 37 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada. In March 2024, Fellows will convene in Houston, Texas for an Opening Orientation and will then travel to 19 cities across the United States for four-week professional placements with U.S. businesses.

They will collaborate with their peers to address shared business challenges, as well as engage in virtual and in-person events and cross-cultural activities. The program concludes with a Closing Forum in Washington, D.C. in April. Fellows return to their ventures with new skills, resources, ongoing support from U.S. partners, and a broader network, strengthening business ties between the U.S. and Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada.

For further information, please contact us. Follow the fellowship using the hashtag #YLAI2024.

The Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Fellowship Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by IREX.

Learn more about the YLAI Fellowship Program on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn at @YLAINetwork, or at ylai.state.gov/

Hutchinson County, Texas – The fires that have killed at least two people and scorched nearly 1.3 million acres of land in the Texas Panhandle are still raging. First responders and those displaced by the disaster are getting some relief from a SAMU First Response volunteer team sent from Washington, D.C., to help meet ongoing needs in the region.

Today, our Texas volunteer team has split time between two sites. At the first, a donation and distribution site located at The Dome Civic and Convention Center in Borger, SAMU’s fully bilingual team has been able to support impacted residents with supplies.

“What we are seeing is trucks coming with ALL kinds of goods,” Mission Lead Borja González Escalada said. “There is no one showing up with just one box, but pallets of water, diapers, hand soap, new clothing and cleanup supplies. This is being distributed to the people so they have all they need for weeks.”

At a second site in nearby Canadian, SAMU team members received, organized and distributed farm supplies, including hay and feed resources, as well as fencing supplies. According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, about 85% of the state’s more than four jmillion cattle are located in the area. In some counties across the panhandle, the department reports that cattle population far exceeds people.

“The livelihoods of many cattle farmers in the area have been severely impacted by the fires,” Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said. “These fires not only threaten lives and property but will also have a substantial impact on our agriculture industry.”

Although four wildfires have been contained in Cass, Red River, Wood and Tyler Counties, active wildfires in Gray, Hutchinson, Moore and Oldham counties continue to burn. Most are between 55 and 85 percent contained, but the largest, the Smokehouse Creek Fire in Hutchinson County is about 15 percent contained. That blaze has become the largest wildfire in the state’s history and is estimated to have consumed a total of 1,076,638 acres. On Saturday, the Texas A&M Forest Service responded to four new requests for assistance with approximately 37 acres of wildfires burning across the state. Strong winds on Sunday prompted another evacuation in Sanford, Texas.