Honouring Jackie Kirk and Colleagues

Honoring Mohammad Aimal, Shirley Case, Nicole Dial and Jackie Kirk IRC Workers Killed in Afghanistan August 2008

On Wednesday 13th August, the education in emergencies community lost three exceptional members, all employed by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), in an ambush of a humanitarian aid vehicle in Logar Province, Afghanistan. They are Shirley Case, who managed education programs designed to meet the needs of children with disabilities; Nicole Dial, IRC child protection coordinator; and Jacqueline (Jackie) Kirk, Ph.D., an education technical advisor who provided support for the IRC's children's education programs worldwide. A driver for the IRC, Mohammad Aimal, was also killed and a second driver employed by the IRC was seriously wounded in the attack and has been hospitalized.

Click here for a statement from the IRC with more details of the incident, and the life and work of those killed.

See below for information on how to contribute to work being done to honour the memory of those killed.

We'd like to pay particular tribute to Jackie Kirk, who was an extremely active member of INEE and a passionate advocate for quality education in emergencies. For those of you who didn't have the honour of working personally with Jackie, she was a technical specialist in education in emergency and post-conflict and fragile states, focusing on gender and teacher-related issues. In addition to working with the International Rescue Committee, providing ongoing technical assistance to country programs as well as working on global policy and program development projects, Jackie was the founder and, on behalf of IRC, convenor of the INEE Gender Task Team/ IASC Education Cluster Working Group. She also represented IRC on the IASC Education Advisory Group, was a trainer on the INEE Minimum Standards and a resource person on a myriad of inter-agency initiatives, such as the initiatives to develop Teacher Compensation Guidance Notes and IASC Gender Guidelines for Humanitarian Action.

Jackie had extensive field-based experience working in humanitarian settings, including refugee camps and returnee communities, and advocated for gender mainstreaming and cross-sectoral programming involving the impacts of conflict on children and women, of child rights, protection, sexual abuse and exploitation issues, especially for girls. In addition, Jackie was an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University and worked on several research projects focused on gender, education, conflict and peace. This included topics on, but not limited to, education and fragility, safe schools and learning environments, teacher recruitment, support and training, school feeding, certification of learning achievements, and strategies for more effective education financing. Jackie was a prolific writer and produced numerous academic and policy-focused publications on education in emergencies. She also developed and co-taught classes at the University of Ulster, Sydney University and McGill University.

Jackie worked extensively with educators, field staff, education organisations and institutions, including ministries of education and teacher education institutions around the world and the positive impact of her tireless work with all of these groups will be felt for years to come. She was a passionate advocate, generous colleague and a good friend and she will be sorely missed. Mourning her loss, we must dig deep within ourselves to find and act on the same kind of commitment to rights that Jackie embodied so well.

Honouring The Memory of Those Killed

IRC is working closely with the families of Aimal, Shirley, Nicole, and Jackie to honor their memories.

You are invited to:

Send a Tribute

Calls and e-mails have poured in from friends, co-workers and supporters. If you would like to send a tribute, please write care of children@theIRC.org or Emily Miner, International Rescue Committee, 122 E. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10168 USA. Tributes will be shared with family members and will used in developing a Memorial Book.

Donate to the Memorial Fund

If you would like to make a gift to the fund, do so by web (http://www.theirc.org/where/afghanistan/in-memoriam.html) or mail your contribution to The Special Memorial Fund, International Rescue Committee, 122 E. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10168-1289. Contributions will be dedicated to programs that help protect and educate children affected by conflict, oppression, or natural disaster. Family members will participate in deciding which programs will be supported.

Participate in the Memorial Service

IRC will hold a memorial service in New York city at the end of September for family members and all friends and colleagues who wish to honor Aimal, Shirley, Nicole, and Jackie's memory. The exact date and location will be announced shortly, check the IRC web-site at www.theirc.org.

Donate to the Jackie Kirk Fund at McGill University, Canada

A new fund at McGill (the Jackie Kirk Fund) has also been created. This Fund will be used to support activities related to Jackie Kirk's work, such as scholarships for students from developing or conflict-affected countries. Any donations to this fund should be directed to Katie Whitehead, DAR Officer, Faculty of Education, McGill, 3700 McTavish, Room 210, H3A 1Y2, Canada. Please make checks payable to 'McGill University' and put 'Jackie Kirk Fund' in the memo.