Raymond Almeida, 66; champion of Cape Verdean independence and African development
Raymond Anthony Almeida, a Cape Verdean-American native of New Bedford, Massachusetts, noted for over 30 years of professional engagement with Africa policy issues, died Saturday January 30 in Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston of complications following heart by-pass surgery. He was 66 and resided in Washington, DC.
Ray Almeida was born in New Bedford on September 9, 1943 to Anthony “Rico” Almeida and Emily Ambra Ramos Almeida.
During the Vietnam War era, Almeida served in the Army as a medic at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where he helped returning soldiers with stress-related medical issues.
Ray’s passion for service to other people only grew from this time.
In 1975 he founded Tchuba -The American Committee for Cape Verde that worked to support the newly independent Republic of Cape Verde, West Africa including developing projects in wind energy for agriculture and a technical library.
In addition, one of Ray's passions was the education of Cape Verdean children, both American-born and those who emigrated from Cape Verde. Ray helped form the Cape Verdean Educators' Collaborative which worked to have the Commonwealth of Massachusetts recognize Cape Verdean Crioulo as a "living foreign language" thereby legitimizing the teaching of Cape Verdean language and culture in the bilingual education classrooms in Boston, Brockton, Scituate, and New Bedford. As part of this effort, Ray was most proud of his contribution to the Cape Verdean history when he published Cape Verdeans in America: Our Story.
From 1985-91, Ray Almeida was the managing partner of a small business in Cape Verde, Dive Cape Verde, Limited, a scuba diving tourism company and seafood exporter. Almeida later served as Senior Program Advisor for “The Cape Verdean Connection,” the centerpiece of the Smithsonian Institution’s 1995 Festival of American Folklife. He was also an important supporter of preserving and bringing to New Bedford the Ernestina, a famed schooner given to the people of America by the people of Cape Verde that is a symbol of the long relationship between the two countries.
From 1996 to 2006, Almeida served as Senior International Policy Analyst at Bread for the World, a Christian citizen’s movement against hunger co-authoring “Africa Seeds of Hope” Act ” in 1998 which launched a program investing $50 billion for development in Africa as well as the 2001 Congressional passage of the Africa: Hunger to Harvest resolution. His efforts in 2005 established Cape Verde’s eligibility for the $110 million US government Millennium Challenge Corporation funding the country received.
On September 18, 2005, His Excellency Pedro Verona Pires, President and Head of State of the Republic of Cape Verde honored Ray with the presentation of the “Ordem Amilcar Cabral”. This honor is “the Nation of Cape Verde’s highest recognition of those who have brought leadership to the work of mobilizing support for the national liberation process while steadfastly fighting for the values of liberty, justice and human dignity,” according to a statement by José Brito, Ambassador of the Republic of Cape Verde to the United States.
Amilcar Cabral, the father of Cape Verdean independence, was assassinated in 1973. He was Ray’s hero - as were all those who have fought for African liberation.
Before joining Bread for the World, Ray was a member of the professional staffs of US Congressmen Charles Rangel and Barney Frank.
Congressman Frank said in a statement on February 3rd, “I was very sad to hear of the death of Ray Almeida. Ray was a friend and advisor, from whom I learned a great deal.
When I was first in a position to hire people to work with me on international matters, as Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy of the House Banking Committee, I turned to Ray and was very pleased when he joined me for some time to work on international financial issues. His expertise, his compassion, and his pride in his Cape Verdean heritage combined to make him a very effective member of the staff. At the time when Cape Verde was getting too little attention and too little respect for its role as a thriving democracy, Ray Almeida helped counter that and I was very pleased to be able to work with him in several aspects of this work.
The causes of fairness and social justice in our society have suffered a serious loss with Ray Almeida’s passing.”
Ray subsequently worked as the Congressional liaison for government affairs for the Africa Development Foundation, a US government-funded corporation which provides direct support to community organizations and enterprises that benefit under served and marginalized communities in Africa, as well as a consultant to the government of Cape Verde.
He received his Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy from Stonehill College and a Masters in Education from Harvard. He was also a Community Fellow in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Ray was a lover of cats, eclectic music, fine wine, good food and himself a superb chef.
Left to cherish his memory are his wife of 30 years, Arlinda Haliburton Almeida of Washington DC; his daughter, Adrienne Ambra Almeida, and her husband, Edward Oliver of Brooklyn NY; his son, Mason Ramos Almeida of New York, NY; his mother, Emily Ambra Ramos Almeida of New Bedford; sisters, Gertrude “Trudy” Encarnacao and her husband John Encarnacao, Sr. of Wakefield, and Toni Almeida, and her husband, Marcelino "Sonny" Almeida of New Bedford; his godfather, Frank "Chico" Monteiro; aunts, Lydia Stevens, Dorothy Lopes and Alicia Ramos; numerous nieces, nephews, and countless friends.
The wake on Friday February 5 from 6-8 PM, the funeral service on Saturday February 6 at 11AM and the immediately following Repast will all take place at: Our Lady Of Guadalupe Parish at St. James Church, 233 County Street, New Bedford, Massachusetts.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Bread for the World Institute (Bread for the World Institute, 50 F Street, NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20001) or the Ernestina Commission Trust (Schooner Ernestina, New Bedford State Pier, PO Box 2010, New Bedford, MA 02741-2010). Please write "In Memory of Raymond Almeida" in the memo of your check or on the Internet submission form.
“Dedicated, impatient, loving, hopeful, striving for a better world. A noble Lion of Cape Verde has walked with us.”
New Bedford Standard-Times - February 3, 2010
The Cape Verdean community has lost one of its most passionate and compassionate voices on the international scene with the death of New Bedford native Raymond A. Almeida.
Almeida, 66, who was raised here and graduated from New Bedford High School, died Saturday at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston from complications following cardiac bypass surgery Jan. 13.
His wife of 30 years, Arlinda Halliburton Almeida, said Tuesday that her husband — a vigorous advocate for Cape Verde and African policy issues — was a lover of classical music, cooking and great food, fine wine, photography and their four cats.
"He was a Renaissance man," she said. "He was a humanist and a humanitarian."
With his education and background, Almeida could have earned much more money in the private sector but he disliked materialism and his projects had to have "a greater meaning," his widow said.
"Whatever he did had to be about helping other people," she said.
Jeanne Costa of New Bedford, a friend and former classmate of Almeida from their days at Roosevelt Junior High School, said his death is a blow to the Cape Verdean community.
"It's a tragic loss for someone who has been the keeper of the Cape Verdean legacy and history," she said. "He is the Cape Verdean distinguished son."
Costa said she recognized Almeida's promise even in junior high.
"Ray was always the studious one with the glasses," she said. "I just knew Ray was going to be someone later in life. He just became this brilliant individual."
Almeida served in the Army during the Vietnam era as a medic at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., helping returning soldiers with stress-related medical issues.
Since 1981, he had lived most of the time in Washington, D.C.
At one point on the staff of Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., Almeida also had been a senior international policy analyst at Bread for the World, a Christian citizens movement against hunger. He co-authored "Africa Seeds of Hope" Act in 1988, which launched a program investing $50 billion for development in Africa.
Almeida was a driving force behind "The Cape Verdean Connection," the centerpiece of the Smithsonian Institution's Festival of American Folklife in 1995.
In 1975, he was one of the founders of Tchuba — The American Committee for Cape Verde — in support of the newly independent Republic of Cape Verde. Three decades later, Almeida received the Ordem Amilcar Cabral, one of Cape Verde's highest honors, for his work as the founding director of Tchuba. Almeida, who loved his native city's rich history and architecture and often talked of its promise, played a key role in bringing the Schooner Ernestina to New Bedford.
Michael Frenchman owns a media production company in New York City and was the director of technical development programs for Tchuba.
"It's a challenge to the Cape Verdean community to take up (Almeida's) mantle. ... We will just have to do that," he said.
While Almeida "could growl like a lion ... he was noble and very protective and his heart was very large," Frenchman added.
Virginia Gonsalves of East Providence, R.I., a friend for many years, called Almeida's death "a terrible loss" for her and the entire Cape Verdean community.
"He was passionate for so many causes, especially the cause of Cape Verde," Gonsalves said. "He did so much for so many people and never really thought of himself."
On Youtube: Raymond A. Almeida, 1943-2010, In his memory, a Brief Visit to Cape Verde. This video was posted to Youtube with the permission of his family and may be found at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4cix805Aow