An Interview with Helga Smith: Servas Traveller, Marathon Runner and Conqueror of Mount Kilimanjaro

I had a chance to meet Helga recently at the Servas Conference that I covered in Vancouver. Once you read Helga's story you'll realize why she has been included in a recent book called "Women Who Rock", featuring the stories of women who have made outstanding contributions to business, sports or community endeavours.

Originally from East Germany, Helga escaped to the West in 1963 and came to New York City a few years later. Without much help, she raised three children, completed a university degree and successfully established herself in the United States.

Helga has volunteered for a variety of non-profit organizations, inspired others to get active by running marathon races and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds to help African women start their own small businesses. Here is Helga's fascinating story:

1. Please tell us about your background. Where are you from, where did you grow up?

I grew up in a country that does not exist anymore, East Germany. Life was not much fun after WWII and it did not improve when the communists took over in 1948. Since I lived close to West Berlin, there was the constant reminder that life can be different. In those of us, who were not willing to resign ourselves to the limitations of the communist regime, it fostered a rebellion and the urge to throw off the chains.

2. You left East Germany in 1963, 2 years after the Berlin Wall was erected. Please tell us about your escape from East Germany.

When the Wall was built it became nearly impossible to leave the country. If caught, the penalty for escaping from East Germany at the time was 6 years in prison. But I was single with no binding obligations, so I was willing to take a chance. I scouted out several possibilities and finally got onto a train which passed locked thru East Germany, stopped in East Berlin to let on foreigners and went to West Berlin before being locked again for the second passage thru East Germany to West Germany. I hid in the train and saw the border police passing by inches away from me. Destiny must have been on my side because the police did not detect me and I made it to West Berlin.

The beginning in West Berlin was not easy since I had nothing, knew nobody and the official help offered was barely enough to get one outfit to go on a job search. Well, I did get a job, found an apartment and basically was on my way.

3. A few years after you left East Germany you came to the United States, to New York City. Please tell us about the first few years in the United States.

Now that I was free to make my own decisions, the opportunity arose to come to the United States. The fact that I did not speak any English did not deter me. Indeed, it did make it a bit more difficult, but challenges are there to make us grow. I took a job as a domestic, learned English as quickly as I could, made friends and a year later started working in an office. Soon after, I married an American and we had three children during the next five years. By that time my husband decided he did not want a family after all and I was single again. Life became challenging once more. To feed the children, I had to go on welfare for a while. But I also attended school, and as soon as I had an associate degree I started to work again. This time I took a job at a major financial institution and stayed with them for more than 20 years in a variety of positions. Along the way I acquired specialized computer skills that allowed me to support my children thru college. My daughter graduated from Harvard Law School and works for International Development. My son attended Fordham University and lives in New York with his Ecuadorian wife. Both of them are recognized and respected graffiti artists, famous for murals in their neighborhood, the City and around the world.

4. How and when did you hear about Servas? What countries have you traveled to through Servas? How many people from what countries have you hosted? In your opinion, what is special about traveling through Servas?

My children were still teenagers when on a Sunday afternoon hike I met a