During a banquet on October 14 at the 24th Annual Conference of Association of Adventist Women (AAW) in Seattle, Washington (USA), Argentinian born Dr. Eugenia Lopez-Sustache Giordano, associate director of the Adventist AIDS International Ministry (AAIM), has received a "Woman of the Year" award from the Association of Adventist Women (AAW). AAW is an independent group that considers itself an advocate for women in the church. Dr. Eugenia Giordano’s work focuses on women and children. In the last four years, she has developed projects to empower HIV-positive women and women at risk to be fi nancially selfsustainable.

Giordano and her husband Oscar, both of whom are medical doctors, have served as Adventist medical missionaries to Africa since 1990. Both work in the AAIM office to educate the church and its members on AIDS. They also help those already living with HIV or AIDS find ways to support themselves. They also work to eliminate the stigma of having HIV or AIDS. Dr. Giordano says of her award: "Sometimes in life we are always looking for happiness and joy but, the only happiness we have control of is when we do something for other people."