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Helping others has always been in Jessica Buchanan's DNA. As a matter of fact, it's why she ended up being kidnapped and nearly died. A humanitarian aid worker, who was working in Somalia to help protect children from the ravages of war and from starvation, Buchanan was kidnapped by Somali rebels in 2011. "I was being kidnapped and, I imagined going to be killed, by some of the very people I was here to help," she recounted in remarks at the 2016 Maine CUs' Ending Hunger Campaign Results event on Tuesday, February 7, in Freeport. Buchanan was part of the announcement that the 2016 Maine CUs' Campaign for Ending Hunger raised a record-setting $674,193.48, for ending hunger.
As the featured speaker, Buchanan (pictured at left) spoke about her harrowing tale of being held captive for 90+ days in the Somali desert and, ultimately, being dramatically rescued just days from death due to a worsening kidney infection. Buchanan wrote about her ordeal in the New York Times Best-Selling book she co-authored, Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team 6. This past October, Clint Eastwood announced that Buchanan's story would be the subject of his next movie.
"I had not been forgotten," Buchanan explained, adding, "One action, one act, had set off a ripple effect that carried me home. They are the men and women who sacrifice their safety for others." She tied her ordeal into the plight that people who are hungry go through. "Maine credit unions deserve a lot of credit for not only identifying the fact that hunger is an issue in your state but doing something about it. When I was presented with the opportunity to join you for this event, I jumped at it because what you do matters and you deserve appreciation. Your campaign is an example of people working together and demonstrating that the human spirit is alive in all of us."
Buchanan called the efforts of Maine's credit unions and the many people involved "an inspiration to all of us and can inspire others to help. Someone, somewhere, at some time, sacrificed something great to get us where we are today, and you are here today to pass on that gift. Thank you for taking the time to help others."