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Cultural Care Au Pair wins international honor for second year

Cultural Care Au Pair Brazilian male caregiver named International Au Pair of the Year

By Marji Epstein

http://mepstein.aupairnews.com

Local Au Pair agency wins international honor for second year

A young journalism student from Natal, Brazil who has shown compassion and

dedication in his daily care for a special needs boy, has earned the distinction of being

named the “International Au Pair of the Year”, the second consecutive honor for a

Cultural Care au pair, an agency that places au pairs with families in Washington DC,

Maryland, and Virginia.

The “Au Pair of the Year” Award honors au pairs who are caring, dependable and

exceptional providers of childcare to their host family. Francisco Ricardo Silva de

Araújo, au pair to the Boyer family of Richmond, Virginia was chosen from among local

nominees as well as au pairs around the world in more than 50,000 host families. He was

presented with the award at the 15th Annual International Au Pair Association Conference

in Vienna, Austria on March 25th. Linda Falter from Germany, another Cultural Care au

pair, won the award in 2008.

The International Au Pair Association established the Au Pair of the Year Award to

recognize the many great young men and women participating in the au pair program.

Marji Epstein, local childcare coordinator for Cultural Care Au Pair in Potomac, MD. says,

“It is wonderful that IAPA, through this award, allows so many in the au pair community to

reflect on what an incredibly positive program this is and the many lives it touches and

enriches along the way.”

The Boyer family nominated Ricardo for this prestigious award because of his devotion

to their son, Taylor. Taylor is multi-handicapped and does not speak. “Ricardo is an

exceptional young man, full of compassion, patience, gentleness. He never tires of

encouraging Taylor to meet his challenges and reach beyond them,” says Kim Boyer,

Ricardo’s host mother. “He has truly enhanced Taylor's life in a way I never thought

possible.” Epstein says that she often hears from her local host families that, like Ricardo,

their au pairs have exceeded expectations and truly enriched their children’s lives.

“We could not be more proud of this fine young man and our au pair program that has

now won the award for two consecutive years,” says David Fougere, President of

Cultural Care Au Pair. “I think Kim Boyer said it best in her nomination. ‘Ricardo is an

excellent example of all that one would hope for in a childcare provider. He is truly the

spirit of Cultural Care and the best in mankind.’”

For a video about Ricardo, please visit: www.culturalcare.com/award .

The International Au Pair Association is the global trade association for qualified au pair