ATLANTA (April 9, 2010) – State Sen. Chip Pearson (R-Dawsonville) is applauding the brave efforts of Dawsonville humanitarian Dr. Ben Mathes, who will spend nearly three weeks reporting from the front lines of Iraq. Founder of Rivers of the World (ROW), an international development and humanitarian organization based out of Dawsonville, Mathes will shoot daily footage of his time embedded with the 4th Platoon of the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. His footage and photos will be available on the organization’s website, www.row.org.
“Ben’s compassion for serving others has taken him across the globe in pursuit of international health development, and this newest venture will put him in the middle of one of the world’s most dangerous war zones. I commend his dedication to supporting our troops and bringing us closer to the soldiers’ experience in Iraq,” said Pearson. “During his journey, Ben will give us a first-hand look at the missions and living conditions of the brave men and women who are fighting to protect our freedoms.”
Throughout his journey, which is scheduled from April 19 to May 8, Mathes will join soldiers on missions and report on life in the field and in the barracks by sharing daily videos and photos of his experiences. He will also conduct radio call-ins throughout the state. As part of the 4th Platoon, he will join former ROW staff member and platoon commander, 2nd Lieutenant Nick Beazley. In 2006, Mathes embedded for three weeks with his son, 1st Lieutenant Adam Mathes of the U.S. Marine Corps, who was serving on his second tour.
As founder of ROW, Mathes’ work targets remote river basins. Since 1978, Ben has traveled the world on behalf of health development, explorations and Christian missions. He serves a different country almost each month, working extensively in areas such as the Congo, Kenya, Thailand, Haiti, and Guatemala. ROW has recently completed new ships in Congo and Brazil, which serve 150,000 people in the Lusambo Health Zone of Congo and an average of 27 villages a year on the Amazon River. Staff members are responsible for a program that has treated over 1 million cases of river blindness and immunized over 775,000 children against polio.
In addition to serving in Congo and Brazil, ROW actively ministers in Kenya, Vietnam, Belize, Honduras, Peru and Bolivia. Ben is a regular on K-LOVE Christian Radio, reaching over 3 million listeners with a twice daily feature about his mission adventures. In addition to authoring an on-going series of devotion books titled “ROWvotions”, Ben has received multiple Rotarian awards for his humanitarian work around the world.
Sen. Chip Pearson serves as chairman of the Economic Development Committee. He represents the 51st Senate District, which includes Dawson, Fannin, Gilmer, Lumpkin, Pickens, and Union counties and portions of Forsyth and White counties. He may be reached at 404.656.9221 or via e-mail at chip.pearson@senate.ga.gov.
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
April 9, 2010
For Information Contact:
Raegan Weber, Director
Kallarin Richards, Senior Communications Specialist
kallarin.richards@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028