Archive - 2018

  The Office of the Inspector General of the Peace Corps is mandated to report to Congress on a semi-annual basis. Here is the report for the period,October 1, 2017  to March 31, 2018. https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.peacecorps.gov/documents/inspector-general/SARC_OCT17-MAR18_for_web.pdf It is not our task to summarize the report.  We would like to call attention to  some sections of the Report which may be of special interest to the RPCV community. The Inspector General continues its Review of the Peace Corps Information Security Program.  This statement  is from that Review: “We contracted with accounting and management consulting firm Williams, Adley & Company-DC to assess the Peace Corps’ compliance with the provisions of FISMA. The objective of this review was to perform an independent assessment of the Peace Corps’ information security program, including testing the effectiveness of security controls for a subset of systems as required, for FY 2017. The review found that the Peace Corps . . .

  Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from  Patricia Taylor Edmisten (Peru 1962-64) • The energy within undereducated girls must be unleashed by Lia Einstein (Guinea) From Scientific American May 1, 2018   The question on the physics quiz seemed simple enough: “What is the smallest piece of matter that makes up everything in the universe?” Binta’s response: “Binta.” I laughed out loud. You would too if you saw tiny Binta, who is one of my smartest seventh graders. Surely she knew the correct answer is “atom.” Yet, I mused, a famous equation governing atoms could also apply to her. E = mc2. The equation says that under the right conditions, mass can become energy, and vice versa. Because light moves so fast, an atom at rest—even with a small mass—contains a great deal of energy. A walnut has enough energy locked in it to power a small city. Mass from the sun radiates . . .

  Peace Corps World Wide has received the following official announcement from the Peace Corps Response Office for the Global Health Service. “The Global Health Service Partnership (GHSP), a collaboration between the Peace Corps, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and Seed Global Health, will end in September 2018 for operational reasons. We have appreciated our strategic partnership and the opportunity to provide highly skilled physician and nurse educators to build health care capacity and strengthen health professional education.” On its site, Peace Corps described the program: “The Global Health Service Partnership (GHSP) helps address critical global shortages of health care professionals by sending physicians and nurses to work alongside local faculty to build institutional capacity and help strengthen the quality of medical education.” Peace Corps World Wide posted this link to the concept paper in 2012: https://peacecorpsworldwide.org/the-partnership-between-global-health-and-peace-corps-response/ The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) . . .

  Discovering the Peace Corps … and Myself by Dennis Lloyd Kuklok (Bolivia 1968-70) • It was October, 1967. I had just dropped out of the University of Minnesota, where I was beginning my third year in the School of Architecture. I knew that I would now be drafted, since I would lose my student deferment. So, I volunteered. I wanted to get my military service over as quickly as possible. Then I would be free to do whatever I wanted. At that time, if you volunteered for the draft, you could complete your two years in the army in just 18 months. My university education had made me see how immature, how unworldly I was. It had become painfully apparent how little I really knew about the world in which I was expected to design places for people. I had grown up in a large Catholic midwestern farm family, . . .

  JFK:The Last Speech by Jan Worth-Nelson (Tonga 1976-78) • EVEN 55 YEARS LATER, the life-changing effects of John F. Kennedy and Peace Corps service continue to resonate for several former Volunteers featured in an upcoming documentary distributed by American Public Television. The film, JFK: The Last Speech, from Northern Light Productions, spotlights how an October, 1963, a visit by JFK transformed four Class of ’64 graduates of Amherst College. The film will air on more than 40 public television stations nationwide the first week of June. About the speech Three weeks before  President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, he delivered a speech at Amherst at the groundbreaking for the Robert Frost Library. Frost had been a professor at Amherst for years, was a colorful presence on the campus, and had died the previous January. It was JFK’s last major speech, and it was described as “majestic” and one . . .

Michael Meyer (China 1995-97) who we recently talked to about his new book,  The Road to Sleeping Dragon just interviewed for the Paris Review famous literary agent Georges Borchardt who sold Waiting for Godot, Night, and hundreds of other modern classics. As Michael wrote me, “Borchardt’s take on the industry is fun to read.” https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/05/23/the-life-and-times-of-literary-agent-georges-borchardt/  Michael is also the author of In Manchuria, and The Last Days of Old Beijing. He teaches nonfiction writing at the University of Pittsburgh.

May 22, 2018 WASHINGTON – The Peace Corps won its 11th consecutive Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting (CEAR) award for its proven track record of financial transparency. The Association of Government Accountants (AGA) presents the CEAR award to federal agencies annually for producing high-quality Performance and Accountability Reports or Agency Financial Reports. The agency will be honored in a ceremony this evening. “As a federal agency, we answer to the American people – a responsibility we take seriously at the Peace Corps,” says newly appointed Chief Financial Officer Richard Swarttz. “I am proud to join a team that is committed to better reporting year over year. I thank both Andrew Pierce and Paul Shea for demonstrating strong leadership during their respective terms as Acting Chief Financial Officer.” For its creativity and innovative thinking in financial reporting, the Peace Corps is also the proud recipient of several special awards for agencies . . .

A few years ago I published a book entitled How To Write A Novel in 100 Days. Now I thought I might attempt to tighten that frame of reference (and time) and focus on, How To Write a Book in 18 Holes. Over my writing career, I have published three novels on golf and edited three books of golf instruction. Now I have some advice on how to do both for anyone who writes or plays golf, or both, like myself. Write a Novel in 18 Holes In my mind, playing golf and writing a novel are curiously connected. Each is achieved by determination, dedication and singleness of purpose. While most golfers play for fun in foursomes, those who want to develop their game, play alone, often early in the day or late in the evening when it is cool and quiet and the course is empty. As golfers know, . . .

“Working with Sargent Shriver at the Peace Corps was one of the best experiences of my professional life, and our friendship continued to grow. Sarge gave his all to service – domestic, international, anti-poverty, anti-racism, justice, equality and freedom for all. Throughout the last two decades of his life, Sarge continued to devote himself to service for the intellectually challenged as the Chair and CEO of Special Olympics.  Let’s honor Sarge and his Sargent Shriver Special Olympic Global Messengers.  Harris Wofford Instrumental in forming the Peace Corps Peace Corps Director/Ethiopia; Special Rep to Africa Associate Director of the Peace Corps ***** Sargent Shriver was a man of conviction and courage. He stood for important things with a reputation of not letting anyone down. He was outstanding.  C.. Payne Lucas Co-founder AFRICARE, President 31 years; Peace Corps Director Togo & Niger; RPCV ’60s ********* “During these times which cry out for heroic action, we should remember that no couple . . .