Search Results for “gag rule” – Peace Corps Worldwide

Office of Inspector General of the Peace Corps denies Dr. Textor opportunity to see a preview of its evaluation of the so-called “Five Year Rule”

Jun 16 2012

The Office of the Inspector General of the Peace Corps will publish its yearlong review of the “Five Year Rule” within the next “two to three weeks.” Fifty years ago, Dr. Robert Textor authored the original “In, Up, and Out” memo that morphed into the Five Year Rule. Unfortunately, he is scheduled for surgery on June 29th. He made a reasonable request to be allowed to see the final review before his surgery. The Office of the Inspector General of the Peace Corps considered the request for two days and then denied it without explanation. Dr. Robert Textor was a young Anthropologist who was called to Peace Corps Washington in June of 1961 to consult the fledging agency. As an Anthropologist who had done field work in Thailand, Textor knew how critically important “transcultural experience” was. He wanted to make sure that Peace Corps Washington could capture the “transcultural experience” . . .

William Evensen Writes About: The Enigmatic Five-Year Rule

Dec 02 2011

Peace Corps’ Enigmatic Five-Year Rule: Updating the ‘In-Up-Out’ Myth by W.M. Evensen ( Peru 1964-66) Long ago I decided to make the cross-country trip to attend Peace Corps’ Fiftieth Birthday Party. I wanted to revisit the heroic beginnings, marvel at Peace Corps’ low-cost accomplishments, the indigenous leaders discovered, the NGOs invented. As it turned out, I found out some modern day things about the Peace Corps that left me bummed and bewildered. My trip to the 50th ended up shattering my most cherished Peace Corps belief: Sargent Shriver’s clever answer to bureaucratic Alzheimer’s, his legendary ‘In-Up-Out’ Five Year Rule, that limited staff to five years service. Because of Shriver’s trenchant ‘In-Up-Out’ Five Year Rule, bureaucratic careerism would not hamper the Peace Corps. Instead, the Agency would be re-born, again and again, by the hiring of newly returned PCVs – the ‘Up’ element: the best of the best – to run a . . .

“The Glamour” — a short story by Mark Jacobs (Paraguay)

Jan 30 2024

By Mark Jacobs (Paraguay 1978-80) Lace likes how Deed touches her tits. His hands, cupping and brushing, send electric squigglies through her body. But it’s not just that, really it’s how the touch is like talking. Deed’s touch is part of the conversation they are always having about Sausalito. They’ll live on a boat, eat fish, get tanned, fuck under the stars. They’ll be their own avatars. The pictures are so vivid in Lace’s mind, she’s pretty sure she’ll slit her wrists if something goes wrong and they don’t go there. “So is Calhoun this son of a bitch’s first name or his last name?” “I don’t know. I don’t care.” Calhoun is Rhonda’s latest mistake. Rhonda is Lace’s mother. She specializes in getting things wrong. Rhonda won’t come out and say it, but she intends to invite Calhoun to move in. The dude has no job and even . . .

Two Friends—One Jewish, One Muslim—Have an Answer to Campus Conflict

Jan 16 2024

BY JENNIFER BRICK MURTAZASHVILI (Uzbekistan 1997-99) AND ABDESALAM SOUDI JANUARY 16, 2024 Participants at the Pitt Community United in Compassion event We are two professors at the University of Pittsburgh—one Jewish, one Muslim. We are also close friends. We have seen American college campuses torn apart by conflict this fall, but we believe there is another way. A way for us to move forward. On Oct. 26, we organized our first event together, called Pitt Community United in Compassion. Faculty, staff, students, and community leaders—including religious leaders—gathered from across the region. We yearned to create a supportive environment where people could gather, focus, meditate, foster meaningful connections, care for each other, and find solace amid the chaos of our lives. At first, we were unsure about what would unfold. But what transpired was powerful, positive, inspirational, and emotional. We opened with our own personal reflections that led us to lead . . .

William Hershey’s (Ethiopia) book on his Peace Corps experience

Dec 10 2023

by Michael Douglas Beacon Journal editorial page editor (retired) William Hershey admits to “a touch of idealism” in joining the Peace Corps nearly six decades ago. He also had in mind avoiding the draft. As a twentysomething completing graduate school, he easily could have found himself on a path to joining the massive American military deployment in Vietnam. Thus, a persistent tension informs his engaging and insightful new book, “Taking the Plunge into Ethiopia: Tales of a Peace Corps Volunteer.” American idealism contends with indelible realities. In telling his story, Hershey also helps us understand our own time and dilemmas, from the plight of refugees to the Russian aggression in Ukraine. The book is part of the indispensable (to followers of Ohio political life) Bliss Institute Series, published by the University of Akron Press. Hershey has made multiple contributions, including an entertaining biography of Ray C. Bliss, “Mr. Chairman,” written with . . .

Richard Wiley (Korea) to judge Six-Word Memoir of Peace Corps

Aug 07 2023

Deadline for submitting ‘memoir’ is Tuesday, August 8th. Judging your Peace Corps focus stories will be…… Richard Wiley, novelist and short story, first novel, Soldiers in Hiding won the 1987 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. He has published five other novels and a number of short stories. He is the 2023 Winner of Peace Corps Writers’ Award as “Writer of the Year”. Wiley holds a B.A. from the University of Puget Sound and an M.A. from Sophia University in Tokyo; he earned his MFA in creative writing from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Richard was a PCV in Korea (1967-690 first novel, Soldiers in Hiding, won the 1987 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Since then, he has published other novels and a wide variety of short stories. His subsequent novels: Fool’s Gold, Festival for Three Thousand Maidens, Indio, etc. have received positive reviews in the New York Times Book Review, and elsewhere. In 1989 he has been a professor . . .

2023 Winner of Peace Corps Writers’ Award for Best Book for a Young Reader

Jul 14 2023

Kansas Kaleidoscope Mark G. Wentling Honduras (1967–69) & Togo (1970–73) In many ways, 11-year-old Marky is a typical kid in 1950s Kansas. He collects baseball cards like other boys his age, goes fishing and hunting with his father, and has a good shot at winning his town’s annual turtle race. But his family is not immune to hardships. Marky and his siblings, for example, rarely see their dad, Boyd, who works the graveyard shift at an aircraft plant 30 miles away. Their mother, Gerry, is a manic-depressive; Marky adores her but is perpetually worried about her oscillating moods. After two decades of marriage and six children, Marky’s parents engage in arguments that escalate in frequency and violence. Intense fights send Gerry fleeing to a neighbor’s house only for Boyd to chase her down. With his older siblings out of the nest, Marky becomes the protector of his two . . .

“On Essential Islands” by Nathan Fitch (Micronesia)

May 30 2023

In 2018, at the invitation of the college there, I traveled to the Federated States of Micronesia (“FSM”) to screen a documentary that I had made called Island Soldier. The film explores the service of Micronesian citizens in the United States armed services during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Peace Corps (1967–2018) As I arrived in the islands, bleary from my long flight (more than twenty hours of travel with layovers), the United States Peace Corps program was about to end after 60 years of continuous operation. The program has long been a visible symbol of the relationship between independent countries in the Western Pacific. A few days after I arrived, I spoke to Peace Corps Volunteer Sorcha Vaughan as she was preparing a farewell speech that she would be delivering to the state legislature and governor to close out the program on the island of Kosrae. Sorcha said, . . .

Peace Corps Namibia Swearing-in Ceremony For Response PCVs

May 25 2023

Ambassador Randy Berry Remarks Peace Corps Response Swearing-In Ceremony Good morning! It is a great pleasure and honor to welcome you to this special ceremony commemorating the arrival of three dedicated Peace Corps Response Volunteers — the first of many as Peace Corps prepares to bring in additional groups of Volunteers to serve throughout Namibia. Peace Corps makes a significant contribution to building international understanding, peace, and friendship by its unique people-to-people connections. To our soon-to-be Response Volunteers, Alan Marks, Lauren Pinkerton, and Robert Kankelborg, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Namibia. Thank you for your dedication and commitment to Volunteering with the Peace Corps. In April, U.S. President Joseph Biden celebrated national Volunteer week, reflecting on the self-less spirit of Volunteers, he said, ”Volunteering brings people together, uniting us around our common belief in the dignity and equality of every person and giving us . . .

“It’s time to embrace community-led conservation . . ., ” Audrey Moreng (Fiji)

May 17 2023

“. . . vs. the colonial kind” (a commentary) by Audrey Moreng (Fiji 2018-2000) 15 May 2023 Conservation NGOs often enter countries like Fiji and advise local and Indigenous communities on how to protect their land and sea territories, or worse, acquire land and preclude the traditional residents from it. More NGOs are embracing community-led conservation, though, and we must embrace this, a new op-ed by a former Peace Corps volunteer in Fiji argues. “Fiji does not need new ideas on how to protect their ‘iqoliqoli’ (marine areas). Instead, Fiji has a lot to teach the rest of the world,” the author writes. This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily of Mongabay. When I lived on the remote island of Beqa, in Fiji, I watched as foreign-based NGOs entered villages and told Fijians how to live their lives, saying things like . . .

Ray Nayler RPCV Science Fiction (Turkmenistan)

Apr 18 2023

RAY NAYLER (Turkmenistan 2003-05) was born on June 5, 1976 in Alma, Quebec. When he was three years old, his family moved to California. He attended the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he studied modern literature and developed an interest in semiotics, graduating in 1999. He lived in the Bay Area and Toronto and worked on various odd jobs before joining the Peace Corps and moving to Turkmenistan in 2003. He learned Russian there and later worked in Russia for an international NGO specializing in educational exchange. He lived in Moscow, then Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, from where he joined the US Foreign Service in 2010. He subsequently served in Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Kosovo, living abroad for 20 years before returning to the US in 2022. He still works for the State Department, now on detail to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as their . . .

A Conversation with Jody Olsen, Former Peace Corps Director

Apr 05 2023

Women’s Economic Empowerment and the Peace Corps – A Conversation with Jody Olsen, Former Peace Corps Director Interviewed Held on March 8, 2019 Edited for this blog Dr. Olsen served as a volunteer in Tunisia in the late 1960s, and she held various leadership positions throughout the agency in the ’80s, the ’90s, and 2000s. And between that time she spent time as a visiting professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore School of Social Work, as well as the director of the university’s Global Education Initiatives. The moderator is CSIS Senior Associate Nina Easton chair of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women International Summit and the co-chair of the Fortune Global Forum. Nina Easton: OK, hands up: How many former Peace Corps volunteers do we have here? Ooh. (Cheers, applause.) OK. (Applause.) And, Jody, thank you for your service. Jody Olsen: Well, thank you. Nina Easton: I warned you that we . . .

Johnnie Carson (Tanzania) Special Presidential Representative for U.S.-Africa Leaders

Feb 20 2023

MEDIA ADVISORY | February 23 Digital Press Briefing with Johnnie Carson, Special Presidential Representative for U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Implementation EVENT: Please join us on Thursday, February 23, 2023, for a digital press briefing with Ambassador Johnnie Carson, Special Presidential Representative for U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Implementation. Ambassador Carson will discuss his recent high-level engagements with African leaders on the margins of the AU Summit and his plans to continue his important dialogues with members of civil society and the business community. After brief remarks, Ambassador Carson will take questions from participating journalists. Date: Thursday, February 23, 2023 Time: 10:00 Johannesburg | 09:00 Abuja | 8:00 GMT | 03:00 Washington Language: English. Ground rules: The briefing will be on the record. Login info: To be provided upon RSVP. RSVP: Please RSVP by clicking here Twitter: Join the conversation at #AFHubPress; follow us @AfricaMediaHub. Biography: Johnnie Carson Special Presidential Representative for U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Implementation Ambassador Johnnie Carson was appointed as . . .

PCVs to Solomon Islands to counter China

Feb 02 2023

US opens embassy in Solomon Islands to counter China By NICK PERRY Seattle Times February 01, 2023 WELLINGTON, New Zealand — (AP) — The United States opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands on Thursday in its latest move to counter China’s push into the Pacific. The embassy in the capital, Honiara, is starting small, with a chargé d’affaires, a couple of State Department staff and a handful of local employees. The U.S. previously operated an embassy in the Solomon Islands for five years before closing it in 1993 as part of a global reduction in diplomatic posts after the end of the Cold War. But China’s bold moves in the region have the U.S. seeking to increase its engagement in a number of ways, such as by donating COVID-19 vaccines, bringing back Peace Corps volunteers to several island nations, and investing in forestry and tourism projects. “The opening . . .

Review | BIKE RIDING IN KABUL — not written by an RPCV

Jan 06 2023

Bike Riding in Kabul is the story of Jamie Bowman, a woman who works as foreign aid in several post-war countries. The author’s story is a unique take on the travel memoir genre. We don’t just read countless stories of an individual eating world-class dishes and laying on the beach; we watch someone help entire countries find their own peace. Through it all, we learn about the invaluable pieces of wisdom she learned along the way. From learning how to truly help people and understanding how many of these countries found themselves in their situations, there is so much wisdom to devour. • A review published by Literary Titan January 4,2023 Bike Riding in Kabul: The Global Adventures of a Foreign Aid Practitioner by Jamie Bowman is a MUST READ for anyone working in the international development community or seeking a career there. Her book reads like a modern-day version of . . .

Search Results For -gag rule