May 17, 2011 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Review of James Stewart's history of his Peace Corps years in the Philippines

May 17 2011

Ask What You Can Do: Our Days in the Early Peace Corps by James C. Stewart (Philippines 1962–64) Create Space $24.95 672 pages 2011 Reviewed by Maureen Carroll (Philippines 1961–63) THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE PEACE CORPS seems to have brought out the secret memoirist in all of us. Jim Stewart was one of the 600 to 700 Volunteers who arrived in the Philippines during the first two years of the program — the largest in the world at that time. Stewart was in Group IV, arriving in the Philippines in June of 1962, on the heels of Groups I, II and III which had begun arriving in October of 1961, each group trained in sequence at Penn State University. The groups kept on coming every few months despite the fact that the job of “elementary school aide” had turned out to be a “non-job,” a term used by first . . .

Well, What's the Peace Corps Doing About Sexual Assaults?

May 17 2011

Since being appointed to their positions in the Peace Corps some 20 months ago, and months after the terrible murder of Kate Puzin, Aaron Williams and Carrie Hessler-Radelet, have initiated a series of prevention measures overseas that involve safety and security. The Peace Corps now has a reporting system to track sexual assault, and that data is used to train staff. So far, the agency says that they has seen a decline in the incidence rate of rape and sexual assaults. Also, the Peace Corps is now reporting that in 2009-2010 arrests were made in 61% of the rape and attempted rape cases in which the PCVs came forward and filed a report with the local police. So what else? Well, like always the Peace Corps has formed groups, committees, and called in the ‘outside experts.’ Lets start with the Sexual Assault Working Group–this is an on-going group that “analyzes current agency protocols and recommends agency strategies for sexual . . .

Archive - May 17, 2011