Archive - June 21, 2012

If you had to boil down Jim McConkey’s book to a simple ‘X Meets Y’ premise, it would be “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” meets “Lost in Translation.” By that, we mean “To the Far Side of Planet Earth” is an introspective glimpse at McConkey’s time spent serving as a member of the Peace Corps, combining bits of anthropology, mythology, psychology and a good amount of humor as culture shock gives way to new perspective. McConkey aspired to be a writer since childhood, but made a few career stops on the way to work on a farm, wash dishes, pump gas, drive a school bus and deliver papers. After gaining a degree in journalism, McConkey joined the Peace Corps, and soon he found himself in India. His speaking engagement on “Understanding the Philosophy and Culture of India” today at Temple University’s Harrisburg Campus is part of a World . . .

A Writer Writes [Peace Corps Volunteers often have experiences that follow them throughout their lives. Such was the case with Habib Diatta, who came into Leita Kaldi’s life in 1993 to tell her he taught at a school with 800 students and no latrines! She helped him to find funding and develop the project himself, in collaboration with local villagers, to provide sanitary facilities for his students. Habib didn’t stop there. In his rural school with no electricity, he dreamed of providing computers and training to schools throughout Senegal. When he was recruited to a university in Indiana, he realized his dream, founding Wings for West Africa, a non-profit organization that ships computers to every corner of Senegal. Nearly twenty years after meeting Habib, Leita is compelled to share his story.] Wings for West Africa by Leita  Kaldi (Senegal 1993-96) “At our school we have eight hundred students and no . . .