June 2014 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Writers Beware: The E-Reader Death Watch Begins

Jun 30 2014

The E-Reader Death Watch Begins By Jordan Weissmann, Slate Tech writers have begun rolling out their eulogies for the humble e-reader, which Mashable has deemed “the next iPod.” As in, it’s the next revolutionary, single-purpose device that’s on the verge of being replaced by smartphones and tablet computers. Barnes & Noble is spinning off its Nook division. Amazon just debuted its own smartphone, which some are taking as a tacit admission that more people are reading books on their phone these days, to the detriment of the Kindle. The analysts at Forrester, meanwhile, expect that U.S. e-reader sales will tumble to 7 million per year by 2017, down from 25 million in 2012. At New York Magazine, Kevin Roose argues that this is “bad news for the book industry.” He writes: If you’ve ever tried to read a book on your phone, you’ll know why. Reading on an original Kindle or . . .

Carrie Hessler-Radelet Sworn In as 19th Director of the Peace Corps

Jun 27 2014

Carrie Hessler-Radelet Sworn In as 19th Director of the Peace Corps Hessler-Radelet committed to using the tools, technologies and opportunities of the 21st century to strengthen the Peace Corps today WASHINGTON, D.C., June 25, 2014 – Carrie Hessler-Radelet was sworn in as the 19th Director of the Peace Corps Wednesday at a ceremony at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C. Hessler-Radelet comes from a four-generation Peace Corps family and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Western Samoa with her husband from 1981-1983. Since 2010, she served as the agency’s deputy director and acting director. “Everywhere I go in the Peace Corps world, I hear testimonies of the impact volunteers have had on their communities,” Hessler-Radelet said. “Peace Corps volunteers are special people – they come with the tools of the 21st century but the heart and soul of a timeless Peace Corps. Serving as Peace Corps director is truly the great . . .

Nautilus Book Award Goes To Juana Bordas (Chile 1964-66)

Jun 26 2014

Nautilus Book Awards has recognized The Power of Latino Leadership by author Juana Bordas with this prestigious award in the area of Multicultural/Indigenous Literature. The Nautilus Book Awards is an annual accolade of books in the genre of social and economic equality. The award recognizes “Better books for a better world.” Established in the U.S. in 1998, Nautilus is considered a “major” book award There are over 50 million Latinos in the US and it is estimated that by 2050 one in three of the US population will be Latino. While many people may know about the history and contributions of Latinos, there is scant information on the powerful way Latinos have led their community. Yet, Latinos have only advanced to where they are today because of their leaders and collective efforts. A long-time Latina leader, Bordas is a founder of Denver’s Mi Casa Resource Center and was the first President . . .

Nominate Your Favorite Book Published by an RPCV in 2013

Jun 23 2014

It is time to nominate your favorite Peace Corps book published in 2013 for the Peace Corps Writers annual awards. Make your nomination(s) in the comment section following this announcement so people can see what books have been recognized. You may nominate your own book; books written by friends; books written by total strangers. The books can be about the Peace Corps or on any topic. The books must have been published in 2013. The awards will be announced in August. Thank you for nominating your favorite book written by a PCV, RPCV or Peace Corps Staff. A framed certificate and money are given to the winners. Email your nominations to jpcoyne@optonline.net. Paul Cowan Non-Fiction Award First given in 1990, the Paul Cowan Non-Fiction Award was named to honor Paul Cowan, a Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Ecuador. Cowan wrote The Making of An Un-American about his experiences as a Volunteer in . . .

Review: The Power of Latino Leadership by Juana Bordas (Chile 1964-66)

Jun 23 2014

The Power of Latino Leadership: Culture, Inclusion, and Contribution By Juana Bordas (Chile 1964-66) Berrett-Koehler Publisher 258 pages 2013 $19.95 (paperback), $9.18 (Kindle) Reviewed by Jean Seigle (Paraguay 1976-78; PC/W 1991-94; CD Ecuador 1994-97; Regional Manager, Boston 1997-99). Juana Bordas has written a book that is a gift to every student of leadership. Not just Latino leadership. This book needs to sit, dog eared, on every book shelf next to Good to Great or whatever one’s favorite leadership book may be. Yes, I am a huge fan. A fan of not only this book, but of Latino culture and of the ten principles of Latino leadership that Bordas identifies. So fair warning. This is an important book about how Latino leadership has evolved as a reflection of Latino culture forged through centuries of conquest and acculturation which began in 200 BC, when the Romans initiated a 700 year occupation of . . .

Review: Africa’s Release: by Mark Wentling (Honduras 1967-69, Togo 1970–73))

Jun 20 2014

Africa’s Release: The Journey Continues (novel) by Mark Wentling (PCV Honduras 1967–69, 1970–73; PC Staff Togo, Gabon & Niger 1973–77) A Peace Corps Writers Book May 2014 232 pages $ 9.76 (paperback); $4.99 (Kindle) Review by Leita Kaldi Davis (Senegal 1993–96) Mark Wentling says he was born in Wichita, Kansas, but “made in Africa.” That’s not hard to believe when you consider that since Wentling became a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo in 1970 he went on to build a career of 43 years in Africa with Peace Corps, USAID, U.S. non-governmental organizations, and as Country Director for PLAN in Burkina Faso, and he has visited all 54 countries. Wentling has published professional articles on development challenges and, to date, two books of fiction filled with magical reality, based on his own mystical, as well as practice experiences in Africa. Africa’s Release: The Journey Continues is the second in a . . .

The NPCA Global Education News Now Online

Jun 19 2014

The NPCA Global Education News is now out online. It can be found at http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/GlobalEdSummer2014.pdf A list of RPCV and Peace Corps books is on page 6. Global Education News is a quarterly teacher resource from the National Peace Corps Association and the Professional Interest Community of ASCD. They welcome your contributions. Please send letters or material for the newsletter to Susan Neyer, Editor, 1701 Lilac Drive, Walnut Creek, CA 94595 (925-933-4490) e-mail: SusanNeyer@astound.net

Review: The Dandy Vigilante by Kevin Daley (Samoa 1986-89)

Jun 18 2014

The Dandy Vigilante (mystery) by Kevin Daley (Samoa 1986-89) Anaphora Literary Press 252 pages March 2014 $19.00 (paperback), $3.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Will Siegel (Ethiopia 1962-64) The hard-boiled crime genre is a tough nut in these days of sympathetic detectives who insist on dragging their personal problems into their professional crime fighting life. Just the right tone is needed. Lean a little on tough talk, you’re prone to cliché, lean on the curt description you’re liable to wander from the story line. And lean on the cynicism in which the genre reacted to the romantic novel, and you’re out of touch with an age already cynical about cynicism. Masters such as Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, or rougher types Ross MacDonald and Mickey Spillane set the tone in the 30’s and after the WW II. In today’s crowded acre of crime and mystery novels, the rub is how to get a . . .

Review of Dan Grossman's (Niger 1992-94) Rogue Elephants

Jun 17 2014

Rogue Elephants: a novel of the Peace Corps by Dan Grossman (Niger 1992-94) Lulu Publisher $16.00 (paperback) 300 pages2013 (Reissued) Reviewed by Richard M. Grimsrud (India 1965-67) For the most part, Dan Grossman’s novel Rogue Elephants is a fast and informative read about Peace Corps operations during the early Nineties in southeast Niger, a little-known area in West Africa at the southern edge of the Sahara adjacent to where the terrorist group Boko Haram (which literally means “Western education is sinful and forbidden” in Hausa) recently kidnapped 276 schoolgirls. The book provides among its many interesting insights a look at how the Peace Corps experience can affect sexual diversity and assault and a good ethnographic sketch of Hausa culture, from which Boko Haram has drawn most of its adherents. Hausa culture is a fusion of Arab and traditional black African systems, which grew up in the Sudan/Sahel zone with the . . .

New York Times Writes Editorial Supporting Peace Corps Women

Jun 16 2014

Saturday, (6/14/14) issue of The New York Times carried a short editorial entitled, “Peace Corps Volunteers Deserve Fairness.” The lead sentence read: “Women make up more than 60 percent of the Peace Corps, volunteers who are often put in situations where safe and reliable medical care is difficult to find and where they face the risk of sexual assault.” The editorial was drawing attention to the fact that this week’s subcommittees in both the House and Senate will begin to work on a Peace Corps budget for the next fiscal year and how the current federal law (written in 1979) does not allow abortion coverage in the volunteers’ health care program, even in cases of rape or incest, or when a pregnancy endangers a woman’s life. The Times writes: “All women should be allowed comprehensive reproductive health care coverage. Women taking risks to advance the country’s interests by serving in . . .

Ben East (Malawi 1996-98) Shortlisted for International Book Prize

Jun 12 2014

RPCV Malawi (1996-98) Ben East was shortlisted among ten finalists for the Dundee International Book Prize for his manuscript Sea Never Dry. The novel began as a short story about crooked cops and drug trafficking in West Africa, originally published as “One Dead Cop” in 2012 by Umbrella Factory Magazine. Two years later, the story centers on development efforts in the region and the corrupt officials, tribal politics, and black magic that undermine progress there. Sea Never Dry is thick with spies, cops, and fetish priests, crooks, Internet fraudsters, and the unlucky Ghanaian orphans turning a buck on Accra’s e-waste ash heaps. As a Volunteer Ben taught English in southern Malawi, and has spent nearly two decades working on various teaching and diplomatic assignments in Africa, the Middle East, and throughout the Americas. A Connecticut native, he recently returned to the United States where he lives in Virginia with his wife and two . . .

A Writer Writes: “Addicted to Chad” by Michael Varga (Chad)

Jun 11 2014

A Writer Writes Michael Varga (Chad 1977–79) is a retired American diplomat, who spent much of his career in the Middle East. The BBC broadcast his short story “There Are No Kangaroos In Egypt,” and four of his plays have been produced and one published (Payable Upon Return; Juniper Press, 1983). One of his essays was used by the Peace Corps as the introduction to a book, Uncommon Journeys: Peace Corps Adventures Across Cultures, published in 2004. Other stories, essays and poems of his have appeared in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The South Bend Tribune, The Foreign Service Journal, Commonweal, Archer, Earthwise, The New Jersey Poetry Monthly, Notre Dame Magazine, The Scholastic, Cabin Fever, and Rider University Magazine. The Peace Corps has a slideshow on its website about his service in Chad, entitled “Africa Colors A Destiny.” This essay was first published in Literal Latte in 2011. • Addicted . . .

Jason Carter (South Africa 1998-2000) Seeks Georgia Governorship

Jun 10 2014

Jason Carter, who as you know is the grandson of former president Jimmy Carter, and just as importantly (in my mind) the great-grandson of Lillian Carter (India 1967-69) is in a ‘toss up’ election in Georgia against the Republican Gov Nathan Deal. A recent poll has Jason ahead by several % points; other polls has the race a tossup. Deal has raised something like $8 million; Jason has raised $1.9 million. This governor’s race is running in tandem with a U.S. Senate contest, in which Democrat Michelle Nunn, the daughter of former Sen. Sam Nunn, will run against one or the other of two Republicans in a July runoff. Georgia is a Republican state. The state hasn’t elected a Democratic governor since 1998 or a Democratic senator since 2000. To win, Jason will need blacks and Hispanic voters, whose number have been growing rapidly in the state, as well as . . .

Peace Corps Colombia: What do Colombians think?

Jun 09 2014

Always the very best way to understand Peace Corps history in a country is to turn to that country for perspective. There may be conflicting opinions and that may be at the heart of the current controversy. In 2009, then President Uribe wrote to Acting Peace Corps Director Jody Olson inviting the Peace Corps to return to Colombia. His letter is a powerful testimony to the value of Peace Corps. But years earlier, there was a popular movie in Colombia, entitled “El Rey”. The movie’s premise was that Peace Corps Volunteers had brought cocaine production and marketing to Colombia. Peace Corps Online, published by RPCV Hugh Pickens, described the movie and the controversy. Here is the link to those articles: http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/467/2024372.html Thanks to RPCV Bob Arias for a copy of President Uribe’s letter. Bob’s extraordinary Peace Corps resume includes work with Peace Corps Response over five years in various South and . . .

Colombia PCVs Damaged by Juan Gabriel Vasquez novel, The Sound of Things

Jun 08 2014

Dennis Grubb (Colombia 1961-62) keeper of “all things RPCV Colombia” sent me this email from Jeremiah Norris (Colombia 1961-62) concerning Juan Gabriel Vasquez’s novel, The Sound of Things. In his email to Dennis, Jeremiah wrote: I’m sure you are aware of this book, The Sound of Things Falling, by South America’s newest literary star, Juan Gabriel Vasquez. A central narrative theme is that PC ag volunteers in the Cauca Valley, under the supervision of a Regional Coordinator, were the originators of Colombia’ drug trade with the U. S. His narrative which was limited to a few volunteers has now been conflated by Amazon.com reviewers, via an insatiable social media mechanism, to be applied to Peace Corps as an institution. Some examples: 1. NPR Book Reviewer, “it is about Peace Corps hippies doing drugs”; 2. “I had no idea Peace Corps was so integral in the growth of Colombia’s drug industry”; 3. “Maybe it started . . .

Archive - June 2014