February 26, 2015 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Transition is Critical time for Vulnerable Volunteers

Feb 26 2015

The murder of Kate Puzey happened during a transition from the Bush Administration to that of Obama. The Peace Corps Director has almost no authority to plan for continuity during these times. The Director may or may not remain during a transition period. There may be only be an Acting Director or a caretaker Deputy Director. Only the newly elected officials can provide for adequate transitional planing. It has not been a priority for politicians of either party. For example, then Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetler and most political appointees, all Bush appointees, resigned the day of the Obama inauguration. No new Director had been appointed. Some of the most egregious Peace Corps tragedies happened during times of such political transitions, in my opinion. A list would include: January 1977 – PC Volunteer was convicted in Tonga of the murder of fellow Volunteer, Deborah Ann Gardner. He was released to the Peace . . .

Peace Corps Director Speaks At Georgetown Global Futures Initiative

Feb 26 2015

Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet speaks as a part of the semester-long conversation on development convened by the Georgetown Global Futures Initiative. February 24, 2015 – The Peace Corps can benefit from engaging with countries that have tenuous relations with the United States, said Carrie Hessler-Radelet, the international organization’s director, at a Feb. 23 lecture at Georgetown. Hessler-Radelet, who spoke as part of a semester-long conversation on development convened by the Georgetown Global Futures Initiative, said working in such areas will help the Peace Corps achieve its goal of building cross-cultural understanding. “We need to make sure we’re reaching out to those communities who fear us or don’t understand us and who we also don’t understand,” she said. Profound Example The Peace Corps director told the Georgetown audience about a former child soldier whose family had been killed by Arab militia. After the boy immigrated to the U.S. and graduated . . .

Archive - February 26, 2015