May 2015 – Page 2 – Peace Corps Worldwide

More on Peace Corps Prep

May 17 2015

Clayton Kennedy (El Salvador 2010-12) who is, he informed me, “just an outreach specialist, not the director of University Partnerships” Sorry, Clayton, I just wanted to give your CV a boost). Also, Clayton tell me, “Peace Corps Prep and Campus Ambassadors have both been in the Office of Diversity and National Outreach, where I have worked since my arrival last June. However, these two programs and I are transitioning over to the Office of University Partnerships, which is simultaneously coming over to VRS. The position of the Director of University Partnerships is currently open and just about to be posted.” Okay, are we all thoroughly confused by this Washington gobbledygook? Good. But what (in simple plain English) is how you would describe Peace Corps Prep? I asked Clayton who was nice enough to reply, “Peace Corps Prep is a partnership program that prepares undergraduate students for intercultural service abroad. We provide . . .

Kent Haruf’s (Turkey 1965-67) Last Novel, Days Before His Death

May 16 2015

In the Friday, 15, 2015, issue of the WSJ writer Jennifer Maloney has a long and touching article entitled, “A Dying Writer’s Last Chapter” that is about Kent Haruf (Turkey 1965–67) and the novel he completed days before his death, Our Souls at Night. In the novel, Kent explores a highly personal story: finding love late in life. We reviewed the novel on this site several months ago. Take a look at the review by Tony D’Souza (Ivory Coast 2000–02, Madagascar 2002–03). Kent grew up in a steel-mill town in Colorado and went to Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln where he (like many writers) discovered Faulkner and Hemingway. He studied English and then joined the Peace Corps. It was in Turkey that he started writing short stories and while there he applied for admission to the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He was rejected by them. He got a job. He got . . .

The One Word That Almost Sunk the Peace Corps

May 15 2015

THE ONE WORD THAT ALMOST SUNK THE PEACE CORPS BY EMILY CADEI OZY Writer MAY 15, 2015 When John F. Kennedy asked young Americans in 1960 how many of them were willing to spend years in the developing world “working for freedom,” he surely had people like Marjorie Michelmore in mind. What he couldn’t have anticipated is how the young Marjorie almost sent his whole vision for the Peace Corps up in smoke. Michelmore had just graduated magna cum laude from Smith College when she was selected for the inaugural class of Peace Corps volunteers in 1961. It was a pet project of Kennedy’s, a concept he first broached at a morning campaign rally at the University of Michigan in October 1960, after arriving several hours late. Thousands of students had waited for him – a sign of how much Kennedy excited young people back then. And he, in turn, was excited to . . .

A Shriver Idea Finds a Home at the Peace Corps

May 13 2015

Peace Corps Prep– Shriver & Clayton Kennedy “The Peace Corps is a way in which American students can put their studies of other cultures to effective use. The problem, therefore, is how to channel these students toward Peace Corps service. It would be of immeasurable help to the Peace Corps if the colleges and universities of this country would institute a Peace Corps preparatory program in which students could enroll before their service with us. In most schools this would merely be bringing together in one package of already existing courses. In others it could mean the establishment of new courses of instruction….” Sargent Shriver Institute of Higher Education Board Nashville, Tennessee July 24, 1961 The head of an office at the Peace Corps called the Office of University Partnerships is Clayton Kennedy, an RPCV who is developing the Peace Corps Prep Program. What, you ask, is the Peace Corps Prep . . .

New books By Peace Corps writers: April 2015

May 12 2015

To purchase any of these books from Amazon.com, click on the book cover, the bold book title, or the publishing format you would like — and Peace Corps Worldwide, an Amazon Associate, will receive a small remittance that will help support the site and the annual Peace Corps Writers awards. • Breathing the Same Air: A Peace Corps Romance by Gerry Christmas (Thailand 1973–76; Western Samoa 1976–78) Lulu April 2015 366 pages $22.99 (paperback) • Keepers Meet Questing Eyes (Poems) by John Michael Flynn (Moldova 1993-95) Leaf Garden Press July 2014 120 pages $6.08 (paperback) • Never Forgotten: Teaching in Rebellious Eritrea 1965-1967 & Returning After 35 Years by Paul E. Huntsberger (Ethiopia 1965–67) LifeRichPublishing October 2014 192 pages $14.95 (paperback) • Shocking Paris: Soutine, Chagall and the Outsiders of Montparnasse by Stanley Meisler (PC/W staff 1964-67 evaluation/research) Palgrave Macmillan April 2015 256 pages $26.00 (hard cover), $12.99 (paperback) • The . . .

The Denver Lion's Foundation Hosts Screening of Mel Tewahade's “Peace Corps in Ethiopia” on May 17th

May 10 2015

Mel Tewahade (Center), the filmmaker of “Peace Corps in Ethiopia,” during a tour of Ethiopia in 2012 of 101 former Peace Corps volunteers gathered from all over the U.S. (Photograph: GEAA) Tadias Magazine Events News Published: Sunday, May 10th, 2015 Denver, Colorado – The Denver Lion’s Foundation will host a screening of Mel Tewahade’s documentary Peace Corps in Ethiopia on May 17th at Yak and Yeti Restaurant in Denver. The event is also a fundraiser for people affected by the Nepal earthquake, which so far has killed over 5000 people. “A full Nepal buffet cuisine will be provided and cash bar,” organizers announced. “We at the Lions Foundation and members of the Ethiopian community in Colorado are proud to work together to uplift our brothers and sisters in Nepal in this moment of challenge.” Peace Corps in Ethiopia documents programs to improve education there during the 60s and early 70s. The film . . .

Gerald Karey writes: “Je suis Charlie. Je suis ne pas Charlie Hebdo”

May 10 2015

Je suis Charlie. Je suis ne pas Charlie Hebdo. by Gerald Karey (Turkey 1965–67) • Until the massacre of the writers and cartoonist at the French weekly, Charlie Hebdo, I had never seen the publication, nor was I familiar with its brand of outrageous satire. Adam Gopnik wrote in the Jan. 19 issue of The New Yorker: They worked instead in a peculiarly French and savage tradition, forged in a long nineteenth-century guerrilla war between republicans and the Church and the monarchy . . .. Charlie Hebdo was — will be again, let us hope — a satirical journal of a kind these days found in France almost alone . . .. The coarser and more scabrous cartoons that marked the covers of Charlie Hebdo — and took in Jesus and Moses, along with Muhammad; angry rabbis and ranting bishops, along with imams — were the latest example of that tradition.” The magazine was . . .

A Game in the Sun by John Coyne (Ethiopia 1962-64)

May 08 2015

This story by John Coyne (Ethiopia 1962-64) was published several times in various magazines. While there were missionaries and missions in Ethiopia, mostly Sudan Interior, Seventh Day, and other protestant domination’s, they were always (well, almost always) helpful to PCVs. In no way did an incident like the following occur, though it would have made a great story to tell at the Close of Service Conference. A Game in the Sun Betsy was not allowed to play croquet with her husband and the Reverend, so she sat in the shade of the trees at the top of the mound. The mound overlooked a lush rain-forest which grew thick and dense to the edges of the Mission Compound. The view was compelling and frightening to Betsy. The close steamy jungle made her feel insignificant and as she half listened to Mrs. Shaw’s chatter, she watched the bush as if it were . . .

Bob Buckley(Micronesia 68-70) Rides a Bucking Turtle

May 08 2015

Bob Buckley, a Colorado cowboy, gets as close as he can to a wild free range horse– a bucking Micronesia turtle! Bob Buckley(Micronesia 1968-70)

Charlotte Crawford & Neil Boyer (Ethiopia 1962-64) On Vacation

May 07 2015

Charlotte Crawford & Neil Boyer (Ethiopia 1962–64) in Egypt Ethiopian PCVs on Vacation

This is What the Peace Corps Has to Say: Staying Safe, Preventing Malaria

May 06 2015

Staying safe, preventing malaria BY PEACE CORPS ON AUGUST 9, 2013 By Barry G. Simon, M.D., Peace Corps Medical Director, Office of Medical Services Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its warning label on the anti-malarial drug mefloquine hydrochloride, and there has been a surge in news coverage lately about the side effects of medications used to prevent malaria. The Peace Corps takes these warnings very seriously and has taken proactive steps to ensure that Volunteers have all of the information they need to make an informed decision about the anti-malaria medication that is right for them, in collaboration with their Peace Corps Medical Officer. Before beginning any kind of anti-malaria regimen, every Volunteer has an individual, one-on-one consultation with their Medical Officer to discuss the pros and cons of each medication and all possible risks and side effects. Volunteers can revisit their choice of medication at any time during . . .

Helping Nepal After Earthquake

May 06 2015

‘If you want to see a bit more about the earthquake in Nepal go to these sites: http://gorkhafoundation.org/ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gorkha-Foundation/191426006477?fref=nf http://www.wehelpnepal.org/ http://icimod.org/?q=17851 https://www.facebook.com/liesl.messerschmidt https://www.facebook.com/hans.messerschmidt.3 https://www.facebook.com/don.messerschmidt.5 https://www.facebook.com/andrew.manzardo.1 After the earthquake, the Peace Corps and Embassy evacuated all PCVs from Nepal. The Embassy and the Peace Corps did not give the PCVs the option to stay and help in the relief efforts, and provide them some subsistence to do so. The PCVs, with their fluency in Nepali, could have been assigned to work with international relief organizations, to assist in the effort, especially in the more remote communities near the epicenter. But, to simply route them out of the country – done! – doesn’t seem very much in tune with the Peace Corps ethic. I am sure that Peace Corps/Kathmandu had their reasons. Maybe the Staff wanted to go home.

Tom Hebert (Nigeria 1962-64) Shakespeare Road Show

May 06 2015

Nobel Prize laureate, Wole Soyinka, LandRover that Tom inherited when he became the University of Ibadan Theater’s business manager and directed the College’s 1964 Shakespeare national tour.

Those were the days my friend….We thought they'd never end

May 05 2015

Those were the days my friend We thought they’d never end A lot gets lost over time and 50+ years of history is a long time for an agency. Reading this past weekend the long, and deadly prose written report: The Peace Corps A Comprehensive Agency Assessment– published in June 2010 by the agency–I realized how much of the original spirit of the Peace Corps has evaporated in five decades of service. This report written by six people, with lots of advisory committees, attempts to evaluate the agency, and make recommendations for the future. It was done at the suggestion of Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams (2009-12) who said during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearings that his intention, once confirmed as director, was to “carry out an agency-wide assessment of the Peace Corps as a means of strengthening, reforming, and growing the agency.” Aaron said that “the agency-wide assessment . . .

Ken Hill (Turkey 1965-67) & Friend Along the Syr Darya in Kazakhstan

May 05 2015

While observing the Kazakh elections, 2005, Ken Hill is being observed.

Archive - May 2015