2015 – Page 27 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Richard Carroll (C.A.R. 1976-82) publishes 2,000 Miles around the Tree of Life

Jan 16 2015

Getting to Where I Am by Richard Carroll (1976–82) I walked the Appalachian Trail in 1975 in a journey that spanned five months and one day. I stepped across an engraved plaque set in stone at Springer Mountain, Georgia marking the southern terminus of the A.T. on April 14th, and climbed Mt. Katahdin, Maine, the northern terminus, on September 15th. I would have completed the climb the day before, but it had snowed on the mountain, and the park service closed the trail, thus I wound up experiencing all four seasons on the Appalachian Trail. That last night I rested in a shelter, let my guard down, and got a commemorative hole in my pack from a mouse rummaging around for the remnants of the food I carried. After five months of hanging my pack, boots, food bag, and anything edible or sweaty in trees to stave off bears, porcupines, . . .

Early Peace Corps Regional Director, Robert White, Dies at 88

Jan 16 2015

Thanks to Ken Hill (Turkey 1965-67) who brought to my attention the notice of the death of Robert White. As Ken wrote: A career foreign service officer, Bob White was brought to Peace Corps via Jack Vaughn who had also been a career foreign service officer. He was Deputy Regional Director for Latin America and then succeeded Jack Vaughn as Regional Director when Jack was named Peace Corps Director. After the Nixon Administration came to power Bob White was replaced, some say because he complained openly to Congress that the new Administration was ‘politicizing’ the Peace Corps. In 1971, of course, less than a year after Bob White left, the Peace Corps became part of the new ACTION Agency, Nixon’s creature designed to fold several “new frontier” anti-poverty programs into a new entity with the ultimate intent to eliminate them. White joined the Foreign Service in 1955 and served in . . .

Mark Brazaitis (Guatemala 1991-93) Publishes Award Winning Short Story Collection

Jan 12 2015

This month, Autumn House Press published Mark Brazaitis (1991-93) collection, Truth Poker: Stories that won its 2014 Fiction contest. Of his stories, Mark says, “Truth Poker is a collection of 15 stories whose outcomes hinge on how characters engage with a truth (about a situation, about themselves). In a crucial moment in their lives, will they tell the truth or conceal it? What will the consequences of their decisions be?” In the collection’s title piece, two boys play a real life version of truth poker. When a person loses a hand, he is required to answer his friend’s question. One of the boys, again the story’s main concern, has lost his mother and is living with his father. Through playing the game, he slowly finds connections between his mother’s suicide and his father’s relationship with an Ohio congressman. As it turns out, the boy’s playmate is the congressman’s nephew. Brazaitis’ . . .

Patricia Garamendi's (Ethiopia 1966-68) 'Heads Up' About Living On A Dollar A Day

Jan 11 2015

Patricia Garamendi (Ethiopia 1966-68) has brought to my attention a fascinating new book that anyone who served in the Peace Corps might find of value. The book Living On A Dollar A Day: The Lives And Faces Of the World’s Poor was written by Thomas A. Nazario, with photographs by Renée C. Byer. The book features 215 images bvRenée C. Byer and has a forward by the Dalai Lama. David Griffin the former director of photography at National Geographic helped photo edit and designed the book which recently was awarded 1st prize documentary book award at IPA (International Photography Awards.) Writer Thomas A. Nazario is the founder and president of The Forgotten International, a nonprofit organization that does poverty alleviation work in several parts of the world. Renée C. Byer is an American documentary photojournalist best known for her in-depth work focusing on the disadvantaged and those who otherwise would . . .

Ron Arias (Peru 1963-65) First Novel is Back as EBook

Jan 10 2015

The Bilingual Press at Arizona State University has released 11 of its titles as ebooks, including Ron Arias’, The Road to Tamazunchale. The ebooks are available through Amazon, Apple iTunes Store, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Overdrive, and can be linked to ebook versions from the Bilingual Press website. The project to convert the titles to ebook formats was supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.” When the book was published, Library Journal wrote, “The Road to Tamazunchale is one of the first achieved works of Chicano consciousness and spirit.” Of the book, the Midwest Book Review said: “This skillful and imaginative Chicano novel (nominated for the National Book Award) tells the story of Don Fausto, a very old man on the verge of death who lives in the barrio of Los Angeles. Rather than resigning himself, he embarks on a glorious journey in and . . .

Lost Girl Found by Laura DeLuca (Kenya 1987-89) Picked by Kaci Hickox for WSJ's Book of the Year List

Jan 09 2015

The Wall Street Journal asked 50 of 2014’s most influential people for their book picks. Kaci Hickox, a Doctors without Borders nurse who treated Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, selected Lost Girl Found, and this is what she had to say about it. (You may remember Kaci Hickok as the nurse who refused Ebola quarantine in Maine and New Jersey.) Although this year seemed to be filled with oldies but goodies, at the top of my list of new books is Leah Bassof and Laura DeLuca ‘s (Kenya 1987–89) “Lost Girl Found.” Having read many books about the “lost boys” of Sudan, this was a refreshing piece of fiction highlighting the struggles and triumphs of a young female Sudanese refugee. Poni, the main character, describes her life of extremes, saying: “When I dance, I can jump out of my pain for just a moment.” Here’s an excerpt from my May . . .

Best Politician in the McConnell House? It May Not Be Mitch

Jan 08 2015

Best Politician in the McConnell House? It May Not Be Mitch by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, The New York Times Senator Mitch McConnell is a skilled politician. But he may not be his family’s best. That honor might go to his wife, Elaine Chao. As the sometimes-dour Mr. McConnell took command of the Senate yesterday, Ms. Chao roamed the corridors of the Capitol, happily shaking hands with veteran members, welcoming freshmen and their spouses (all of whose names she seemed to know) and parrying with reporters. “Today is not so much about my husband becoming majority leader — today is the day that, I hope, the country will take a new direction,” she said. Asked why her husband never sought to be president, she had an explanation at the ready: “He’s always been a creature of the Senate.” If that sounds practiced, there is a reason: Ms. Chao has deep experience in Washington, . . .

Review: UNDER CHAD’S SPELL by Michael Varga (Chad)

Jan 05 2015

Under Chad’s Spell (Peace Corps novel) by Michael Varga (Chad 1977–79) CreateSpace August 2014 378 pages $16.99 (paperback), $9.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by John Kennedy (Ghana 1965–68) • Under Chad’s Spell is a fine book. I enjoyed reading it from start to finish. It’s an easy read. Michael Varga’s story kept me entertained on many levels. I recommend this book to all over the age of eighteen. Read this book and you will know more about Chad, the people of Chad, and the experience of being a Peace Corp Volunteer in Chad. I also believe that if you are open to exploring the possibilities of how your life might have been different if you had been a PCV in Chad, you will learn something about yourself, your past and possible future by reading this book. That’s a heavy burden to place on a book, but for me, Under Chad’s Spell did . . .

Review: Mongolia Monologues by Joanne Nussbaum (Mongolia 2010-12)

Jan 05 2015

Mongolia Monologues: The Trials, Tribulations, Triumphs and Truths of a Feisty, Fifty-Something Peace Corps Volunteer by Joanne Nussbaum (Mongolia 2010–12) BookBaby November 2014 103 pages $3.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Bob Arias (Colombia 1964–66) Age is just a Number! Young at heart, Joanne, a mother, sets out to become a Peace Corps Volunteer in 2010 at the age of 53. “Can I make it,” she asks herself, “and Peace Corps wants to send me to Mongolia . . . where is that?” Training is rough and so are her first six months in beautiful Mongolia. Joanne tries, but the Mongolian language is difficult and she never is able to master it. But her heart is with her new community, and is full of the Peace Corps spirit to learn from others. Her students see her as a true friend and someone they trust, and they enjoy spending time together. These are HER students! . . .

Bill Moyers Says Tenastelign, Adios, Zai Jian and Ciao

Jan 04 2015

Bill Moyers told public television stations last week that his interview program “Moyers & Company” would end with the Jan. 3 show, keeping to the two-year timetable he and the program’s funders committed to when he came out of a 20-month retirement in January 2012. The news was first reported by the trade publication Current. Bill Moyers began to work at the Peace Corps in 1961 as the Associate Director for Public Affairs, leaving the staff of Vice President Johnson to work for the agency. Moyers, who was born in Hugo, Oklahoma, was raised in Marshall, Texas, where he quickly established himself as one of the brightest students that the state of Texas had ever produced. Moyers graduated from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary at Fort Worth, receiving his degree in Divinity Studies and was preparing to teach at Baylor when Senator Johnson called from Washington and his career plans . . .

Peace Corps Performance and Accountability Report FY 2014

Jan 02 2015

Every year, federal agencies publish a Performance and Accountability Report. Although written in bureaucratic/management jargon, it has important information and worth reading and reviewing. Please read the report. Many may disagree with my review and that would be to the good. The more eyes the better. The report is listed on the official Peace Corps website. Here is the link: http://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/policies/annrept2014.pdf FY2014 ended September 30, 2014 and the data derives from that time. There were 6,818 Volunteers serving in the field, 63% of the Volunteers were female and 37% male. The low number of Volunteers reflects both the decrease in applications seen in 2012 and 2013 and the evacuation of Volunteers for security and safety reasons. Peace Corps has an excellent record for removing Volunteers, safely, swiftly, and silently, when a deteriorating political situation puts them at risk. Such evacuations were conducted in the Ukraine and Kenya. Programs were suspended . . .

New books by Peace Corps writers — December 2014

Jan 02 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. Those Were the Days: A Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines in the Late ‘60s (Peace Corps essay collection) by James Beebe (Philippines 1968–73) Peace Corps Writers December 2014 162 pages $14.95 (paperback) • Rapid Qualitative Inquiry: A Field Guide to Team-Based Assessment (Second Edition) by James Beebe (Philippines 1968–73) Rowman & Littlefield Publishers October 2014 282 pages $38.00 (paperback) • Tales from A Muzungu (Peace Corps memoir) by Nicholas Duncan (Uganda 2010–12) Peace Corps Writers December 2014 156 pages $14.95 (paperback) • 100 Things to Do in Tampa Bay before You Die by Kristen Hare (Guyana 2000–02) St. Louis: . . .

Archive - 2015