Archive - November 2019

    KERA TV presents WAGING PEACE: The Peace Corps Experience a film by Allen Mondell (Sierra Leone 1963-65), a Media Projects, Inc. production “We wanted to make a difference and change the world. And the world changed us.” — Allen Mondell • In 1961, President John F. Kennedy asked a generation of Americans to volunteer and make a difference on a global scale. Since then, more than 200,000 volunteers have answered his call. WAGING PEACE: The Peace Corps Experience weaves  personal letters, journals, emails and blogs written by Peace Corps Volunteers with profiles of four returned volunteers showing the enduring impact of these experiences on their own lives and the lives of others. “I’ve recounted our stories that capture the seemingly insurmountable challenges of ordinary Americans who were willing to endure vast cultural isolation, poverty, suspicion and, at times, antagonism–all in the hopes of making a small difference.” — Allen Mondell   Celebrating  the power of volunteerism . . .

    The European athletic games took place in Minsk, Belarus, in June 2019. About 3,600 athletes competed in 15 sports, many of which were qualifying opportunities for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Join Steve Kaffen at the European Games, and experience the people, sights, and local color of historic and picturesque Minsk. Using over 200 original photographs and descriptions, the author showcases the host city and the Games’ exciting activities including four final events and the spectacular closing ceremony. Steve brings an unusual diversity of life and travel experiences to his writing. He has explored most countries and is a long-time member of the famed Explorer’s Club. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Russia ( 1994-96) and later as the Assistant Inspector General for Auditing at Peace Corps for its worldwide operations. Among interesting experiences, the author has monitored elections for the UN, written the soccer . . .

RPCV Alana deJoseph, producer of  “A Towering Task” reports:” Our special limited edition DVDs have arrived. Once these are sold out, DVDs won’t be available until after our theatrical run, because we want to qualify for the Oscars!” Purchase those DVDs here: https://www.peacecorpsdocumentary.com/buydvd. Find information about hosting a screening here: https://www.peacecorpsdocumentary.com/hostascreening

RPCVs are working with Refugees, individually, with NPCA organizations, and with local communities.  The National Peace Corps Association has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Rescue Committee to further support this work.  Here is the link to the MOU: https://bit.ly/2CYzyRl  

  Boyhood in Bayfield by Andrew Oerke (PC Staff: Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Jamaica 1966-71) Poets’ Choice Publishing 72 pages $19.95 (paperback) – purchase from publisher Reviewed by Mark Brazaitis (Guatemala 1991-93) • Poems by a Man of Many Talents Andrew Oerke has as diverse a biography as one could imagine. He was a Peace Corps country director in Tanzania and Jamaica. He was also a Golden Gloves boxing champion. He was the CEO of an environmental foundation. He was also the president of a microfinance organization. By one account, noted in his obituary published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Oerke was instrumental in the creation of the Peace Corps. The newspaper reports: “At a campaign stop in Milwaukee during John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential bid, Oerke is credited with suggesting to then-U.S. Senator William Proxmire that a global volunteer organization should be developed that would allow young people to share . . .

    Check out what’s happening with my horror novel HOBGOBLIN!! If you’re on Facebook, please join HOBGOBLIN THE FILM GROUP!! • Be sure to watch HOBGOBLIN:THE FILM GROUP TEASER •

  Early ’60s Analysis of Youth Service by John Coyne (Ethiopia 1962–64) IN EARLY 1960, Maurice (Maury) L. Albertson, director of the Colorado State University Research Foundation, received a Point-4 (precursor to USAID) contract to prepare a Congressional Feasibility Study of the Point-4 Youth Corps called for in the Reuss-Neuberger Bill, an amendment to the Mutual Security Act. The Youth Corps was “to be made up of young Americans willing to serve their country in public and private technical assistance missions in far-off countries, and at a soldier’s pay.” Then in late 1961, Public Affairs Press in Washington, D.C. published, New Frontiers for American Youth: Perspective on the Peace Corps written by Maury Albertson, and co-authored with Andrew E. Rice and Pauline E. Birky. The book was based on their Point-4 study. According to the authors, “The roots of the Peace Corps idea . . . stretch wide and deep, . . . . .

One Morning in September by Edwin Jorge (Jamaica 1979–81) Edwin Jorge was the Regional Manager of the New York Peace Corps Office and was at work in Building # 6 of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The building was destroyed when the North Tower collapsed. At a commemoration service held at Headquarters in Peace Corps/Washington a year after 9/11 Edwin spoke about the attack and what happened to the Peace Corps Office. His comments follow.   ONE YEAR AGO TODAY, on the morning of September 11, 2001, I sat down at my office desk and turned on my computer. As the computer booted to life, I glanced up and looked out of the windows of my office on the sixth floor of the Customs House in the heart of the financial district of New York. From where I sat, I could see the corner of Tower One . . .

    Legendary journalist Bill Moyers says he fears for the nation for the first time in his life. “Society, a democracy, can die of too many lies — and we’re getting close to that terminal moment,” he warns. by Mary Papenfuss • Respected journalist Bill Moyers said Sunday that for the first time“in my long life” — including the Depression and World War II — he fears for the nation’s survival. unless we reverse the obsession with lies that are being fed around the country, Moyers told Brian Stelter on CNN. Hope lies in citizens paying careful attention to the televised impeachment hearings beginning this week on Wednesday. . . Read in HuffPost

    Blue Country by Mark Wentling (Honduras 1967–69, Togo 1970–73); PC Staff: Togo, Gabon, Niger 1973–77) Page Publishing 204 pages August 2019 $16.95 (paperback), $9.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Mark D. Walker (Guatemala 1971-73)   • I’ve been looking forward to the author’s next book after thoroughly enjoying Africa’s Embrace, which is part of his African Trilogy. I reviewed his book Dead Cow Road, which took place in Somalia, so I’m familiar with the author’s ability to spin an interesting yarn about far off places. The author’s work and travels span more than 46 years, which have taken him to 54 African countries. The author worked with USAID, the U.S. Foreign Service, CARE International and World Vision, making him an ideal person to spin this tale of international intrigue and political struggle in Central America. Although the author was a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo, he was also a volunteer . . .