August 2021 – Page 2 – Peace Corps Worldwide

“Round ’em Up and Move ’em Out!” by Jerry Redfield (Ecuador)

Aug 16 2021

This is a “slice of life” from a Peace Corps Volunteer that captures the adventures and frustrations of one newly arrived volunteer living in a new culture in southern Ecuador. It is from a “work in progress” entitled “While You Were Out”, by Jerry Redfield. Peace Corps Volunteers, Jerry, Joe Orr of Utah, and Doug Strauss from New York had arrived in a remote mountain top little village about two months earlier as their initial in-country assignment working on a school construction program. This covers the time between the end of that assignment and the transition to a new one. John Smith was the Peace Corps Area Representative, and Steve Caplin, the Peace Corps doctor assigned to the Area. Round ’em Up and Move ’em Out! by Jerry Redfield (Ecuador 1963-65) As November ended and the cold winds of December started to roll in, the time in our . . .

Peace Corps Worldwide Awards: 2021 Paul Cowan Award for Best Non-Fiction to Peter Reid (Tanzania)

Aug 15 2021

THE PAUL COWAN NON-FICTION AWARD, first given 1990, was named to honor Paul Cowan, a Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Ecuador from 1966 to 1967. Cowan wrote about his time as a Volunteer in Latin America in the ’60s. A longtime activist and political writer for The Village Voice, Cowan died of leukemia in 1988. • Every Hill a Burial Place The Peace Corps Murder Trial in East Africa by Peter H. Reid (Tanzania 1964-66) On March 28, 1966, Peace Corps personnel in Tanzania received word that volunteer Peppy Kinsey had fallen to her death while rock climbing during a picnic. Local authorities arrested Kinsey’s husband, Bill, and charged him with murder as witnesses came forward claiming to have seen the pair engaged in a struggle. The incident had the potential to be disastrous for both the Peace Corps and the newly independent nation of Tanzania. To this day, the high stakes . . .

“Hitching a Ride to Tikal” by Alan Jackson (Belize)

Aug 14 2021

Alan and Keith were Peace Corps Volunteers in Belize, Central America, from 1976 to 1978. Alan was stationed in Belize City where he was assigned to the Fisheries Unit Laboratory, and boarded with a young Belizean family. Keith was posted to the Mopan Mayan village of San Antonio in Toledo District and advised a beekeeper and honey cooperative. Keith lived in a thatch hut without electricity or running water. • Hitching a Ride to Tikal By Alan Jackson Both Keith and I had to work the annual Agricultural and Trade Show on Saturday and Sunday, April 22 and 23, 1978, in Belmopan, Belize. The Ag Show is like a small county fair with dozens of thatched booths displaying the various goods and products of government and private industry. The British military usually had some of their weapons on display, too. The two-day fair also included food stalls, horse racing, . . .

Uruguay RPCVs hold Peace Pole dedication during County Fair in Minnesota

Aug 14 2021

About 20 former Peace Corps members from around the country gathered outside the historic Sunnyside School at the Beltrami County Fairgrounds on Friday, Aug. 13, to hold a Peace Pole dedication ceremony. All of the former members at the event served in Uruguay from the years 1965 to 1967, and still get together from time to time. “We’re from all different states in the country,” said Toni Kilkenny-Williams, a former member who now lives in California. “Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Washington, Connecticut. . .” As former Peace Corps member John Eggers lowered the hollow, white Peace Pole over a wooden post, he described the message of the monument. The pole reads “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in English, Ojibwe, Norwegian and Spanish, with each translation displayed vertically on the square pole’s four sides. Former Peace Corps member John Eggers describes the languages displayed on the Peace Pole during a ceremony . . .

Book Award — Best Peace Corps Memoir of 2021

Aug 13 2021

In Search of Pink Flamingos: A Woman’s Quest for Forgiveness and Unconditional Love By Susan E. Greisen (Liberia 1971-73; Tonga 1973-74) A young woman defies her parents’ demands to become a farmer’s wife. At age nineteen, with a suitcase full of farm-smarts and a license to be a practical nurse, Susan joins the Peace Corps in Africa. She meets multiple challenges in her remote Liberian village and falls short of her unrealistic goals. An interracial romance further aggravates her parents who eventually disown her. When Susan finds the pink flamingos, she discovers what she had been searching for all along. Her journey is one of passion, strength and finding forgiveness and unconditional love. Susan writes… The last time I received a first-place blue ribbon I was twelve years old at my grade school track competition. I was one of seven in the 100-yard dash. But . . .

Chris Roesel (Guatemala) has published HOW TO IMPROVE THE WORLD QUICKLY

Aug 12 2021

Based on having worked in numerous developing countries, initially as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala, then in Asia, Africa and the Americas, and my studies at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, the following is the program I have developed, and discuss fully in How to Improve the World Quickly to improve the health, nutrition and water quality of any community in the world. • Require upfront community buy-in for collaboration; • Meet and consult the local authorities; • Convene a community meeting and plan with the community, using the Future Search Conference Methodology (futuresearch.net/methodology), condensed into two days; • Initiate baseline survey of water, diarrhea, malaria, and income; • Invite bids for state of the art work from local contractors; • Sign and supervise contracts; • Install at least one well and rainwater collection facility; • Refurbish or build latrines. • Ensure malaria prevention (LLITNs—long lasting insecticide treated . . .

The World Premiere of I HEART MAROC by Azadui Safo (Morocco)

Aug 12 2021

In the World Premiere of her solo show I Heart Maroc Azo Safo introduces us to the lives of rural Moroccans who she worked with as a twenty-four-year-old Peace Corps volunteer during the height of the Bush Administration’s war on Iraq. On the quest to find her life’s purpose with the wide-eyed, innocent hope of changing the world, she is thrust into a culture she has to figure out using her Armenian-American immigrant sensibilities. Beginning with learning the Berber language that she is told she is too kesoula to learn, she must navigate anti-American sentiment and win over ALL the villagers while nurturing a budding romance with her Moroccan true love, Mohammed. Will she get through her two-year service in one piece, or will she obey her Armenian immigrant mother’s wishes and move back to Glendale to marry an Armenian dentist? Azo Safo (Azadui Safo Morocco 2006-08) is an Armenian-American actor, writer, . . .

Inside Peace Corps — Issue 2

Aug 11 2021

Acting Director’s Message Welcome back to Inside Peace Corps, where we share updates on our work, both at headquarters and in the countries where our Volunteers are invited to serve. Today is International Day of Friendship, a good day to reflect on the power that relationships have to achieve world peace. I am incredibly grateful that the Peace Corps has given us the gift of friendships that span the globe. As a Country Director in Malawi, I heard countless Volunteers share that the relationships they developed with their host community – with local leaders, neighbors, counterparts, and friends – were what they valued most from service. In a similar way, I was frequently approached by Malawians seeking to reconnect with a Volunteer with whom they had worked side-by-side. As we continue to support staff, partners, and communities around the globe and navigate the ongoing complexities of COVID-19, we are . . .

PCVs to Focus on Climate Change in Guyana

Aug 11 2021

Recognizing that a collaborative effort is needed to battle the harsh effects of climate change, the Peace Corps and the Office of the President on Wednesday inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), demonstrating a strong commitment to environmental stewardship and Guyana’s sustainability efforts. The MoU was inked at the Office of the President by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira and Peace Corp Country Director Dr. Nadine Rogers. US Ambassador Sarah Ann Lynch, a former Peace Corps Volunteer herself, said that the renewed agreement comes as the need for impactful action on climate change requires strong international cooperation and local engagement. She added that “…through this new agreement, the Peace Corps can continue to contribute to environmental education and awareness in Guyana with the inclusion of ecological fundamentals, climate science, biodiversity, ecosystems services, global and local environmental issues and how to address them.” With the MoU . . .

The Author, the Work, and the No. 1 Fan — Kristen Roupoenian (Kenya)

Aug 11 2021

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Bill Preston (Thailand 1977-80) Writing didn’t serve the purpose I wanted it to, which was to fix the fundamentally broken relationship between myself and other people. By Kristen Roupoenian (Kenya 2003-05) The New Yorker, August 5, 2021 My favorite literary magazine is one you probably haven’t heard of. It’s called Resonance, and it’s a small annual publication featuring a mixture of fiction, poetry, and art. Although a new issue of Resonance has appeared every year since at least the early nineteen-nineties, I have read only six of them, the ones published between 1993 and 1999. I have those issues virtually memorized, as I reread the entirety of each issue, on average, once a year. I’ve probably read my favorite poems and stories in the magazine upward of a hundred times, so I think it’s safe to say that I’ve read the writing in Resonance more carefully than . . .

Bats, Novel by Cathie Smith Keenan (Afghanistan)

Aug 10 2021

Bats is an unlikely love story set in a small New England town. It is the tale of misfits of differing sizes and shapes. Jean Woodland has lived her entire life in Derby but never quite fit in. Socially awkward, she has always been an outsider, unable or unwilling to identify with her neighbors or her students. Mylo, the handsome guy who bags groceries at the local market, lives on the margins of society in a residence for disabled adults. Disarmingly friendly and kind, he makes Jean feel distinctly uncomfortable, but she finds his deep-seated desire to help impossible to deflect. Then there are the bats. Discoveries follow. A bat colony on the brink of extinction. A land development company with fifty more houses to build. The thrill of activism. Next-door neighbors whose livelihood depends on the development. Raising three children, the family have enough problems. A town grapples . . .

Boulder County names Therese Glowacki (Senegal) to head Parks and Open Space Department

Aug 10 2021

By JOHN FRYAR | jfryar@prairiemountainmedia.com Longmont Times-Call, August 9, 2021 • Therese Glowacki.(Courtesy Photo) Boulder County commissioners announced Monday that they have named Therese Glowacki to be the county Parks and Open Space Department’s director, effective Aug. 23. Glowacki, a member of the Parks and Open Space staff since 1999, is currently manager of the department’s Resource Management Division. Her appointment will fill the vacancy created when former department director Eric Lane resigned earlier this year. She was a Peace Corps Agriculture Volunteer in Senegal 1983-86, former HQ Staff and Madagascar Staff 1994-96. “I am very excited to lead the department on our diversity and climate action goals, while supporting the bedrock work of the department providing the best in public service in all we do,” Glowacki said in the county’s Monday news release announcing her appointment. The Board of County Commissioners is to take official action on Glowacki’s appointment at . . .

RPCV (Thailand) First Woman Head of YMCA

Aug 09 2021

YMCA of the USA Names Suzanne McCormick as Next President and CEO Source: YMCA of the USA Chicago, IL, Aug. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Suzanne McCormick (Thailand 1989-91) has been named president and chief executive officer of YMCA of the USA (Y-USA). She will be the 15th person and first woman to lead the Y in the United States. McCormick brings more than 27 years of experience as a senior and executive leader in nonprofit, for-impact organizations to the role, most recently serving as U.S. President of United Way Worldwide and a member of their global management team. McCormick’s s tenure with Y-USA will officially begin in September, replacing Kevin Washington, the organization’s first Black president and CEO who is retiring after serving as Y-USA’s president and CEO for more than six years and after more than 40 years of service to the YMCA. “The National Board began the search for Kevin Washington’s successor with the goal of . . .

CUAHI LI HIX – Peace Corps stories by Barbara Wheeler (Belize)

Aug 07 2021

Imagine yourself at 22, barely a year out of college, and the United States government determines that you are qualified to not only teach — (yes, we have all been there, but also to live on your own in a remote Mayan village in southern Belize: no running water, no electricity, no mode of transportation other than your own two feet. It could be a complete disaster . . . or a recipe for a delightful novel retelling the hilarity! “Cuahi li hix” (qua hee lee heesh) is a common farewell salutation offered by the Mayans to bring forth luck to the traveler. Literally translated, it means “Beware the tiger!” This may seem odd since there are no tigers in Central America, but volunteers soon learned that “tiger” comes in many forms: snakes, bats, scorpions, voracious insects, monkeys, turkeys, rabid dogs, illnesses, and, yes, sometimes even jaguars. Cuahi li Hix describes . . .

The Peace Corps Gets A Raise!

Aug 07 2021

The House Votes a Boost in Peace Corps Funding. And Registration Is Opening Soon for Peace Corps Connect 2021. We got some good news from Congress on July 28: The House of Representatives approved a $430.5 million Peace Corps budget for fiscal year 2022. That’s an increase of $20 million — nearly 5 percent. It could point to the first meaningful increase in funding in six years. We’ve also seen increasing bipartisan support for the Peace Corps Reauthorization Act of 2021, introduced by RPCV Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) and colleague Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA). The legislation would bring some much-needed reforms for a better and stronger Peace Corps. If you’re meeting with your members of Congress in the weeks ahead, support for this legislation — and funding — are critical items to have on the agenda. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet taken up the State Department/Foreign Operations bill, which would include funding for the Peace Corps. But . . .

Archive - August 2021