October 2022 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Review — THOSE WHO ARE GONE by Lawrence F. Lihosit (Honduras)

Oct 30 2022

Those Who are Gone by Lawrence F. Lihosit (Honduras 1975-77) Independently published September 2022 118 pages $13.00 (Paperback) Reviewed by Mark D. Walker (Guatemala 1971-73) • Over the years, I’ve read and reviewed several of the eighteen books of fellow author and Returned Peace Corps Volunteer “Lorenzo” Lihosit. He was a volunteer in Honduras and married a lady from Mexico, and I was a volunteer in Guatemala and married a señorita from there. I used his Peace Corps Experience: Write & Publish Your Memoir to write my own, Different Latitudes: My Life in the Peace Corps and Beyond, proofed his Oral History from Madera, California, and agreed with the Madera Tribune, “The best of its kind in print. Like Volume 1, the author offers real-life stories by citizens of Madera, California. It seems like they speak directly to us, seated at our kitchen table, waving their arms while . . .

Peace Corps welcomes Trainees to Viet Nam in a historic first

Oct 29 2022

October 28, 2022 The arrival of this inaugural cohort of Trainees is a significant milestone for bilateral relations between the United States and Viet Nam. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Peace Corps has announced that 10 Peace Corps Trainees arrived safely in Hanoi, Viet Nam, in an historic first. Earlier this week, Peace Corps headquarters staff organized a sendoff event in Washington, D.C. to commemorate the landmark occasion. The Honorable Nguyen Quoc Dzung, Ambassador of Viet Nam to the U.S., offered the Trainees his support for their service. Next week, the U.S. Ambassador to Viet Nam, the Honorable Marc Knapper, will welcome the Trainees to Viet Nam at the Peace Corps office in Hanoi. “Formalizing our country partnership with Viet Nam began with discussions in 2002, which led to the signing of an implementing agreement in 2020, and culminated in yesterday’s joyous moment when the first Trainees stepped foot on Vietnamese soil,” said Peace . . .

CorpsAfrica Seeks Staff

Oct 28 2022

The CorpsAfrica team comprises people from diverse backgrounds and experiences, bound together by our commitment to youth leaders and communities across Africa. We work across seven countries, supporting 600+ Volunteers and alums. To meet the needs of our growing organization, we are currently seeking several impact-driven, dynamic individuals who will be instrumental to the organization’s growth in the following leadership positions: At the Global Support Office: Chief Development Officer Chief Financial Officer Human Resources Manager In Senegal: Deputy Director of CorpsAfrica/Senegal Please apply and share these opportunities with anyone that might be interested. You can also find the position descriptions on the jobs page of our website here. Thank you for your ongoing support! Sincerely, Liz Fanning (Morocco 1993-95) Founder and Executive Director

Peace Corps CEO Carol Spahn visits The Philippines to celebrate 61 years of Peace Corps in the Philippines

Oct 28 2022

October 27, 2022 MANILA – Today, Peace Corps Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Carol Spahn, participated in a joint press conference with Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency (PNVSCA) Director Donald Gawe. CEO Spahn’s remarks: “I am here this week to celebrate the 61st anniversary of Peace Corps Philippines, witness the tremendous work of our staff and partners in support of Filipino communities, and share how excited we are to welcome Peace Corps Volunteers back to the Philippines in January 2023. In January, 60 volunteers will arrive and work for two years at the invitation of host communities across Luzon and the Visayas in the project sectors of education, youth development and coastal resource management. “I am excited to say that this group will be one of the largest that the Peace Corps has organized since resuming overseas operations in March 2022. By September 2023, I expect more than . . .

Richard Adkins, Tempe Urban Forester (Nepal)

Oct 27 2022

Richard Adkins, Tempe’s urban forester, is covering Tempe in shade as part of the city’s Urban Forestry Master Plan By Tyson Wildman, StatePress.com October 26, 2022 • As a teenager, Richard Adkins went into the Virginia forest alone one day and decided to sit under a Pin Oak tree. He stayed there awhile, observing his surroundings. By the time he got up, he knew that trees were going to be his future, so that was the path he pursued. Adkins is the urban forester for the city of Tempe and has been for the past three years. He has traveled the world doing what he loves, taking care of and sharing his knowledge of trees. “Trees are where it’s at,” he said. “Trees are good for humankind, good for animals, good for the environment.” Adkins grew up in Virginia and has done tree forestry, the science of developing, caring for . . .

THE SILENT LANGUAGE — Is this book required reading for new PCVs?

Oct 26 2022

from John Coyne — I found this item on Library Thing In 1959, a groundbreaking study of nonverbal communication, The Silent Language, was published to international acclaim. Written by Edward T. Hall, a cultural anthropologist, it was one of the first books to examine the complex ways people communicate with one another without speaking. More than thirty years later, The Silent Language has never been out of print, has been translated into several languages, has sold more than 1.5 million copies in the U.S., and remains the definitive book in its field. Today, Ned Hall is a world-renowned expert in intercultural communication, sought after by government agencies, businesses and universities throughout the world for his expertise in interpreting the hidden meanings behind what people are saying to one another. Now, in a remarkably candid and personal book, he tells the story of the first fifty years of his . . .

Christopher Martin, University of Nebraska, College of Architecture (Ghana)

Oct 26 2022

Christopher Martin kicks off the first Hyde lecture of the season at University of Nebraska–Lincoln By Kerry McCulloug… October 25, 2022 The College of Architecture is excited to announce Christopher Martin (Ghana 2008-10), nationally renowned furniture design-maker, will be giving a Hyde/ Kunzendorf co-sponsored lecture titled “Design Tangents; A Story of Exploration and Common Threads” at 4 p.m., October 28, in the Union Swanson Auditorium. Martin is founder of Christopher Martin Furniture and works as a furniture designer/ maker on commission work and produces a line of small batch furniture pieces for sale online. He also collaborates with traditional artisans in Ghana and India. Before opening his own business Martin taught furniture design in the Department of Art and Visual Culture at Iowa State University starting in 1999, retiring in 2022 as an emeritus professor. In 2008 Martin took leave from his teaching position to serve as a U.S. Peace Corps . . .

5 Peace Corps Scandals

Oct 25 2022

5 scandals that have put the Peace Corps in a negative light Nick Penzenstadler USA TODAY Oct. 24, 2022 The Peace Corps, an independent federal agency, was founded by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to promote “world peace and friendship.” It has dispatched more than 240,000 American volunteers to 141 countries. Despite its noble goals, the agency has been plagued by a series of scandals, sexual abuse and violence suffered by employees and volunteers. Here are a few examples: 1. Sexual assaults and the murder of Kate Puzey In May 2011, dozens of volunteers provided written testimony to Congress about problems with the Peace Corps’ handling of sexual violence, ranging from failures to train volunteers to mistreatment after assaults. In November 2011, President Barack Obama signed the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act, named after a volunteer killed in 2009 after she reported sexual misconduct by a coworker and Peace . . .

Looking for a Publisher? | The Top 42 Publishers for New Authors

Oct 24 2022

Written by Emily Harstone The writing market can be overwhelming, particularly for new authors who do not have a history of past publication. It is important to note that no legitimate established presses specifically look for unpublished authors. The presses on this list were chosen because they have published a number of debut books before. The publishers on this list do not require literary agents. You can submit to these publishers directly. Some of these manuscript publishers have good distribution and clear marketing strategies. Others are small presses that expect the authors to do the heavy lifting. None of these presses are vanity presses, self-publishers, or brand new presses. All of them have been around for two years or longer. Some of them do have self publishing imprints. If you are ever redirected to one, please reach out to us at support@authorspublish.com and we will update the listing. All the publishers . . .

MaryKate Lowndes (Honduras) — Not GUILTY

Oct 21 2022

On this site on January 21, 2022, I posted this news item: A former PCV and Country Director, accused of illegally registering to vote in New Hampshire and voting, has chosen to fight the charges in court. MaryKate Lowndes (Honduras 1989-91) & PC/W Staff of Hyannis, Massachusetts, faces four voter fraud charges in Rockingham County Superior Court — a single felony count of wrongful voting as well as two counts of misdemeanor wrongful voting and a single count of misusing an absentee ballot. She was indicted in September 2020. I just heard from MaryKate, who writes of her success: Last month I FINALLY had the chance to get the truth of the matter presented in Court. I had to wait two years to do so. I was able to take the stand to tell the truth to a jury; my attorney, William Christie of Shaheen & Gordon, also . . .

LETTERS FROM ALFONSO by Earl Kessler (Colombia)

Oct 20 2022

“The story of how the poor are the victims of the environment — floods, windstorms, tremors, drought — is rarely told as beautifully as by Alfonso, the community’s leader, to Earl, his Peace Corps friend and supporter.” — Pablo Gutman Senior Director Environmental Economics World Wildlife Fund ‘The lessons of Letters from Alfonso are important for anyone interested in understanding the process of development, especially those who want to get deeply and meaningfully involved in the good work of helping real people who are trying to better their lives.” — Bimal Patel Ahmedabad University • Earl Kessler has been engaged in the design and development of shelter and urban programs since 1965 when he joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Colombia. He earned a Master of Architecture degree in the Planning for Developing Countries Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has worked on urban strategies for . . .

FINDING OUR WAY by Steven Gallon (Korea)

Oct 19 2022

In the summer of 1967 a young husband and wife, barely in their twenties, depart home and family in Southern California to embark on a grand adventure. Finding Our Way: A Newlywed Couple’s Peace Corps Odyssey in 1960s Korea chronicles two years of their life together as Peace Corps Volunteers in South Korea. Living with a host Korean family, they discover the patterns and rhythms of everyday life in a country whose culture and customs are unfamiliar. Stationed in Taegu, Korea’s third largest city, they introduce spoken English to Korean middle school students. As guests in a foreign land they face cultural dilemmas, embrace adventures of discovery, experience trying times and build lifelong friendships. Korea in the late 1960s was emerging from decades of Japanese occupation, and a devastating war with cultural neighbors and political enemies in the North. It was a time of economic hardship for much of the population . . .

Sad News — WORLDVIEW Editor Steven Boyd Saum (Ukraine) leaves the NPCA

Oct 19 2022

Steven Boyd Saum, Director of Strategic Communications at National Peace Corps Association and Editor of WorldView magazine has resigned from the National Peace Corps Association. Steve writes…. After serving as editor of WorldView magazine and directing strategic communications for National Peace Corps Association for the past several years, this is my last week wearing both of those hats. I’ll be sharing more news shortly on the new role I’ll be taking on in California. It’s been a privilege to work with stellar colleagues and to lead a hard-working and creative team during this unprecedented time. An incredible community-driven effort animated the “Peace Corps Connect to the Future” town halls, summit, and report — and laid the groundwork for the most sweeping Peace Corps legislation in a generation. Thanks to contributions of partners and interns and folks across the Peace Corps community, the stories and images that populate WorldView have shaped a magazine . . .

Richard Wiley (Korea) | Who Told You She Is Your Wife?

Oct 19 2022

Who Told You She Is Your Wife? By Richard Wiley (Korea 1967–69) • Once a famous Nigerian playwright got a call from a woman who was in love with him. He knew the woman. She had been a paramour of his Or he of hers. Or maybe their relationship had been on equal footing, I don’t know. But whatever happened was years in the past by the time he got the call. And in the call, the woman said she wanted him back. “I am married now,” he told her. “Surely you know that.” “Who told you you are married?” the woman asked, her voice settling into the low center-of-gravity, pre-battle, mode that Nigerians know how to articulate best. “Who told me? I attended the ceremony. I remember exchanging vows.” “I will tear her asunder, teach her the meaning of ‘six feet under,’ then we’ll see who’s married. Who told . . .

Review — THE LAST OF HIS MIND by John Thorndike (El Salvador)

Oct 18 2022

The Last of His Mind: A Year In The Shadow Of Alzheimer’s by John Thorndike (El Salvador 1966-68) Swallow Press 264 pages $18.82 (paperback), $27.94 (hardcover), $7.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by: D.W. Jefferson (El Salvador 1974–76; Costa Rica 1976–77) • This is a moving story of a son’s devotion to his dying father who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. His determination to help his father fulfill his desire to die at home is admirable. Of interest as well is the author’s recounting of the details of how he arranged for others, including his two brothers, to spell him, giving him needed breaks from his around the clock care for his father. Beyond being a memoir of spending his father’s last year caring for him, the book also covers much of the elder Thorndike’s professional life, marriage, and personal life. It also discusses the author’s raising of his son as a single parent. One . . .

Archive - October 2022