December 2023 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Escape to Alaska by Steve Kaffen (Russia)

Dec 31 2023

Escape to Alaska by Steve Kaffen (Russia 1994-96) December 2023 $0.00 (Kindle) Kindle Unlimited; $4.99 (Buy within 24 hours. Author and explorer Steve Kaffen had to escape Washington, D.C.’s stifling summer heat and energy-sapping humidity, but where? Having just returned from Iceland, his natural conclusion: an escape to Alaska. The decision made perfect sense. Alaska is a haven of awesome natural beauty, spectacular scenery, great and meandering waterways, prolific animal and sea life, and fascinating indigenous cultures. It’s a land of superlatives: America’s largest state (by far) has the longest coastline, the tallest mountain, and the largest national park and national forest. Its thousands of glaciers include those in sprawling Glacier Bay, the enormous Hubbard Glacier, and majestic Mendenhall Glacier, an easy drive from the state’s low-key capital Juneau. Finally, Alaska is descriptive of a state of mind that embodies resourcefulness and self-reliance, confronting and surmounting challenges, an adventurous . . .

Review | William Hershey’s TAKING THE PLUNGE INTO ETHIOPIA

Dec 30 2023

Taking the Plunge into Ethiopia by William Hershey (Ethiopia 1968-70) The University of Akron Press 134 pages 2023 $24.95 (paperback); $18.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Cynthia Nelson Mosca (Ethiopia 1967-69) • For those of us who are old enough to have served in the Peace Corps in the ’60s and ’70s those years conjure up vivid images of the war in Vietnam, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy, the targeting of groups like the Black Panthers by the FBI, and of course the hippie movement, rock and roll, flower children and protest songs performed by Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and Buffy St. Marie. Taking the Plunge into Ethiopia is a sobering look at the second largest country in Africa as well as our own past and present turbulence. Bill was part of a team of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists at the Akron Beacon Journal. . . .

Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (Panama) disqualifies Trump

Dec 29 2023

In the news — On Thursday, December 28, Maine Secretary of State RPCV Shenna Bellows disqualified former President Trump from the 2024 ballot. Bellows cited Section 3 of the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause, which prevents a person who has engaged in any rebellious activity against the country from holding office. “The U.S. Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government, and Section 336 requires me to act in response,” Secretary of State Shenna Bellows wrote. Bellows’ decision to block Trump from the 2024 ballot comes a week after the Colorado Supreme Court barred the former president from the state’s Republican primary ballot, citing the 14th Amendment, seemingly referencing Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress. Bellows’ move against Trump has sparked disbelief online. Social media users accused the Maine Secretary of State of hindering the democratic process and began circulating her picture with . . .

The Death of RPCV Arnold Zeitlin (Ghana)

Dec 29 2023

Arnold Stanley Zeitlin passed away peacefully in his sleep on December 26, 2023 in Fairfax, Virginia. Born on January 13, 1932, Arnold was nearly 92 years old. He was blessed throughout his life with the love and support of his many family members and broad network of friends and colleagues. Arnold Zeitlin (Ghana 1961– 63) was a correspondent for more than 30 years, and bureau chief of The Associated Press, assigned to West Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and the Philippines. For UPI, he served as vice president and managing director of the Asia-Pacific division, based in Hong Kong. From 1998 to 2001, he served as director of the Asian Center of The Freedom Forum, a nonprofit foundation devoted to news media issues. In 2001, he founded Editorial Research and Reporting Associates, Inc., which consults news media and journalism educators primarily in Asia in support of the First Amendment to . . .

Review | JUST KEEP PEDALING by Connie Ness (Uruguay)

Dec 28 2023

Reviewed by Chuck Haga columnist for the Grand Forks Herald Grand Forks, ND • Connie Ness (Uruguay 1994-96) and I may have talked about the Peace Corps when we worked together on the Dakota Student, the UND student newspaper, in the late 1960s. Maybe, maybe not. Memory fails. But those were heady, hopeful times, despite the war, the assassinations and the riots. The idea of the Peace Corps intrigued us, and we were young. We were among Dakota Student staffers who drove to Washington, D.C., to participate in a national student convention. One day, I spotted Sen. Eugene McCarthy, the anti-Vietnam War presidential candidate from Minnesota, alone in the hotel lobby. I walked up to him and proudly showed my blue and white “McCarthy for President” button. A moment later, Connie joined us, and Gene turned his attention to her. She was always fond of reminding me that the senator . . .

Bob Gale (DC staff) & “In, Up and Out”

Dec 28 2023

Regardless of what else might be said about the “Gale Method” it established two important elements for the Peace Corps. HQ staff now understood how recruitment was done, and they had acquired the skills that would make them effective recruiters. More importantly was that within the first years, the Peace Corps was established as part of campus life. Peace Corps Recruiters would be invited back every year, and would be welcomed, often with the same deference and cooperation shown in 1963. By now, and this was early in 1965, the Peace Corps was starting the “In, Up & Out” policy that Robert Textor had crafted in a memo for the agency, and Bob Gale was thinking of leaving. He didn’t want to be Director of Recruiting for Life, as Shriver had declared at the senior staff meeting in March 1963. Gale wanted to leave when the going was good. . . .

12 Reasons to Date A Returned Peace Corps Volunteer

Dec 27 2023

RPCV Lawrence Grobel (Ghana)

Dec 26 2023

Lawrence Grobel (Ghana 1968-71) is the author of 32 books and hundreds of magazine articles. Among his honors are a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for his fiction; Special Achievement Awards from PEN for his Conversations with Capote, and Playboy for his interviews with Barbra Streisand, Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro; and the Prix Litteraire from The Syndicat Francais de la Critique de Cinema for his Al Pacino: In Conversation with Lawrence Grobel. He has been a Contributing Editor for Playboy, Movieline, World (New Zealand), and Trendy (Poland) and has been called “A legend among journalists” by Writer’s Digest, and “The Mozart of Interviewers” by Joyce Carol Oates. He served in the Peace Corps, teaching at the Ghana Institute of Journalism; created the M.F.A. in Professional Writing for Antioch University; and taught in the English and Honors Departments at UCLA. He has served as a jury member at . . .

Women Were (For the Most Part) Not Part of the “Mad Men” in the Early Peace Corps

Dec 23 2023

In the third year of the Peace Corps–1963–a booklet was published by the agency entitled “Who’s Who in the Peace Corps Washington.” Here is one photo of the early Staff Meetings with Shriver at the head of the table. A list of the top 40 employees are profiled in this booklet. Only three profiles, however, were of women: Alice Gilbert (Director of the Division of United Nations and International Agency Programs); Ruth Olson (Special Assistant to the Chief of the Division of Volunteer Field Support); Dorothy Mead Jacobsen (Chief of the Division of Personnel). There was also a list of “Charter Members” of the agency. They have a photo and a paragraph. A total of 21 employees were profiled. Of them 7 were women: Jean Hundley, a secretary; Nan Tucker McEvoy, Deputy Director of Africa Programs; Sally Bowles, daughter of Ambassador Chester Bowles; Helen Farrall, receptionist; Gloria Gaston, African Region; Nancy Gore, . . .

Travel Writer Alexa West (Bulgaria)

Dec 22 2023

The One-Way Ticket Plan: Find and Fund Your Purpose While Traveling the World by Alexa West (Bulgaria) New World Library September 2023 328 pages $9.99 (Kindle); $18.59 (Paperback) In 2011, Alexa West (Bulgaria) sat on her bedroom floor, packed her life into a backpack, and got on a one-way flight with just $200 in her pocket. She turned that $200 into over ten years of full-time travel. She went from budget backpacker to solo female travel expert — and now teaches thousands of women how to travel alone and how to make money from anywhere. In her new book, The One-Way Ticket Plan, Alexa reveals her decade’s worth of lessons, regrets, embarrassments, love stories, shortcuts, and problem-solving strategies — all packed into a hilarious page-turner and actionable plan for a total life makeover. From real-world advice on how travel can lower your cost of living to guidance . . .

Mad Men’s First Director of Recruitment, Bob Gale

Dec 22 2023

BOB GALE Bob Gale was six foot two, blue eyed, and owned a big personality. He was an academic coming to the Peace Corps from being the vice president for development at Carlton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and a Humphrey supporter. Gale had decided he wanted to go to Washington with the New Frontier and work for the Peace Corps and got in touch with Hubert Humphrey, who he knew, and a meeting was arranged with Bill Haddad (another early Mad Man) who was already working at the agency. William F. Haddad was the Associate Director for the Office of Planning and Evaluation. (At the age of 14 in post-Pearl Harbor, he had enlisted in the Army Air Corps pilot training program and advanced to cadet squadron commander before his true age was discovered.) Haddad (who went on to become a Congressman from New York State) had come to the Peace Corps from being . . .

Joel Rubin (Costa Rico) running for Congress from Maryland

Dec 21 2023

Hi, let me introduce myself. I’m Joel Rubin. I’m running as a Democrat for Congress to represent Maryland’s 6th District, and I’m here to connect with folks and the grassroots. I began my career as a Peace Corps volunteer and have been on the frontlines, from combating climate change to advocating for women’s rights to fighting antisemitism. I served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State under President Obama. I served in municipal government, including as Vice Mayor of Chevy Chase, MD. I served as executive director of the American Jewish Congress.

School of Nursing Alumnae Robin Page (Guatemala) selected as Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing

Dec 21 2023

In the news — Founder and director Robin Page (Guatemala 1988-90) is the visionary founder and director of the Program of Excellence for Mothers, Children and Families at Texas A&M. Through partnerships with interdisciplinary leaders, she brings evidence-based care to the most vulnerable. For 30 years, she has provided direct services as a Certified Nurse-Midwife focused on the highest risk populations, including as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala. Her research impact is exemplified by her more than two dozen publications and active funding of more than $11 million as principal investigator on extramurally funded grants centered on maternal health equity. For the Texas Research to Policy Collaborative, she wrote sections of a maternal health policy brief distributed to lawmakers who successfully passed postpartum Medicaid expansion. Her leadership in maternal health led to her appointment by the Texas Health Commissioner as the sole Certified Nurse-Midwife on the Texas Maternal . . .

Remembering Jane Campbell (PC Staff — DC and Ethiopia)

Dec 20 2023

by Bill Josephson (HQ Staff 1961-68) Jane Campbell who died on December 19, 2023 at the age of 89, was unusual among original Peace Corps staff people. We all were smart, dedicated, reliable, hardworking, insightful, and Jane had all of those virtues. Plus, she was exceedingly well bred and stylish, never a hair out of place. Always looked her absolute best. A stalwart in the Division of Volunteer Support, Jane had already had significant international experience. In fact, as events unfolded, I realized that under that Green Springs Valley Maryland veneer beat the heart of a genuine international adventurist. Jane was a staff person in Ethiopia after three years at Peace Corps Washington. She became somewhat famous there for nursing and nurturing three lion cubs. When the cubs began to be of a certain age and size, she arranged for them to be donated to an English wildlife farm. While . . .

Jack Allison (Malawi) . . . song writer

Dec 19 2023

Dr. Jack Allison served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi 1967-69. His public health education was punctuated by many original songs and jingles which became quite popular with Malawians throughout the country. Jack has had a distinguished career in academic emergency medicine, with an emphasis on public health. He responded to the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010 by treating hundreds of quake victims. In February 2012 he volunteered in Kenya and Somalia where he provided both emergency care and public health education to hundreds of Somali refugees; then in October, he volunteered in Zambia where he helped to install 112 shallow water wells. Since 2017 Jack has been a senior consultant to the Fulbright Association’s WASH project in Malawi. Allison’s avocation is singing and songwriting. He has written over 120 songs and jingles, and recorded over 100 of those. Since 1967 he has raised $160,000 with his . . .

Archive - December 2023