July 2024 – Peace Corps Worldwide

WE CAME, WE SAW, WE CHANGED edited by Dennis Warner (Tanzania)

Jul 31 2024

A new book — We Came, We Saw, We Changed:Creating a Peace Corps Legacy in Tanzania 1964-1966 by PCV Members of Tanzania 5; Dennis Warner, Editor Independently Published June 2024 245 pages This book provides a glimpse of some of the most memorable experiences in the lives of 74 Tanzania-5 Peace Corps Volunteers in the 1960s as they ventured into the little-known cultures of a country striving to enter the modern world. Told in their own words, this diversity of stories form a mosaic of life as the volunteers go about their work and play in towns, villages, and the bush. A total of 58 short stories describing key memories are clustered as “Recruitment and Training, Life in the Bush, Village Life, Urban Life, Work Assignments, Travel and Transport, Social Encounters, Health, and Post Peace Corps Stories. A common thread in most of the stories is how the experiences of . . .

The Peace Corps & National Service

Jul 31 2024

Polls suggest young Americans are less enchanted with their country than previous generations. Yet even those who want to serve their country, conducting some form of national service, are too often turned away by top programs. The opposite should be true: Volunteer organizations such as AmeriCorps, Teach for America, the Peace Corps and the newly formed American Climate Corps should be well-funded and encouraged. National service could become a pervasive post-graduation option that all young Americans consider. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this year proposed a national service plan that would have granted young adults the option of enrolling in a year-long military training program or committing to civil service one weekend every month for the same amount of time. The proposal was highly unpopular, with Brits balking at what they saw as the effective conscription of their nation’s youths. The idea has more support here in the . . .

Foreign Policy Reporter Bryant Harris (Morocco)

Jul 30 2024

Bryant Harris (Morocco 2011-13) is a freelance reporter in Washington covering the nexus of foreign policy, national security and US politics. He has years of experience covering Congress for Defense News and Al-Monitor with additional bylines in Foreign Policy, and IPS News. Prior to that, he covered the White House for Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s largest newspaper. He is on Twitter @brykharris_ALM Of his Peace Corps assignment, Bryant writes: I collaborated with the Moroccan Ministry of Youth and Sports and counterparts from the town of Ben Guerir to promote positive youth development and lifestyles. After researching and analyzing challenges facing the community in a Community Needs Assessment Report, I began work with approximately 100 youth to create programming at the local youth center and coordinated language immersion camps in my site as well as in other locations throughout the country. Most notably, I worked with several community counterparts and organizations . . .

Margaret Seufert obituary (Paraguay)

Jul 28 2024

Margaret Rose (Peggy) Seufert died on July 21, 2024 in Alexandria, Virginia. Born on November 1, 1954, in St. Joseph, Missouri, Peggy was the daughter of Henry Seufert and Colleen (Delaney) Seufert. Peggy’s mission in life was to help other people, especially the less fortunate. She sought to help people find and apply local human and financial resources to solve the problems they faced. Peggy served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay (1977-79) and subsequently served in senior positions with the Peace Corps in Poland, Romania, Thailand, and the agency’s headquarters in Washington. In Romania, Peggy was instrumental in supporting the initial development and subsequent spread of “Girls Leading Our World” (GLOW), a Peace Corps program where Peace Corps volunteers encourage girls to become active citizens by building their self-esteem and confidence and increasing their self-awareness. More than 25 years after GLOW began in a single country, it . . .

Suzanne LeClerc (Gabon) and Protas Madlala wed

Jul 28 2024

In South Africa between 1987 and 1993, the National Party entered into bilateral negotiations with the African National Congress (ANC), the leading anti-apartheid political movement, for ending segregation and introducing majority rule. In 1990, prominent ANC figures such as Nelson Mandela were released from prison. Apartheid legislation was repealed on 17 June 1991, leading to multiracial elections in April 1994. In June 1985, the ban on marriage between people of different ethnic backgrounds was finally lifted. The laws were repealed by the Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act, which allowed interracial marriages and relationships. . . . The Wedding On the morning of the wedding, Protas Madlala and Suzanne Leclerc (Gabon 1979-82) rode to the church together. It was customary for a bride and groom to arrive separately, but caution prevailed. Although there had been talk of the South African government relaxing its laws, and an official from . . .

Kim and Vinny Aliperti (Tunisia) and the Billsboro Winery

Jul 26 2024

Kim and Vinny Aliperti met as Peace Corps volunteers in Tunisia from 1992 to 1994, They were married when they returned to the United States, and their honeymoon took them to some wineries. They say they quickly realized they were meant to run a winery. They knew they weren’t cut out for the suit-and-tie city life, and as they walked the vineyards, they knew what we wanted to do. Vinny had been hooked on winemaking as a teenager in his grandfather’s cellar in Queens, NY where he was first introduced to his family’s annual tradition. After the Peace Corps, Vinny was offered an apprenticeship at Wolffer Estate in the Hamptons on Long Island. After three vintages (1997-1999) producing mostly Chardonnay and Merlot with long-time winemaker Roman Roth, he moved with Kim to the Finger Lakes to begin his next chapter at the Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard. It was there . . .

Jack Kornfield (Thailand) | NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT

Jul 25 2024

No Time Like the Present: Finding Freedom, Love, and Joy Right Where You Are by Jack Kornfield (Thailand 1967-69) Atria Books May 2017 322 pages $13.99 (Kindle); $12.99 (Paperback), $13.99 (audiobook) Through his signature warmhearted, poignant, often funny stories, with their a-ha moments and O. Henry-like outcomes, Jack Kornfield shows how we can free ourselves, wherever we are and whatever our circumstances. Renowned for his mindfulness practices and meditations, Jack provides keys for opening gateways to immediate shifts in perspective and clarity of vision, allowing us to “grapple with difficult emotions” and know how to change course, take action, or—when we shouldn’t act—just relax and trust. Each chapter presents a path to a different kind of freedom—freedom from fear, freedom to start over, to love, to be yourself, and to be happy—and guides you into an active process that engages your mind and heart, awakens your spirit, and . . .

Vincent Spina (Peru): A poet who looks to the past and future

Jul 24 2024

Recovery by Vincent Spine (Peru 1966-69) Independently Published June 2024 141 pages $11.00 (Paperback) Unlike most poets, who can be either primarily narrativists or lyrical luminaries, Vincent Spina can be both and more. Think of Wallace Stevens but more human; think of John. Ashbury’s pyrotechnics and add a rich heart. Throw in a combination of cultural soulfulness and environmental sensitivity, all somehow shaped by his profound wisdom of how the human drama is interwoven by both. Now add Spina’s absorption of Quichua and Latin American culture — and we have an approximation of Vincent Spina’s singularity as an American poet. But it is in the poems, ultimately, where Spina plunges in like a diver with his cargo of poetic resources and resurfaces with bits of scintillating jewels, elevating us, his fellow-travelers, to the ultimate of communions: poet to reader, human to human. . . . Meet Vincent Spina by Lynn . . .

Jody Olsen (Tunisia) Writes Her Peace Corps Book

Jul 23 2024

A Million Miles by Jody Olsen (Tunisia 1966-68) University of Utah Press October 2024 276 pages $24.95 (Paperback); $44.95 (Hardcover) Pre-order now When Jody Olsen enlisted as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tunisia in 1966, she was fleeing familial tragedy and the stifling societal norms of her Salt Lake City upbringing. However, her service in Tunisia upended her religious and cultural beliefs and propelled her into a six-decade career with the Peace Corps, culminating in her directorship of the agency. Olsen’s captivating memoir, A Million Miles, reveals the personal and professional challenges she faced throughout her career, which spanned the Reagan era, 9/11, and the Trump administration. She writes candidly about her struggles as a woman in leadership, as well as personal hardships such as the sudden death of her brother and her emotionally difficult divorce after her husband’s coming out. This memoir is a sharp, vulnerable portrait, a . . .

Alana DeJoseph’s (Mali) film A TOWERING TASK wins regional Emmy Award

Jul 21 2024

Alana DeJoseph is a documentary filmmaker who directed A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps in 2019. The documentary premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and is available to stream on PBS. DeJoseph served in Mali from 1992–1994 and has also worked on other documentaries, including The Greatest Good: A Forest Service Centennial Film and Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land. A Towering Task explores the history of the Peace Corps. The documentary features interviews with Harry Belafonte, Annette Bening, Jimmy Carter, and Chris Dodd, among others. Last night, July 20, 2024, her film A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps won the regional Emmy for best historical documentary! The Heartland Emmy Awards Winners An incredible team of filmmakers (special shout-out to screenwriter Shana Kelly and editor Brian De Herrera-Schnering), 100s of volunteers, the most amazing Peace Corps community of PCVs, host . . .

23 youths empowered by “Sports Peace Corps Volunteers” (Belize)

Jul 20 2024

PCVs in the news — July 19, 2024 A team of twenty-three Peace Corps/Belize volunteers were sworn in today to serve as youth development volunteers with the National Sports Council. The group recently completed several weeks of rigorous training in Belize to better understand the country’s needs, and how best they can contribute. Today, that group officially began their twenty-four months of service to Belize under a program called Youths Empowered by Sports, or the YES Project. A swearing-in ceremony was held in Belmopan where we heard from Marvin Ottley, the Deputy Director of the National Sports Council and Nadine Rogers, the Country Director for Peace Corps/Belize. Marvin Ottley, Deputy Director, of the Belize National Sports Council “We know they hit the ground running right away. But they have been training for a period of time to familiarize themselves with what Belize has to offer, and . . .

FLASHPOINTS OF AWARENESS by Tarra Judson Stariell (Colombia)

Jul 20 2024

Flashpoints of Awareness: Lessons Learned from a Life by Tarra Judson Stariell (Colombia 1973-74) Ranch House Press November 2023 69 pages $10.99 (Paperback), $4.99 (Kindle) . . . Escondido, CA – Trauma is an aspect of life few of us escape. From psychology to pharmaceuticals to spirituality, many therapies are available for healing and yet, healing from intense trauma remains elusive. Author Tarra Judson Stariell (Colombia 1973-74) knows all too well the challenges and benefits healing from trauma can bring. After joining the Peace Corps she returned to her native California to share a paranormal message she had received, asking her to “return home and share with your family and others that life as you know it on Planet Earth will end if humans do not change the way they are living.” After having desperately sought a way to impart this message from various disciplines, philosophies, religions, and modalities, she ended . . .

Review | Peace Corps beginnings in AN UNFINISHED LOVE STORY by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Jul 19 2024

John writes — I have been reading author Doris Kearns Goodwin’s An Unfinished Love Story and I strongly recommend this “personal history of the 1960s” by her. First Doris Kearns Goodwin is a wonderful writer, and has stories to tell about the first days of the Kennedy administration, and the start of the Peace Corps — JFK’s famous introduction of the agency at 2 a.m. in the morning, for example, on the campus of the University of Michigan. Kennedy spoke for 3 minutes, Doris Kearns writes, “Yet something extraordinary transpired: The students took up the challenge he posed. They organized, they held meetings, they sent letters and telegrams to the campaign asking Kennedy to develop plans for a volunteer Peace Corps (it was not then called ‘Peace Corps’). They signed petitions pledging to give not two but three years of their lives to help people in developing countries.” During that . . .

Review | SHIPS IN THE DESERT by Jeff Fearnside (Kazakhstan)

Jul 18 2024

Ships In The Desert by Jeff Fearnside (Kazakhstan 2002–04) Santa Fe Writer’s Project 136 pages August, 2022 $14.95 (paperback), $8.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Eugénie de Rosier (Philippines 2006-08) • • • Out of the massive spread of Central Asia — from the Caspian Sea moving east to northwest China — is the region’s “stan” countries: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the Uyghur (WEE-gur) autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. Historically, the area was known as “Land of the Turks” or Turkestan. It’s unrelated to Turkey. Jeff Fearnside’s slim volume of essays assesses his four years as guest educator and fellowship program manager for post-graduate study abroad. Most of his living happened on the Great Silk Road mainly in Kazakhstan. He addresses a stirring call to action about our responsibility to save our precious water resource globally after the Aral Sea disaster. He outpours his view of Kazakh people, their culture, . . .

RPCV Peter Navarro the MAGA Martyr Who Went to Prison for You (Thailand)

Jul 18 2024

Credit…Damon Winter/The New York Times Peter Navarro (Thailand 1965-68) walked out of federal prison Wednesday morning and walked into the Republican convention Wednesday evening to deliver a law-defying, teeth-baring, knife-wielding speech that was one of the more bizarre convention moments I’ve ever seen. Navarro, who was the trade representative in the Trump administration, spent the last four months in the Federal Correction Institute in Miami, having been convicted by a Washington jury in September of contempt of Congress for failing to respond to a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee. To the audience here in Milwaukee, there is no badge of honor more awesome than a conviction for the sacred MAGA cause, and a prison term elevates that conviction to martyrdom, which is why the party instantly capitalized on his timely release. To the cheering crowd, Navarro milked every moment of suffering in the low-security tropical prison (where you can buy butter-pecan ice cream, . . .

Archive - July 2024