Author - John Coyne

When all is said and done, perhaps what will be most important and lasting about the Peace Corps will be what the PCVs did AFTER their tour of service. One such example is the RPCV Legacy Program of Ethiopia & Eritrea RPCVs (E&E RPCVs) that has been designated by the I.R.S. as a 501 (c)(3) non-profit tax-exempt organization. The program, organized in 2003 by the group under the leadership of Marian Haley Beil (Ethiopia 1962-64), for the purpose of sponsoring education and healthcare projects that will assist the neediest in-country, and are “championed” – that is designed, administered and fundraised for – by RPCVs and former staff members on a volunteer basis. To date 8 projects have been launched; five have met their goals and three are continuing. The projects are supported by donations primarily from the group’s RPCVs and to date more than $180,000 has been distributed. Of the . . .

[Here is what one enterprising PCV is doing now with her computer skills in Tanzania. Another example of a Secondary Project paying off. This press release comes from Peace Corps Hq Press Office.] WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 18, 2013 – Peace Corps volunteer Elizabeth Crompton of Woodstock, Ga., is opening doors to job opportunities for university students and local community members in Tanzania. Together with local faculty, Crompton recently led a seminar on how to operate, navigate and program computer systems using a free, open source computer operating system that is accessible in developing countries like Tanzania, where computer software can be expensive and prohibitive to computer learning. “The kind of thinking that computing and programming teaches encourages self-reliance and problem-solving,” said Crompton, who has been working as an information and communications technology volunteer since 2011. “I want my students to become comfortable with not having all the answers and looking . . .

In my email a week or so ago, I received this note: Good afternoon: Sorry to bother you.  My name is Ray Blakney and I am a RPCV from Mexico.  I am working on a 3rd Goal project with the PC regional offices and the main office in DC to try to create a directory to keep the language training material made all over the world from getting lost. I have created a sub-section on my website with all the information I have been able to get to date (from over the web and sent to me directly by Peace Corps staff and PCV’s).  I currently have close to 100 languages with ebooks, audios and even some videos. The next step for this project is that I am trying to get the word out about this resource so that it can not only be used by PCV’s or those accepted . . .

There is a new book out from Angus Deaton, the Eisenhower Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton, entitled The Great Escape: Health, Wealth and the Origins of Inequality published by Princeton University Press. Before Deaton got to Princeton, he was with the World Bank, and with the Gallop Organization creating survey-based measures of well-being. In his book, Deaton states that global poverty today is no longer a result of lack of resources or opportunity, but of poor institutions, poor government and toxic politics. He blames both the giver and the receiver for this! He cites as an example Mauritania that several years ago was in danger of losing its international aid. So, the country’s president hatched the idea of becoming one of the few Arab countries to recognize Israel. The aid taps, Deaton said, were turned back on and the money flowed to Mauritania. Deaton goes onto say . . .

The New Peace Corps–With Technology By Christopher Hedrick (Senegal 1988-90) [This article by Chris Hedrick appeared in the Yale Journal of International Affairs in February 2013. Chris Hedrick (Senegal 1988-90) coordinates special initiatives for the Peace Corps Africa region and from 2007- 2012 was the Country Director for Peace Corps Senegal. Previously, he was CEO of Intrepid Learning, a Seattle-based corporate learning services firm, served as a science and technology advisor to the Governor of Washington state, and worked for the Gates Foundation and Microsoft. He also was a Rhodes Scholar. Chris, who is a friend, recently sent me an article that states that one in every five people in the world own a smartphone, one in every seventeen own a tablet. I believe this is true as the little girl down the street in my suburban town appears to have 3 smartphones, as she keeps losing and breaking the . . .

Dear Volunteers: As many of you are aware, annual funding for the US government expired on September 30, 2013. This has affected Peace Corps operations, as it has all federal government activities. I want you to know that we have made a conscious decision to prioritize continuous operations in our host countries over headquarters activities.  In fact, over 90 percent of Peace Corps’ US-based staff – both in Washington and in our regional recruiting offices – have been furloughed. This action, combined with good financial planning, has allowed us to keep Volunteers in the field throughout the government shutdown. I am very hopeful that Congress will come to a resolution shortly and all of our staff can return to work. Please be assured that all activities necessary to ensure your ongoing health, safety and security will continue without interruption, as your well-being is our highest priority.  Volunteers should see no . . .

When Will The Peace Corps Do Something New? Here’s an idea! If you read the NYTIMES Sunday Reviews on October 13, 2013, you might have read how a high school in Detroit is flipping the classroom. They started three years ago with one class and now the whole high school has flipped. What in the world is a Flipped Classroom, you ask. It is this: students watch videos of teachers’ lectures at home, or on their smartphones or computers, or if they lack the technology, at school in the tech lab. Then the next day in class they do what we would call “homework”–projects, worksheets or exercises in small groups, while the teacher is a resource in the room. Online education is sweeping the country, mostly at the college level, via MOOCs. If you haven’t heard, MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Courses education, available to anyone with Web access. . . .

The September/October 2013 Foreign Affairs Magazine has a small notice that the Council on Foreign Relations is “seeking talented individuals for the Franklin Williams Internship.” The announcement goes onto say that Ambassador Williams had a long career of public service, including serving at the American Ambassador to Ghana, as well as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Lincoln University. He was also, they say, a Director of the Council on Foreign Relations. What it doesn’t say is that Franklin Williams began his ‘international’ career at the Peace Corps in 1961, and was at HQ with the first group of Mad Men, first as Chief of the Division of Private Organizations, and then head of the African Region. In 1965 LBJ appointed Williams to become the first black representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, from this position he would go onto serve for three years as . . .