Author - John Coyne

Eight RPCVs–Ethiopia. Uzbekistan. El Salvador. Morocco. The Philippines. Cameroon. Nepal.–traveled a long way to participate in the second Peace Corps Writers’ Retreat October 5-8 on the Eastern Shore of Maryland—at least as measured by the distances between their countries of services and the Chesapeake Bay. Whatever their actual commutes—one participant came from as far as central Florida—they said the trip was well worth it. Working with RPCV Mark Brazaitis (Guatemala 1991-93), the author of eight books, including the Iowa Short Fiction Award-winning The River of Lost Voices: Stories from Guatemala, the eight participants shared their creative work in a pair of two-and-a-half hour workshop sessions, participated in two craft talks about effective storytelling, wrote pieces in response to writing prompts, and learned how and where to publish their work. A reading by the participants capped off the four-day retreat. “As someone who completed her service in 2015, it was a . . .

  Immense Missed Opportunities —IMO by Helene Ballman Dudley (Colombia 1968-70; Slovakia 1997-99) Peace Corps Writers Press 246 pages September 2023 $10.00 (Kindle); $22.00 (Paperback)   Immense Missed Opportunities – IMO draws on the author’s 23 years of experience building sustainable micro-loan programs in marginalized communities around the world. Based on her experience, and backed by research and recommendations from renowned experts, IMO identifies the vast and largely untapped potential for high-impact, low-cost interventions to reduce poverty, food insecurity, economic migration and gender-based violence. Extreme poverty has marginalized people who are living on the front lines of those problems and who have, perhaps the greatest potential to help solve those problems. People living on under $2 per day require all their energy and problem-solving skills to meet the most basic needs for their families. IMO offers examples of what they can accomplish when they are freed from abject poverty. The . . .

  “Under Conditions of Hardship”: The Peace Corps’ Catch-22 for Survivors of Sexual- and Gender- Based Violence by E.L. Tremblay The Peace Corps’ treatment of Volunteers and trainees, particularly with regard to the policies and permissiveness surrounding sexual- and gender-based violence, reflects and perpetuates workplace sex discrimination. Because the agency fails to collect adequate data, it is impossible to determine the precise nature and degree of the problem, but it is likely worse than what annual reports have described as a persistently growing crisis despite twenty years of criticism, activism, and reform efforts. Without legally enforceable accountability mechanisms — the simplest and most effective of which would be to recognize Volunteers and trainees as federal employees — the discrimination is likely to continue. Continue reading “Under Conditions of Hardship”: The Peace Corps’ Catch-22 for Survivors of Sexual- and Gender-Based Violence

Published on Monday, October 2, 2023 By the A.M. Costa Rica staff The Peace Corps is celebrating its 60th anniversary in Costa Rica. Since 1963, Peace Corps volunteers have served at the invitation of the Costa Rican government to help fulfill the country’s development goals. “With nearly one-fifth of Costa Rica’s population living below the poverty line, concerning rates of unemployment, and a public education system stretching to meet the learning needs of every child, Peace Corps Volunteers see the version of Costa Rica that cannot be found in a tourism ad- its persistent pockets of poverty, the genuine needs that affect vulnerable communities and the stunning beauty of this diverse country,” the organization said in its statement. As part of the celebration, 26 new volunteers were sworn in, and they will serve in various communities around the country, as have over 3,900 Americans since 1963.  

The Peace Corps and Thai Collections at NIU: Fall 2023 Collections Colloquium Join the Northern Illinois University (NIU Library Special Collections and Archives Department and the Southeast Asia Library for the annual Fall Collections Colloquium featuring presentations on the impact of the Peace Corps on the NIU Community. Retired NIU Thai Studies professor and Peace Corps volunteer, Dr. John Hartman (Thailand 1964-67), will reflect on his involvement with the Peace Corps training program at NIU and his experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand. Southeast Asia Library Curator, Hao Phan, will present on the digitization of Thai Peace Corps materials in the Southeast Asian library holdings. Additionally, NIU School of Music Instructor, Chamni Sripraram, will perform selections of traditional Thai music with the Thai Music Ensemble. The Colloquium will be held in the Founders Memorial Library First Floor Gallery on October 19, 2023, from 4:30-6:00 pm. This event is . . .

In the news —   by Cigale Ahlquist     When Steve DeBoer (Ecuador 1978-80) crossed the finish line in Langford Park’s Fourth of July road race last month, he was mere blocks from his boyhood home on Raymond Avenue in St. Anthony Park in St. Paul, MN. But running has taken him so much farther. Not long after taking up the sport as a high school freshman in 1968 to get in shape for basketball, DeBoer focused on running. Since 1971, he has logged at least a mile for what is now more than 18,000 consecutive days. Back then he thought: Let’s see how many days I can do this. When people talk about streaks in athletics, Cal Ripken Jr.’s name comes to mind. The Baseball Hall of Famer known as “The Iron Man” played in 2,632 consecutive games for the Baltimore Orioles over 17 seasons. DeBoer’s streak hit . . .

    Legendary U.S. broadcaster Bill Moyers is set to join fellow journalist Judy Woodruff Thursday evening for a conversation and screening at the Library of Congress’ Thomas Jefferson Building in Washington, D.C. to celebrate a collection of his work spanning half a century. “They will discuss changes in the media and journalism over more than five decades, their experience covering America and foreign affairs, the Civil Rights Movement, race, and the clash of ideologies, including challenges to democracy from capital, extremism, and growing conflicts over the freedom of democracy,” according to the Library of Congress. Woodruff chairs the executive advisory council of the American Archive of Public Broadcasting—a collaboration between the Library of Congress and Boston’s GBH that pulled together more than 1,000 television programs for its recently unveiled Bill Moyers Collection, most of which is available online at AmericanArchive.org. “The Bill Moyers Collection offers a wealth of engaging . . .

A Towering Task Coming to PBS Nationwide A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps is coming to PBS stations across the country. There will be a nationwide premiere of A Towering Task on the PBS World channel on Friday, September 29th at 8pm and Saturday, September 30th at 3am, 9am, and 3pm. In addition, individual stations are scheduling the film in local markets starting September 2nd. You can click this link to see the broadcasts that have been scheduled so far. And we are adding stations and dates every day. Here is the link to click for the broadcasts that have been scheduled thus far: https://www.peacecorpsdocumentary.com/broadcast And here is the link for more info: http://bit.ly/47SZP0J