Author - John Coyne

Participatory Interfaith Dialogue     By Yossef Ben-Meir (Morocco 1993-95 & APDC 1998-99) Twenty-nine years ago, I was a Peace Corps Volunteer living in a mountainous High Atlas village called Amsouzerte, near the southern side of Morocco’s Toubkal National Park. Back then, the journey from the village to the nearest city centers took almost 20 hours along unpaved roads and mountain passes. At the foot of a mountainside, fifty kilometers from Amsouzerte, I would sometimes catch sight of an old, white mausoleum that seemed misplaced among the earth-brick homes characteristic of rural Moroccan landscapes. Looking upon this eroding mountain area, I could envision huge swaths of terraces constructed above the mausoleum for the local Muslim community to build tree nurseries and derive generational benefits. Tree nurseries are very valuable for Moroccan farming communities because 70 percent of agricultural land in the country generates only 10-15 percent of agricultural revenue. Fruit tree cultivation . . .

She’s secretly burned for him for years. Derek Severson left his career as a firefighter after tragedy shook him to his soul. Running his uncle’s beachside bar on a south Texas island gives him the chance to heal, find peace, and avoid entanglements. That is, until Macey, his childhood friend, tracks him down. After two years abroad in a developing country, Macey Locke is ready to dive in to her Peace Corps-inspired foundation. But when she learns Derek is suffering, she can’t turn her back. Six weeks on a tropical island to help the guy she’s loved for years? No-brainer. Derek can’t help but notice she’s not the same girl he used to know. She’s more. More self-assured, more determined, more irresistible. But is she enough for him to let go of his newfound fragile peace and give in to the passion sparking between them? Playing with Fire is a . . .

June 14, 2023 Twenty-one new Peace Corps Volunteers arrived in Kathmandu this week. After completing an intensive 11-week Pre-Service Training, these trainees will swear-in as the 208th group of Peace Corps Volunteers to serve in Nepal since the U.S. program’s founding in 1962. They are the first group to arrive since the global evacuation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new volunteers join nearly 4,000 volunteers who have previously come to Nepal to serve since 1962. Speaking at the training center in Bhaktapur, U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks said, “With the more than 60-year partnership between the Government of Nepal and Peace Corps, we are pleased to welcome this first batch of volunteers to return to service in Nepal after more than three years. Peace Corps Volunteers working in rural locations throughout Nepal and in partnership with their communities demonstrate the strong and growing bonds between our two countries.” . . .

PCEC incoming volunteers, PCVs and staff The Peace Corps Eastern Caribbean (PCEC) islands of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines are buzzing with preparations for the second batch of incoming Peace Corps Volunteers, since their initial return to the region in 2022, after the pandemic. The Volunteers will continue the important work of supporting the Education institutions of our host countries under the English Literacy in Primary Schools project. The project places Literacy Resource Volunteers in primary schools across the four islands, with the goal of helping students attain literacy skills to increase their academic and life opportunities. Prospective Volunteers are excited about getting to work with students, teachers, and their community members. Peace Corps provides an intense 9-week training program for the incoming Volunteers. Shirley, a Volunteer who first started her career with Peace Corps in the late 1970’s in Africa, is serving again and . . .

Melissa Tanji Staff Writer Wailuku resident and Seabury Hall graduate Renae “Bella” Lallo stands at El Cajas National Park in Ecuador. The 21-year-old is no stranger to visiting foreign countries and will soon embark on her Peace Corps mission in Panama later this month, making her among the first Peace Corps volunteers heading out for overseas service since the agency pulled many of its volunteers from the field at the start of the pandemic. While in college she stayed with a host family in Ecuador. — Photos courtesy Renae “Bella” Lallo For a 21-year-old, Wailuku resident Renae “Bella” Lallo has already seen more places than most would in a lifetime, traveling to Zambia and Iraq for medical missions, living with a host family in Ecuador and vacationing in countries such as Spain and Germany, to name a few.And, later this month, she will soon embark on another quest, perhaps more challenging . . .

Here is our new list of RPCV & staff authors we know of who have published two or more books of any type. Currently—in June 2023–the count is 488. If you know of someone who has and their name is not on this list, then please email: jcoyneone@gmail.com. We know we don’t have all such writers who have served over these past 60 years. Thank you.’ Jerome R. Adams (Colombia 1963–65) Tom Adams (Togo 1974-76) Thomas “Taj” Ainlay, Jr. (Malaysia 1973–75) Elizabeth (Letts) Alalou (Morocco 1983–86) Jane Albritton (India 1967-69) Robert Albritton (Ethiopia 1962-65) Usha Alexander (Vanuatu 1996–97) James G. Alinder (Somalia 1964-66) Richard Alleman (Morocco 1968-70) Hayward Allen (Ethiopia 1962-64) Diane Demuth Allensworth (Panama 1964–66) Paul E. Allaire (Ethiopia 1964–66) Allman (Nepal 1966-68) Nancy Amidei (Nigeria 1964–65) Gary Amo (Malawi 1962–64) David C. Anderson (Costa Rica 1964-66) Lauri Anderson (Nigeria 1963-65) Peggy Anderson (Togo 1962-64) James Archambeault (Philippines 1965-67) Ron Arias . . .