Author - Joanne Roll

President Obama promised the world, in his March 7th Saturday address that any “country who wants to be our friend or is our friend” will “Let Girls Learn.” Obama stressed that the barriers to the education of girls and women are not merely the lack of access or the money for uniforms, but can also include the risk of being hurt, kidnapped or worse for girls who want to learn. This is where the prestige and the power of the United States are critical. It is the essential piece to make this campaign successful. Peace Corps can provide the teachers and the advocates, the “boots on the ground.” But, Peace Corps Volunteers cannot intervene politically in a country, nor do they have much power to protect girls. It will take the governments of our host countries, supported by the United States to eliminate these barriers. And Obama has declared: “Let . . .

On August 13, 2013, the  Peace Corps Medical Director addressed the new FDA warnings on the anti-malaria drug,  mefloquine hydrochloride.  His statement was posted on the Peace Corps’s official blog, Passport.  Usually there are no responses to posts on the Passport blog as it usually is informative, but not interactive. For this article, however, PCVs and RPCVsc did comment and those  are important.  To read the article, without the formatting distractions, here is the text to link to: http://passport.peacecorps.gov/2013/08/09/staying-safe-preventing-malaria/ Here is the article,copied and pasted.  The formatting may be distracting. Staying safe, preventing malaria BY PEACE CORPS ON AUGUST 9, 2013 • ( 10 COMMENTS ) By Barry G. Simon, M.D., Peace Corps Medical Director, Office of Medical Services Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its warning label on the anti-malarial drug mefloquine hydrochloride, and there has been a surge in news coverage lately about the side . . .

The Office of Strategic Partnerships at the Peace Corps is currently managing more than 40  public and private partnerships as well as relationships with 147 colleges and universities.  “Public and private partnerships are a priority”, according to Peace Corps. “They enable us to open doors of opportunity and implement interventions to save lives and create ripples of hope.” Peace Corps Global Partnerships There are two multinational for profit corporations. Peace Corps is involved with the economic developments programs of these two corporations. 1.  Water and Development Alliance (WADA) Agreement From the Peace Corps Press Office: The Water and Development Alliance (WADA) is a partnership between The Coca-Cola Company and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that addresses community water needs in developing countries around the world. In 2012, the Peace Corps partnered with WADA to jointly create water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) training curriculum for the use of . . .

The murder of  Kate Puzey happened during a transition from the Bush Administration to that of Obama. The Peace Corps Director has almost no authority to plan for continuity during these times. The Director may or may not remain during a transition period. There may be only be an Acting Director or a caretaker Deputy Director. Only the newly elected officials can provide for adequate transitional planing. It has not been a priority for politicians of either party. For example, then Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetler and most political appointees, all Bush appointees, resigned the day of the Obama inauguration. No new Director had been appointed. Some of the most egregious Peace Corps tragedies happened during times of such political transitions, in my opinion. A list would include: January 1977 –  PC Volunteer was convicted in Tonga of the murder of fellow Volunteer, Deborah Ann Gardner. He was released to the Peace . . .

Does Peace Corps use the work being done by RPCVs in the field of international development and intercultural studies? This question is not rhetorical. My answer would be “No”.  In the Performance and Accountability Report FY 2014 (PAR-FY 2014), Peace Corps stated the following, page 25: “Outdate Intercultural training materials and practices: The academic field of intercultural studies has made great strides in recent years; however, the agency’ training materials and practices do not yet reflect the latest research and findings around creating, assessing, placing, training, and supporting Volunteers and staff to ensure they have the intercultural competence to successfully live and work in local communities. The agency is in the process of incorporating best practices from the intercultural field, but significant work remains for the agency to be a leader in the field.” If Peace Corps indicated in this report that the tremendous work being done by RPCVs would . . .

Dean Rusk, Secretary of State during the Kennedy Administration, spelled out the role of the Peace Corps in Foreign Policy in this directive.This Airgram went out to all embassies in the Third World.  The actual document was scanned by the Research Staff at the JFK Library and received  February 3, 2015.  The document comes from National Security Files, Box 284, Peace Corps: General, 1/63-3/63. Here are scans of the original document. Side 1 – click for larger image . Side 2 – click for larger image The actual text in the scan of the original document is hard to read when it is reproduced.  I have typed this text from that scan of the original copy, as follows: From: DEPARTMENT OF STATE Date:  March 25, 1963 SUBJECT: PEACE CORPS ROLE IN U. S. FOREIGN POLICY The Peace Corps has been in operation for two years. From the beginning of the Peace . . .

From time to time, I have heard RPCVs talk about not being able to access their COS or personnel records because Peace Corps didn’t have them or they had been destroyed.  Today, on the FaceBook page of the US National Archives, I found this posting that documents the rumor about such a fire: (Note:  This does not mean that Peace Corps records were destroyed or damaged.  It just documents that there was such a fire.  I am trying to get information from Peace Corps about PCV personal records that may have been damaged.) “US National Archives shared Preservation Programs at the U.S. National Archives‘s pos Our staff in the Preservation Program in St. Louis work with documents that were damaged in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center. Some of the documents that are our staff treat are contaminated with mold. To keep our staff safe and healthy, we recently had . . .

Correction:  The link I initially provided to this report does not work and when I tried it from the blog,  I got the message “Access denied.”  I was able to access other OIG reports from copying and pasting the URL.  However, this report will not allow that. The report can still be accessed by going to the Peace Corps official website.  Instructions are included further down. The relationship between the Inspector General and the Director of the Peace Corps is not  always adversarial. The Inspector General may also provide information to the Director  designed to identify a problem and provide suggestions for resolution. Here is an example of such a Management Advisory dated November 21, 2014. In the discussion, the IG does, however, refer to reporting requirements the IG believes are the obligation of the Peace Corps staff. To read the report with its specifics, as well to see how . . .

Alana DeJoseph is an RPCV (Mali 1992-1994) and an experienced professional producer of documentaries and is now undertaking the monumental task of creating a documentary on the history of the Peace Corps. The NPCA is supporting her effort, but it is, unfortunately, not an official program of the Peace Corps. To read about her work and make a contribution to support the effort as well as contribute your own memorabilia, here is the link: http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/2015/01/a-towering-task-telling-the-peace-corps-story/ In Alana’s own words, from her article: Imagine a thorough, in-depth documentary about the whole history of the Peace Corps – not just the 60s, not just individual Volunteer experiences, but a thoughtful consideration of the agency’s past and its relevance in the future. Think of the discussions in line at the coffee shop going from “Didn’t the Peace Corps have something to do with Kennedy?” to “I understand that the Peace Corps was in Afghanistan, . . .

Every year, federal agencies publish a Performance and Accountability Report. Although written in bureaucratic/management jargon, it has important information and worth reading and reviewing. Please read the report. Many may disagree with my review and that would be to the good.  The more eyes the better. The report is listed on the official Peace Corps website. Here is the link: http://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/policies/annrept2014.pdf FY2014 ended September 30, 2014 and the data derives from that time. There were 6,818 Volunteers serving in the field, 63% of the Volunteers were female and 37% male. The low number of Volunteers reflects both the decrease in applications seen in 2012 and 2013 and the evacuation of Volunteers for security and safety reasons. Peace Corps has an excellent record for removing Volunteers, safely, swiftly, and silently, when a deteriorating political situation puts them at risk. Such evacuations were conducted in the Ukraine and Kenya. Programs were suspended . . .

Kate Puzey was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin who was found brutally murdered in her village, in March 2009.  It has been alleged that she was murdered because she complained to her Peace Corps Director that a teacher, associated with the Peace Corps, had been sexually exploiting his students.That person as well as his brother are among suspects who have been in prison for five years in Benin, but there is not sufficient evidence to bring any one to trial. In March of 2014, Congress wrote to the F.B.I., the State Department, and the Inspector General of the Peace Corps requesting greater collaboration among the three in solving the case.To read John Coyne’s review of this request and the history of Kate Puzey, here is the link: https://peacecorpsworldwide.org/congress-2/ Here is the link: to read the Congressional request: http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2014_Puzey_Investigation_DearColleague.pdf In that letter, there is reference to the collaboration between the three Agencies . . .

The JFK Library has issued a special  Christmas letter that President Kennedy wrote to a little girl who was concerned about the safety of Santa Claus!  Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q7HJSMsq20 In President Kennedy’s last year in office, he successfully negotiated a limited test ban treaty with the Soviet Union.  From the Department of State:  Here is the link: http://www.state.gov/t/isn/4797.htm Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water BUREAU OF ARMS CONTROL, VERIFICATION, AND COMPLIANCE Signed at Moscow August 5, 1963 Entered into force October 10, 1963 On a personal note, if I may, this was a special Christmas surprise for me.  October 10, 1963 was the day I became a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Jonathan Pearson, Advocate for the National Peace Corps Association,  is reporting: “Tuesday night, as President Obama signed a $1.1 trillion appropriations bill to fund most of the federal government for the remainder of the current fiscal year, one very small component of the bill means fairer treatment for female Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs). Included in the Peace Corps section of the 1,600 page spending package is corrective language that will implement the provisions of the Peace Corps Equity Act (S. 2291; H.R. 4578). The legislation was designed to support PCVs the same as others serving our nation overseas, should a Volunteer seek to terminate a pregnancy in the rare instances of rape, incest or life endangerment.” Here is the link to read his entire article: http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/2014/12/peace-corps-equity-victory/ Why is this important? The Hyde Amendment passed in the 70s stipulated that no federal funding could be used for abortion services except in . . .

The Office of the Inspector General has released a report on its investigation of the medical care that PCV Nick Castle received while serving in China.  To read the report, here is the link: OIG Report on Medical Care of Castle We were able to obtain the actual report because the Office of the Inspector General has released the report to the public. We made a FOIA or Freedom of Information Request in order to get the report as soon as it was published.  The Summary of Findings is taken directly from the report. Here is a Summary of the Results from that report.  I converted the PDF into a word document, so it may be difficult to read.  The actually report is 32 pages long.  There is a Synopsis in the beginning of the report.  This Summary of Results begins on about page 30. Summary of Results During OIG’s . . .

Nick Castle was a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in China. He died while under the care of the Peace Corps doctor. There has been much controversy over the medical treatment that Castle received. His family has filed suit against the Peace Corps, charging that his death was avoidable. The New York Times  published an article, “Trail of Medical Missteps in Peace Corps Death“, July 25, 2014, detailing the events leading up to Castle’s death. The Inspector General of the Peace Corps has now completed her evaluation of the care that PCV Castle received immediately before his death. That report has not been released to the public.The New York Times has published a new article, by Sheryl Gay Stolberg, following up on the earlier article. and does includes the statement that the Inspector General found ““cascading delays and failures in the treatment” of Mr. Castle. To read the entire NYTimes article, . . .