Author - Joanne Roll

The Voice of American webpage has the following announcement: VOA News November 13, 2014 7:46 AM The United States has announced it will set up a Peace Corps program in Myanmar, also known as Burma. It is the latest way in which the U.S. has expanded cooperation with the long-isolated Southeast Asian country. A White House statement said there is no better way for the U.S. to demonstrate its commitment to Myanmar than through such “people-to-people connections at a grassroots level.” It says the first Peace Corps volunteers will arrive in Myanmar in late 2015 and will undergo three months of training before moving to their work sites for two years. The announcement coincides with a visit to Myanmar by U.S. President Barack Obama, who is attending a regional summit and meeting with the country’s leaders. During the visit, Mr. Obama has expressed concern that Myanmar is slowing, or even . . .

Are Peace Corps applications really at an historic high? Well not exactly. They are evidently the highest since data was kept electronically, beginning in the late 90s. It has always been a numbers game and one brave RPCV staffer refused to play it. Long before Marian Haley Beil (Ethopia I 62-64) was publisher of Peace Corps Worldwide and before she partnered with John Coyne to promote Peace Corps Writers through newsletters and websites, she was one of the first women staffers at Peace Corps Washington From 11/1965 to 12/1969 Marian worked at the Peace Corps in the Reports and Special Studies Branch (cleverly named by her boss – RSS! These are the initials for Robert Sargent Shriver, Director of the Peace Corps, then ) of the Office of Volunteer Support, first as Deputy Chief of the branch and later as Chief. Among other things, the branch was responsible for all reporting . . .

Thank you to John Coyne for forwarding the following Peace Corps Update designed specifically for RPCVs.  I believe that it is published through the Office of the Third Goal.  The webpage has a menu specifically designed to link RPCVs to more information. Here is the link to view that entire webpage: http://www.mailoutinteractive.com/Industry/View.aspx?id=626719&q=799195384&qz=899601 Of real interest to RPCVs might well be  the description of the positions open with Peace Corps Response.  Scroll down to that heading. Much of this information can be found in other parts of the official Peace Corps website.  However, this Update is designed specifically for RPCVs and includes the personal letter from Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet. At first glance, I am not sure how much of an incentive the loan program would have to those RPCVs struggling with gigantic student loan debt.  The plan appears to require  120 payments be made first. I think that is ten years. . . .

The Washington Post reports that the Peace Corps’ local network in Liberia helped the CDC  begin its ebola fighting efforts. Here is  the link to the article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-ebola-fighters-head-to-africa-but-will-the-military-and-civilian-effort-be-enough/2014/10/25/1ceba6a8-5b99-11e4-8264-deed989ae9a2_story.html Thanks to the National  Peace Corps Association for posting the information about the Washington Post article on their Facebook page. From that article, read the following: Greg Thorne, the deputy team leader for the CDC in Liberia, wrote to Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet this past week, thanking the agency for smoothing the path for American public health workers in the county of Gbarpolu. “We, the CDC team members, entered Gbarpolu as strangers,” Thorne wrote. “Carried by community goodwill . . . and connected by our Peace Corps colleague’s extensive local network, we were able to rapidly integrate with the county leadership and earn the trust necessary for them to openly discuss challenges and take our suggestions to heart.” The Peace Corps staffers have . . .

Peace Corps applications were at an historic low for 2013. A campaign to increase applications for 2014 was successfully. It is not known how this will translate into serving Volunteers. It is possible, however, to look at the consequences of the lack of an adequate number of applications for 2013. The Peace Corps Performance and Accountability Report Fiscal Year 2013 reported “The number of applications has produced challenge in meeting the demand for skilled Volunteers at the quantity requested by posts.” Peace Corps does not include comprehensive demographic statistics in its annual reports. To obtain this information, it was necessary to make a FOIA request. The request was made on July 14, 2014 and this information was not received until October 22rd. It is not known if some or all of these positions were filled in 2014. Absent current data, it is difficult to know exactly what is happening with . . .

The National Peace Corps Association is a membership association for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. It is not an official part of the Peace Corps. However, it has always advocated for the Peace Corps Community. Now the Peace Corps has established  a more formal relationship with the NPCA. This Memorandum of Understanding was signed during the NPCA’s annual gathering last June. Read the Memorandum of Understanding between the Peace Corps and the National Peace Corps Association by clicking MOU between Peace Corps and NPCA The following description of the activities is from that Memorandum of Understanding: “V. AREAS OF COOPERATION A.   Under this MOU, subject to certain limitations applicable to each party, the Peace Corps and NPCA intend to collaborate on areas of mutual interest that may include, but are not limited to, activities and initiatives that serve to educate the public on the Peace Corps and its mission, programs, and . . .

In 2010, Peace Corps opened up the Peace Corps Volunteer Response Program to professionals who had never served in the Peace Corps.  Previously, the program had been designed to allow  only RPCVs to accept short term assignments with the Peace Corps to utilize the expertise they had gained through their Peace Corps service. Facts to note in this profile about the Peace Corps Response Program: 1) The total of Peace Corps Response applications for 2013 was 2631, actual applicants were 1506. There were 184 Peace Corps Response Volunteers, serving on September 30, 2013. Here is the chart showing these numbers: -2012 to April 2014, 14-0213_-_responsive_material_-_fy12_fy13_fy14- 2) It is very difficult to get detailed demographic data from Peace Corps. These statistics are already a year old.  It is not possible to know how many of the 1506 applicants documented in 2013 went on to serve in 2014. 3) My assumption is that the . . .

The Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011 established a Sexual Assault Advisory Council charged with the responsibility of reviewing Peace Corps’ compliance with that law and issuing an annual report. Peace Corps announced the first report in a press release. Since then, the report has been posted without notice. It is not listed on the Peace Corps Home page under Agency Links, nor Agency Documents, nor Safety and Security. It can be found only by those who know to put the correct heading, “Sexual Assault Advisory Council”, in the search box.  Here is the direct link to that important report: http://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/policies/PCAC_Annual_Report.pdf The law, itself, is the work of a brave and brilliant group of RPCV women, First Response Action. These women were victims, themselves, of sexual assault, during service as was current Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet. First Response Action organized to call attention to Peace Corps . . .

In the fiscal year ending 9.30.2013, Peace Corps applications were at an all time low, at 10,091. The total of serving Volunteers on September 30, 2013 was 7209.  Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet announced an ambitious goal of doubling the number of application for fiscal year 2014, which ended this September 30, 2014. The Director streamlined the application process, and personally toured college campuses touting the value of Peace Corps service, as well as initiating a media campaign promoting Peace Corps. While not quite doubled, the effort has resulted in an  recent historic high number of applications at 17,336. The increase occurred despite the negative publicity associated with the New York Times article describing the medical care received by serving PCV Nick Castle (See: https://peacecorpsworldwide.org/trail-of-medical-missteps-in-a-peace-corps-death-–-nytimes-july-25-2014/) and the ongoing negotiations between the Peace Corps and the Office of the Peace Corps Inspector General over the implementation of the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act. . . .

Applications to Peace Corps in 2013 were at a historic low.  In response, Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet launched a campaign to increase applications by streamlining the application process and touring college campuses to promote Peace Corps service. The strategy is winning. From the Peace Corps website: “With our new, shorter application process, we’re seeing record numbers of Americans apply for Peace Corps service,” Hessler-Radelet said. “While the school year may have just begun, I want to make sure college seniors considering the Peace Corps apply as soon as possible so they can secure the volunteer position of their choice and leave for service shortly after graduation.” Read the entire press release at: http://www.peacecorps.gov/media/forpress/press/2439/ And from the Twitter feed posted on the Peace Corps website: We’re so close to setting application numbers history! Will yours be the one that pushes us over? ‪http://1.usa.gov/1rYeC3Nb ‪#ApplyPC Last fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, applications numbered 10,091.  . . .

Peace Corps  has a webpage with job and career information on its official website. Here is the link to the Peace Corps  jobs information: http://www.peacecorps.gov/resources/returned/careercen/ The Peace Corps Returned Services for Volunteers team  emailed the following: “All Peace Corps jobs are listed on www.avuecentral.com. You will need to register and create an account to view the jobs, just as you would with USAJobs.gov.” Peace Corps staff pioneer, Dr. Robert B. Textor, crafted the policy of limited tenure at Peace Corps. His dream was a Peace Corps agency with an almost all RPCV staff. Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, (The Gambia 1987-89) Erica Burman is the Director of Communication at the National Peace Corps  Association, Erica Burman – Communications.  She reports that the NPCA also maintains a job page. Anyone can access the page, you do not have to be a member of the NPCA.  Thanks to Erica for the following link: http://www.PeaceCorpsConnect.org . . .

The voice for Peace Corps in Washington has become louder because now there is a Peace Corps Caucus. The dictionary definition for caucus is: A group of people who share concerns within a political party or larger organization. The larger organization is the US House of Representatives and the group of people who initiated the Peace Corps Caucus are the five Returned Peace Corps Volunteers currently serving in the House of Representatives – California Democratic Congressman Sam Farr (Colombia 1964-66) California Democratic Congressman Mike Honda (El Salvador 1965-67) California Democratic Congressman John Garamendi (Ethiopia 1966-68) Wisconsin Republican Congressman Tom Petri (Somalia 1966-67) and Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Joe Kennedy (Dominican Republic 2004-06). Representative Kennedy is the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy and the grand nephew of both President Kennedy and Sargent Shriver. The National Peace Corps Association describes in excellent detail the function of the Congressional Peace Corps Caucus; lists the . . .

Updated 9.5.14 From the ktvu website: http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local/2-investigates-berkeley-family-files-15m-claim-pea/nhCkC/ “The parents of a University of California Berkeley graduate have filed a $15 million claim with the U.S. Peace Corps after their son died while stationed in China.” Nick Castle was the Peace Corps Volunteer who died in China during his service.  The story of his illness and death was chronicled in the recent NYTimes article, Trail of Medical Missteps in Peace Corps Death, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/26/world/asia/peace-corps-death-china-medical-missteps.html?_r=0 The TV station, ktvu, website link  includes a video in which   summarizes the known information about the death and has an interview with the parents. That article and accompanying comments and further interviews with RPCVs were posted on Peace Corps Worldwide. Here is that link: https://peacecorpsworldwide.org/“trail-of-medical-missteps-in-a-peace-corps-death”-–-nytimes-july-25-2014/ At the time of the New York Times article, the Office of Inspector General of the Peace Corps had not completed its evaluation of the facts in the death of Nick Castle.  It is not . . .

President Mahama of Ghana was recently in Washington DC to attend the African Summit. He spoke about his experience being taught by a Peace Corps Volunteer. Ghana was the first country to have Peace Corps Volunteers actually arrive in country in August of 1961. I believe it is the country with the longest continuing presence of Peace Corps. The interview is on YouTube. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9q77GmH-V0&feature=youtu.be&a

AmeriCorps celebrates its twenty anniversary on September 12th. The New York Times celebrates the program in an editorial in today’s Sunday edition and urges the administration to expand the program as the President had once promised. Certainly, AmericCorps is an excellent program and deserves the highest praise given in this editorial. To read the editorial, here is the link: http://nyti.ms/1tNoNqi The New York Times editorial is entitled “Broken Promises on National Service.” Peace Corps is not named in the editorial. Yet, the term “National Service” has traditionally included Peace Corps. In speaking of President Obama’s commitment to AmeriCorps, the editorial writer does note the President’s inclusion of “and other national service programs.” Certainly, in speaking of “national service”, Obama did include the Peace Corps: 06/30/2008, Independence, MO, Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: “…We should expand AmeriCorps and grow the Peace Corps. We should encourage national service by making it part of . . .