Miscellany

As it says!

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The Peace Corps Helping RPCVs in the Big Apple and the Northeast
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NPCA Trip to Cuba–Now this is a good idea
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180 Submissions for Peace Corps Commemorative Design Competition. 3 Stage II Finalists
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Another "B" Student Makes in the Peace Corps–Barbara Hunt, 71, Gets her PhD
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The Man Who Got Early RPCVs Jobs–Bob Calvert. His Obituary
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PCV in Cambodia Hosted by Khmer Rouge War Criminal Meas Muth Family
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An RPCV Who Never Came Home
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Traveling as Tourists and Talking with Hemingway
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Mark Wentling (Honduras 1967-69, 1970-73; PC Staff Togo, Gabon & Niger 1973-77) Says Goodbye to Africa
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¿hablas español? If so watch (and listen) to Maureen Orth (Colombia 1964-66)
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URGENT LETTER FROM Don Messerschmidt (Nepal 1963-65)
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The Jack Nicklaus Room at the USGA Museum
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D.C. NEPAL FUNDRAISER–WEDNESDAY, MAY 27
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Ethiopian Immigrant Plans To Join The Peace Corps, Awarded Gates Millennial Scholarship
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Alana DeJoseph (Mali 1992-94) Drinking Tea The Mali Way

The Peace Corps Helping RPCVs in the Big Apple and the Northeast

[Editor’s Note: Now, this is a great idea for helping RPCVs and I congratulate the Office Third Goal and Returned Volunteer Services for getting it done. I don’t know if and when the Office has done this elsewhere in the U.S., but this is the first time I’ve seen it in NYC and the Northeast. ] John Coyne Books › Log In Northeast Regional RPCV Career Conference & United Nations Career Day Thursday, July 9, 2015 – Friday, July 10, 2015 Location NYU-Wasserman Center for Career Development 133 E. 13th Street, 2nd floor New York, NY 10003 Time 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT Description Register today to attend these two special RPCV Career Events taking place back-to-back in New York City in July.  Whether you are interested in practicing your interviewing skills and polishing your resume, meeting with RPCV-friendly employers at a career fair, or learning how to get . . .

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NPCA Trip to Cuba–Now this is a good idea

Now this is a good idea..the only failing, I see, is that the group (it appears) will not be going to Finca Vigia, Museo Hemingway in Havana. This  Museo is supported by The Finca Vigia Foundation, named after Hemingway’s home (which means “lookout farm” in Spanish), has for years worked with Cuban authorities to preserve the estate, restore Hemingway’s fishing boat, the Pilar, and conserve the author’s documents. One of the key figure in this foundation–connecting it directly to RPCVs is Bob Vila (Panama 1969-70) who was a PCV architect as a Volunteer, and later hosted This Old House on PBS. His current website is: www.bobvila.com. The Finca Vigía Foundation, a small American non-profit working in Havana, has navigated the shoals of US/Cuban relations to create a bi-national project that has saved one of the most significant monuments of American literature. In doing so, the Foundation has built bridges between . . .

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180 Submissions for Peace Corps Commemorative Design Competition. 3 Stage II Finalists

The Peace Corps Commemorative national design competition received 180 submissions on June 12, 2015. From June 13 until Friday June 26, the 12 members of our distinguished Stage I Jury reviewed, 180 design concepts. This first round of reviews yielded a short list of 40 submissions. The Jury then convened in Washington this past weekend to review the short list, deliberate and recommend Finalists and honorable mentions to the PCCF board. https://www.peacecorpsdesign.net/ The Stage I Jury has recommended three Stage II Finalists: * Jonathan Benner & John Bassett (BassettBenner) * Laurel McSherry, Nathan Heavers & Rebecca May (VPI) * Travis Price, Amir Ebadi & Kelly Davies Grace (Travis Price Architects) Recommended by the Jury for honorable mention are the following: * Benjamin Cadena (Studio Cadena) * Jane Weinzapfel & Yu-Liang Hsu (Leers Weinzapfel Associates) * Janet Bloomberg, Richard Loosle-Ortega, Matthew Dougherty, Jorge Concepcion & Andrew Baldwin (KUBE architecture) * William . . .

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Another "B" Student Makes in the Peace Corps–Barbara Hunt, 71, Gets her PhD

Working for the Peace Corps inspired Playa del Rey’s Barbara Hunt, 71, to get her doctorate (thanks to William Evensen for the ‘Heads Up’ on this story from Cal State L.A.) Playa del Rey resident Barbara Hunt, 71, received her doctorate in educational leadership from Cal State L.A. on June 12, 2015. Hunt’s doctoral degree gives her the academic equivalent of a trifecta at the school, where she previously earned her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and a master’s degree in health and safety. Currently a professor of environmental science and biology at Woodbury University in Burbank, Hunt said she hopes her latest academic achievement will inspire and motivate her twin grandsons and other young people. “This shows that you can always reach out for that brass ring no matter how old you are, no matter your emotional or physical circumstances, no matter where you find yourself in life,” Hunt . . .

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The Man Who Got Early RPCVs Jobs–Bob Calvert. His Obituary

Bob Calvert was hired by Sargent Shriver in the early days of the agency to set up a Placement Office for RPCVs returning home. He was a wonderful man, low keyed with a great sense of humor. This office he created for the agency did not last, of course, and today as most newly returned PCVs quickly realize, the agency turns their back on RPCVs. It wasn’t so when Calvert was around. Obituary Robert Calvert Jr., decorated WWII veteran, Peace Corps administrator, publisher-advocate for women and minorities, and beloved family man, died on June 11, 2015 at his home in Silver Spring, MD. He had been a long-time resident of Garrett Park. Bob was born December 23, 1922 in Santa Barbara, CA to Robert and Mary Calvert, the oldest of their three children, and raised in Scarsdale, NY. World War II was a defining experience in Bob’s life. He scored . . .

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PCV in Cambodia Hosted by Khmer Rouge War Criminal Meas Muth Family

An article in today’s Phnom Penh Post states that Meas Muth’s son hosted a Peace Corps Volunteer in 2013-14 during In-Country Training. The Peace Corps in-country has confirmed that fact. The news article written by reporters Charles Rollet and May Titthara and was published today, Monday, June 29, 2015. This is the article: Meas Muth, a former navy chief of the Khmer Rouge and war-crimes suspect A current volunteer for the United States’ Peace Corps program in Cambodia lived with alleged Khmer Rouge war criminal Meas Muth for several months last year as part of his official service in Battambang’s Samlot district, the program has acknowledged. Muth, 76, lives freely despite being charged in Case 003 by the Khmer Rouge tribunal for allegedly executing, enslaving and torturing enemies of the regime, including many foreigners, during his time as one of the Khmer Rouge’s top commanders. But that history didn’t stop the Peace . . .

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An RPCV Who Never Came Home

I  met up this past week with Sara Dixon Hester in Hempstead, England where Sara has lived most of her life since her volunteer days as a PCV in Addis Ababa and Shashamane, Ethiopia. I was an APCD when Sara arrived in 1965. Sara, in her first year, went on a blind date (arranged by another PCV) and met John Hester, a Brit teaching at the Wingate School, and one of the ex-pats involved with a theater group in Addis. It was Sara’s second year in Ethiopia when she had the date and she had already ‘begged’ me to move her out of the city and I agreed to do so, just before she met the ‘man of her life.’ So John Hester and Sara had a long-distance romance in Ethiopia. Luckily, Hester had a car to get him on weekends down into the Rift Valley to Shashamane, a town . . .

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Traveling as Tourists and Talking with Hemingway

Having just returned from Scotland and England, and having watched tourists from all over the world, especially Asia,  traveling in packs and by bus, I was remembering (fondly) how all of us traveled in our time overseas on buses and trains packed with HCNs and more than a few chickens and goats for seatmates. And than as my mind wandered, (which it does) and I thought….’What if Hemingway had been a PCV?’ and this daydream turned up…. What if Hemingway had been a PCV doing small scale farming with the Kikuyu shortly after he was divorced from his third wife and not yet married to Miss Mary? What if, Hemingway, who had lived in more places than there are Peace Corps countries of assignments and offended many more people even than John Coyne, was asked–in his real life–if the earth did move, there on the brown, pine-needled floor of the . . .

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Mark Wentling (Honduras 1967-69, 1970-73; PC Staff Togo, Gabon & Niger 1973-77) Says Goodbye to Africa

After two years as a PCV in Honduras, Mark went to Africa in 1970 as a Peace Corps Volunteer, working in the southern Ewe district of Agu, near Gha. Next he was hired as an APCD for rural development. He left Togo in early 1975 to serve as the Peace Corps CD in Gabon and, briefly, in the Central African Republic.  In 1976, he was transferred by the Peace Corps to Niger, and in 1977, started a long career with USAID in Niger, then onto Guinea, Togo, Benin, Angola, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, Congo, Zambia, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Madagascar and South Africa. He worked as the USAID Mission Director in six of these countries. After USAID, his work with NGOs took him to Niger, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Congo and Angola. Work and travel has allowed him to visit all . . .

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¿hablas español? If so watch (and listen) to Maureen Orth (Colombia 1964-66)

Maureen Orth (Colombia 1964-66) was featured on Colombia’s version of Sixty Minutes on June 1st. Congressman Sam Farr (Colombia 1964-66) is also on the segment as well as images of other early PCVs in country. Here is the link to the program: http://losinformantes.noticiascaracol.com/ As a PCV, Maureen, with the help from coffee growers, established a school in Medellin, Colombia. A decade or so ago, she returned to Colombia and created the Marina Orth Foundation which has established a model education program emphasizing Technology, English and leadership in Colombia. Today, Maureen is a Special Correspondent for Vanity Fair magazine. She is also the author of  Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History and The Importance of Being Famous, a collection of her pieces from Vanity Fair articles with updates and commentary.

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URGENT LETTER FROM Don Messerschmidt (Nepal 1963-65)

Friends: Shortly after the Nepal Earthquake of April 25 2015, Peace Corps/Nepal withdrew all 53 volunteers and 32 trainees and sent them home, out of concern for “Volunteers’ health, safety and security.” See peacecorps.gov/media/forpress/press/2548/, and peacecorps.gov/resources/faf/nepal/. I am seeking to find out who among the almost 4,000 volunteers who have served in Nepal, have either returned since April 25 (or were there at the time and stayed on) to help in earthquake relief and recovery, and any others who have been working from home on Nepal Earthquake relief, fund raising, etc. I am preparing to write an article which touches on PC and RPCV response to the crisis, and I need their stories and perspectives. If you are one of them, or know of one or more, please contact me by email at dmesserschmidt@gmail.com. I, too, am going to Nepal, arriving in Kathmandu on June 13 for about a month. . . .

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The Jack Nicklaus Room at the USGA Museum

In my other role in life–a golf writer–I was invited to the USGA Museum in Far Hills, New Jersey on Wednesday to the dedication of the new ‘Jack Nicklaus Room’. Jack joins Bob Jones, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Mickey Wright. The room has something like 80 artifacts and interactive displays featuring Jack’s career. There was a dedication ceremony on the lawns and Jack’s whole family was with him. Here are a few photos from the afternoon event. If you are close to New Jersey, this is a wonderful museum, even if you don’t play the game. Jack and Barbara Nicklaus at USGA dedication ceremony for The Jack Nicklaus Room. (©USGA/Chris Keane)

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D.C. NEPAL FUNDRAISER–WEDNESDAY, MAY 27

I received this information from a dear friend, Busy Graham, who is a Takoma Park, Maryland resident and the daughter of  Dick Graham one of the early Peace Corps Country Directors (Tunisia 1963-65) working with Sarge at HQ from 1961-63. Busy’s mother later worked at the Peace Corps, recruiting CDs, and was responsible for hiring many of the first women directors for the agency. Busy is now involved with hosting a fundraiser for Nepal this coming Wednesday, May 27 in the DC area (Takoma Park/Silver Spring) — she is trying to reach as many RPCVs and Staff who live in the DC area to let them know about this event. Wednesday, May 27, 7:00-9:30pm NEPAL EARTHQUAKE RELIEF — FUNDRAISING CONCERT Seekers Church 276 Carroll St. NW DC (across from Takoma metro & BusBoys & Poets) Featuring the BlackJacks band, LEA, Mary Amato, and friends — plus Nepali singer, Ramesh Pariyar and . . .

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Ethiopian Immigrant Plans To Join The Peace Corps, Awarded Gates Millennial Scholarship

African Immigration Trend Has A Strong Base In D.C. Area WAMU 88.5 By: Armando Trull May 20, 2015 Over the past 40 years, the number of black immigrants coming to the United States has quadrupled. The majority of them have arrived from Jamaica and Haiti, but now the origin countries are changing. Africa is now represented more than ever before. The new trend has already taken hold in D.C., where African immigrants have accounted for much of the growth in the region’s black immigration, says Mark Hugo Lopez, research director at the Pew Research Center, which recently released a study on the data. “The growth in the number of African immigrants, black African immigrants has really been the driver in the growth of the black immigrant population overall, which now stands at 3.8 million,” Lopez says. In the D.C. region almost 15 percent of blacks are foreign born – that’s . . .

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