Peace Corps: Public Records

Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet  made this revelation  in an interview in MORE magazine. During this in-depth interview, the Director talked about the new application process as well as other changes in the Peace Corps. In discussing her own Peace Corps service, she referenced what had happened to her and how important safety and security for Volunteers was to her, now. The interview is made all the more gripping because it was conducted by Beatrice Hogan, RPCV Uzbekistan 92-94,who served as part of the first wave of volunteers sent to the former Soviet Union. Hogan is now Research Chief at MORE. Read the interview. Here is the link: http://www.more.com/news/personalities/carrie-hessler-radelet-peace-corps-director

Peace Corps is suddenly being promoted everywhere. A glamorous Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet appeared on RPCV Chris Matthews “Hardball” TV show. President Obama announces in a new TV commercial “Peace Corps Wants You.”The focus of the attention is the rollout of the new, streamlined application process. Numerous articles are describing and analyzing this new “quick” application process. To begin at the beginning, The Peace Corps Blog, Passport, has the announcement of the new process. Here is the text of the Passport Post: “The notion of going to another country to teach skills and learn about a different culture doesn’t seem out of the ordinary today, but for much of the Peace Corps’ history, we were the only volunteer program that let Americans make a difference and see the world. Over the course of 52 years, Peace Corps has sent 215,000 trained and skilled Americans to work beside people in host countries, . . .

Applications for the traditional Peace Corps, twenty-seven month tour, have been declining. This is happening at the same time that Peace Corps is undergoing a major reorganization. Peace Corps Response, the program of short-term assignments, is now open to qualified applicants who are not Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and appears to be attracting many applicants. Also, in addition to the graduate degree programs Universities are offering to RPCVs, Peace Corps is now in partnership with universities who are combining Peace Corps service with ongoing degree programs.So the questions may be: Are applicants choosing these new programs rather than the traditional programs? I don’t have the answer. But I will share some data on applications for the traditional program and Peace Corps Response that I obtained through Freedom of Information request (FOIA 14-213), as well as information in the Peace Corps Accountability Report of 2013. http://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/policies/annrept2013.pdf The numbers for comparison will be . . .

Always the very best way to understand Peace Corps history in a country is to turn to that country for perspective.  There may be conflicting opinions and that may be at the heart of the current controversy.  In 2009, then President Uribe wrote to Acting Peace Corps Director Jody Olson inviting the Peace Corps to return to Colombia.  His letter is a powerful testimony to the value of Peace Corps.  But years earlier, there was a popular movie in Colombia, entitled “El Rey”. The movie’s premise was that Peace Corps Volunteers had brought cocaine production and marketing to Colombia.  Peace Corps Online, published by RPCV Hugh Pickens, described the movie and the controversy. Here is the link to those articles: http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/467/2024372.html Thanks to RPCV Bob Arias  for a copy of President Uribe’s letter.  Bob’s extraordinary Peace Corps resume includes work with Peace Corps Response over five years in various South and . . .

On Memorial Day, the nation pauses to remember and honor those who died defending this country in War.  President Kennedy honored those not merely by recognizing their sacrifice but by working to make such sacrifices not necessary. In his last summer in his office, he signed the Test Ban Treaty with Russia and toured Europe, making his famous “Ich Bin a Berliner” at the Berlin Wall.Perhaps his most eloquent speech on behalf of peace, is the one he made in Bonn, Germany, heralding the beginning of the German Peace Corps.  I think it is fitting to listen again to him.  The President speaks of the conflict with Communism, a conflict that is now won and done.  But we face new threats and challenges,” including the common enemies of mankind.”  Kennedy’s words still ring true. Here  is this gem: Kennedy speaking about the creation of the German Peace Corps. It is . . .

Baylor  University has received a grant from the Congressional Directed Medical Research Project and administered by the U.S. Department of Defense. to study the potential of chloroquine to reduce the risk of breast cancer. (Corrected: July 2015)Chloroquine was taken to guard against malaria. Aralen is the name I knew for the the drug. This study group at Baylor has partnered with the National Peace Corps Association to locate women who served in the Peace Corps between 1961 and 1990.  This is not an official study of the United States Peace Corps. Here are  the important links to learn more about the study. National Peace Corps Association cancer study page is now live: http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/2014/05/rpcvs-and-breast-cancer-prevention-study/ National Peace Corps Association  also have a blog post on it: http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/cancerstudy/ The Baylor study will use an innovative sampling method, Respondent Driven Sampling, that requires each respondent to name and refer more respondents to the study. Here is . . .

First Response Action is the advocacy group created by RPCV Casey Frazee and fellow RPCV women who had been sexually assaulted during their service. These are the brave women whose work resulted in the passage of the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011. To read more about the organization, here is the link: http://firstresponseaction.blogspot.com The legislation was designed to provide protocols and procedures to protect serving Volunteers and to ensure that if sexual assault unfortunately occurred, that the Volunteer would receive immediate care, based on best practices. The current  concern is  about how well the Peace Corps agency has fully implemented all the mandates of that law. The Office of the Inspector General for the Peace Corps evaluated  the implementation of the law and issued its current report, signed by all parties on November 13, 2013. The process of preparing such a report and giving the agency time . . .

The Strategic Plan for Peace Corps – Fiscal 2014 -2018 has been published. Here is the link: http://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/policies/pc_strategic_plan_2014-2018.pdf Written bureaucratically, it is still worth reading. Although, a translation from the early years would be so helpful. I found the following  goals or steps or bulletin points or targets of particular interest: The goal for applications for 2014 is 22,000. That is more than double the number of applications for 2013 and exceeds any number in the last seven years. The Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011 is still a goal to be reached, not a law  implemented. There will be two competitive internships to be offered to returning PCVs. Nothing about a policy of hiring RPCVs. There are no plans for a library nor a librarian. There is a statement that  program descriptions and other documents are only available to some carefully screened staff. This is done . . .

This information is copied from the 2013 Peace Corps Annual Performance and Accountability Report, page 21.   Here is the text to link to: http://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/policies/annrept2013.pdf “Reduction in the percentage of Volunteer positions that were filled by applicants for service (Indicator 4.1.1.b): Over the past three years, the agency has experienced difficulties in providing the number of Volunteers that have been requested by overseas posts. The number of Volunteers requested by a post represents the number of funded Volunteer positions that the post can fully support for 27 months of service. When Volunteer requests are not fully met, it represents a missed opportunity for the communities expecting Volunteers and for the talented and motivated Americans who could have served as Volunteers. The primary challenge in providing skilled Volunteers at the levels requested by posts   is the decrease in the number of applications for Peace Corps service over the last few years-from . . .

    This is a good time to remember how very much Robert Textor contributed to the Peace Corps. He was one of the original Peace Corps staffers. He believed passionately in the Volunteer and just as importantly, the RPCV. Textor was the the author of the “In, Up, and Out” policy or as it is more commonly known, “the five year rule.” But, he insisted that tenure should be eight years, not five. He envisioned a Peace Corps agency staffed 90% by RPCVs, arguing that the cross-cultural experience of the Volunteer was transformative and should be incorporated into every function of the Peace Corps agency. In the months before his passing, he was still fighting for that vision. When the Office of the Inspector General reviewed the impact of the Five Year Rule,in 2012, the evaluator, an RPCV(!), interviewed Dr. Textor. Dr. Textor wrote an essay elaborating on the . . .

As part of its major reorganization, Peace Corps has entered into an unique partnership with Kraft Foods’ Mondelez. To read the Memorandum of Understanding, here is the text to link to: https://peacecorpsworldwide.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/mou_peace_corps_mondelez.pdf The Memorandum of Understanding between the Peace Corps and Kraft Foods includes the requirement that each joint activity undertaken in accord with the agreement be described.  From the MOU: Activity Descriptions will include, at minimum: (1) a description of the activity and objectives; (2) performance indicators and expected results, as appropriate; (3) a proposed timeline; (4) the amount of funding, as appropriate, that Kraft Foods agrees to transfer to the Peace Corps to support the activity described in the Activity Description; (5) a budget describing the  proposed use of those funds; (6) reporting requirements, in accordance with applicable law, regulations, and Peace Corps policies; and (7) designation of project managers from the appropriate Peace Corps and Kraft Foods . . .

The Draft Strategic Plan is  available on the Peace Corps official website. Here is the link: http://www.peacecorps.gov/about/open/plan/ The deadline for RPCVs to comment on the plan is today,  December 2nd. . Here is the email address that is still accepting comments:  copy and paste: strategicplan@peacecorps.gov However, to see how effective suggestions made in 2009, were, read the  Letters to the then new Director Aaron Williams, including that of John Coyne, in August of 2009 on Hugh Pickens‘ Peace Corps Online: The text to link to is:  http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/3216275.html Peace Corps is not a public corporation, but rather a federal agency with a large number of political appointees. The 2016 may intervene with the implementation of the Strategic Plan. If the Republicans capture the White House in 2016, then their Political appointees will decide the direction for Peace Corps. The Peace Corps hierarchy is always waiting on the dock when the Ship of . . .

Here is the link to read the text of the draft Strategic Plan. http://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/opengov/PC_FY_2014-2018_Strategic_Plan_draft_11.8.13.pdf There are only twenty more days to give Peace Corps your opinions and suggestions after reviewing the draft plan. The government shut-down delayed the posting of the plan. Now, the holidays are fast approaching. Many of us may be preoccupied with the 50th Anniversary of the Kennedy Assassination.  Peace Corps is asking for comments from the RPCV community.  I would urge you all to review the plan and offer suggestions. Thanks to PC staffer Erin Durney for helping me negotiate the Draft FY 2014-2018 website.  There is also a direct link to the PDF form of the plan at the bottom of the webpage: www.peacecorps.gov/open/plan

Third Goal Activities and the role of RPCVs are part of the Draft Strategic Plan. I have underlined the two items that caught my attention. Rather than the all RPCV run agency that Dr. Robert Textor envisioned with his “In, Up and Out” policy”, the Peace Corps agency will “Establish a competitive internship program where exceptional RPCVs compete for year-long positions within the agency and its strategic partners.” The other interesting item is the plan to engage RPCVs in a network “similar to a college alumni model”. I found the reference to college illuminating. I am beginning to think that the institutional model that best describes the Peace Corps best is that of a university. The “traditional” Peace Corps Volunteer is the undergraduate. The RPCVs in the lower level positions are the graduate assistants, soon to be replaced by the proposed “interns.” The other employees are the adjunct professors, on . . .

Draft FY 2014-2018 Strategic Plan Over the past several months, the Peace Corps has been engaged in a comprehensive and highly inclusive process to develop a new strategic plan to guide the agency’s work over the next five years (fiscal years 2014-2018). The draft strategic plan strengthens far-reaching reforms introduced in recent years, addresses decades-old challenges, and leverages promising opportunities to increase the impact of our Volunteers and improve our operations. Please review the key components of the plan noted below and if you have any feedback or comments, let us know, We can accept comments on the draft strategic plan until December 2, 2013. Note:  The above is from the Peace Corps website. Here is the link to read the mission statement: http://www.peacecorps.gov/open/plan/ It is possible to read the specific activities projected to meet the goals as outlined.  Go to: http://www.peacecorps.gov/open/plan/ and then click on the heading written in orange.  The site will . . .