Peace Corps: Public Records

What is the Kennedy Legacy?  And, is the Peace Corps an integral part of the Kennedy Legacy or just a footnote to history? Larry J. Sabato attempts to answer the first question with this comprehensive book that begins with the Kennedy era but continues to analyze how Kennedy influenced politics and culture for the fifty years after his death. To sign up for the course, the text to link to is: https://www.coursera.org/course/kennedy The University of Virginia, where Larry J. Sabato is  the Professor of Politics, and founder and director of the Center for Politics at the University, has offered this online course based on the book and narrated by Professor Sabato. The course is free. The course is in its second week, but it is easy to go back and view the first short lectures. Sabato offers commentary, but the lectures are dominated by videos from the times. It is fabulous . . .

Who knows? Before sequestration, before Congressional gridlock, before the government shutdown, before the possibility of default, Peace Corps Washington was in the process of answering that question. The Peace Corps Annual Report for 2012 called for a Strategic Plan 2015 – 2018 to be developed. The Report further stated that input for the development of the 2015-2018 Agency Strategic Plan would be solicited from many different sources, including Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. “How could Returned Peace Corps Volunteers contribute to this plan?” I asked.  The Press Team responded: “The agency began engaging RPCVs in the development of the new strategic plan with three focused discussions with RPCVs during the career conference in February.  Moving forward, the agency will gather additional feedback on the draft strategic plan from RPCV groups in late summer and Fall 2013.  We will also be providing an email address where individual RPCVs can send their input.” . . .

The JFK Library is shut down,but its website remains operational. Many more Peace Corps items have been digitalized from the Kennedy years and can be read, heard or viewed. Among them is this gem: Kennedy speaking about the creation of the German Peace Corps. It is all the more powerful because it occurred during JFK’s trip to Europe at the height of the Cold War. Surrounded by displays of military machinery and flanked by armed soldiers, JFK spoke of Peace and how unarmed Volunteers might win it, not with  bombs, but with helping hands. To listen to the audio, here is the link http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHA-196-004.aspx Kennedy’s tour of Europe, June 23 to July 2, 1963, is captured on film and available to view. Kennedy visited Germany, Ireland, Britain and Italy. The film records his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech. No one knew that this was to be Kennedy’s farewell tour. The . . .

Join Pat Daoust – Chief Nursing Officer for Seed Global Health, Mike Robie – a recruiter from Peace Corps Response, and currently serving Peace Corps Global Health Service Partnership (GHSP) Volunteers on Tuesday, September 17, 2013 at 12:00PM EST for a Google+ Hangout. This online conversation with GHSP Volunteers in the field is the first of its kind for Peace Corps and it is a unique opportunity for potential GHSP applicants to hear directly from those currently serving as physician or nurse educators. Share this Hangout with anyone who might be interested in serving in the GHSP or with those who would like to learn more about this new innovative program. The GHSP Hangout will be broadcast live on this event page for viewers to watch in real-time. CLICK to watch the live Google+ event. The video will connect to that event page at 12PM EST and you will be . . .

Volunteers prepare to leave for one-year assignments working as medical or nursing educators in Tanzania, Malawi and Uganda WASHINGTON, D.C. July 18, 2013 – Thirty U.S. doctors and nurses from across the country were sworn in at the White House today as the first class of Peace Corps Global Health Service Partnership volunteers. The new volunteers will leave this weekend for one-year assignments as medical or nursing educators in Tanzania, Malawi and Uganda, where they will work alongside local faculty to train the next generation of healthcare professionals. “These volunteers will soon depart for a ground-breaking adventure – an opportunity to make a real difference in communities abroad while enhancing their own skills,” Peace Corps Deputy Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet said. “The Global Health Service Partnership is an exciting continuation of the Peace Corps’ commitment to global health.” The Global Health Service Partnership – a collaboration of the Peace Corps, the . . .

In September of 1961, Colombia welcomed the first Peace Corps Volunteers to Latin America. Colombia I was the first Peace Corps group to enter training and the second group, after Ghana I, to actually arrive in-country. Peace Corps closed out Colombia in 1981 because of safety and security concerns; not to return for almost  thirty years. Ironically, Ghana is the country with the longest continuing Peace Corps presence; and,  the return of Peace Corps to Colombia bridges the longest gap  between Peace Corps programs of any country. The Office of the Peace Corps Inspector General is now charged with program evaluation. This then is their report of the  Return to Colombia of the Peace Corps. The text to link to is:http://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/policies/PCIG_Colombia_Evaluation_Report.pdf I especially urge Colombian RPCVS, serving Colombian Volunteers and those of you who have seen your countries close or have served in a reopened country to read this report. . . .

This is the press release from Peace Corps describing the program that was discussed in the interview John Coyne conducted with Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet.   (Correction: 6/20/20) This is an ongoing Peace Corps program.  From the Friends of Dominican Republic: Community Economic Development: Volunteers in this program partner with farmers’ associations, artisans, tourism service providers and community-based groups to improve organizational capacity, business skills and financial awareness. Those who attended the 50th Anniversary celebration and conference and took the “Tour de Chocolate” in El Seibo saw a wonderful example of successful volunteer work in this sector. Over the years volunteers have worked with a cacao cooperative and a community farm demonstration. Another project, now in its fifth year, is the national youth business plan competition called “Construye tus Sueños .” Local NGOs and private sector donors provide support for this program. Like many of the major Peace Corps projects, the Build Your Dreams . . .

This MOU represents a collaborative relationship between Kraft Foods and the Peace Corps. In the  section, III Mission, the MOU states “The purpose of Kraft Foods is to be a global snacks powerhouse with an unrivalled portfolio of brands people love. In the same section, the MOU states “The purpose of the Peace Corps is to help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women; to help promote a a better understanding of  Americans on the part of the peoples served; and to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.” Here is the link:                                 mou_peace_corps_mondelez Read and comment.

Peace Corps has three pieces of legislation pending in Congress: The Peace Corps Equity Act; The Peace Corps Budget as part of  the President’s budget; and H. R. 1573 Respect for Peace Corps Volunteers of 2013. The Equity Act and the Respect Act both address inequities that derive from the ambiguity of the legal status of the Peace Corps Volunteer: A private citizen acting in a public capacity. Attention needs to be paid to all three of these measures as their approval is by no means certain. Let’s look at each one. The Peace Corps Equity Act of 2013 was introduced by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D- NJ). His office issued a press release: here is the link: http://www.lautenberg.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=341534& From that announcement: The “Peace Corps Equity Act of 2013” would allow the Peace Corps to provide its volunteers with health insurance coverage for abortion in cases of rape or incest, or when the life of the woman is . . .

The public private partnership between Peace Corps Response and the Global Health Volunteer organization represents a brand new direction for Peace Corps. The purpose of the partnership is to enhance the medical training in host countries by placing highly qualified medical educators, doctors and nurses, in positions of teaching authority in medical education institutions. This represents a new direction for Peace Corps, because the agency will pay an NGO to manage the program, recruit the participants, who do not have to be RPCVs, and the NGO will  provide direct supervision and support in country. This initial three year contract calls for 36 medical educators, per year, to be assigned to these positions in Malawi, Uganda and Tanzania. In describing the program on npr’s Health notes, Director of Global Health Volunteers, Dr. Vanessa Kerry, said “Partnering with the Peace Corps is a strategic move — not only for name recognition — . . .

“Letters from Nurses in the Peace Corps” is a remarkable document that Peace Corps once preserved and is now no longer available. (5/7/18)The booklet records some 12 letters from Peace Corps nurses serving during the 1960s. The letters are comprehensive and give detailed descriptions of where the nurses were working, the problems they encountered and how they were solving those problems.  Evidently, the booklet was used for recruiting purposes. One hopes that it also was used to evaluate and improve programs. The nurses write as individuals, but all refer to their groups. They also speak of the “girls”. Remember, back in the 60s, we were all girls! Here are some excerpts from those letters. Gail Singer –  Niger, reported ” In my student days…we heard over and over again how a nurse must be practical, adaptable and creative; how she could carry the basic principles of cleanliness, sterility, and ingenuity . . .

Vietnam. In a remarkable speech to the Albert Einstein School of Medicine on November 15, 1964, Sargent Shriver called for universal medical education, manned, in part by Peace Corps Volunteer doctors. Read the entire impassioned  speech at Peace Corps’ greatly expanded digital library: http://collection.peacecorps.gov/cdm/singleitem/collection/p9009coll13/id/12/rec/3 Shriver said: “We need a new idea and a new program…The answer lies in universal health education, with effective medical programs, medical centers and medical personnel serving as the central source for this public education.  Just as the Peace Corps has sent thousands of teachers overseas to help developing nations achieve universal school education, so now we must help them make universal health education a reality.” If this program sounds familiar, it is exactly what is now being developed, fifty years later. by a contract between Global Health Volunteers and Peace Corps Response. There are striking similarities between the proposals, separated by fifty years. Shriver explained . . .

But you won’t read it on the Peace Corps’s official main website.   The RPCV women of First Response Action are the courageous ones who worked so hard to make the law that protects Peace Corps Volunteers a reality.  The report is posted prominently on their website: http://firstresponseaction.blogspot.com Finding the report on the official Peace Corps website is instead  a “scavenger hunt”. Go to peace corps.gov and scroll to the bottom of the page. There you will find a wealth of links to important agency documents, including the Peace Corps Manual and Evaluation reports from the Inspector General’s office. But you won’t find a report entitled “Peace Corps Volunteer Sexual Assault Advisory Council Annual Report”. You have to know to scroll down, on that main website, to the heading labeled “Media”, click on ” News Releases”. The disclaimer on this webs page is that only press releases for the last 90 . . .

No permanent Director; budget cuts that mean layoffs looming: and, personnel system changes to the Five Year Rule up in the air, this is Peace Corps, today.  Does it matter to the serving Volunteer? It could. I believe  it imperative to pay  attention to Peace Corps during times of transition to make sure that the safety and service of Volunteers are not compromised. From the outside looking in, it is hard to tell exactly how these stresses are currently impacting Peace Corps. But, there are some  clues to be found in the history. Let us look at them. In 2008, Obama’s transition team wrote a paper for the President outlining a road map for the Peace Corps. The report made recommendations for the first 90 days of the Obama’s administration, including this: “Peace Corps reform needs to start on January 20lh. Under ideal circumstances a new director will have been . . .

In December, Acting Peace Corps Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet wrote a memo on how sequestration would impact the Peace Corps. Sequestration was part of the “fiscal cliff” that was to occur on January 2nd, 2013 and now looms as a possibility on March 1st.  Sequestration is the procedure in which automatic spending cuts are triggered to budgets of federal agencies if Congress and the President cannot reach agreement on spending measures. Here is the Director’s memo: December 20, 2012 TO: Peace Corps Global FROM: Carrie Hessler-Radelet, Acting Director SUBJECT: Implications of Ongoing Fiscal Cliff Negotiations for the Peace Corps As you are all likely aware, the Administration and Congress are continuing to work to resolve a series of economic or fiscal events, collectively referred to as the “fiscal cliff,” that are scheduled to occur around the end of the year. One of the key issues involves potential across-the-board reductions in federal spending— . . .