PCVs in the news

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“Oral Tradition in Writing” by Jeanne D’Haem (Somalia)
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Steven Rosenthal (Turkey) | Yale Graduate Sells Rugs in New Haven
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7 Peace Corps Volunteers assigned to Grenada for new school year

“Oral Tradition in Writing” by Jeanne D’Haem (Somalia)

In the News — by Jeanne D’Haem (Somalia 1968-70)   Somalis are known throughout East Africa for their beauty and for their poetry. In this oral tradition, poems are used to communicate, to share news and even to settle disputes. A poet insults another clan in a poem. For example, “You have mistaken boat-men and Christians for the Prophet.” News and other communication had to be oral because the Somali language was not written even when I lived there in 1968.  This was due to a dispute over what kind of letters should be used. Religious leaders wanted an Arabic alphabet, business people wanted a modern Latin one. When Siad Barre, a military dictator, took over the county in 1969, his goal was rapid modernization under communism. He sent a delegation to China where Chairman Mao held similar views.  When Mao was informed about the dispute, he suggested the Latin . . .

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Steven Rosenthal (Turkey) | Yale Graduate Sells Rugs in New Haven

In the news — The Kilim Company by Hudson Warm, Yale Daily News     Outside a hidden storefront on York Street sits a table, piled with rugs. You’ve probably seen it on your way to the Humanities Quadrangle or Toad’s. Perhaps you linger for a moment as your gaze sets on the centrally displayed Yale bulldog rug, and you continue on your way. These rugs, however, are not merely furnishings; they course with stories and history, and the man behind this operation has a long-standing, rich connection with Yale and the rug trade.Store owner, historian and Yale graduate Steven Rosenthal ’68 welcomed me into The Kilim Company and led me down narrow wooden stairs into a basement that bursted with color, symmetry and style. Hanging and lying, draped and folded — rugs covered every corner of their room, and their palettes ranged from deep maroons and browns to vibrant . . .

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7 Peace Corps Volunteers assigned to Grenada for new school year

PCVs in the news — by Linda Straker There will be 7 Peace Corps Volunteers assigned to different primary schools in Grenada when the new school year commences in September 2023. The 7 are already on island and will officially be sworn in as Peace Corps volunteers in a Swearing-In Ceremony on Friday, 4 August 2023 from 10:30 am at the Grenada Red Cross Society, Upper Lucas Street, St George’s. They are part of the 93rd group of Peace Corps Volunteers, which includes 27 Volunteers assigned to the Eastern Caribbean. They are the second intake of Volunteers to Grenada and the rest of the Eastern Caribbean since the return to service in 2022. The program halted during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Peace Corps Volunteers returned to the Eastern Caribbean in May 2022 and have since then worked with local educators to support primary literacy. “Each of the trainees will commit . . .

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