Peace Corps Volunteers – Page 3 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Connor H. O’Brien (Ukraine) Peace Corps Volunteer says: Choose violence

Apr 28 2023

Why words like ‘diplomacy,’ ‘ceasefire’ and ‘negotiations’ are such rubbish in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine The EAGLE American University I will never forget the day I arrived in Ukraine to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer. It was a cool September afternoon, several months after I graduated from American University. After landing in Kyiv, my fellow Americans and I were whisked off to the northern city of Chernihiv for orientation. On the bus ride, as we fought against jet lag and looked out upon expansive fields of wheat, a Ukrainian woman who worked for the Peace Corps addressed us. She explained that our orientation would be in an old Soviet-era hotel and that we needed to put our luggage in the basement upon arrival. She went on to explain that the basement was built to be a bomb shelter during the Cold War. . . .

The Transformative Power of Education | Jenna Mitchell (Malawi)

Apr 14 2023

Education can transform a life and the world. That statement drives Jenna Mitchler. She experienced it firsthand as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi and more recently in Tajikistan through the Fulbright Specialist Program. “I look for opportunities to learn about people who are different than myself — there’s so much value in diversity and difference,” she says. Mitchler joined the Peace Corps after earning her undergraduate degree — a major in English education with a minor in coaching — and taught English and HIV/AIDS education in Malawi in southeastern Africa. She also served as the president of northern Malawi’s Gender and Development Organization, which provides scholarships to girls to pay for secondary school fees. After her two years in the Peace Corps were up, Mitchler returned to the U.S. and began teaching high school English. However, some familiar strains kept playing in her ear. “While reflecting on my . . .

Talking with Gene Stone (Niger)

Apr 13 2023

An interview by John Coyne (Ethiopia 1962–64) A graduate of Stanford and Harvard, Gene Stone (Niger 1974-76) is a screenwriter, television producer, and journalist as well as a book, magazine, and newspaper editor. He has also ghostwritten more than thirty books (many of which were national bestsellers), specializing in socially conscious business and health—among his bestselling health related books are UltraPrevention (with Drs. Mark Hyman and Mark Liponis) and The Engine 2 Diet (with vegan firefighter Rip Esselstyn). I met Gene Stone at a party in Thurston Clarke’s (Tunisia 1968) apartment on the upper West Side of New York years and years ago. He was just back from the Peace Corps and working as an editor, and I was trying to write fiction full time. We eyed each other with equal amounts of suspicion. Editors are always (and I know this from being married to one) cautious of “would . . .

Labor of Love | Dan Edwards (Nepal)

Apr 10 2023

Dan Edwards, a retired US senior administrator and Peace Corps Volunteer, has published a book titled Railways in Nepal, which enriched Nepal’s railway history April 10, 2023 The Rana Rule was a golden era for introducing modern technology to Nepal. Despite political setbacks, Rana monarchs implemented several social changes and brought modern technologies to the nation. At a time when many Nepalese political leaders, intellectuals, and experts are unaware of Nepal’s century-old railway history, Dan Edwards, a retired senior US bureaucrat who served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal (1966-68) has reminded Nepalis of the long history in a great detailed archival talk. Edwards has made an enormous contribution to Nepal’s history by publishing Railways in Nepal. Based on archival research and images, the book combines the history of transportation and technology into one package, revealing many unknown truths about Nepal’s railways. A significant number of people from . . .

Sellwood, Oregon couple and volunteers spend Januarys helping in Africa

Apr 10 2023

By Elizabeth Ussher Groff “Small Steps to a Better World” is the motto of a Sellwood couple who travel to the African country of Ghana every year for three weeks in January. It is not a vacation – but they do arrive back refreshed and inspired by their work there. Upon returning this February, in a letter sent to their local donors, they wrote: “With four borrowed motorcycles and a work truck, five U.S. and many local volunteers were in action for an intensely productive three weeks in northern Ghana.” Lisa Revell, who also teaches a popular “Better Bones & Balance” exercise class at Woodstock’s Trinity United Methodist Church on the corner of S.E. Steele and Chavez Blvd (formerly 39th) – and her husband David Stone, a former Duniway music teacher, and now a PPS substitute teacher – have made their annual trek to Ghana nearly every January for all . . .

Craig Sholley (Zaire) — African Wildlife Foundation

Apr 06 2023

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Tina Thuermer (Zaire 1973-75) Senior Vice President African Wildlife Foundation Craig’s experiences with wildlife and conservation began in 1973 as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire. As an L.S.B. Leakey grant researcher in the late 1970s, Craig studied mountain gorillas with Dian Fossey and, in 1987, became director of Rwanda’s Mountain Gorilla Project, of which African Wildlife Foundation was a sponsor. Craig has acted as Scientific Advisor for the award-winning IMAX film, “Mountain Gorilla,” and with National Geographic, he surveyed the conservation status of mountain gorillas in the aftermath of Rwanda’s civil war. Craig’s direct involvement with AWF began as a Senior Associate and member of AWF’s Board of Trustees. He became a full-time employee of AWF in 2001 and now serves as Senior Vice President.

The Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation | Gail Nystrum (Costa Rica)

Apr 03 2023

The Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation Celebrates 25 Years: Founder Gail Nystrom Shares Her Journey By Bruce Callow April 2, 2023 The Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation has been a fixture in this country since 1997`and has made a positive difference in the lives of countless families. This legacy of good work is due to the tireless efforts of its founding director Gail Nystrom and teams of volunteers from Costa Rica and around the world. This legacy of hope will be celebrated on May 7 at a Gala event marking the 25th anniversary of the foundation. More details about this event follow. I recently had a chance to chat with Gail about her life and experience in Costa Rica. Please tell us a bit about your background growing up and what brought you to Costa Rica? I was born in New York State and spent my early years between New . . .

The Volunteer who became a nationally known film director and producer — Taylor Hackford (Bolivia)

Mar 31 2023

Jeremiah Norris (Colombia 1963-65) • After graduating from the University of Southern California, Taylor Hackford served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bolivia from 1968 to 1969. While in Bolivia, he started using a Super 8 movie camera in his spare time — a camera purchased for him by a fellow Volunteer. After his volunteer days, Taylor decided that he did not want to pursue a career in law as he had earlier considered, and instead found a mailroom job at KCET, a public TV station in Los Angeles, where, in 1970, he became an associate producer on the Leon Russell special “Homeword.” Then, In 1973, again at KCET, he produced a one-hour special “Bukowski” about the poet Charles Bukowski. Although he had never gone to film school, Taylor went on to be director of 15 major films, producer of 13 others, and the executive producer of 7 more. He was director . . .

“I Returned” by Jac Conaway (St. Lucia)

Mar 25 2023

A Writer Writes I Returned by Jac Conaway (St. Lucia 1961–63) Republished from PeaceCorpsWriters — 4/3/2004 I returned and it was like this. My son’s mother died suddenly. I hadn’t seen her for 22 years. It was strange to think of her dead or even to think of her as 44 years old. We were kids in so many ways. Now we are “old” and our son is “my” age. Hours after I heard of the Peace Corps I joined, in the spring of 1961. I had just returned from East Pakistan (Bangladesh) where I had my world turned upside down and my eyes opened so wide I couldn’t grasp what I was seeing. In six profound months as a foreign exchange student, I was so astonishingly different that I thought I could never return to my small rural southern farm community. I was wrong about that, but . . .

Tragic Deaths in the Peace Corps

Mar 19 2023

The murder of Peace Corps volunteer, Kate Puzey in 2009 “Puzey was murdered while working with the Peace Corps in Benin. She was concerned about inappropriate relationships a male working at her school was having with students. She reported it to the Peace Corps and they let the man she was concerned about know that she had reported him… Then she ended up murdered. The man and a couple of his supposed accomplices were held in prison without any real trial for a few years and then it was determined that they didn’t do it and then nothing. No one was held accountable.In May 2011, dozens of volunteers provided written testimony to Congress about problems with the Peace Corps’ handling of sexual violence, ranging from failures to train volunteers to mistreatment after assaults.In November 2011, President Barack Obama signed the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act, named after a volunteer killed . . .

“Troutman, NC resident among the first Peace Corps Volunteers to receive overseas assignment”

Mar 11 2023

By Taylor Jedrzejek Statesville Record and Landmark.com Amid all of her excitement over the opportunity to travel abroad, there was one nagging question that kept popping up in the mind of Randi Epstein: how exactly do I pack for a trip that lasts two years? But even with that burning question, nothing could be done to quell her excitement. After all, Epstein is one of the first volunteers to get a chance to travel oversees for service as the Peace Corps begins to restart it’s outreach programs following the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s super exciting,” Epstein said. “I think, as a volunteer, that it’s awesome to see the world opening up again and I know all of the volunteers are excited to be out on the ground helping the world again.” On March 14, Epstein, a resident of Troutman, will board a flight for the southeastern African nation of Zambia . . .

The Volunteer Who Ran the Table on Foreign Service Appointments — Kathleen Stephens (South Korea)

Mar 09 2023

A Profile in Citizenship by Jeremiah Norris (Colombia 1963-65) • Kathleen Stephens holds a B.A. in East Asian studies from Prescott College and a M. A. from Harvard University. She also studied at the University of Hong Kong and Oxford University before becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer in South Korea from 1975-77, where she taught in the Yesan Middle School. Of her Volunteer experience, Kathleen said: “this is where I learned the qualities I needed to be a diplomat; I learned how to endure hardships and convince others.” Thereafter, when joining the U. S. Foreign Service in 1978, through hard work she earned major agency appointments — all the way up to serving as Ambassador to South Korea under two different U. S. presidents, and charge’ d’ affairs to India. She was well equipped to meet these professional challenges, speaking fluent Korean, Serbo-Croation, and Chinese. Early on in her . . .

Charlie Clifford (Peru) — Creator of TUMI Luggage

Mar 08 2023

Charlie Clifford (Peru 1967-69) started TUMI in 1975, after working as a marketing director for an industrial equipment subsidiary of a large food retailer. It takes its name from a Peruvian icon known to Charlie from his Peace Corps days. Charlie says, “I was married in the Peace Corps. We had two terrific years in Peru, traveling throughout South America. I grew personally an enormous amount. I came back and worked in industrial marketing for about four years. Then I invested in a small entrepreneurial company and began covering the eastern region for sales for a company that was doing handcrafted products from South America. He left that after a year or two to found Tumi with a partner as an importer of leather bags from Colombia with a total investment of $10,000. TUMI’s innovative introduction of soft, ultra-functional, black-on-black ballistic nylon travel bags catapulted the company to its . . .

Director of Vatican Observatory — Brother Guy Consolmagno (Kenya)

Mar 06 2023

Vatican Observatory director to speak at Lyon College by George Jared It was the moment Albert Einstein had waited for. In 1915, he proposed the theory of General Relativity which stated that space and time are linked. It means that when large objects such as planets or stars move, space and time can become distorted. On May 29, 1919, a total solar eclipse gave astronomers in South America and Africa the chance to prove or disprove the theory. What they found was that light was bent by the movement of the sun and it impacted the space around it. Einstein was right. The theory of General Relativity was accepted by the world of science and he would go on to become one of the most famous scientists in history. Parts of Arkansas, and especially Northeast Arkansas will be in the direct path of a total solar eclipse slated for . . .

Maggie (Wolcott) Nurrenbern (Ecuador) running for state senate

Feb 24 2023

Missouri State Representative Maggie Nurrenbern Launches Campaign for State Senate District 17 Press Release, February 22, 2023 Today, Missouri State Representative Maggie Nurrenbern, who was elected to represent House District 15 in 2020, is announcing her campaign for State Senate District 17. “I’ve always been proud to call the Northland home and I know we need leaders who will stand up as a voice of moderation, bring people together and actually achieve results that make a positive difference for our community. That’s exactly what I’ve done as a State Representative, working across the aisle, I’ve worked to deliver real solutions and investments in education, infrastructure and healthcare,” said State Representative Maggie Nurrenbern. “Now, I’m running for State Senate because as a mom of three, former local public school teacher and dedicated community volunteer, I have a renewed purpose to fight for great public education for every kid in our state, . . .