Peace Corps Volunteers – Page 5 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Jessica Onsurez (Peru) Takes Over the Las Cruces Sun-News (Peru)

Jan 02 2023

Damien Willis — Las Cruces Sun-News LAS CRUCES – Jessica Onsurez, the news director of the Carlsbad Current-Argus, Alamogordo Daily News and Ruidoso News, has taken over the news operations at the Las Cruces Sun-News, effective Monday, Jan. 1. She takes over for Lucas Peerman, who has been at the newspaper since December 2004. Peerman has served in multiple roles at the Sun-News and has been the paper’s news director since 2017. He is leaving for a position within the newly created digital team at the Albuquerque Journal. Jessica Onsurez was born and raised in Loving, New Mexico, in the eastern part of the state. After graduating from Loving High School, she earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism at Eastern New Mexico University. She worked for a time in Washington, D.C., in the U.S. Senate for then-Sen. Pete Domenici. She later worked for a nonprofit organization while pursuing her master’s degree at American University. After that, she . . .

COMING OF AGE IN THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS by Fred Bell (Fiji)

Dec 26 2022

In 1969, a naive young Berkeley graduate, determined to make the world a better place, joins the Peace Corps. He finds himself living in the tropical paradise of Fiji, formerly known as the “Cannibal Isles,” as a full-time forester with a hundred employees to supervise. Inexperienced, yet self-confident to the max, he embarks on a 4-year- long adventure during which he dives deeply into the culture, becoming fluent in the Fijian language, eating everything from fruit bats to raw fish, earning the nickname Vuku Levu, or spiritually inspired one, and finding that dancing with Rotumans is better than “Saturday Night Fever.” Like most Peace Corps Volunteers, he learns that the Peace Corps is far more than sending educated and enthusiastic young Americans to use Western science and technology to help solve problems in third world countries. It is a two-way educational process where the volunteers learn about life . . .

“Every Christmas in Ghana”

Dec 24 2022

Every Christmas, all around Ghana, there are tons of these parties and they are full of everything that exists in human life in Ghana and worldwide. by Kathleen Ryan (Ghana 1969-71) The first year I was in Ghana and Christmas was approaching I was a bit sad. It was my first Christmas away from home. The decorations from my mother helped, but I still missed being there until one night still bright in my memory drawer. I was lying in bed under my scratchy blanket. It was cold, harmattan cold. The night air was clear. The stars were so many everything seemed to shine. All of sudden I heard a boy singing We Three Kings. I didn’t know where he was. I figured he was in one of the compounds close to my school, and the night air was carrying his voice to me. He sang every stanza. He brought . . .

First Peace Corps Astronaut | Mae Jemison (Liberia, Sierra Leone)

Dec 20 2022

In tributes unique among NASA’s field centers, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex preserves the feats of the nation’s astronauts. The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame is part of the Legends and Heroes exhibit. In addition, a vast collection of astronaut memorabilia and the stunning black granite Space Mirror Memorial honor their service and sacrifices. The premier spaceport has memorialized astronauts’ bravery, accomplishments and wisdom over the decades for the world’s inspiration and hope. In their own words, astronauts share insights from exploring space. The Peace Corps’ Mae Jemison As mission specialist in 1992, Mae Jemison works at an experiment rack inside the Spacelab module installed in Endeavour’s cargo bay.ae Jemison, an engineer and physician for the Peace Corps in (Liberia & Sierra Leone 1983-85), became the first African American woman to fly in space on the shuttle Endeavour Spacelab on Sept. 12, 1992. She served as a science mission . . .

Joe Kennedy (Dominican Republic) | New Special Envoy to Northern Ireland

Dec 16 2022

Joe Kennedy III is set to be named as US special envoy to Northern Ireland, BBC News understands. He will be will be the first person in the role in almost two years. The US government will make the announcement as early as Monday, a source familiar with the appointment told the BBC. It is understood the role will see Mr Kennedy, who is the grandson of assassinated presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, focus on economic development and closer ties, and not political issues such as Brexit or the Northern Ireland Protocol. Before attending Harvard Law School, Kennedy served in the Peace Corps (Dominican Republic 2004-06). He then became a district attorney before setting his eyes on the US House of Representatives. He was first elected to congress in 2013 and served four terms as the representative for Massachusetts’s 4th district. In 2020, Kennedy decided to forego a re-election, and . . .

Tony Waters Remembers . . . and Returns to Thailand

Dec 04 2022

Tony Waters (Thailand 1980-82) is czar and editor of Ethnography.com. He was a professor at the Sociology department at California State University at Chico since 1996. In 2016 though he suddenly found himself with a new gig at Payap University in northern Thailand where he is on the faculty of the Peace Studies Department. He has also been a guest professor in Germany, and Tanzania. In the past, his main interests have been international development and refugees in Thailand, Tanzania, and California. This reflects a former career in the Peace Corps (Thailand), and refugee camps (Thailand and Tanzania). His books include: Crime and Immigrant Youth (1999), Bureaucratizing the Good Samaritan (2001), The Persistence of Subsistence Agriculture: Life Beneath of the Marketplace (2007), When Killing is a Crime (2007), and Schooling, Bureaucracy, and Childhood: Bureaucratizing the Child (2012). His hobby is trying to learn strange languages – and the mistakes . . .

Martin Puryear (Sierra Leone) | VESSEL

Dec 02 2022

Martin Puryear, Vessel, 1997-2002 Eastern white pine, mesh, tar Smithsonian American Art Museum One of the most important American sculptors working today, Martin Puryear (Sierra Leone 1964-66) is known for his handmade constructions, primarily in wood. After studying painting at Catholic University in Washington, DC, he traveled extensively — teaching in Sierra Leone with the Peace Corps, studying printmaking in Stockholm from 1966 to 1968, and visiting Japan through a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1982 – experiences that have shaped the artist’s practice. He creates abstract forms that are evocative and familiar, yet elude singular interpretations. Motifs like human heads, ladders, and vessels take on symbolic resonance, and function as meditations on powerful universal concepts such as freedom, shelter, sanctuary, migration, mobility, and equality. In Vessel, a form lies facedown on the ground, the neck and crown rising up in opposite directions, like the bow and stern of a ship. Contained within this openwork structure . . .

Carol Spahn (Romania) New Peace Corps Director

Dec 01 2022

Just this week, Carol Spahn (Romania 2994-96) had her Senate confirmation hearing to become the next Peace Corps Director. During the hearing, Carol spoke about the importance of the safety and security protocols in place to protect the hundreds of Volunteers currently serving on the ground in 45 countries as well as the agency’s priority to ensure Peace Corps service is an option considered by broader and more diverse communities in America. Carol’s opening statement expressed deep gratitude for her “Peace Corps family — including the staff, Volunteers, host families, and counterparts for the heart and soul with which they carry out our mission everyday.” We at NPCA are thrilled to finally see Carol’s must-deserved nomination move forward toward final confirmation. We have been honored to work with Carol and her strong leadership team over the past year on collaborative efforts to navigate this difficult period of planning for . . .

Answering the Peace Corps Response Call — Yanick Douyon (Liberia, Rwanda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines)

Dec 01 2022

Answering the call to serve… again and again By Kelsey McMahon (South Africa 2014-16) Nov. 20, 2022 Don’t expect Yanick Douyon – a three-time Peace Corps Response Volunteer and a two-time Virtual Service Participant – to slow down anytime soon. “Every opportunity available, I will be there,” stated the dedicated educator. Her resume clearly reflects that the sentiment. Since becoming a teacher in the ’70s, Yanick has taught in countless countries, including the U.S., Haiti, Senegal, China, Vietnam, and Liberia. Recently, Yanick moved from her home in Florida to teach graduate-level English at a university in Mauritania. Secondary school and adult education remain her areas of expertise, but if Yanick has proven anything, it’s that she’s game to lend a hand wherever she feels she can make a difference. “I just get such a feeling of satisfaction when students are learning and I’m doing something in this world . . .

Ann Cavera (Liberia) — “Speeding Past 80” Podcast

Nov 30 2022

Ann Cavera (Liberia 1966-68) shares stories of faith, hope, love and laughter in the weekly podcast ‘Speeding Past 80’ By Julie Carle BG Independent News The podcast “Speeding Past 80” sounds like something racecar enthusiasts or law enforcement officials might listen to. There are no tires screeching or sirens blaring in this Bowling Green-based podcast; however, racing fans and people who deal with speeding tickets still might listen, learn and enjoy. The podcast features the calm, reassuring, grandmotherly voice of Ann Cavera who shares weekly stories of “faith, hope, love and laughter.” And goodness, does she! Of the 40-plus episodes she has recorded at her kitchen table this year, she has touched on topics that range from “spare change” vs. “loose change” to the power of a banana peel. Regardless of the topic, she infuses the usually four-to eight-minute conversations with warmth and a lesson in humanity. The title . . .

Justin D. Bibee (Morocco) | Human rights advocate and refugee resettlement case manager

Nov 25 2022

North Providence so far only municipality to back Human Rights Day proclamation by Zack Deluca The Valley Breeze zack@valleybreeze.com Nov 22, 2022 • NORTH PROVIDENCE – A local human rights advocate is looking to make history by uniting every Rhode Island municipality with the signing of a Human Rights Day Proclamation by Dec. 10. Justin Bibee [Morocco 2014–16], a human rights advocate and a refugee resettlement case manager for Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, established the Rhode Island Human Rights Project with the goal of having every municipality in the state sign a Human Rights Day proclamation this year. North Providence is so far the only community to sign a Human Rights Day Proclamation, doing so in the spring. Gov. Dan McKee also signed a Human Rights Day proclamation. Bibbee said he is continuing to speak with other cities and towns to have them join the proclamation by next month. . . .

“Ask Not . . . ” by Jeremiah Norris (Colombia)

Nov 22 2022

by Jeremiah Norris (Colombia 1963-65) • In 1963, I became a Peace Corps Volunteer, assigned to La Plata, a small village of some 3,000 residents nestled at the 4,000 feet level of Colombia’s Andean mountains. It had no telephone systems, though there were episodic telegraphic services. On what soon would became a fateful morning of November 22, 1963, I had taken a bus into the Departmental capital, Neiva, to obtain some governmental authorizations of Community Development Funds for one of our projects. Like most every bus in our area, firmly set above the driver’s head were three pictures with Christmas tree lights around them: Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and President John F. Kennedy. Later in the afternoon, about 3:30 PM or so, before boarding the bus for the trip back, I stopped at a newsstand to see if it had a recent copy of Time Magazine. There was one copy . . .

Glenn A. Blumhorst (Guatemala) writes about his new job

Nov 21 2022

November 9, 2022 Dear Friends, Sargent Shriver urged us to “Serve, serve, serve! For in the end, it will be the servants that save us all.” It is fitting that today – Shriver’s birthday – I continue my service to the Peace Corps community in my new role as the lead fundraiser for the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation (PCCF). I am grateful for the warm welcome extended by Tony Barclay and the PCCF Board of Directors as we embark on an $8 million capital campaign to underwrite the design and construction of a commemorative work on the National Mall that honors the creation of the Peace Corps in 1961 and those aspects of the American character exemplified by Peace Corps service. Peace Corps Park will forever be a place in which to gather and reflect; to be inspired by the Commemorative’s meanings and messages; and to share in programmed activities embodying . . .

Review — BABUSYA’S KITCHEN by Ukraine RPCVs

Nov 18 2022

Babusya’s Kitchen: Recipes for Living & Eating Well in Ukraine by Returned Peace Corps Ukraine Volunteers RPCV Alliance for Ukraine, publisher 216 pages $30.00 (hardcover) Review by: D.W. Jefferson (El Salvador 1974-76, and Costa Rica 1976-77) • This is a beautiful cookbook! My favorite part is the pictures of dishes ready to serve, but the photos of Ukrainian scenery and people are a close second. The authors/editors are all Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) who served in Ukraine (I love their self-assigned titles so much that I will include them here): Cortney Copeland — Director of Official Stuff Patricia Deignan — Voice of Reason and Logic Sarah Friedman — Communications Wiz Sandy Jacobs — Culinary Storyteller Sarah Kate (Monroe) Demchuk — Professional Book Wrangler Casey Ritter — Captain of Team Morale Colleen Smith — President of Punctuation There is a section full of Ukrainian recipes and one full of . . .

Friends of Liberia: Celebrating 60 Years of Peace Corps Service

Nov 15 2022

Friends of Liberia celebrates the 60th anniversary of Peace Corps service in Liberia. In honor of this banner year, Friends of Liberia has curated activities spanning storytelling in the anthology, Never the Same Again: Life, Service, and Friendship in Liberia edited by Susan Greisen with Susan Corbett and Karen E. Lange, return to in-country service; embassy events; a member engagement series at Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C.; a year-long auction of Liberian artifacts with all proceeds going to programmatic support in Liberia; and more. For more information about these incredible stories and anniversary activities that capture the spirit of service for so many who have answered the call to Liberia in the last six decades and beyond, visit Friends of Liberia’s website.