The Peace Corps

Happy Holidays, everyone! We’ll be taking a break until January 2 (Peace Corps Community in the News will be issued this Saturday). In the meantime, enjoy this story. Santa and Mrs. Claus, by Lee Provost in the Daily Journal | Shawmedia.com | December 24, 2024 . From their home in unincorporated Kankakee, Santa and Mrs. Claus — perhaps better known in these parts as Wayne and Barb Burgess — have been two of the most sought-after people this side of the North Pole for the better part of a month. Wayne, 73, a 20-year employee with the former UARCO Inc., in Watseka, and who also served in the Peace Corps as well as the U.S. Army in the mid 1970s, has been entertaining the young and the not-so-young with his Santa duties for much of the past 32 years, having first started the effort to surprise his then-young son at . . .

Before Before by Betsy Small (Sierra Leone 1984-87) University of Michigan Press 200 pages March 2025 $19.95 (Paperback); $70.00 (Hardback)       ABOUT THIS BOOK Sierra Leone is often sensationalized as a place of extreme violence and suffering—of blood diamonds, child soldiers, war amputations, and Ebola and now the highly addictive drug Kush. Before Before captures daily life in a different country, one Betsy Small first encountered as a Peace Corps worker between 1984–1987, and then rediscovered when she returned decades later with her daughter. Living in Tokpombu, a remote community of forty rice-farming families, the author faced struggles that changed her forever and witnessed the growing tensions in this rainforest village—between the young and old, between the traditions of oral history and honoring the ancestors valued by the elders and the siren call of the illicit diamond mines faced by the youth. Before Before offers a rare portrait of everyday people, . . .

“At [the] Peace Corps, we’re calling all Americans, including Gen Z, to turn their passion into meaningful, mission-driven service. And we know that folks can do that through the Peace Corps. If you want to be a diplomat, if you want to be an ambassador, if you want to be a member of Congress, then the Peace Corps is also a fantastic way to start your community, your opportunity, your journey down that path. For example, we look at ambassadors serving around the world. We know that Peace Corps volunteers are represented in the ranks [more] than folks from [any] other backgrounds. If you want to be a business CEO [or] run a business, we have Peace Corps volunteers who have done that. [The] Peace Corps can fit into your own journey, no matter what that path ends up looking like.” David E. White Jr. is the 14th Deputy Director . . .

Excerpt from War History Online December 12, 2024 Hundreds of US service members were taken by the North Vietnamese (NVA) and held prisoner during the Vietnam War. What makes Everett Alvarez, Jr. unique is that he was imprisoned for eight and a half years, making him the second-longest held prisoner of war (POW) in American history. Now, decades after his release, the US Navy veteran is slated to receive the highest honor the US Congress can bestow upon him: the Congressional Gold Medal. Speaking about his survival later in life, Alvarez credited his faith in God and the support he had from other POWs. “We had a philosophy that you didn’t ever let your fellows down,” he said. “If they couldn’t take care of themselves, you took care of them because you knew darned well they would do the same. Alvarez served for another 20 years, before leaving the Navy with . . .

WASHINGTON – Aligned with Human Rights Day and the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign, the Peace Corps today published its Sexual Assault Prevention Strategy and Implementation Plan: Fiscal Years 2025-2029, a guide to the agency’s next phase of action in support of sexual assault prevention. Central to the strategy and plan are measures to further cement the agency’s public health approach to prevent sexual violence before it occurs. The strategy and plan underscore the Peace Corps’ commitment to global, societal-level action to prevent sexual violence for the safety and well-being of volunteers and members of communities where volunteers live and work. “Sexual violence directly threatens the Peace Corps’ mission of world peace and friendship,” said Peace Corps Director Carol Spahn. “This new strategy adds a public health lens to more than a decade’s worth of sexual assault risk mitigation and response work. Today, we further dedicate ourselves to . . .

Today is Giving Tuesday. I encourage you to participate by supporting your favorite charity. Below are those that I personally support in 2024 and to which I hope you will join me in making a generous donation. They are all (except NMCS) founded and led by returned Peace Corps Volunteers: Peace Corps Foundation* – It’s time to tell the rest of America’s story of our ongoing commitment to service and global citizenship by creating Peace Corps Park on a National Park Service site near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The long-term mission of the Foundation is to support Peace Corps community projects. Chijnaya Foundation – Working in partnership with rural communities in Southern Peru to design and implement self-sustaining projects in health, education, and economic development. CorpsAfrica* – Building the next generation of African leaders and changemakers, connecting rural communities, and nurturing entrepreneurs. Volunteers work in host communities to . . .

Carol Spahn, Director of the Peace Corps, joins Pacific Policy Pulse to discuss her trips to Fiji and Tonga, the challenges the Peace Corps faces, and why she’s reading Chris Voss’ “Never Split the Difference.” Click this link to watch the four-minute video on YouTube. Carol Spahn was sworn into office as the 21st Director of the Peace Corps on December 21, 2022. Director Spahn has more than 25 years of public and private sector experience and has worked in countries around the world on issues ranging from small business development and infectious disease prevention to women’s empowerment. Carol Spahn She most recently served as the Peace Corps’ chief executive officer and, prior to that, as acting director. Previously, Director Spahn was also the Peace Corps’ chief of operations in the Africa Region and the country director of Peace Corps/Malawi. Director Spahn’s Peace Corps roots extend back to when she . . .

The Volunteer Who Became the U. S. Ambassador to Indonesia, by Jerry Norris (Colombia 1963-65) Joseph R. Donovan attended Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, earning a B. S. Degree in Foreign Service in 1993. After graduating, he served for two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Seoul, South Korea. He then went on to earn an M. A. in national security studies from the Naval Post Graduate school in 1993. He would spend most of his professional career as a Foreign Service Officer (FSO) dealing with East Asia. His early assignments with the U. S. Department of State included stops in Taiwan, China, South Korea and Qatar. In 1997, he was named Chief of the political/military unit in the Embassy in Tokyo. His next posting was in Taipei, Taiwan as the political section chief in the American Institute in Taiwan., which represents U. S. interests in that nation. . . .

by Mark Jacobs (Paraguay 1978-80) Published in Hudson Review Autumn 2024 In the early hours of April 23, 1996, I was standing under a palm tree in the Plaza Uruguaya in Asunción, Paraguay. The plaza was empty, not just because of the hour, but because everyone in the capital believed a military coup was about to go down. The previous evening, General Lino Oviedo had holed up at an army barracks on the edge of the city, where he was threatening to roll his tanks on Mburuvicha Róga, the official residence of President Juan Carlos Wasmosy.   The coup had not yet happened, but the city—the whole country—instantly shut down. People went inside, closed their doors, and stayed there. Nothing was running, including public transportation. The media went into silent mode. Driving to the U.S. embassy, where I was serving as public affairs officer, I encountered no traffic on the roads. . . .

Diplomat couple from Hawley, Minnesota retires after 2 decades abroad together. The couple met in high school and went on to serve together in the same countries through their entire tenure in the Foreign Service.   From left, Tim Gerhardson, Secretary Antony J. Blinken and Christina Gerhardson participate in a retirement ceremony at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 3, 2024. By Ingrid Harbo Today at 6:14 AM HAWLEY, Minn. — From Hawley, Minnesota, to Harare, Zimbabwe, Tim and Christina Gerhardson have stuck together. Originally from Hawley, Tim Gerhardson (Pakistan 1990-90), a Foreign Service officer, and Christina Gerhardson, a Foreign Service specialist, retired from 22 years as diplomats in the United States Foreign Service in June 2023. The couple met in high school and went on to serve together in the same countries throughout their tenure in the Foreign Service. “We just wouldn’t go otherwise,” Tim Gerhardson said. “We . . .

A book like no other, I Am Maria weaves Shriver’s hard-earned wisdom with her own deeply personal poetry. I Am Maria reminds readers there is strength and love on the other side of all of our hardest days. I am Maria is a powerful collection of Maria Shriver’s own poems that grapple with identity, grief, love, loss, longing, heartbreak and healing. Her deeply personal poems address life’s transitions, challenges, successes and failures. Vulnerable and deeply moving, Shriver’s words are a collection of her life experiences woven into poetry to inspire everyone on their own journey, It is also an invitation for readers to write their own personal poetry, reclaiming the art as accessible to everyone and a tool to look within. I Am Maria is a roadmap for anyone trying to shed the labels, layers, and armor that holds us back from creating a wildly authentic and meaningful life. “I . . .

Rowland Scherman (PC/W Staff photographer 1961-64) writes: “Here’s the guy who started and ran the Peace Corps, R. Sargent Shriver. I was the first PC photographer, 1961-63. There will be more about this wonderful guy in future Substacks.”

Connecticut Public Radio | By Katherine Jimenez Published November 4, 2024 at 5:00 AM EST   Two things brought writer Tom Hazuka to Chile: Spanish and baseball. Hazuka, a retired professor of English and writing at Central Connecticut State University, was a Peace Corps volunteer in Chile during the rule of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, whose decades-long dictatorship resulted in the death, internment and torture of tens of thousands of people. Hazuka’s award-winning memoir, “If You Turn to Look Back,” details his time in the country during the Pinochet years and his return 25 years later following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Hazuka left Connecticut for Chile in 1978 to take a position as a coach teaching young children how to play baseball. He was a recent graduate of Fairfield University and said the initial draw to the country was learning the language. “I already knew French. I was hoping to go to . . .