The Peace Corps

  Thanks to a ‘head up’ from John Pettit (Ethiopia 1965-67). • Peace Corps to Cut 20 Percent of Its Workforce By Eric Katz August 16, 2017 — GovExec.com   The Peace Corps is eliminating more than 20 percent of its workforce, the agency announced to employees earlier this month, in an effort to meet the demands in an executive order from President Trump. The agency is not planning at this point to lay off any of its employees, according to internal documents obtained by Government Executive, though it has not ruled out the possibility. Peace Corps employees working domestically serve on five-year term limits and must depart the agency at the expiration of that period. It is now “sunsetting” about 200 of its roughly 900 stateside workers, meaning when those employees hit their “not to exceed” dates they will depart the agency and their positions will not be filled. If the employees . . .

Former (and briefly) Peace Corps Director Elaine Chao (1991-92) looks on lovingly as President  Trump defended those gathered in a Charlottesville park to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. “Not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch.”

  As I have mentioned a few times, with my long experience with the agency, I have come to the conclusion that Peace Corps Volunteers reflect our society. So, we do have Trump supporters. Here is a thoughtful comment from a thoughtful woman who was an older PCV serving from 2013 to 2015 in Eastern Europe. JC • I appreciate your comments, John, because they show me a side of our president that I would have no way of knowing otherwise. As far as his morality issues, and they are legion because his past is far from stellar, my hope is he is today a better person. I am impressed that he seems to have surrounded himself with wise counsel — people who know and love God, Bible studies in the WH, etc. I believe he truly has a heart for this country, the military, veterans, and the American people as . . .

  Religions and mythologies from around the world teach that God or gods created humans. Atheist, humanist, and materialist critics, meanwhile, have attempted to turn theology on its head, claiming that religion is a human invention. In Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods, E. Fuller Torrey (PC Doctor/Ethiopia 1964-66) draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to propose a startling answer to the ultimate question.  It locates the origin of gods within the human brain, arguing that religious belief is a by-product of evolution. Based on an idea originally proposed by Charles Darwin, Torrey marshals evidence that the emergence of gods was an incidental consequence of several evolutionary factors. Using data ranging from ancient skulls and artifacts to brain imaging, primatology, and child development studies, this book traces how new cognitive abilities gave rise to new behaviors. For instance, autobiographical memory, the ability to project ourselves backward and forward in time, gave Homo sapiens a competitive advantage. . . .

“One businessman conducted a market survey among the returned Volunteers to find out if it was really true that Peace Corps members preferred beer to whiskey. His conclusion is that this is a misguided myth of the past.” Newton Minnow Former Director of the Federal Communications Commission.   • “My definition of a coward is a Volunteer who returns from work overseas and then goes to work for Peace Corps, Washington.” Dick Irish (Philippines 1962-64) Dick worked at the Peace Corps in the Office of Volunteers Support. • “I was one of those white Southerners that had to go out of the country to really become enlightened on the problems of race in the South and so I feel that it is my obligation to go back to the South and do something about it.” Don Boucher (Chile 1962-64) • “A special participant said he was pleased with the showing of former . . .

   Congresswoman Niki Tsongas announces she will not run for reelection  by the Boston Herald’s Chris Villani Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, who has represented Lowell [MA] for nearly a decade, announced today that she will not run for reelection, citing a desire to spend more time with her family. Tsongas’s statement: I have learned in life that there is a time for endings and for new beginnings. After much thought, I have decided that this is one of those times. The time feels right most especially because of my desire to spend more time enjoying and celebrating my wonderful and growing family. Her late husband, Paul Tsongas (Ethiopia 1962-64), was a Democratic Congressman, and served as a Senator from Massachusetts. He made an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 1992 as Bill Clinton captured the party nomination on the way to winning two terms in the White House. Paul Tsongas died . . .

Before the first Conference for Returned PCVs, the Peace Corps sent out 3300 questionnaires and 2300 were returned. Gary Bergthold (Ethiopia 1962-64) who was in 1965 working in the Peace Corps Medical Division, and chairman of the conference committee that read and tabulated the questionnaires told the opening session, “Elmo Roper, the American pollster, couldn’t believe it. This tremendous response, plus the fact that 90 per cent of those who replied said they wanted to attend this conference.” He went on to say. “The first thing that becomes clear is the remarkable diversity of opinion among returned Volunteers. The greatest agreement on any one question was less than 15 per cent.”   This was most obvious at the plenary session when Sargent Shriver called to the podium Ruth Whitney (Ghana 1962-64) and let her have her say as the Peace Corp Volunteer reported in its April 1965 Volunteer Magazine. Ruth, . . .

The recent successful NPCA Conference in Denver got me thinking about the first RPCV Conference held at the State Department on March 5-7, 1965. Over 1,000 RPCVs attended, of the approximately 3,000 plus PCVs who had returned home. By the time the conference ended, as reported in the Saturday Review, “it was beginning to dawn on even the most grudging onlooker that the Peace Corps veterans–who should number at least 50,000 by 1970–are going to be an inspiring force in our national life.” (It turned out to be closer to 75,000 RPCVs). The article goes onto say that the “atmosphere in the State Department auditorium was one of verve, confidence, and high good humor. In fact, the witty opening speeches by Corps director Sargent Shriver and Vice President Humphrey evoked such volleys of laughter that one middle-aged journalist expressed fear for the building safety, on the grounds that State Department auditoriums are . . .

I have been reading a massive book by Steven Levingston entitled Kennedy and King: The President, The Pastor, and the Battle Over Civil Rights. Levingston is the nonfiction editor of the Washington Post. My primary interest, of course, is what he had to say about Harris Wofford and Sargent Shriver and their role in the famous phone call to Coretta King after her husband had been jailed in Georgia during the 1960 presidential campaign. Levingston details all the events (political and otherwise) that led to JFK’s spontaneous call to Coretta from his hotel room at the O’Hara Airport. Years ago, back in 1980, Farrar Straus Giroux would publish Wofford’s own book entitled Of Kennedys & Kings: Making Sense of the Sixties that also detailed the events surrounding the famous phone call. It was first thought by the political insiders that the ‘call’ would cost Kennedy the election. As Levingston writes, “King’s . . .

  Thanks to the ‘heads up’ from Bob Arias (Colombia 1964-66):   Exclusive: Former Justice Department official joins Mueller team Karen Freifeld   NEW YORK (Reuters) – A former U.S. Justice Department official has become the latest lawyer to join special counsel Robert Mueller’s team investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, a spokesman for the team confirmed. Greg Andres started on Tuesday, becoming the 16th lawyer on the team, said Josh Stueve, a spokesman for the special counsel. Most recently a white-collar criminal defense lawyer with New York law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, Andres, 50, served at the Justice Department from 2010 to 2012. He was deputy assistant attorney general in the criminal division, where he oversaw the fraud unit and managed the program that targeted illegal foreign bribery. Mueller, who was appointed special counsel in May, is looking into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and . . .

Sue Rosenfeld (Senegal 1977-81) joined the Peace Corps in 1977 and 40 years later she still lives in Africa. She served as a Junior High School English teacher and then as the PCVL for TEFL and as a teacher-trainer at the Teacher Training Faculty of the national university. Originally from New Jersey, Sue obtained her BA in Latin from Dickinson College and her Masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Teachers College, Columbia University. After serving four years as a PCV in Senegal, Sue taught for three years on a Fulbright grant in Burundi. She next moved to Niger where she has lived ever since. Initially, she directed the English Language Program at the American Cultural Center and then for 24 years–its entire duration–directed Boston University’s International Study Abroad Program in Niger. Now partially retired, she is an adjunct at Niger’s national teacher-training faculty. Today, she trains . . .

Sara Wagner (Nepal 1996-98) left the United States for the first time on the cusp of her 24th birthday, to become a Community Health Volunteer Coordinator with the Peace Corps. Upon returning Stateside, she delved into public health on the country’s largest tribal nation, with the Navajo Area Indian Health Service. She has lived in Northern Arizona for the past 18 years yet still feels an affinity for distant Himals rising in the north, foothills and river valleys cascading down from every direction, flowing to India, to everywhere – for taking a step back in time, as if into a storybook, to a simpler time and place, awakened her heart. While it sometimes feels like this experience never happened, something, or someone, always comes along to remind her that she did not imagine it, that these people who embody love are real.   Discovering Bhagawan By Sara Wagner A magnificent sunset engulfed . . .

I had a long conversation this morning with an RPCV who is lobbying the White House to be the next director of the Peace Corps. (Yes, Virginia, there are Republican RPCVs). The candidate wants to be Director to improve the agency and the role of PCVs overseas. This former Volunteer served for three years in the Peace Corps, in Africa, and in the early ’70s.  A successful business person who wants to improve the agency, the candidate is seeking ‘your ideas’ to take to any forthcoming meetings with the Trump Administration.  You can post your opinions and ideas on the site now and I’ll see that the RPCV candidate receives the information. This RPCV candidate for Director will also be attending the NPCA Conference next week in Colorado. The candidate will send me the time and location where you can talk personally in Denver and share your ideas. I’ll post the information . . .

  Brian Minalga (Niger 2008-10, Namibia 2010-12) served as an educator in the Peace Corps in Niger and Namibia. He then was a Peace Corps Recruiter from 2013-2014. Brian also completed a Master of Social Work degree as a Paul D. Coverdell Fellow. He now lives in Seattle where he works nationally to advance justice for historically underrepresented communities in HIV clinical and behavioral research. •   Honey for the Heart by Brian Minalga   A ga kanu ay se.  It is sweet to me.   THIS IS HOW YOU SAY that you like something in a dusty town called Dosso in Niger, West Africa. The language is called Zarma, and Zarmaphones are very interested in what’s sweet to you: Dunguri nda mo, a ga kanu ni se? (Beans and rice, is it sweet to you?) Kaidiya wate, a ga kanu ni se? (Rainy season, is it sweet to you?) . . .