The Peace Corps – Page 16 – Peace Corps Worldwide

“Overcoming Grief and Assault With 29 Marathons” by Summer Willis (Mexico)

Jan 26 2024

. . . and Now Helping Others Do the Same Hello! Who are you? Hello, I’m Summer Willis (Mexico 2019-20). My journey has taken me from meeting my husband in the Peace Corps in Mexico, where we both served as volunteers, to impactful experiences in Teach for America in New Orleans. My passion for teaching also led me to Tanzania and Chile. Currently living in Lexington, Virginia, with my husband and two sons, Alfred and August, my life is a blend of family, adventure, and commitment to values like faith, health, and service. My endeavors have recently taken an exciting turn with a newfound joy in running. This year, I’m undertaking a remarkable challenge of running 29 marathons. As the founder of the nonprofit Strength Through Strides and a soon-to-be-published children’s book author, my life is a testament to pursuing passions and living by one’s values. My favorite cuisine, Mexican food, . . .

Charles Murray (Thailand) . . . “The Most Dangerous Conservative.”

Jan 26 2024

The New York Times put Charles Murray on the cover of its Sunday Magazine, calling him “The Most Dangerous Conservative.” That was after he co-wrote the book, The Bell Curve, which argued that different ethnic groups have, on average, different IQs. As Murray puts it in my video this week, “Blacks on average have a lower IQ than whites. However, whites are not at the top. East Asians, on average, have a higher IQ than whites. Ashkenazi Jews have higher IQs.” Other researchers agree. An article in ScienceDirect journal puts it this way, “East Asians and their descendants average an IQ of about 106, Europeans and their descendants about 100, and Africans and their descendants about 85.” But many people don’t believe it. Many don’t even want such topics discussed. Last time Murray tried speaking to college students, a mob shouted him down. “They’re angry at you because you’re . . .

Peter Navarro (Thailand) sentenced to prison

Jan 25 2024

In the news — Ex-Trump adviser sentenced to 4 months in prison Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro (Thailand 1965-68) speaking outside a federal court in Washington, D.C., in September 2023. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro was sentenced to four months in prison on Thursday for defying a 2022 congressional subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Why it matters: Navarro is now the second Trump adviser to receive a prison sentence for refusing to testify before the panel and provide it documents related to attempts to overturn the 2020 election. In addition to his prison sentence, Navarro was ordered to pay a $9,500 fine. Catch up quickly: Navarro was accused by the Jan. 6 committee of working with fellow Trump adviser Steve Bannon and others to develop a plan to delay Congress’ certification of the 2020 election. Bannon was the first high-ranking Trump official to be sentenced . . .

“RPCVs discover cohousing” by Evelyn Kohl LaTorre (Peru)

Jan 25 2024

What is it about Cohousing Communities that attract so many RPCVs to live in some of the 200 cohousing developments in the US? Scores of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers have joined this growing movement toward a friendly, community-oriented, democratic lifestyle? They gravitate to these purposeful neighborhoods designed for human interaction after having resided for two years in developing countries. Mission Peak Village cohousing For example, one-third of the current members of Mission Peak Village Cohousing (MPV) in Fremont, California (missionpeakcohousing.org) are RPCVs who joined other like-minded people and purchased 1.25 acres in the suburban setting, 25 miles south of San Francisco. They are designing the kind of supportive neighborhood of singles, families, and elders where they hope to live for the rest of their lives. “I didn’t understand what the word “community” meant until I was assigned to a village on a small island,” says Maria, who was in . . .

Georgia among top 10 Peace Corps volunteer states in US

Jan 24 2024

Georgia among top 10 Peace Corps volunteer states in US By WSBTV.com News Staff January 24, 2024 at 12:29 pm EST ATLANTA — Georgia as a state has a long history of service in the U.S. Military. In addition to its large population of service members, Georgia is also among the top 10 states for volunteering with the Peace Corps. According to the federal organization, Georgia and Pennsylvania are tied for No. 8 for states with the most volunteers for the Peace Corps. In 2023, both states contributed 54 volunteers each. The Peace Corps said close to 4,000 Georgians have volunteered since its founding in 1961. “I am grateful to all the states and communities across the U.S. represented on this list for inspiring the powerful sense of service that has led so many to join the Peace Corps,” Peace Corps Director Carol Spahn said in a statement. “While abroad, Peace . . .

AFGHANISTAN: CROSSROADS AND KINGDOMS by Guy Toby Marion (Afghanistan)

Jan 24 2024

Afghanistan: Crossroads and Kingdoms — My 1970s Peace Corps Service and Recent Afghan History by Guy Toby Marion (Afghanistan 1971-75) Peace Corps Books January 2024 280 pages $21.95 (Paperback); $8.95 (Kindle) In 1971, at age 22, Guy Toby Marion joined the Peace Corps. He was tasked with training high school science teachers in rural Afghanistan, and later with teaching in the Faculty of Engineering in Kabul. In text rich with description and detail, Toby relates his experiences living among a Farsi-speaking Muslim people, learning their language, their culture, their literature, their food. At the time Afghanistan was desperately poor, characterized by an ancient Islamic culture, a Pashtun monarchy and Farsi-speaking minorities descended from ancient Central Asian empires. The people readily accepted and welcomed American support. However, at this time towards the end of the Cold War, a revolution under the influence of the USSR was at hand. Toby’s . . .

Review | GROWING MANGOS IN THE DESERT by Katherine Baird (Mauritania)

Jan 23 2024

Growing Mangos in the Desert: A Memoir of Life in a Mauritanian Village by Katherine Baird (Mauritania 1984–86) Apprentice House Press 2022 380 pages $19.99 (paperback), $32.99 (hard cover), $6.49 (Kindle) Reviewed by Bonnie Lee Black (Gabon 1996-98) If I were still teaching Creative Nonfiction Writing at the University of New Mexico in Taos, I would assign this book to my students to read and study carefully, because I think it’s an excellent example of contemporary memoir writing done well. Some people confuse memoirs with autobiographies. To clarify: Autobiographies are stories of a life – written by, or ghost-written for, famous people who have a built-in following. Their fans have a deep-seated curiosity: How did she (or he) become so famous? So they’re willing to follow that person’s story from cradle to however close to the grave this celeb might now be — all the ups and downs . . .

Bruce Corker (Colombia) wins coffee case

Jan 22 2024

RPCVs in the news — Long ago in the green mountains of Colombia a young Peace Corps volunteer dreamed of one day owning a coffee farm. Rancho Aloha is the result of that dream, and its name honors both the Latin American inspiration of our farm and its magical Hawaiian location. High above the Kona coastline, abundant rainfall, rich volcanic soils and a natural afternoon cloud cover produce a rich and mellow bean. The harvest is picked by hand and dried in the sun. How Coffee Farmers in Hawaii Fought Counterfeit Kona Beans A testing method borrowed from geology helped farmers sue a slew of stores selling supposed “Kona” coffee. By Virginia Hughes, NY Times Jan. 18, 2024 On the volcanic slopes of Hawaii’s Big Island, hundreds of farmers in the Kona region produce one of the most expensive coffees in the world. Those farmers recently won a . . .

AMERICAN SEASONS by Mark Brazaitis (Guatemala)

Jan 20 2024

American Seasons by Mark Brazaitis (Guatemala 1991-93) Main Street Rag Publisher 228 pages June 2024 $18.95 (Paperback) (*Buy now at a pre-publication discount of $10.95) Mark Brazaitis’ third novel and ninth book, American Seasons, will be published as a paperback original in June by Main Street Rag. • • • American Seasons is about a small college basketball team in the early 1960s, its ambitious coach, his young, idealistic, beautiful wife, the team’s two star players (one black, one white), and the sports editor who hopes to chronicle a championship season. All goes well . . . until it doesn’t. Past secrets and present tensions threaten to upend the team’s magical season — and explode the lives of everyone connected with it. American Seasons, Brazaitis says, began as a play, “but with all the ambitions I had for it, it would have run nine hours.” In addition to basketball, the novel is about . . .

Professor Thomas Pearson (Nicaragua) | Research on Racial and Ethnic Exclusion

Jan 20 2024

RPCVs in the news— Maxwell Professor’s Research on Racial and Ethnic Exclusion Supported by Russell Sage Foundation Grant Syracuse News January 19, 2024, By Jessica Youngman Thomas Pearson, assistant professor of economics in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, is part of a team of scholars who have been awarded $195,000 from the Russell Sage Foundation to study the exclusion and expulsion of the minority groups from U.S. towns and cities between 1850 and 1950.Their project, “The Geography of Race and Ethnicity in the United States: Uncovering a Hidden History of Expulsion and Exclusion,” will result in a nationwide dataset detailing the expulsion and exclusion of minority groups that occurred locally, even if illegal at the federal level. The team aims to identify understudied forms of exclusion such as “sundown towns” to characterize both the causes of racial/ethnic exclusion and its consequences for . . .

Jamelyn Ebelacker (Eastern Caribbean) | MBA candidate: Arizona State University

Jan 19 2024

Forte: More Women Leading by Meredith Hunt Jamelyn Ebelacker MBA Candidate W. P. Carey School of Business, 2024 Jamelyn Ebelacker has taken a circuitous route to her current position as a full-time MBA student at Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business. After a childhood toggling between Eagle River, Alaska, and Santa Clara Pueblo in northern New Mexico, Jamelyn chose to study New Media Arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Coming from generations of Pueblo potters who make traditional “red and black” pottery, she chose a more modern path – a decision encouraged by her elders. “They wanted me to broaden my horizons as much as possible and learn new things to be able to survive in a non-Indigenous world,” Jamelyn explains. After college, Jamelyn joined the Peace Corps. “I also come from a long line of warriors and military service people,” she . . .

PCVs help promote tourism In Kyrgyzstan

Jan 18 2024

After completing training, Response Volunteers will work with CBT partners to develop nature-based tours, assist in creating effective marketing strategies to attract domestic and international tourists, establish guidelines and best practices to minimize the impact of tourism on local ecosystems of the Kyrgyz Republic, and help local partners improve their English language skills. The Volunteers will undergo two weeks of intensive training, which includes Kyrgyz language classes and cross-cultural competence before deploying to Community Based Tourism Association offices in Kochkor, Toktogul, Arslanbob, Naryn, Karakol, Osh, and Bishkek as Eco-tourism Marketing Specialists. The Volunteers passed a rigorous selection process in the United States that identified individuals who are highly qualified and committed to development. Only those who successfully complete the training program are sworn in as Volunteers. Their planned length of service is 12 months. “Community Based Tourism Associations throughout the country are glad to welcome Response Volunteers! We . . .

Towering Task On PBS LearningMedia

Jan 17 2024

A Towering Task:The Story of the Peace Corps on PBS LearningMedia Educator Resources for Middle and High School A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps is now available for classroom use on PBS LearningMedia. With this resource, students will explore the origins of the Peace Corps during the Cold War in 1961 to the challenges and changes it faces today The documentary, A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps examines the history of the Peace Corps and its role as an icon of American idealism using archival footage as well as interviews with volunteers and experts. Resources on PBS LearningMedia include: Teacher Guide & Tips Discussion Questions Extension Activities

BETRAYAL by RPCV Phillip Margolin (Liberia)

Jan 17 2024

Betrayal: Robin Lockwood #7 Phillip Margolin (Liberia 1965-67) Minotaur Books Publisher 336 pages November 2023 Hard copy ($23.97); Kindle (14.99), Audiobook (credit) • In Phillip Margolin’s Betrayal, attorney Robin Lockwood finds herself defending her old nemesis in a multiple murder case with too many suspects, where success might cost her own life. Robin Lockwood is now a prominent defense attorney in Portland, Oregon but a decade ago, she was a ranked and rising MMA fighter. Her career came to a quick end when she was knocked out and concussed in the first round by Mandy Kerrigan, a much more talented fighter. Now the situation couldn’t be more different, with Kerrigan on her last legs, her career nearly over, arrested for the quadruple murder of the entire Finch family . . . and Kerrigan’s only possible friend is the attorney she beat so many years ago. For Robin, it’s no simple case: Margaret Finch was . . .

Review | ESCAPE TO ALASKA by Steve Kaffen (Russia)

Jan 16 2024

Escape to Alaska by Steve Kaffen (Russia 1994-96) December 2023 $0.00 (Kindle) Kindle Unlimited; $4.99 Review by N. Waheed Nasser (Peace Corps Staff 2002-06 & 2011-16) Steve Kaffen has written a fascinating book of travel in Alaska, which he calls “Land of Superlatives.” As is typical of his books, the photography is stunning, and in the introduction, he describes the challenge that he faced choosing the book’s 300 photos. My favorites are the glaciers, the mountain scenery from the Yukon Railroad to the Canada border, the cute pups in the summer camp for dogs, and the people pictures. Prospective visitors can use the photographs along with the discussion of land (the author’s first Alaska visit) vs. sea travel, itinerary, and ship selection to plan their visits. The book is filled with suggestions, such as experiencing daybreak from the top deck of a ship “as it slowly glides through a narrow . . .