The Peace Corps – Page 20 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Delaware County PA Literacy Council welcomes Colleen Duran (Moldova) as Executive Director

Nov 30 2023

In the news — Literacy Council board of directors and staff recently welcomed Colleen Duran as executive director. According to the council’s press release — “Colleen comes to us with an incredible background in non-profit service, particularly in education and literacy,” said board co-President Patricia Rizzo. “She will make Delaware County Literacy Council a place where quality services are delivered by our quality people each and every day.” After working as a literacy tutor with AmeriCorps, Duran began a long period of service managing programs at Pittsburgh Literacy, followed by two years of volunteering with the Peace Corps in the Republic of Moldova. “Without a doubt, one of the best things I’ve ever done,” said Duran. “I am forever honored and grateful that I had the opportunity to serve.” Duran continued her career with opportunities in nonprofit organizations that developed her skills in strategic leadership, program management and evaluation, and . . .

Bill Josephson remembers Charlie Peters

Nov 27 2023

All too frequently these days I sit down to write a remembrance of a key, original Peace Corps person. The challenge posed by Charles G. Peters, Jr. is that he was not a headliner like Sarge, or Bill Moyers or Harris Wofford. Charlie was an incredibly innovative critic. His insight was that what the Peace Corps Director truly needed to know was what was actually happening in program y in country x, not necessarily what the country director or the regional director or the assistant director for program and operations said. Charlie’s other insight was who were the best people to do this? Investigative journalists whose irreverent curiosity would lead them to where no one else had gone and who could write. Charles G. Peters, Jr., a trial lawyer from West Virginia, and Sargent Shriver encountered each other in the 1960 Democratic presidential primary in that state. That . . .

For 20 plus years, Phil Lilienthal (Ethiopia) has been making a difference

Nov 26 2023

Phil Lilienthal went to Ethiopia in the Peace Corps with his lovely wife Lynn after graduating from the University of Virginia law school in 1965. He worked as a PCV lawyer with a variety of Ethiopian government offices in Addis Ababa, and while there, also started Ethiopia’s first permanent summer camp program. For two years he had two-week summer camps for over 280 Ethiopian children. When his Peace Corps tour was over, he turned the summer camp over to the YMCA and they ran it for 7 more years until Emperor Haile Selassie was removed from power and a new dictatorship closed down the camp. Returning to the States and Washington, D.C. Phil continued for five years with the Peace Corps as the Attorney Regional Director Advisor, then was on the PCV staff of Mindanao Island for a year, and two years as the Deputy Director in Thailand. In . . .

Review | ST. PETERSBURG BAY BLUES by Douglas Buchacek (Russia)

Nov 26 2023

St. Petersburg Bay Blues Douglas Buchacek (Russia 2001-03) Independently published 201 pages April 2021 $15.00 (paperback) review by Steve Kaffen (Russia 1994-96) St. Petersburg Bay Blues is a lively and engaging account of the author’s experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Russia, and a member of Russia 9, the last Western Russia (Moscow-based) group before the program closed. Of note is the author’s impressive recall, without notes, of people, places, and events. He tells us, “Everywhere I went I carried a composition book, which I titled St. Petersburg Bay Blues. In it I wrote songs, poems, and the odd note or observation.” Unfortunately, the notebook was stolen. “I scrambled to write what I could remember. That’s what I have here, my attempt to document an experience that seems simultaneously alien and essential to my life.” Expectations are dangerous for a book reviewer, and I was looking forward to a . . .

Charlie Peters Dies at 96. The Peace Corps Loses Their Godfather

Nov 24 2023

Charles Peters, the founding editor of The Washington Monthly, a small political journal avidly read in the White House, Congress and the city’s newsrooms, died on Thursday at his home in Washington. He was 96. His death was confirmed by The Washington Monthly, which reported that Mr. Peters “had been in declining physical health for several years, mainly from congestive heart failure.” Peters was The Monthly’s editor from 1969 until his retirement in 2001. He also wrote five books on politics, government and history, and a column, “Tilting at Windmills,” offering pithy thoughts on politics and current events, from 1977 to 2014. A West Virginia Democrat who grew up in the Great Depression and World War II and adored President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, Mr. Peters, a lawyer and state legislator, honed his ideals as a local official in John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign and later as an executive in the Peace Corps, . . .

Mrs. Kennedy Begins To Cry: Peace Corps Press Officer Remembers

Nov 22 2023

‘Without Any Warning, Mrs. Kennedy Begins Crying’: Peace Corps Press Officer Remembers Jackie After the JFK Assassination A former Peace Corps press officer described the night and early morning after President Kennedy was killed — and how an emotional first lady turned to those close to him for help By Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE David Pearson was a second-level Peace Corps press officer filling in for out-of-town White House press staffers on Nov. 22, 1963 — a day that at first only seemed significant because of his newfound responsibilities in his temporary role. But then Pearson got the news that shocked a nation: President John F. Kennedy had been shot in the head in his limousine while riding in a motorcade through downtown Dallas with wife Jacqueline Kennedy by his side. By 3 p.m. that day, Pearson got a call requesting his assistance as arrangements were made for the slain president. Pearson’s recollections from the . . .

Dale Gilles (Liberia) remembers November 22, 1963

Nov 22 2023

22 November 1963 — Early that Friday afternoon, I was having lunch in the University of Dayton’s Flyers’ Hanger, the primary hangin’ out spot on campus. A small group of seniors were chatting about what was in store for us just a few months into the future — a couple were planning graduate school, one likely heading to Vietnam as an ROTC graduate and me, I was heading to Liberia in the Peace Corps. We noticed that all of a sudden the large cafeteria descended into an eerie silence. Everybody was straining to hear the FM radio station playing music in the background. That is how we heard the fateful words “President Kennedy has been shot!” I was devastated; I truly did not know how to deal with the news. JFK and his Peace Corps had unknowingly charted the path of the rest of my life. The announcement of . . .

Kay Gillies Dixon — A Kennedy Kid in Colombia Three

Nov 21 2023

My PCV partner Dee and I were congratulating ourselves. We had just demonstrated preparing CARE powdered milk sweetened with panela to a mothers’ class at our barrio health center. The women were finally beginning to use CARE food products to nourish their families rather than selling their allotments at the local markets. It has taken nearly a year to reach this goal. We had packed our supplies and departed the health center, walking to our apartment for lunch. Dona Graciela, a barrio busybody if ever there was one, came running toward us, tears streaming down her face. Several street children were part of her entourage. “Su presidente ya esta muerto! Esta muerto!” she sobbed. “Esta en my televisor. Es la verdad.” Unable to believe what Dona Graciela was telling us, we dropped our baskets at our doorstep and followed to her home. She shooed away her other family members . . .

Patricia Edmisten (Peru) “Posta Médica John F. Kennedy”

Nov 20 2023

by Patricia Edmisten (Peru 1962-64) On November 22, as Susan, Ingrid, and I are leaving the movie theater Dux, where we had just seen an old Italian romance, we run into a throng of people. They are trying to read an announcement on a blackboard set up on the sidewalk. We can see over their heads: Kennedy mató por un balazo. We try to break free of the crowd, but the people surround us with tears in their eyes. They know Kennedy had sent us to Peru. To them we are “Kennedy’s Children.” We join other red-eyed volunteers who have already gathered at the Mogambo. The owner puts plates of fries on the table and serves us soft drinks. He refuses our money, pointing to the picture of Kennedy on the wall. The next morning there is a black wreath and a picture of President Kennedy on the door . . .

I AM A FACT NOT A FICTION by Edward Mycue

Nov 20 2023

I Am a Fact Not a Fiction: Selected Poems by Edward Mycue (Ghana 1961-63) 58 pages October 2023 $10.00 (Paperback); $2.99 (Kindle) “Ed Mycue’s poetry is a lifetime of surprises. He was born surprised, grew up on wonder, and now surely lives under the ever crashing waterfalls of amazement. His language is pure chirp, flip and rouse. It never ever sleeps. Savor his lines — like memory — for as long as you dare” — Hiram Larew, author of More Than Anything and Part Of “The precision of Ed Mycue’s dreamscape is laser-sharp and as warm as chocolate. Images rush pell-mell across the page, jumbling and tossing each other aside as one supplants the other in a rush to break the barrier between words and meaning, perception and feeling.” — Laura Kennelly, Ph.D., Associate Editor, BACH: Journal of the Riemenschneider, Bach Institute • San Francisco poet Edward Mycue was born in Niagara Falls, . . .

“Old Ebbit’s Grill” by Patricia Edmisten (Peru)

Nov 18 2023

• A Short Story by Patricia Edmisten (Peru 1962-64) I had just left the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. looking for a restaurant before my 2:00 P.M. reservation at the Holocaust Museum. A light rain fell, but I had my umbrella. I was on 14th Street and New York Avenue, walking by kiosks run by East Indians and many other ethnic minorities. It was an international bazaar, specializing in souvenirs from our capital city. I loved it. I continued to browse when a middle-aged man, probably homeless, grabbed me around the waist. I was so startled that I hit him with the plastic bag of note cards I carried from the Women’s Museum. It was instinctive. The man shambled off and I, feeling angry and confused, entered Old Ebbit’s Grill where I ordered a glass of white wine and some lunch. It was not . . .

“Punching at Destiny” by Michael Varga (Chad)

Nov 17 2023

Punching at Destiny The Uneven Path Forward Michael Varga (Chad 1977-79) U.S. Foreign Service, retired • I was a sophomore in high school, I was cast in a production of the musical play Guys & Dolls. I was Gambler #3, and I had only one line to deliver. During a game of craps, I was supposed to get into a tussle with Gambler #6, yell “You cheated!”and slug him. When we rehearsed the play, I was confident I could make it look like my fist was making contact with his face. The director had said that I was supposed to swing my arm as if to hit his face, but position my back so that the audience wouldn’t see my hand sliding just beyond his right cheek. But on opening night, full of adrenaline, stimulated by the sounds of the audience reacting with oohs and aahs, when it came time . . .

Rachel Surls (Honduras) cultivating a healthier LA County

Nov 15 2023

In the news — UC Agricultural and Natural Resources Nov 14, 2023 UC Cooperative Extension advisor who promotes school gardens, urban agriculture to retire after 35-year career A stroll through a leafy, green garden can give one temporary relief from life’s harshness. During her career, Rachel Surls has used gardens to cultivate healthier communities, whether they are growing nutritious food or providing science lessons for students. Over the past 35 years, Surls, University of California Cooperative Extension sustainable food systems advisor in Los Angeles County, has witnessed many changes – such as promoting public events on Instagram rather than typing and mailing press releases. A comforting and consistent presence has been the UC Master Gardener Program, part of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. “As I look back, the UC Master Gardener Program has been a constant in my work. It helps so many people,” said Surls, who joined UCCE as . . .

Peace Corps/The Gambia

Nov 14 2023

In the news — by Pa Modou Cham The Point Nov 14, 2023 Peace Corps/The Gambia, on Monday, concluded a three-day youth convergence in their quest to contribute to the Gambia’s youth employability and development initiative and the fight against irregular migration. The event held at the GPI exposed participants to different domains of youth employability and empowerment such as Gender and Youth, sexual reproductive health rights and first aid, workplace norms and behaviours, orientation on CV development, job searching and matching, care guidance and interview techniques, migration and survival skill, peace-building, and social cohesion and conflict. Siiri Morley(Lesotho 2001-04), Peace Corps The Gambia Country Director explained that Peace Corps is a US agency working in partnership with countries around the world. She added that they are in the country through the invitation of the Gambia government to provide American skills and to partner on locally prioritising projects working with . . .

Florida State U launches new Peace Corps Prep program

Nov 12 2023

BY: HELEN BOYLE | PUBLISHED: JULY 30, 2018 Florida State University will launch a new program this fall that will prepare students to volunteer in the Peace Corps or work abroad. The Peace Corps Prep program will help undergraduate students explore and discover the Peace Corps service opportunities that interest them and the skills they need to be a competitive applicant for those positions. “FSU is delighted to extend its ongoing work with the Peace Corps through this program,” said Helen Boyle, associate professor of education and program coordinator. “It will be invaluable for undergraduates who are thinking about international careers in government, development or teaching abroad.” Through a partnership with the College of Education, FSU’s Peace Corps Prep will assist new graduates through the application process to the Peace Corps Education volunteer program. The Peace Corps established the preparation program in 2007 to support universities’ efforts to provide substantive, globally focused . . .