The Peace Corps

To Preserve and to Learn One Morning in September by Edwin Jorge (Jamaica 1979–81)   Edwin Jorge was the Regional Manager of the New York Peace Corps Office and was at work in Building # 6 of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The building was destroyed when the North Tower collapsed. At a  commemoration service held at Headquarters in Peace Corps/Washington a year after the attack, Edwin spoke about what happened to the Peace Corps Office. His comments follow. ONE YEAR AGO TODAY, on the morning of September 11, 2001, I sat down at my office desk and turned on my computer. As the computer booted to life, I glanced up and looked out of the windows of my office on the sixth floor of the Customs House in the heart of the financial district of New York. From where I sat, I could see the corner . . .

  Europe was slowly transitioning from the worst effects of COVID-19 in spring 2022. The Mediterranean region is stunning in spring, and author Steve Kaffen felt that by exercising reasonable precautions, he could create and execute a memorable trip. “Courageous!” was the reaction of family and friends. The better word was probably “escape,” critical rejuvenation after spending much of the prior two years indoors and glued to the never-ending stream of COVID news. The travel and the timing turned out to be ideal, with uncrowded trains and buses, immediate seating in restaurants, hotel upgades upon request, and half-full cruise ships with unusually personalized service. Join the author on two unique cruises in “the Med,” visit its ports and islands, and engage with other “courageous” travelers. As with many of his books, the author uses a combination of extensive photos plus narrative and explanations, to present the story of grand travel . . .

Peace Corps Ethiopia & Eritrea Through The Years Marian Haley Beil Debre Berhan 1962-1964 The Ethiopia & Eritrea Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Board are pleased to announce our September Virtual Event featuring Marian Haley Beil, who was among the first volunteers in Ethiopia. Save the date: Wednesday, September 14, 2022 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT Marian Haley Beil was born and raised in Western Pennsylvania, where she received a BA in math from a small Catholic girls college. She went to the University of Maryland for one year to study math, and it was there, in early 1962, that she had the great idea…  to volunteer for the Peace Corps. By midsummer, she was in a training program with 324 others at Georgetown University to be a math teacher in Ethiopia. Since returning to the USA, she has worked tirelessly for the returned volunteers of Ethiopia and Eritrea. She . . .

Peace Corps Celebrated The 60th anniversary of the first group of volunteers arrived in Kathmandu According to the U.S. Embassy FaceBook Page, this month, the Peace Corps is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the first group of Volunteers’ arrival in Kathmandu in September 1962. Since then, thousands of Americans and Nepalis have worked together to create lasting change and achieve the Peace Corps mission – to promote world peace and friendship. Congratulations Peace Corps on this historic anniversary! “Happy Anniversary Peace Corps! 60 yrs ago, Nepali families & communities welcomed the first Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) where they formed lasting bonds. Wherever I go I hear stories of PCVs & the good they brought to their communities. Do you have a story to share?,” tweets U.S. Ambassador to Nepal Randy Berry.

A Clear-Eyed Look at Africa by Mark G. Wentling Honduras 1967-69, Togo 1970-73 Foreign Service Journal September 2022 • It is time to put sentiment aside and look clearly at Africa through an objective lens, this Senior Foreign Service officer asserts. After working and living in every corner of the continent and visiting its 54 countries over the last 50 years, I cannot help but worry about Africa’s future, and I want to spell out why. I apologize in advance to all my African friends. Though this article may come across as being too negative, I believe we need a dose of realism. It is time to put sentiments aside and look clearly at Africa through an objective lens, without exaggerating its future promise. There is no question that peace, stability and good leadership are essential to the advancement of any country. Today the opposite exists in most African countries, . . .

Dear AGNAM Participants, On behalf of our team at NPCA, thank you all for your engagement in the 2022 Affiliate Group Network Annual Meeting (AGNAM). We enjoyed the opportunity to see you all and share updates, successes, and ideas during the meeting. As promised, we are sharing the event recording, detailed agenda with links , and responses to unanswered questions you asked in our post-event survey. Find our responses to your questions below. If you did not yet have the chance to provide feedback during the event, you can still fill in your thoughts here. First, as announced at AGNAM, two relevant decisions have been made by the NPCA Board of Directors. First, Dan Baker has graciously stepped in as NPCA’s Interim President and CEO. Dan will guide NPCA’s operations as the board moves ahead in its search for a new CEO. The second decision is I will be co-chairing . . .

The September issue of Stroll Spring Valley features Maureen and students from Escuela Marina Orth on the cover. Find out how it all began from Maureen’s Peace Corps days in Medellin: https://www.strollmag.com/locations/spring-valley-dc/articles/-5f6638/  Please come to the fiesta!   When Maureen Orth, best-selling author, special correspondent at Vanity Fair magazine, and resident of Spring Valley, graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, at 21, she was desperate to travel abroad. Seeking adventure, and heeding President John F. Kennedy’s call to serve, she applied to join the Peace Corps and asked to be sent to Latin America — an area of the world she had always felt drawn to culturally. Assigned to be sent to live in a poor barrio on the outskirts of Medellin, Colombia (coincidentally, the first country Kennedy himself visited upon becoming president), Orth prepared for her time there by training at the Columbia University School of Social Work, studying Spanish and practicing the . . .

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Leita Kaldi (Senegal 1993-96)   Volunteer and Club Fair Sarasota, Florida     The “Volunteer and Club Fair” is an annual event during normal times, but this was the first event post covid restrictions at the Ringling College of Art & Design, in Sarasota, Florida. This event is designed for the students at the college. There was a screener at the door to facilitate the entry of the students attending the event and to allow the invited clubs and volunteer groups to enter. The students join clubs affiliated with the college and find out more about both campus based and outside volunteer opportunities, such as the Peace Corps, especially since the college hosts select outside groups to join the event. RPCV GCFL being one of those. The “Volunteer and Club Fair” has been going on for at least 10 years. The RPCV GCFL affiliate . . .

On the Road Again The WOW Factor: Words of Wisdom from Wise Older Woman By Bonnie Black (Gabon 1996-98) Whenever I want to travel without leaving home, I turn to Paul Theroux. Right now I’m accompanying him on his nostalgic trip throughout Asia in his 2008 book Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, in which he retraces the epic journey he took in 1973 when he was in his early thirties, which became his first bestseller, The Great Railway Bazaar. I’ll admit it: I love traveling with this man this way. I love his sensibilities, his observations, his breadth, the sound of his voice on the page. I love the way he chooses to travel – down to earth, close to the real people – the way I, too, prefer to be. In an effort to remain a companionable traveling companion, I tend to agree with him and go along with everything he . . .

Peace Corps Volunteers Resume Service Ambassador Pierangelo congratulated the Volunteers and thanked local Peace Corps staff August 19, 2022   The Peace Corps officially welcomed the return of two Volunteers who resumed their service in a swearing in ceremony Tuesday with U.S. Ambassador Claire A. Pierangelo and Peace Corps Country Director Brett Coleman. The Volunteers were among those who left the country in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.They returned to Antananarivo earlier this month and have spent the last two weeks refreshing their Malagasy language skills in preparation for service as middle and high school English teachers. An additional thirty new Volunteers will arrive in Madagascar later this month to teach English and work in agriculture Ambassador Pierangelo congratulated the Volunteers and thanked local Peace Corps staff. She highlighted the importance of the oath taken by each volunteer and noted it is the same oath taken by the . . .

  Each person’s Peace Corps story is unique and valuable to help us understand who we are as individuals and how our individual experiences are integral parts of the 60-year Peace Corps legacy. The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Archives Project (OHAP), an NPCA affiliate, preserves the Peace Corps experience by conducting in-depth oral history interviews of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs), Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers (EPCVs), Peace Corps staff and host country counterparts. RPCV interviews follow each person’s path, including their motivation to join the Peace Corps, what on-boarding and training was like, what they did during their Peace Corps service, what their cultural-cultural experiences were, and their reflections on the impact Peace Corps service had on them, the communities in which they served, and increasing Americans’ understanding of the world. Visit the OHAP website for more information and sign up here if you’d like to be interviewed . . .