The Peace Corps

Award-winning photographer Rowland Scherman’s work from ’60s exhibited in Provincetown Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) began its 2022 Summer Program of exhibitions, lectures and workshops with an exhibition of photographs by Rowland Scherman. “Rowland Scherman: Spirit of the 60s,” curated by Jane Paradise and Andy Wentz, is on view through June 26 with a public celebratory reception from 6-8 p.m. Friday, May 13. A Fredi Schiff Levin Lecture featuring Scherman, Paradise, and Wentz is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, June 16. Lectures will occur in-person at PAAM and broadcast live on Facebook and YouTube. Scherman was a pivotal figure in documenting life in the 1960s. He photographed many of the iconic musical, cultural and political events of the decade, including the 1963 Newport Folk Festival, the March on Washington, the Beatles’ first US concert, and Woodstock. He traveled with Bobby Kennedy on his campaign for the presidency, went on tour with Judy . . .

Peter Hessler (China 1996-98) was teaching writing at Sichuan University, in southwestern China, when he was reported for political wrongdoing, accused on the social-media site Weibo of browbeating his students with criticism of the Chinese government. One commenter wrote that he had “spoke w/o restraint only b/c he considered himself a big writer; I think he’s gonna die soon.” Hessler recounts the episode in a gripping and deeply empathetic story in this week’s issue, in which he examines the ways that surveillance cameras, censored Internet, and rigorously enforced taboos have shaped the experience of higher education in China—for both teachers and students. Recalling the tension he felt in the classroom, he writes, “The Party had created a climate so intense that the political became physical.” —Ian Crouch, newsletter editor New Peter Hessler story https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/05/16/a-teacher-in-china-learns-the-limits-of-free-expression

  Two men, unified by a string of disappearances and deaths, search for answers — and salvation — in the jungles of Kaua‘i, Hawaii. Together, they must navigate the overlapping and complicated lines between a close-knit community and the hated, but economically-necessary corporate farms — and the decades old secrets that bind them. Project Namahana takes you from Midwestern, glass-walled, corporate offices over the Pacific and across the island of Kaua‘i; from seemingly idyllic beaches and mountainous inland jungles to the face of Mount Namahana; all the while, exploring the question of how corporate executives could be responsible for evil things without, presumably, being evil themselves. Project Namahana by John Teschner (Kenya 2003-05) Forge Books 304 pages June 2022 $14,99 (Kindle); $27.99 (Hardback); $17.86 (audiobook) • John Teschner (Kenya  2003-05) was born in Rhode Island and grew up in southern Virginia. He has worked as a newspaper reporter, professional mover, teacher, . . .

The Peace Corps Releases Progress Report on Advancing Rights of LGBTQI+ People through its Mission Peace Corps Headquarters One Constitution Square Today, the Peace Corps, in conjunction with the State Department and agencies across the U.S. government,  released a first-of-its-kind report on the implementation of President Joseph R. Biden’s  Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons Around the World. The progress shared by the Peace Corps highlights the agency’s policies and programming to promote the human rights of LGBTQI+ volunteers, staff and counterparts across the world. “The Peace Corps is incredibly proud of and thankful for the meaningful and unique contributions the LGBTQI+ community has made in service of world peace and friendship,” said Peace Corps Chief Executive Officer Carol Spahn. “We will continue to intentionally foster equity and inclusion for the LGBTQI+ community with policies and work centered on our shared dignity, humanity and connection.” The Peace Corps continues . . .

Video: Volunteers say Peace Corps failed them when reporting sexual assaults April 22, 2021 “USA Today recently published an article on sexual assault experienced by volunteers during their service. To those volunteers who have told their stories about sexual assault in the Peace Corps: I am so very sorry for the trauma you have experienced. You have each shown tremendous courage, and I am grateful that you have come forward. “These are devastating stories, and the agency is working to get to the root of the very serious issues that were raised. “As we approach the return to service of volunteers, we are intensifying and cementing our commitment to mitigating risk, wherever possible, and providing victim-centered and trauma-informed support to sexual assault survivors. We must always be an agency that empowers survivors and tears down barriers to reporting, services and care. “As the new Acting Director of the agency and a . . .

The Third Goal by Kathleen Coskran (Ethiopia 1965-67) I left for Peace Corps training the week I graduated from college, equipped with uninformed idealism and a BA in English. In other words my few skills included the ability to write a decent sentence and the habit of losing myself in the sentences and paragraphs written by others. Four years earlier I had taken the memorable words of President Kennedy’s inaugural address to heart: “Ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country” and used that sentence as the first line of the essay on citizenship assigned by my English teacher. I don’t remember if she told the class that our essays would be entered in a county-wide contest sponsored by local Civitan Clubs. I do remember my surprise in winning first place in Hall County, getting my picture in the Gainesville Times, and . . .

  A long-overdue change in benefits for returned Volunteers. And a deadline tomorrow in the House of Representatives.   As we wrap up National Volunteer Week, here’s some news we’re delighted to share: Volunteers who serve in the Peace Corps and return home to Maryland will now be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities and colleges. Gov. Larry Hogan signed that into law earlier this month. We at NPCA played a key role in supporting this long-overdue legislation. Dozens of returned Volunteers submitted written testimony, and I joined former Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen in testifying before legislators. This is just one reminder of how we can make an impact when we work together. Right now, with Volunteers returning to service overseas, they need your support in the U.S. House of Representatives: RPCV Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) and Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) are circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter calling for $450 million for the Peace Corps . . .

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Kitty Thuermer (Mali 1977-79)   President Samia Suluhu of Tanzania is in the United States for two-week official visit to meet Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House. In her opening statement, the Vice President mentions the Peace Corps’ going to Tanzania was one of the very first group of Volunteers in August 1961. The opening greeting in D.C.:

Press Release The Peace Corps Commits to Further Action to Foster More Equitable, Inclusive Agency 4/14/2022 8:36 PM Today, the Peace Corps released three reports highlighting the agency’s commitment to Intercultural Competence, Diversity, Equity Inclusion and Accessibility (ICDEIA) at every level of the organization. “The Peace Corps’ very mission depends on fostering a deliberate practice and culture of ICDEIA until it is inseparable from our way of connecting, doing, and being,” said Carol Spahn, Chief Executive Officer of the Peace Corps. “Over the last two years, we have received thoughtful feedback and important ideas from the Peace Corps network about how we can better reflect the diversity in American society and be more inclusive for all who answer the call to serve.” This input from the Peace Corps network, combined with thoughtful planning and analysis by Peace Corps staff, created the building blocks to ensure that ICDEIA is incorporated in the . . .

  Under the pen name Richard Stevenson, he sought to correct crime fiction’s portrayals of gay characters as freaks or villains with an entirely relatable protagonist. New York Times, March 30,2022   Richard Lipez, the author of a series of crime novels centered on an openly gay detective who, unlike the one-dimensional depictions common in the genre in the 1980s and ’90s, is not a tortured soul or a freak but a relatable character who is content with his life, died on March 16 at his home in Becket, Mass. He was 83. The cause was pancreatic cancer, said his husband, Joe Wheaton. Under the pseudonym Richard Stevenson, Mr. Lipez (pronounced leh-PEZ) wrote 17 mysteries in the series. His protagonist, Donald Strachey (pronounced STRAY-chee), worked the underside of Albany, N.Y. He was named after Lytton Strachey, the early 20th-century English biographer; the name appealed to Mr. Lipez because Strachey, a gay . . .

For many travelers, a desire to see the world also fosters a desire to change it, to help people in countries and cities both near and far away, to make a connection, to make a difference. For some that means going on voluntourism trips – organized trips specifically designed to incorporate volunteer projects in a specific place, which are fully planned by an agency that handles travel, accommodations, and even medical evacuation insurance. For others it means seeking out opportunities in the place they happen to be visiting. Both can make a significant impact, both on the traveler and on the communities where he or she volunteers. Others though, are looking for more long-term volunteering opportunities – the chance to stick with one project over the course of weeks, months, or years, and see how dedicated service can make a difference in the long term. One popular long-term service option is the Peace . . .