The Peace Corps – Page 6 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Phoebe Cohen (Mongolia) | Guest Writer for Huffington Post

Aug 09 2024

RPCV in the news — By Phoebe Cohen Aug 7, 2024, 07:56 AM EDT Phoebe Cohen (Mongolia 2005-07) has walked many paths in life including living in the Gobi Desert as a Peace Corps Volunteer and working as a paramedic in several states. Cohen’s work has been featured in Graphic Medicine, Mutha Magazine, and BorderX. She regularly posts on her website Merry Misandrist. Cohen is a part-time cartoonist, writer and nursing student. She has been known to go up to five hours without coffee. . . . As a paramedic, I treated women who had illegal abortions. Here’s a dangerous truth JD Vance isn’t going to like.”The nurse and Exchange a glance. We know the probable reason why our patient stuck part of a vacuum cleaner up into her vagina.” It’s 2015. I’m working as an inter-facility paramedic. Currently, I’m standing in a small rural clinic in a large conservative state. . . .

Suzy McKee Charnas (Nigeria), writer of feminist science fiction, dies at 83

Aug 08 2024

RPCVs in the news — She was best known for the Holdfast Chronicles, a series about a dystopic world in which once-enslaved women conquer their former male masters. By Richard Sandomir New York Times Published March 10, 2023 Suzy McKee Charnas, an award-winning feminist science fiction writer who in a four-novel series created a post-holocaust, male-dominated society called the Holdfast that is liberated by an army of women, died on Jan. 2 at her home in Albuquerque. She was 83. Her cousin David Szanton said the cause was a heart attack. Her death was not widely reported at the time. Ms. Charnas, whose books were well regarded but who by her account did not make a living from her writing, was best known for her science fiction. But she also wrote vampire fiction, young-adult fantasy novels with women as central characters, and a memoir about taking care of her father . . .

Bonita Schwan (Samoa) | Marco Island City Council candidate

Aug 07 2024

RPCV in the news Bonita Schwan (Samoa 1990-91) is a candidate for Marco Island (Florida) City Council on November 5th general election. Schwan has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas, Austin, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Drake Law School, Des Moines, Iowa.Schwan served on Iowa Governor Terry Branstad’s personal staff when he was in office, where, she said, her responsibilities included providing recommendations to the governor regarding budget and policy matters for The Department of Revenue and Finance, The Department of Health, The Department of Human Services, The Department of Civil Rights and The Department of Human Rights. As an attorney, Schwan specialized in legislation and administrative rules and volunteered with the United States Peace Corps in Western Samoa. She currently serves on the board for the Cape Marco, Cozumel Building HOA. She serves as membership chair for the Marco Island . . .

Review | Theroux’s Close Shave by Christopher West Davis

Aug 05 2024

A review by Christopher West Davis (Kenya 1975-78) Originally published in The Hawaii Review of Books Three years ago, Paul Theroux (Malawi 1963-65) ended his birthday card to himself—“Facing Ka‘ena Point: On Turning Eighty,” published in The New Yorker and probably the closest thing to an autobiography he will ever offer—with the perfect vignette. He was sitting, scribbling in his favorite place to write—a folding chair on a Hawaiian beach he has watched erode away for years. A young man comes towards him, limping from a war wound. He said he remembered seeing Theroux in the same place before he went off to Afghanistan. “And you’re still here,” he said, “in that chair!” “I’m not finished,” Theroux replied. And he wasn’t, (likely isn’t still). In the same essay Theroux describes his life as writing one book after another since 1963—amassing thirty-two of fiction, twenty nonfictions, and one . . .

Lisa Einstein (Guinea) | at Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Aug 03 2024

RPCVs in the news CISA names Lisa Einstein as Chief AI Officer CISA said Thursday the appointment reflects the agency’s commitment to advancing the responsible use of AI to meet its cyber defense mission and assist critical infrastructure operators and owners in pursuing the secure and safe development and adoption of AI tools. CISA Director Jen Easterly said Einstein has played a central role in helping the agency understand and respond to rapid AI advancements, which have significant implications for CISA’s critical infrastructure security and cyber defense missions. “Beyond her technical expertise, she’s an inspirational leader who has brought together colleagues across the agency around a clear and impactful vision. I could not be more thrilled to have her take on this important new role, which will help us continue to build AI expertise into the fabric of our agency and ensure we are equipped to effectively leverage the . . .

Lisa Einstein (Guinea) | A Poem About Teaching

Aug 03 2024

August 14, 2017 A volunteer explains — with poetry — why teaching physics to girls in Guinea, west Africa is so important to her By Lisa Einstein (Guinea 2016-18) This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American . . . I sat on the porch in my village of farms, When a young girl approached me, a babe in her arms. We started to talk, though a lot went unspoken. Her words were Pular and her French, it was broken. I asked her what grade she was in and she scoffed. “Failed the Brevet so dad married me off. The class all must pass this exam to continue To high school. I didn’t, in take 1 or take 2. Mon mari, il est vieux, an old man I don’t see. And now with this child? . . .

American University | Top Producer of Peace Corps Volunteers

Aug 01 2024

According to Foreign Policy Magazine Newswise — Washington, D.C. (July 30, 2024) – American University’s (AU) School of International Service (SIS) was identified in the top-tier of international relations programs around the world at the undergraduate, masters, and PhD levels by Foreign Policy magazine. The SIS masters and undergraduate programs both rank in the top 10, with the master’s program placing eighth and the undergraduate program also ranking eighth, up one spot from previous rankings. In their first published rankings since 2018, Foreign Policy added two additional sets of rankings in each category, one by policymakers and the other from think tank staff. SIS’s undergraduate program ranks 10th amongst policymakers and 11th amongst think tank staff. SIS’s master’s program ranks 10th amongst policymakers and 12th amongst think tank staff. “We’re proud of this recognition,” said SIS dean Shannon Hader, MD, MPH. “It speaks to our success in educating global leaders who will engage with . . .

WE CAME, WE SAW, WE CHANGED edited by Dennis Warner (Tanzania)

Jul 31 2024

A new book — We Came, We Saw, We Changed:Creating a Peace Corps Legacy in Tanzania 1964-1966 by PCV Members of Tanzania 5; Dennis Warner, Editor Independently Published June 2024 245 pages This book provides a glimpse of some of the most memorable experiences in the lives of 74 Tanzania-5 Peace Corps Volunteers in the 1960s as they ventured into the little-known cultures of a country striving to enter the modern world. Told in their own words, this diversity of stories form a mosaic of life as the volunteers go about their work and play in towns, villages, and the bush. A total of 58 short stories describing key memories are clustered as “Recruitment and Training, Life in the Bush, Village Life, Urban Life, Work Assignments, Travel and Transport, Social Encounters, Health, and Post Peace Corps Stories. A common thread in most of the stories is how the experiences of . . .

The Peace Corps & National Service

Jul 31 2024

Polls suggest young Americans are less enchanted with their country than previous generations. Yet even those who want to serve their country, conducting some form of national service, are too often turned away by top programs. The opposite should be true: Volunteer organizations such as AmeriCorps, Teach for America, the Peace Corps and the newly formed American Climate Corps should be well-funded and encouraged. National service could become a pervasive post-graduation option that all young Americans consider. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this year proposed a national service plan that would have granted young adults the option of enrolling in a year-long military training program or committing to civil service one weekend every month for the same amount of time. The proposal was highly unpopular, with Brits balking at what they saw as the effective conscription of their nation’s youths. The idea has more support here in the . . .

Foreign Policy Reporter Bryant Harris (Morocco)

Jul 30 2024

Bryant Harris (Morocco 2011-13) is a freelance reporter in Washington covering the nexus of foreign policy, national security and US politics. He has years of experience covering Congress for Defense News and Al-Monitor with additional bylines in Foreign Policy, and IPS News. Prior to that, he covered the White House for Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s largest newspaper. He is on Twitter @brykharris_ALM Of his Peace Corps assignment, Bryant writes: I collaborated with the Moroccan Ministry of Youth and Sports and counterparts from the town of Ben Guerir to promote positive youth development and lifestyles. After researching and analyzing challenges facing the community in a Community Needs Assessment Report, I began work with approximately 100 youth to create programming at the local youth center and coordinated language immersion camps in my site as well as in other locations throughout the country. Most notably, I worked with several community counterparts and organizations . . .

Kim and Vinny Aliperti (Tunisia) and the Billsboro Winery

Jul 26 2024

Kim and Vinny Aliperti met as Peace Corps volunteers in Tunisia from 1992 to 1994, They were married when they returned to the United States, and their honeymoon took them to some wineries. They say they quickly realized they were meant to run a winery. They knew they weren’t cut out for the suit-and-tie city life, and as they walked the vineyards, they knew what we wanted to do. Vinny had been hooked on winemaking as a teenager in his grandfather’s cellar in Queens, NY where he was first introduced to his family’s annual tradition. After the Peace Corps, Vinny was offered an apprenticeship at Wolffer Estate in the Hamptons on Long Island. After three vintages (1997-1999) producing mostly Chardonnay and Merlot with long-time winemaker Roman Roth, he moved with Kim to the Finger Lakes to begin his next chapter at the Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard. It was there . . .

Jack Kornfield (Thailand) | NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT

Jul 25 2024

No Time Like the Present: Finding Freedom, Love, and Joy Right Where You Are by Jack Kornfield (Thailand 1967-69) Atria Books May 2017 322 pages $13.99 (Kindle); $12.99 (Paperback), $13.99 (audiobook) Through his signature warmhearted, poignant, often funny stories, with their a-ha moments and O. Henry-like outcomes, Jack Kornfield shows how we can free ourselves, wherever we are and whatever our circumstances. Renowned for his mindfulness practices and meditations, Jack provides keys for opening gateways to immediate shifts in perspective and clarity of vision, allowing us to “grapple with difficult emotions” and know how to change course, take action, or—when we shouldn’t act—just relax and trust. Each chapter presents a path to a different kind of freedom—freedom from fear, freedom to start over, to love, to be yourself, and to be happy—and guides you into an active process that engages your mind and heart, awakens your spirit, and . . .

Vincent Spina (Peru): A poet who looks to the past and future

Jul 24 2024

Recovery by Vincent Spine (Peru 1966-69) Independently Published June 2024 141 pages $11.00 (Paperback) Unlike most poets, who can be either primarily narrativists or lyrical luminaries, Vincent Spina can be both and more. Think of Wallace Stevens but more human; think of John. Ashbury’s pyrotechnics and add a rich heart. Throw in a combination of cultural soulfulness and environmental sensitivity, all somehow shaped by his profound wisdom of how the human drama is interwoven by both. Now add Spina’s absorption of Quichua and Latin American culture — and we have an approximation of Vincent Spina’s singularity as an American poet. But it is in the poems, ultimately, where Spina plunges in like a diver with his cargo of poetic resources and resurfaces with bits of scintillating jewels, elevating us, his fellow-travelers, to the ultimate of communions: poet to reader, human to human. . . . Meet Vincent Spina by Lynn . . .

Alana DeJoseph’s (Mali) film A TOWERING TASK wins regional Emmy Award

Jul 21 2024

Alana DeJoseph is a documentary filmmaker who directed A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps in 2019. The documentary premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and is available to stream on PBS. DeJoseph served in Mali from 1992–1994 and has also worked on other documentaries, including The Greatest Good: A Forest Service Centennial Film and Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land. A Towering Task explores the history of the Peace Corps. The documentary features interviews with Harry Belafonte, Annette Bening, Jimmy Carter, and Chris Dodd, among others. Last night, July 20, 2024, her film A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps won the regional Emmy for best historical documentary! The Heartland Emmy Awards Winners An incredible team of filmmakers (special shout-out to screenwriter Shana Kelly and editor Brian De Herrera-Schnering), 100s of volunteers, the most amazing Peace Corps community of PCVs, host . . .

23 youths empowered by “Sports Peace Corps Volunteers” (Belize)

Jul 20 2024

PCVs in the news — July 19, 2024 A team of twenty-three Peace Corps/Belize volunteers were sworn in today to serve as youth development volunteers with the National Sports Council. The group recently completed several weeks of rigorous training in Belize to better understand the country’s needs, and how best they can contribute. Today, that group officially began their twenty-four months of service to Belize under a program called Youths Empowered by Sports, or the YES Project. A swearing-in ceremony was held in Belmopan where we heard from Marvin Ottley, the Deputy Director of the National Sports Council and Nadine Rogers, the Country Director for Peace Corps/Belize. Marvin Ottley, Deputy Director, of the Belize National Sports Council “We know they hit the ground running right away. But they have been training for a period of time to familiarize themselves with what Belize has to offer, and . . .