The Peace Corps

  Recounted by D.W. Jefferson (El Salvador & Costa Rica 1974–77) • The following qualifies as hearsay, though I did hear it from a person directly involved, Skip Baker, a former Colombia PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) and co–owner of Basico, the company in charge of my Peace Corps group’s training in Costa Rica in the fall of 1974. It seems that about six months prior (say February 1974) there was a training group which, on their last day as trainees, was giving a presentation (possibly in the form of a play) to their host families at the Basico training center. Some or all of the trainees got the idea of ending the presentation by streaking across the stage. Explanatory Note: Streaking had become popular on US college campuses a few years earlier. The practice consisted of taking off all of one’s clothes, except for shoes (typically tennis shoes) and running . . .

  The National Peace Corps Association has announced, on their website, three new staff members for the Peace Corps Washington office.  Scott Beale’s appointment was published earlier by John Coyne, here on Peace Corps Worldwide. Of the three new staff, only one is an RPCV, Sarah Dietch, Georgia, 2017-2019. https://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/articles/carol-spahn-named-acting-director-of-peace-corps Dave Noble has been named chief of staff for Peace Corps. He had been serving as executive director of the ACLU of Michigan. Under the Obama administration, he served as a deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of the Presidential Personnel Office, and prior to that as deputy chief of staff and White House liaison for NASA. Scott Beale has been appointed Associate Director of Global Operations for Peace Corps. In 2006 Beale founded Atlas Corps, a volunteer program to connect and empower global leaders through service in the United States. Over the past 15 years, Atlas Corps has brought more . . .

  Scott Beale started three nonprofit organizations. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Atlas Corps, a leadership development program for nonprofit professionals. Sometimes called a “reverse Peace Corps,” Atlas Corps brings leaders from all around the world to serve in cities across the United States. Scott writes: I am honored to share that I will soon join the Biden Administration to serve as the Associate Director for Global Operations at the Peace Corps. After 15-years at Atlas Corps, I’m so proud of what we have accomplished building a community of over 1,000 leaders from 103 countries. The Peace Corps is celebrating its 60th year of operations and yet the 7,000+ volunteers who serve in more than 60 countries have all been brought home due to COVID. It is a huge opportunity to help build the Peace Corps back up, particularly in a way that takes into consideration racial justice & equity, that is . . .

  Dissertations relating to the Peace Corps From Peace Corps Wiki The following theses and dissertations were written about research on either: The Peace Corps organization itself, or Studies of the volunteers themselves – either in country or after they returned from service.   2008 A participatory approach in practice: Lessons from a Peace Corps experience by Arnold, Amy, M.A., University of Wyoming, 2008, 118 pages; AAT 1457055 Abstract (Summary) Selai atau selei (bahasa Inggris: jam, bahasa Perancis: confiture) adalah salah satu jems makanan awetan berupa sari buah atau buah-buahan yang sudah yang sudah dihancurkan, ditambah gula dan dimasak hingga kental atau berbentuk setengah padat. Selai tidak dimakan begitu saja, melainkan untuk dioleskan di atas roti tawar atau sebagai isi roti manis. Selai juga sering digunakan sebagai isi pada kue-kue seperti kue Nastar atau pemanis pada minuman, seperti yogurt dan es krim. Selai yang di dalamnya masih ditemukan potongan buah . . .

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Bea Hogan (Uzbekistan 1992-94)   What It Was Like to Serve in the Peace Corps, According to 6 Generations of Women No matter when and where they served, volunteers agree: The experience will change your life. BY ASHLEA HALPERN Conde Nast Traveler — January 15, 2021   If you’ve ever known someone who served in the Peace Corps, you’ve probably heard the phrase, “When I was in the Peace Corps . . ..” That’s how universally impactful the experience is. Established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, the agency has sent more than 240,000 volunteers to 141 nations around the world. Six decades on, its mission remains largely the same — to work with local communities to develop sustainable solutions for challenges in the healthcare, education, economic development, agriculture, and environmental sectors. The Peace Corps will commemorate its 60th anniversary with a themed celebration, “Peace Corps . . .

  The European athletic games took place in Minsk, Belarus, in June 2019. About 3,600 athletes competed in 15 sports, many of which were qualifiers for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Using over 200 original photographs and descriptions, the author showcases the host city and the Games’ exciting activities including four final events and the spectacular closing ceremony. Attend the European Games and experience the people, sights, and local color of historic and surprising Minsk. Minsk is a picturesque city that straddles the meandering Svislach River. Its historic area is a maze of narrow streets filled with restaurants and cafes, historic monuments, and the city’s Town Hall, which hosts jazz on summer weekends. The city has a renowned opera and ballet theater situated in its own park, one of Europe’s oldest resident circuses, and a youthful population that exudes an energy and exuberance that pervades the city. • The . . .

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Bruce Schlein (Papua New Guinea, 1990-92)   The Oath with Chuck Rosenberg is a Podcast on MSNBC.  In this, the fourth season, he interviews leaders who worked in government. On January 19, 2021, Carrie Hessler-Radelet was his guest.  To hear the podcast, clink on this link. ‎The Oath with Chuck Rosenberg: Carrie Hessler-Radelet: Choose Optimism on Apple Podcasts “Carrie Hessler-Radelet – a native of Michigan and the former Director of the Peace Corps – and her extended family have a remarkable and unique relationship with that storied organization. They hold the distinction of being the only Peace Corps family to have four generations serve as volunteers, including both of her grandparents, her aunt and her nephew. In fact, Carrie’s aunt, Virginia Kirkwood – who served in Turkey and was the 10,000th volunteer – inspired Carrie to join the Peace Corps.” Here is a link . . .

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Mike Wolfson (Peru 1964-66)     This picture, made as a poster courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution, was taken at President Bill Clinton’s inaugural parade on January 20, 1993. The organization was then the National Council of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, now the National Peace Corps Association. Mike borrowed the 6 x 8-foot outdoor flags and 9-foot aluminum flag poles from the U.S. Department of State.  There were, he believes, 110 flags representing all of the countries that Peace Corps volunteers had or were serving in. He had all of these flags and poles in his living room the day before the inauguration where Ken Hill (Turkey 1965-67) and he put country labels on each flag, attached them to the 110 poles, and put them in a truck that Ken stored overnight and took to the parade staging area the next morning. He did . . .

  As we approach the 60th Anniversary of the agency — which was officially born on March 1, 1961—Peace Corps Worldwide wants to capture for history the stories of as many Volunteers as possible. Your experiences need to be preserved because, thanks to your service, the Peace Corps has become the most significant and successful cross-cultural venture ever undertaken by the United States. And in today’s nationalistic world, the example of Peace Corps Volunteers is more important than ever. The Peace Corps is about service, but it is also about friendship. For 60 years, Volunteers have lived with host-country families, shared their lives and experiences, and showed our hosts that we were more like them than we were different. We were younger than many of our hosts, often less experienced in life, and sometimes needing their help to navigate their culture. But we went, and we were ready to work, . . .

Peace Corps Thailand 1972-75 Jim McCaffery (Ethiopia 1966-68) told me that this photo (below) is the real one Peter Navarro was taking out of the White House. It was (we think) hanging in the Oval Office.

  President Trump on Thursday moved to freeze $27.4 billion worth of government programs in the last week of his presidency using a budget maneuver called rescission. Under the 1974 Budget and Impoundment Control Act, the president can request that Congress rescind, or wind back budget authority over certain programs. While Congress considers the request, the programs can be frozen for up to 45 days, at which point the request expires if Congress does not act. In a letter to congressional leadership, Trump specifically requested 73 cutbacks to the 2021 federal budget. The 73 proposed rescissions largely align with the annual budget proposal Trump has set out, which proposed extreme cuts to domestic programs. Congress roundly rejected the cuts each year. The letter asked leaders in the House and Senate to impound funds from almost every Cabinet-level agency including the Environmental Protection Agency. The request also included cuts from the National Endowments for the Arts and . . .

  ConanDaily.com JANUARY 14, 2021 BY Marky O’Brien   Thomas Baranyi (Albania 2018-20) is a white man from New Jersey, United States. Here are 13 things about him: He lives in Ewing, New Jersey. (a) He graduated from The College of New Jersey in Ewing. (b) He went into basic training for the U.S. Marine Corps but he was discharged. (b) He is the eldest son of Drake Baranyi, who is from Kathmandu, Nepal. (c) On December 9, 2017, he proposed to his girlfriend Rachel Fury, according to his father. (c) From 2018 to 2020, he served in the Peace Corps in Albania. (b) On December 22, 2020, his father took to Facebook to say they have not seen each other in person since 2017. (c) Wearing a blue New York Giants sweatshirt and a navy blue baseball hat while carrying a blue backpack on January 6, 2021, he entered the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., USA on the side where scaffolding was erected for Joe Biden‘s inauguration on January 20, 2021. That . . .

  January 13, 2021 11:15 AM TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey man who said he was standing next to a woman when she was fatally shot during the U.S. Capitol riot is now charged in connection with last week’s breach. Thomas Baranyi, 28, was arrested Tuesday night by the FBI and charged with disorderly or disruptive conduct. He made his initial court appearance later that night via video conference, where bail was set at $100,000, but he was later released on an unsecured bond. Baranyi, who formerly served in the Peace Corps, gained attention on the day of the riots when he told a TV reporter that he was standing next to Ashli Babbitt when she was fatally shot inside the building, and held up his right hand to show blood that was still there. In a criminal affidavit, FBI Special Agent Cassidy Vreeland wrote that Baranyi’s identity . . .

Yeganeh Torbati, The Washington Post Jan. 12, 2021 • WASHINGTON – An outgoing Trump administration political appointee at the nation’s leading foreign aid agency told staff on Tuesday that the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol was the work of “a few violent people,” and added that “several million” others there were protesting peacefully for electoral reform, according to audio recordings of a staff meeting obtained by The Washington Post. Tim Meisburger (Lesotho 1988-90) is a Trump appointee and an outgoing deputy assistant administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development’s bureau for development, democracy and innovation. Meisburger made the comments on a video call with approximately 70 to 80 USAID workers, according to one USAID official who was granted anonymity to describe internal communications at the agency. “What I saw was several million people demonstrating in the Capitol, peaceful protesters in the Capitol,” said Meisburger, according to an audio recording . . .

  Update January 22, 2021:  Peace Corps reports that Carol Spahn has been appointed Acting Peace Corps Director by President Biden. Editors note: Before her recent years with the Peace Corps in DC and Malawi, Carol Spahn was Executive Director of Accordia Global Health Foundation (Accordia) responsible for implementing new strategies and forging new partnerships to expand the impact of healthcare capacity building efforts in Africa undertaken by the organization. Carol previously served Accordia as its Director of Finance and Administration. Prior to joining Accordia, she was Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Small Enterprise Assistance Funds, a non-profit private equity fund manager that invests in small and medium-sized companies in developing countries. Carol was a PCV as a Small Business Advisor in Romania shortly after the fall of communism and has also held several positions with financial service institutions, including GE Capital and KPMG Peat Marwick. She holds . . .