The Peace Corps

Directed by Alana DeJoseph (Mali 1992-94) Reviewed by Kathleen Coskran (Ethiopia 1965-67) • A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps took on a towering task: to tell the story of a 57-year-old government agency where virtually all the people involved were short-timers. Volunteers served two  years, with a few, very few, extending to a third year, and staff were limited to 5 years of service. What RPCVs like me remember is our window of service in the country we served, but the story is much bigger than a single slice of time. Director Alana DeJoseph obviously knows that the best way to portray history is through the stories of participants threaded together, and makes generous use of interviews and film clips beginning with those present at the creation and including volunteers, host country nationals, and staff of every era. It opens with Sarge Shriver earnestly explaining the purpose of the Peace Corps, then moves to John . . .

  By Peter Hessler (China 1996-98) New Yorker Magazine October 5, 2020 On my second visit to the site of the former Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, at the intersection of New China Road and Development Road, in central Wuhan, I wore a mask and a pair of sunglasses with a loose frame. It was late August, and three security guards in black uniforms sat at the entrance. They examined my passport, checked my temperature, and asked me to scan a QR code that connected to a registration system. The system, though, required a national I.D. number, and the guards seemed uncertain what to do with a foreigner. I handed over the sunglasses and explained that they needed to be repaired. The earliest documented clusters of coronavirus infections had occurred in the Huanan market. During my first visit, a week earlier, I had left after attracting the attention of a man . . .

  Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl Ny Jonathan Slaght (Russia 1999—02) Ferrar, Straus and Giroux August 2020 358 pages $28.00 (Hardcover) Reviewed by: John C. Rude (Ethiopia 1962-64) • This haunting memoir by a former Peace Corps volunteer is not about his Peace Corps experience. Rather, it is a book that explores the mind and heart of the wilderness that could have come from the pen of Jack London, had the author lived a century later and been a volunteer. This tale of a young American traveling in eastern Russia resembles “Call of the Wild” in its sensitivity to the powerful forces of nature, and its passion for human survival. Yet the author’s modern story chronicles the efforts to save a non-human species — the elusive Blakiston’s fish owl — from extinction. No one is better equipped to tell this . . .

  A 24-year-old volunteer died of undiagnosed malaria on the island nation of Comoros. It was one of at least three deaths since 2009 that have been linked to mistakes by Peace Corps doctors.   By Sheryl Gay Stolberg New York Times Oct. 2, 2020, 5:01 a.m. ET   WASHINGTON — The Peace Corps, which suspended all operations for the first time in its history as the novel coronavirus raced around the globe, is facing renewed questions about the quality of its medical care — in particular, after the death of a 24-year-old volunteer from undiagnosed malaria — as it prepares to send volunteers back into the field. The volunteer, Bernice Heiderman, died alone in a hotel room on the island nation of Comoros off Africa’s east coast in January 2018, after sending desperate text messages to her family. Ms. Heiderman, of Inverness, Ill., told them her Peace Corps doctor was not taking seriously . . .

  October 1, 2020 by Scott Brinton (Bulgaria 1991–93) Long Island Herald Community Newspapers   My soul is aching. As the Covid-19 death toll surpassed 200,000 last week, we mourned Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of America’s greatest daughters — an incredible mind with a voracious appetite for learning, a fearless, indomitable advocate for women’s rights and, quite simply, a good and decent human being, with an old-school sense of politeness that enabled her to deliver a penetrating verbal jab without personal insult. Her death at age 87 came only two months after the passing of U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who was 80. Together they represented a particular brand of leadership: strength obtained not through bullying, but through the depth of their moral conviction, their sense of justice and their commitment to telling the truth under all circumstances. Each helped create a more equal society and a more . . .

  Mary Kate Lowndes, RPCV (Honduras 1989–91) and member of Peace Corps staff in Washington, has been indicted on one felony and three misdemeanor voter fraud charges CONCORD, NH — A Washington, D.C., woman has been indicted on four voter fraud charges after being accused of wrongfully registering to vote in New Hampshire in 2016 and voting during the 2018 general election, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office. Mary Kate Lowndes, 57,  was indicted on a felony wrongful voting charge, two counts of misdemeanor wrongful voting, and a single count of misusing an absentee ballot. According to prosecutors, Lowndes filed a voter registration form in 2016 claiming to be domiciled at a shopping center on Crystal Avenue in Derry when she actually lived outside of New Hampshire, a misdemeanor charge. Investigators accused her of requesting and receiving an absentee ballot in the Nov. 6, 2018, general election and then . . .

The Long Arc of the Universe: Travels Beyond the Pale by Kathleen Stocking (Thailand 2006-07; Romania 2010-12) Stocking Press 384 pages’ January 2016 $19.95 (Paperback)   Reviewed by Steve Kaffen (Russia 1994-96) The Long Arc of the Universe is a well-written, detailed, example-filled, and meaningful account of the author’s travels on four continents over a span of 16 years. With the premise that there is kindness in the world, Kathleen Stocking seeks to affirm and experience her premise. It takes her from the prisons of California to two Peace Corps volunteer tours and, in the last chapter, home. I was struck by her methodology. Rather than seek out kindness, she crafted ways to give it, and one of the fascinations of the book is learning how her kindness is perceived and flows back to her. The results energize her to continue her outreach in another country and continent. In the last . . .

  NOTE: I urge you to read this insightful interview and watch Dave Goldenberg’s wonderful documentary, Swahili on the Prairie. This film is what the Peace Corps has been about all these years. While this is not your story, it is your story. All of us where there. All of us went overseas to countries we could hardly find on a map and came home with stories to tell. We came home having done a job no one expected we could do. We came home with friendships made and friendships that continue today. We are the Peace Corps. We are the legacy of JFK and the New Frontier. We are what America is all about. Read Marnie Mueller’s wonderful interview of David Asher Goldenberg and his insightful film Swahili on the Prairie. Yes, it is about these guys who went to Kenya to work on farms, but it is also about . . .

Thanks for the “heads up” from Concetta Anne Bencivenga (Thailand 1992-94) The story behind one group’s grassroots effort to do just that Shanna Loga (Morocco 2006-08) Medium.com Sep 20 · For many Americans, the Peace Corps is a treasured institution. It represents the idealism, generosity, and curiosity of our nation and symbolizes our spirit of humanitarianism. We imagine bright-eyed volunteers selflessly digging wells in Cameroon or teaching English in Ecuador. With its founding by JFK and its current mission of “promoting world peace and friendship,” the Peace Corps holds a special reverence in the national consciousness. Objectively, the Peace Corps is an independent US government agency and volunteer program. Peace Corps volunteers receive three months of in-country, international training before serving two-year terms abroad in sectors including agriculture, community economic development, education, environment, health, and youth development. The population of volunteers skews young, white, and female: the average age is 26, 65% are female, and . . .

The NYCPCA is excited to invite our community and their friends and family to the first installment of our 2020 Peace Corps Story Slam series happening on September 30! Like many things in 2020, the importance of social distancing has pushed our live storytelling event to the internet. We’re also expanding the program this year to include multiple events organized around specific themes that we’ll continue building on in 2021. See below for details and we’ll look forward to seeing you in a few weeks! Wednesday, September 30, 2020 7:30pm EST For our first event, we invite stories about volunteers’ experiences with race and identity during their service. Sign Up to Be a Storyteller RSVP 2020 Story Slam Program Thursday, October 22 and Thursday, November 19 7:30pm EST We’ll also be hosting two more exciting evenings of storytelling in 2020, where we’ll explore volunteers’ encounters with the political process during their service . . .

  Honoring the historic founding of the Peace Corps and fundamental American ideals and values the Peace Corps symbolizes   P E A C E C O R P S  C O M M E M O R A T I V E  F O U N D A T I O N PeaceCorpsDesign The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA), at its September 17 meeting, voted unanimously to approve the design concept for the national Peace Corps Commemorative, designed and presented by artist/sculptor Larry Kirkland and Michael Vergason of Michael Vergason Landscape Architects.   The PCCF will finance and build this commemorative work on a small, triangular National Park Service site facing Louisiana Avenue, NW, in the heart of Washington, DC, one block from the National Mall and the U.S. Capitol Building grounds, and three blocks from Union Station. CFA approval of the design concept is a positive step . . .

    Sorrow and Gratitude: Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg She was committed to justice and equality. And a Peace Corps Volunteer helped the world see her in a new way.   by Steven Boyd Saum (Ukraine 1994-96)   “Ruth obviously changed the country, but she did it by convincing people to agree with her, instead of destroying the people who disagreed with her.” Those words were spoken two years ago by Daniel Stiepleman — nephew of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court who died yesterday at age 87. Stiepleman helped the world understand Ginsburg in a deeply personal way: He is author of the screenplay for “On the Basis of Sex,” the biographical film released in 2018 that chronicled both her commitment to justice and gender equality, and her marriage to attorney Martin Ginsburg, who died in 2010. It was at Martin Ginsburg’s funeral, hearing tributes . . .

  The 2020 National Book Awards Longlist: Nonfiction This week, The New Yorker will be announcing the longlists for the 2020 National Book Awards. So far, we’ve presented the lists for Young People’s Literature, Translated Literature, and Poetry. Check back tomorrow morning for Fiction. This year’s longlist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction includes: Jonathan C. Slaght, Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl, Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan Publishers • Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl By Jonathan Slaght (Russia 1999—02) Ferrar, Straus and Giroux August 2020 358 pages $28.00 (Hardcover) Reviewed by Fuller Torrey, MD (Staff/Ethiopia 1964-66) • For those of us whose Peace Corps experience involved villages in countries such as Bolivia, Ethiopia, India and Thailand, placing Peace Corps volunteers in Russia seems like a disconnect. But indeed between 1992 and 2003 722 Peace Corps . . .

  From the sticks of Mississippi to the jungles of Nicaragua, Kevin Cromley escaped the chaos of a turbulent youth,  and finally reached a point in his life where order prevailed. The order he so desperately desired. He would soon be scaling the corporate ladder and setting off on a methodical life of routine and comfort. Why then did he have a sinking feeling that something was off, as if his life was skewed and out of balance? On a mission for answers, he chucks caution to the wind and joined the Peace Corps, finding himself thrust back into the throes of chaos yet again. Will the disorder and chaos overtake him, steer him back towards the perilous ways of his youth? Or will he learn to operate within the disarray and confusion of a new language, new culture, and a new way of looking at life? More importantly, will . . .

The Description of Service or DOS was originally designed as the Personnel record for  each  individual Peace Corp Volunteer’s service.  It was used to verify service for employment and university applications as well as other needs for documentation of service. Initially, in early days, all terminating Volunteers in a specific group, received the same general description of program activities.  However, at a certain time, which I have not yet been able to determine, the DOS became a  V0lunteer’s own record of his or her First Goal program activities. It was written by the Volunteer and countersigned by the Country Director. The Office of Freedom Information Act reports there are over 190,000 DOS electronically catalogued and are available  to the Volunteer and anyone else. For more information DOS policy, visit: https://files.peacecorps.gov/documents/MS-285-Policy.pdf?_ga=2.162855740.1630460103.1599702479-1120743076.1599057042 The detail now required proves how historically valuable these documents are. Here are the instructions for preparing such a detailed . . .