The Peace Corps

    A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps “Helping other nations build the strength to meet their own problems, to satisfy their own aspirations, to surmount their own dangers. The problems in achieving this goal are towering and unprecedented. The response must be towering and unprecedented.”  — President John F. Kennedy • The Ugly American by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick, published in 1958, demonstrated how Americans working abroad failed to integrate with local communities allowing Russians, who did in fact integrate, to spread Communism. President John F. Kennedy read the book and was spurred to action. His goal was to have Americans volunteer to combat hunger, fight for civil rights and promote world peace by working within the communities they were helping. On September 22nd, 1961, Congress voted to make the Peace Corps a permanent agency. “To help young Americans understand the rest of the world is . . .

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Paul Koprowski (Ethiopia 1962-64) The Peace Corps Is Suspended—Here’s Why We Need to Make Sure It Returns By Jessie Beck (Madagascar 2011-13) AFAR Travel Magazine 04.30.20   Ninety-two percent of Peace Corps volunteers say the experience has changed their lives. In the Peace Corps, you learn that travel isn’t just about hotels and the sights. It’s about the people and connections you make. On March 15, 2020, the Peace Corps announced the evacuation of all 7,000+ volunteers from 60+ countries and suspension of all operations. With just 24 hours’ notice, all volunteers were asked to pack up their bags, say goodbye to their host communities, and return to the United States. I can only imagine it was a difficult, but necessary, decision. Keeping volunteers safe and healthy is a top priority for the organization, and it would have been a struggle to provide adequate healthcare to . . .

    In a Washington Post article published on May 1, 2020, award-winning journalists Edward H. Carpenter and Charli Carpenter published an article entitled, “East Africa has weathered pandemics — and has a few things to teach the U.S.” In the article, they write how African leaders have managed the crisis much better than the U.S. They write: These factors make it all the more remarkable that emerging economies of East Africa are far better prepared for this crisis than the United States was even two weeks ago. These countries include some of the more stable African nations (Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Eritrea) and some of the most unstable (Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan). What they share is a relatively low incidence of the coronavirus and a strong, proactive and coordinated response to the crisis. The current pandemic won’t be the last the world faces. And while it is functionally too late for the United . . .

      Haddad became involved with the JFK presidential campaign and got back into politics as a special assistant to Robert Kennedy, and it was the Attorney General who brought him to the attention of Sargent Shriver and the Peace Corps. — JCNote.   By Matt Schudel Washington Post May 2, 2020 During his varied and sometimes adventurous career, William F. Haddad was a teenage sailor with the Merchant Marine, a reporter who helped expose corruption in New York’s political machine, a founding official of the Peace Corps, a newspaper publisher and an advocate for breaking the pharmaceutical industry’s control over drug prices. He was the author of several books, including one about his experiences as an executive for John Z. DeLorean, a charismatic car designer who launched a once-revolutionary automotive company, only to be disgraced amid a far-reaching scandal. Mr. Haddad, a ubiquitous and restless figure who was a . . .

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Mark Walker( Guatemala 1971-73)   The Red & Black Publishing April 30, 2020   COVID-19 ended my Peace Corps service, but I’m still grateful Brun Baringer 2018-2020 • My colleague greeted me with a premonition: “tsudi otsneba mqonda” — “I had a bad dream.” His implication was clear: my time here would be cut short. I was working in the Georgian Black Sea port city of Poti through the Peace Corps, consulting a civic development non-governmental organization and a TV station. We were meeting on a sunless Saturday afternoon to discuss a grant proposal for a collaborative advocacy project between the two organizations, but immediately on this premonition the clouds crept inside, brooding over our conversation. I had been living in the Eurasian country of Georgia for close to a year. It is an amazing place with some unbelievable mountains, incredible cuisine and a culture of inspirational hospitality — . . .

  First Run Features presents A TOWERING TASK The Story of the Peace Corps Virtual Theatrical Release Begins May 22 First Run Features is pleased to announce that A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps will have virtual theatrical runs across the U.S. beginning May 22, 2020. After sold-out screenings at the Kennedy Center and the Denver Film Festival, numerous community screenings from Alaska to Washington, DC to Hawaii and Florida, not to mention international screenings in Colombia and Afghanistan, the film will finally be available to American cinema-goers…albeit via streaming. Directed by Alana DeJoseph and narrated by Annette Bening, the documentary features indelible interviews of current and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, current and former staff, scholars and journalists, community members and leaders around the world (including Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf). Remarkable archival materials and stunning footage from around the globe by cinematographer Vanessa Carr bring to life an agency that . . .

Now, more than ever, Peace Corps needs to be kept in the public eye. RPCV Alana de Joseph, Producer of the Peace Corps Documentary, A Towering Task,  has a request. “RPCVs and friends of the Peace Corps can now approach their local movie theaters to virtually screen A Towering Task. Here is the link that can be sent to movie theaters: https://firstrunfeatures.activehosted.com/index.php?action=social&chash=5f2c22cb4a5380af7ca75622a6426917.912&s=f7dd23ab00b1845d65665ab7eef54a0a It’s a great way to support a local business and at the same time get the story out about the Peace Corps.”

Peace Corps Volunteers Can Get Unemployment Benefits, Officials Say New York Times By Mariel Padilla Published April 28, 2020 Updated April 29, 2020,  In previous years, returned volunteers were not eligible for unemployment benefits, but they will now be covered by the coronavirus relief plan. A mother welcoming her daughter home after she served one year with the Peace Corps and finished a two-week quarantine.Credit…Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press Peace Corps volunteers and other national service participants who lost their positions during the coronavirus pandemic will now be eligible for unemployment benefits as part of the $2 trillion economic relief plan, according to guidance released by the Department of Labor this week. In previous years, people returning from serving with the Peace Corps were not eligible for regular unemployment benefits because the Department of Labor considered them volunteers who were not in a legal employee-employer relationship. But the pandemic has caused the Peace Corps to temporarily suspend . . .

  What about The Death of Idealism by John Coyne (Ethiopia 1962-64) • Meghan Kallman did do some research. Of the 240,000 + PCVs & RPCVs she managed to get 140 Vols to interview. She also sent a questionnaire to approximately 2,000 RPCVs. So, she had information on the Peace Corps from 1/2% of 1% of all PCVs over the last 59 years. That done, and the few books she listed as having read, plus, I’m sure, her brief touring of three third world countries, visiting PCVs and Peace Corps Staff made her, she believed, qualified to write a book about the Peace Corps published by a major university press. Good for you, Meghan! She did quote one of the architects of the agency, Harris Wofford . . . once. She also quoted Shriver . . .once. No one else among the founders who created the agency in 30 days . . .

    Meghan Elizabeth Kallman is a graduate of Smith College with an MA from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. from Brown. She lives in Pawtucket, RI where she is on the City Council, and where she lives with her husband Tim. (Neither of them were PCVs.) She is also an assistant professor at the School for Global Inclusion and Social Development at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. The Death of Idealism: Development and Anti-Politics in the Peace Corps is Meghan’s second academic book. It was published this April by Columbia University Press in New York. In her acknowledgment, she writes, “I deeply, deeply appreciate the many Peace Corps volunteers and staff who permitted me to sit in, take notes, observe, pry, and explore their experiences and their gatherings. In giving me access, you gave me a gift.” In her book, Meghan mentions that she visited three . . .

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Dale Gilles (Liberia 1964-67)     When Life Felt Normal: Your Pre-Pandemic Peace Corps Moments New York Times, 4/25/2020 Readers share memories, images and videos from before the coronavirus became a pandemic, and reflect on what they mean now. . An early return home Isabella Black Reston, VAI   After my evacuation and termination from the Peace Corps, I feel for what could have been. We prepared for two years of service in Senegal, but we got only a moment of our host families, the language, the service, and the country. We had just begun training on how we could help to facilitate community economic development when we received word we had to go home. We had the chance to meet community leaders, families, and facilitators who were so eager for our continued service in the country. To return home so early from what I . . .

    Peter James Caws never worked at the Peace Corps but he was an important person to help the agency in its early days. Late in 1962, when Pat Kennedy, first director of the Division of Volunteer Support (DVS),  began to think about how to support Volunteers when they were completing the service. Pat wanted to create a Career Information Service, but the new agency did not have money to establish such an office. Pat decided to look outside the government for funding. At the time Peter Caws, a British citizen, was at the Carnegie Corporation in New York. Pat went to meet Caws, who had his Ph.D. in philosophy from Yale and was an officer at the corporation. Caws liked Kennedy’s idea for helping returning Volunteers, knowing that many RPCVs would be entering graduate studies. Caws convinced Carnegie to give the agency $100,000 to establish the Career Center . . .

  The advocacy efforts of  the NPCA and the RPCV Community on behalf of the evacuated Volunteers have been successful. https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-announces-wellness-stipend-evacuated-volunteers/?fbclid=IwAR1cXq7iOjaLIOqonbXs1MmWJecopuw6AI6SxWXyR1u_cWo81aw_QEXkY6s April 22, 2020 WASHINGTON – Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen announced the agency will provide additional financial support to the 7,000 volunteers and trainees who were evacuated from their posts last month due to the COVID-19 outbreak. “Our volunteers returned to the United States during a very challenging time, so I am pleased to announce this $1,500 wellness stipend,” said Director Olsen. “We are able to provide this one-time stipend thanks to the strong support of the Administration and Congress, which recently authorized a supplemental appropriation for the Peace Corps to cover costs associated with the evacuations and post-service benefits for volunteers.” The new stipend is intended to help returned volunteers and trainees cover near-term health and wellness costs. These funds will be provided in addition to the evacuation . . .

  Noah’s Ark The Event by Don Dirnberger (Antiqua 1977-79) Self-published/Amazon 88 pages April 2020 $0 (kindle); $29.99 (paperback)   Noah’s Ark The Event is about The Wobble and the aftermath upon the marble we call Earth. This book is sci-fi with a basis in reality. The events which have been occurring around us gave me a pause to consider the possibility of life on the planet after the predicted happened. It has long been stated in many civilizations and with scientific evidence that The Wobble is a real event. We are past due for it to occur. The book is a simple explanation of what might happen given the likelihood of history repeating itself. That repeat may have caused the extinction during the eons of the life cycle of the planet. Read with the open mind that should it occur we will either perish or survive based on our . . .

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Dale Gilles (Liberia 1964-67)       Click for  The latest on developments about the U.S. Peace Corps and COVID-19 global evacuation  By Robert Nolan with Greg Emerson, and Maricarmen Smith-Martinez at Flipboard.com.