Peace Corps Worldwide – Page 10 – promoting Peace Corps writers since 1989

Six decades of Peace Corps in Nepal

Jan 08 2024

In the news — The US and Nepal have been steadfast friends not only as countries but also on the individual level a statement by Troy Kofroth (country director/Nepal 2022– present) The Katnamdu Post January 7, 2024 Each year at this time, the Peace Corps notes the anniversary of the start of the programme in Nepal in 1962. On August 24 of that year — soon after President John F Kennedy created the Peace Corps — the governments of Nepal and the United States signed a bilateral agreement to authorize the Peace Corps’ operation in Nepal. Just a few weeks later, in September 1962, the first group of 77 volunteers consisting of teachers and agriculture specialists arrived in Kathmandu to live in, and partner with, Nepali communities. Since 1962, nearly 4,000 US citizens have arrived in Nepal to serve as volunteers for two years. These volunteers have lived in communities . . .

Green Bay Packers honored RPCV Dan Krause (Kenya) during Sunday’s game

Jan 08 2024

In the news Packers honored RPCV Dan Krause during Sunday’s game against the Bears Jan 07, 2024 The Green Bay Packers and Network Health paid special tribute to U.S. Army veteran Daniel Krause during Sunday afternoon’s game against the Chicago Bears for ‘Operation Fan Mail.’ Operation Fan Mail, the program that recognizes military families and veterans at each Packers home game, marked its 17th season this year. After Krause graduated from high school, he joined the U.S. Army as a medic. He went on to graduate with honors from UW-Stevens Point. He also served in the Peace Corps (Kenya 1992-994) and graduated from law school at New York University, where he also earned a master’s degree in philosophy. He then practiced law for the Menominee and Oneida tribes, then opened his own law office in Shawano, Wis. He served for a total of 31 years, serving . . .

REFLECTIONS OF AN AMERICAN POLITICAL PRISONER by Michael O. Billington (Guyana)

Jan 07 2024

Reflections of an American Political Prisoner: The Repression and Promise of the LaRouche Movement by Michael O. Billington (Guyana & Thailand 1967-71) EIR News Service 2015 435 pages $9.99 (Kindle); $19.99 (Paperback) As part of a book tour for his autobiography Reflections of An American Political Prisoner: The Represssion and Promise of the LaRouche Movement, as seen by Michael O. Billington, Billington, the last of the LaRouche political prisoners to be released on parole, after ten years in jail–two years in Federal prison, and an additional eight years as a inmate of the Virginia Correctional system (his sentence in Virginia was 77 years!), wrote a personal account of his political, philosophical, and moral development over nearly 35 years, including his work in the Peace Corps in the late 1960s. Most of the book is dedicated to his life and work, over the period since he became, in 1972, . . .

Celebrated RPCV Film “Bushman” Restored (Nigeria)

Jan 05 2024

A new 4K restoration of David Schickele’s (Nigeria 1961-63) Bushman (1971) will make its North American debut this year, marking the first time in decades that this celebrated landmark of American independent cinema will be widely available. Overseen by the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) and The Film Foundation, the restoration will be distributed worldwide in all media by Milestone Films and Kino Lorber. Funding for the restoration was provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, with additional support provided by Peter Conheim, Cinema Preservation Alliance. Following a spotlight presentation in January at BAMPFA as part of the museum’s annual preservation film festival To Save and Project, Bushman will have a weeklong theatrical run at New York City’s BAM Rose Cinemas beginning on Friday, February 2. That presentation will coincide with the restoration’s West Coast premiere at BAMPFA on Saturday, February 3, which will include an onstage conversation with . . .

NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK by Benjamin Crabtree (Ethiopia, Korea)

Jan 04 2024

Needle in a Haystack: Searching for the World’s Last Cases of Smallpox in Ethiopia by Benjamin F. Crabtree (Ethiopia 1974-75) & (Korea 19676-78) Peace Corps Writers 230 pages October 2023 $7.95 (Kindle); $13.95 (Paperback) Needle in a Haystack: Searching for the World’s Last Cases of Smallpox in Ethiopia describes the high stakes adventure of bringing to fruition the greatest public health accomplishment of the 20th century — the global eradication of smallpox — as the political situation in Ethiopia deteriorated and the World Health Organization and the Peace Corps were at odds about the rising dangers this posed to workers in the field. The book is a first-person narrative non-fiction account of one Peace Corps Volunteer’s year-long encounters while searching for the final cases of smallpox in remote areas of Ethiopia in the mid-1970s as part of the World Health Organization’s Smallpox Eradication Program. Smallpox had raged across the . . .

THE PLEASURE SEEKER by Robyn Michaels (Malawi)

Jan 04 2024

The Pleasure Seeker by Robyn Michaels (Malawi 1992) Self Published January 2024 326 pages $2.99 (Kindle); $14.95 (Paperback) This is a coming-of-age story and involves real African history. Dayal Singh is brilliant, quirky, and has Asperger’s. Son of parents trafficked to East Africa from India just before independence, he knows he’s Sikh, African, and calculus is the evidence of God. He becomes fascinated by a broken piano. and is offered a piano to buy, buys it and learns to play. Mentored by his older brothers, he follows them to Singapore to further his education, he then goes to Switzerland. He falls in love with the granddaughter of the man who bought his father. She tells him that the situation is impossible, and that he must stay in school as long as his way is paid. His youth is fraught, being an other. In Switzerland, he is constantly proselytized to, which only defines for him . . .

YET TO BE REVEALED by Geri Marr Burdman (Bolivia)

Jan 03 2024

Yet to be Revealed: Finding Paths to Meaning by Geri Marr Burdman, Ph.D. (Bolivia 1962-64) GeroWise Books November 2023 124 pages $16.95 (Paperback) Yet to be Revealed: Finding Paths to Meaning is a book to dive into as you grapple with the increasing challenges and chaos of today’s world. You will emerge with newfound purpose and passion for what counts in your life. Drawing from her experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bolivia as well as years of health work in the Caribbean, Central and South America, USA, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, Geri Marr Burdman shares riveting stories of people around the world who are living purposefully even in the midst of uncertainty and tumultuous circumstances. The author invites us to find a proactive route to meaning in the midst of the multifaceted challenges of our times-loss and grief, despair, inner emptiness, caregiving, parenting pressures, global . . .

The Peace Corps On Day One: Women And The Mad Men At HQ

Jan 02 2024

Arriving for work on or before March 1, 1961, the day President Kennedy signed the executive order establishing the Peace Corps, were a few women who were early “volunteer staffers” and who would become famous in those first years of the agency. The majority of these women were well connected by family or friends to Shriver and eager to work at the Peace Corps, the shining star of Kennedy’s administration. The Peace Corps was the ‘hot’ agency and everyone, of course, wanted to be connected to Kennedy–if they couldn’t be in the White House–they wanted to be with Shriver and the Peace Corps. The women at the time were mostly ‘second class’ citizens in the world-of-work. They were not, for example, sitting at the ‘big conference table” at Senior Staff meetings. Looking at old black-and-photos of Peace Corps HQ meetings, you might see that Elizabeth (Betty) Forsling Harris had wedged herself into . . .

New books by Peace Corps writers | November — December 2023

Jan 01 2024

To purchase any of these books from Amazon.com — CLICK on the book cover, the bold book title, or the publishing format you would like — and Peace Corps Worldwide, an Amazon Associate, will receive a small remittance from your purchase that will help support the site and the annual Peace Corps Writers awards. We include a brief description for each of the books listed here in hopes of encouraging readers to order a book and/or to VOLUNTEER TO REVIEW IT. See a book you’d like to review for Peace Corps Worldwide? Send a note to Marian at marian@haleybeil.com, and she will send you a free copy along with a few instructions. P.S. In addition to the books listed below, I have on my shelf a number of other books whose authors would love for you to review. Go to Books Available for Review to see what is on that shelf. Please, please join in our Third . . .

Review | THE LAST BIRD OF PARADISE by Clifford Garstang (Korea)

Jan 01 2024

The Last Bird of Paradise by Clifford Garstang (Korea 1976-77) Black Rose Writing 340 pages $6.99 (Kindle) $23.95 (paperback) This novel is forthcoming in February 2024 Reviewed by Bill Preston (Thailand 1977-80) Reading the Author’s Note following this remarkable novel, I was struck by several ways Clifford Garstang’s experience has resembled mine. He first visited Singapore, the setting of the novel, in 1978, “as a young backpacker, touring Asia after spending two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in South Korea.” I also traveled to Singapore in 1978–from Thailand, between Peace Corps teaching assignments. I too was fascinated by the emerging city-state, an oasis of calm and order compared to bustling, chaotic Bangkok or Jakarta. Six years later, he returned to Singapore, first as an associate and later as a partner of a U.S. law firm. Some years prior to Peace Corps, while working with Legal Aid attorneys . . .

Escape to Alaska by Steve Kaffen (Russia)

Dec 31 2023

Escape to Alaska by Steve Kaffen (Russia 1994-96) December 2023 $0.00 (Kindle) Kindle Unlimited; $4.99 (Buy within 24 hours. Author and explorer Steve Kaffen had to escape Washington, D.C.’s stifling summer heat and energy-sapping humidity, but where? Having just returned from Iceland, his natural conclusion: an escape to Alaska. The decision made perfect sense. Alaska is a haven of awesome natural beauty, spectacular scenery, great and meandering waterways, prolific animal and sea life, and fascinating indigenous cultures. It’s a land of superlatives: America’s largest state (by far) has the longest coastline, the tallest mountain, and the largest national park and national forest. Its thousands of glaciers include those in sprawling Glacier Bay, the enormous Hubbard Glacier, and majestic Mendenhall Glacier, an easy drive from the state’s low-key capital Juneau. Finally, Alaska is descriptive of a state of mind that embodies resourcefulness and self-reliance, confronting and surmounting challenges, an adventurous . . .

Review | William Hershey’s TAKING THE PLUNGE INTO ETHIOPIA

Dec 30 2023

Taking the Plunge into Ethiopia by William Hershey (Ethiopia 1968-70) The University of Akron Press 134 pages 2023 $24.95 (paperback); $18.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Cynthia Nelson Mosca (Ethiopia 1967-69) • For those of us who are old enough to have served in the Peace Corps in the ’60s and ’70s those years conjure up vivid images of the war in Vietnam, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy, the targeting of groups like the Black Panthers by the FBI, and of course the hippie movement, rock and roll, flower children and protest songs performed by Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and Buffy St. Marie. Taking the Plunge into Ethiopia is a sobering look at the second largest country in Africa as well as our own past and present turbulence. Bill was part of a team of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists at the Akron Beacon Journal. . . .

Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (Panama) disqualifies Trump

Dec 29 2023

In the news — On Thursday, December 28, Maine Secretary of State RPCV Shenna Bellows disqualified former President Trump from the 2024 ballot. Bellows cited Section 3 of the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause, which prevents a person who has engaged in any rebellious activity against the country from holding office. “The U.S. Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government, and Section 336 requires me to act in response,” Secretary of State Shenna Bellows wrote. Bellows’ decision to block Trump from the 2024 ballot comes a week after the Colorado Supreme Court barred the former president from the state’s Republican primary ballot, citing the 14th Amendment, seemingly referencing Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021, attack on Congress. Bellows’ move against Trump has sparked disbelief online. Social media users accused the Maine Secretary of State of hindering the democratic process and began circulating her picture with . . .

The Death of RPCV Arnold Zeitlin (Ghana)

Dec 29 2023

Arnold Stanley Zeitlin passed away peacefully in his sleep on December 26, 2023 in Fairfax, Virginia. Born on January 13, 1932, Arnold was nearly 92 years old. He was blessed throughout his life with the love and support of his many family members and broad network of friends and colleagues. Arnold Zeitlin (Ghana 1961– 63) was a correspondent for more than 30 years, and bureau chief of The Associated Press, assigned to West Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and the Philippines. For UPI, he served as vice president and managing director of the Asia-Pacific division, based in Hong Kong. From 1998 to 2001, he served as director of the Asian Center of The Freedom Forum, a nonprofit foundation devoted to news media issues. In 2001, he founded Editorial Research and Reporting Associates, Inc., which consults news media and journalism educators primarily in Asia in support of the First Amendment to . . .

Review | JUST KEEP PEDALING by Connie Ness (Uruguay)

Dec 28 2023

Reviewed by Chuck Haga columnist for the Grand Forks Herald Grand Forks, ND • Connie Ness (Uruguay 1994-96) and I may have talked about the Peace Corps when we worked together on the Dakota Student, the UND student newspaper, in the late 1960s. Maybe, maybe not. Memory fails. But those were heady, hopeful times, despite the war, the assassinations and the riots. The idea of the Peace Corps intrigued us, and we were young. We were among Dakota Student staffers who drove to Washington, D.C., to participate in a national student convention. One day, I spotted Sen. Eugene McCarthy, the anti-Vietnam War presidential candidate from Minnesota, alone in the hotel lobby. I walked up to him and proudly showed my blue and white “McCarthy for President” button. A moment later, Connie joined us, and Gene turned his attention to her. She was always fond of reminding me that the senator . . .