Peace Corps Worldwide – Page 110 – promoting Peace Corps writers since 1989

The Volunteer Who Became an Ambassador to Five Countries — Chris Hill (Cameroon)

Apr 07 2021

by Jeremiah Norris (Colombia 1963–65) • After graduating from Bowdoin College with a degree in Economics, Christopher R. Hill then served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon from 1974 to 1976. He credited his work with Peace Corps for teaching him his first lesson in diplomacy. As a Volunteer, Chris worked with credit unions. When he discovered that one Board of Directors had stolen 60% of their members’ money, he reported on the malfeasance to their members — who promptly re-elected the board because they had reflected the carefully balanced tribal interests, and it really did not matter to the members if the Board Directors ran a good credit union or not. Chris commented: “When something’s happened, it’s happened for a reason and you do your best to understand that reason. But don’t necessarily think you can change it.” Chris joined the State Department in 1977, serving as Secretary . . .

The New Yorker — Paul Theroux turns 80

Apr 06 2021

Facing Ka‘ena Point: On Turning Eighty My life has involved enormous upsets and reverses — illness, wealth, and near-bankruptcy, the usual snakes and ladders that people endure—except that I have been privileged to write about them. By Paul Theroux April 6, 2021

Review — TALES OF TOGO by Meredith Pike-Baky

Apr 01 2021

Tales of Togo: A Young Woman’s Search for Home in West Africa Meredith Pike-Baky (Togo, 1971-73) A Peace Corps Writers Book September, 2020 280 pages $14.00 (paperback) Reviewed by Bill Preston (Thailand 1977–80) • In the Preface to this candid and heartfelt memoir, Meredith Pike-Baky writes, “The tales in this collection are like the beads of a necklace, les perles d’un collier, whole in themselves, and at the same time integral parts of a longer story when threaded on a string.” A spot-on metaphor (or simile, to be precise) which, together with the many-colored beaded necklace cover image, illustrates the twists and turns, the ups and downs and sometimes sideways arc of her time living and teaching English in Togo. Former Peace Corps volunteers will easily identify with many aspects of these tales — including, (in no special order), the challenge of learning new language(s), the heightened self-consciousness of feeling . . .

Talking with Carl Murry (Pakistan) about THE G-K PROJECT

Apr 01 2021

Carl talks about his new book • Carl, where and when did you serve in the Peace Corps? I served in East Pakistan, which is now Bangladesh, from 1962 to 1964. I also served as Associate Peace Corps Director for agriculture, education and appropriate technology in Swaziland from 1978 to 1981, and served as a trainer for CAST, CREST, and pre service training in the 1980s. What was your Peace Corps project assignment? Training agriculture extension agents in the Ganges-Kobadak Irrigation project. The assignment evolved into developing farmer Clubs to support new and improved agriculture practices in their areas, starting a technical library, publishing a monthly newsletter, Recognizing “Master” farmers and being the team leader. What kind of work did you do? Initially we set up irrigation committees to distribute water from the tertiary canals to small, highly fragmented fields. This required a high level of cooperation. Each committee discussed . . .

The Volunteer Who Became a Ten-term Congressman — Sam Farr (Colombia)

Apr 01 2021

by Jeremiah Norris (Colombia 1963-65) • Sam Farr joined the Peace Corps in 1964 and served for two years as a Volunteer in Colombia. He was assigned to a poor mountain barrio near Medellin, teaching residents basic rural community development skills. Once back home, his public service began in the California Assembly where he worked as a staffer on budget issues for a decade. In 1975, he ran for and won a seat on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. In 1980, he was elected to the California State Assembly, where he became a champion for the organics industry and wrote one of the country’s strictest oil spill liability laws. He served in the Assembly until his election to the Congress in 1993. It was a Special Election when former Congressman Leon Panetta resigned to become then-President Clinton’s budget director. Sam was then re-elected to his first full term . . .

Peace Corps Volunteers will Aid FEMA with COVID Response

Apr 01 2021

News Release from Peace Corps. https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/peace-corps-volunteers-aid-us-covid-19-response-deploying-fema-supported-community-vaccination-centers/ March 31, 2021 The partnership marks second time in Peace Corps’ 60-year history that the agency has deployed volunteers in U.S., the first following Hurricane Katrina. WASHINGTON – Today, the Peace Corps and FEMA announced they have struck a historic partnership to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. For the second time in the agency’s history, Peace Corps volunteers will serve a domestic deployment, at FEMA’s request – the first following Hurricane Katrina and now at federally supported Community Vaccination Centers (CVCs) across the country. “The Peace Corps works hand-in-hand with communities on their most pressing challenges, and right now the U.S. faces some of the biggest challenges in our country’s history,” said Peace Corps Acting Director Carol Spahn. “The volunteers who contribute to this effort will bring valuable cross-cultural experience, language skills and adaptability fostered during their time overseas as they contribute to an equitable . . .

Coyne Signs Off

Mar 31 2021

I’m closing down with this email my steady diet of blog posts, but you’re not rid of Peace Corps WorldWide. The website will stay ‘live’ with Marian Beil. She will announce new books from Peace Corps Writers and other news. The other good news to share is that American University will take all the items we posted and preserve them on their Peace Corps History site. You can reach the collection here at any time. https://wayback.archive-it.org/1435/*/https://peacecorpsworldwide.org/ Meanwhile, you can search for new articles and book reviews by the RPCV community on this site. In August I will announce the winners of our Writers Awards for books published in 2020. ( I might even sneak on when no one is watching and post an article or two, but don’t tell Marian.) If you have something to publish, contact Marian directly. Her email is marian@haleybeil.com You can also read our first website: . . .

Uzbek Zero by Bea Hogan (Uzbekistan)

Mar 30 2021

Uzbek Zero by Bea Hogan (Uzbekistan 1992-94) • “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” It’s Peace Corps gospel, which had served the agency well as it spread throughout the developing world. But what happens when a country doesn’t want your help, and you’re sent there anyway? I found out, when the Peace Corps sent me to Uzbekistan in 1992. The Cold War had ended, and the Peace Corps was expanding into the former Communist countries of the Eastern Bloc. When the Soviet Union collapsed, in December 1991, James Baker, then secretary of state under George H.W. Bush, said he wanted to see 250 Peace Corps Volunteers on the ground within a year. Volunteers, he said, would provide “human capital” to help these countries transition to market economies, Baker said, and advance U.S. . . .

Publisher Marian Beil continues Peace Corps Worldwide

Mar 30 2021

Marian Haley Beil (Ethiopia 1962-64) the publisher/designer/manager of our site will continue to maintain Peace Corps World Wide. Marian and I began this Third Goal effort of Peace Corps Writers shortly after the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the agency, but long before that, Marian had been the central Volunteer in the organizing of the RPCVs from Ethiopia, creating one of the first newsletters for RPCVs. Having designed two websites for Peace Corps Writers, she also created and manages Peace Corps Books that as of today has published over ninety books, mostly memoirs, of the Peace Corps experience. Having a B.A. in mathematics from Seton Hill College in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, she earned her masters in design from Rochester Institute of Technology’s School for American Crafts. Marian designed our newsletter and website and keeps it up to date. Our site has also benefited from the contributions of others, especially Joanne Roll (Colombia . . .

A Writer Writes — Death at Tinta by Michael J. Beede (Peru)

Mar 30 2021

DEATH AT TINTA By Michael J. Beede (Peru 1963-64) • At dawn on February 4, 1964, my partner Ron Arias (Peru 1963-64) and I left our home base in Sicuani, Peru. We were headed for Tinta, 17 miles away, a small nearby town in the Quechua-speaking boondocks three hours south of Cuzco. It was to be a routine inspection trip to monitor the distribution of USAID food in the rural schools enrolled in the government’s school lunch program. Nothing out of the ordinary was expected. At the time, Ron and I had the use of a Peace Corps Jeep to visit these rural areas. That morning I was driving our pastel blue Peace Corps Jeep with Ron riding shotgun. We stuck out like a sore thumb, an inviting target for mischief. A fine powder billowed up from the unpaved dirt road filling the cab with a choking cloud of . . .

RISK AND THE STATE by Phil LeBel (Ethiopia)

Mar 29 2021

Economics demonstrates how markets can serve as remarkably efficient institutions in allocating scarce resources. • At the same time, incomplete information generates prices that can lead to a misallocation, producing in some cases too little while in others too much of a good. Matters become more complicated when striking a balance is influenced by our perceptions of risk. Here, neuroscience provides insights into which, and what kind of public sector interventions one should consider. While there are many types of risk – political, economic, financial, and environmental as individuals confront any crisis, our perceptions of risk can alter significantly the extent to which we look to public sector intervention as a response. In the short run, crises may be managed through greater public intervention while in the long run, economic fundamentals still drive key decisions, and thus the extent to which a given mix meets a test of political . . .

Peace Corps Virtual Symposium at American University

Mar 29 2021

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Steve Kafein (Russia 1994-96) Peace Corps 2.0: A Symposium March 31 | 4:00-7:00 p.m. ET | Online Event Co-sponsored by the Museum of the Peace Corps Experience, the American University Museum, and the National Peace Corps Association Sixty years ago, in March 1961, students held a conference at American University to advise Sargent Shriver on how the Peace Corps should take shape. During this milestone anniversary, we commemorate student leadership with a virtual symposium and an exhibit at the American University Museum. Learn more and RSVP

Tacoma-to-Liberia Peace Corps Journey — Kathleen Corey

Mar 29 2021

My Tacoma-to-Liberia Peace Corps journey proved to me I could tackle anything anywhere By Kathleen M. Corey (Liberia 1975–79) March 26, 2021 “I got a C?! I’ve never gotten a C in my life!” It was 1969. I was a senior at the University of Washington, preparing to become a high school English teacher. “You have an A+ for subject matter knowledge,” said my mentor teacher, Roy Feldstadt, “but a C in classroom management.” Depressed that I’d chosen a career for which I was clearly unsuited, I decided to go skiing in Sun Valley. After five fun but somewhat meaningless years, I decided to try teaching again and applied to the Peace Corps. Assigned to Liberia in Western Africa, I called my old mentor and told him the news. “Liberia!” he said. “I was in Group 2 in Liberia! Ask for Zorzor Central High — you’ll get the . . .

Would the pandemic stop Paul Theroux (Malawi) from traveling? No. Of course not.

Mar 28 2021

Thanks for the ‘heads up’ from Andy Trincia (Romania 2002-04) By Gal Beckerman New York Times March 28, 2021 • For five days, Paul Theroux, the famous American travel writer, dined on hard-boiled eggs, microwaved dal and wine. He had set out cross-country in a rented Jeep Compass on the day before Thanksgiving, driving from Cape Cod, where he has a house, to Los Angeles, where he delivered boxes of his papers to his archives at Huntington Library, and then flying on to Hawaii, his other home. Theroux said he observed a landscape largely emptied out by the coronavirus pandemic, from deserted motels in Sallisaw, Okla., and Tucumcari, N.M., where he stopped to sleep, to a rest area in Tennessee where he had his solitary Thanksgiving meal, and the In-N-Out Burger in Kingman, Ariz., on his last day on the road. Every night, as is his habit, he wrote out . . .

The Peace Corps and Us (Ethiopia)

Mar 27 2021

Wayne and Laurie Kessler (Ethiopia 1964-66) • We first learned what impact we had on students when we made a quick unannounced return visit in 1969 to the Eritrean village where we taught three years prior as Peace Corps teachers. On our way to the “Peace Corps house” we surprised a small group of students who started to run away. They thought we were ghosts. After our Tigrinya greetings settled them down, we asked them what they remembered about our teaching. To our surprise and dismay, they remembered how we dealt with small clouds of flies buzzing around our heads in stuffy classrooms stuffed with 40 to 60 students. They demonstrated how Mrs. Laurie blew at them out of the side of her month and Mr. Wayne waved his hand like a car window wiper. Laughingly, we asked, “Is that all you remember?” No, they said in . . .