Ethiopia – Page 4 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Another 1st for RPCV Morris Baker (Ethiopia)

Jul 17 2023

RPCVs in the news Dr. Morris Baker (Ethiopia 1966-68) McMurry University, in Abilene TX, is in the midst of celebrating its 100th anniversary. A 1963 graduate of the then McMurry College, Morris Baker (Ethiopia 1966-68) enrolled there in 1959. He was the first African American student to enroll and the first to earn an undergraduate degree at that institution. As a result of that event, in October he will be recognized as one of the McMurry 100. One-hundread alumni who brought a moment of historical significance to the university. As the first African American to graduate from McMurry he was a PCV in Ethiopia and then worked in for the agency before returning to his alma mater as a professor of psychology and taught from 1983 to 1994. Dr. Baker was also named a Distinguished Alumni 1987. He currently serves on the McMurry Board of Visitors. McMurry was founded in . . .

Ethiopia Professor Launches New Book & Remembers His Peace Corps Teachers

Jul 09 2023

Addis Ababa University Lifetime Professor launches a new book with great fanfare July 7, 2023 Professor Bahru Zewde, Lifetime Professor and the board member of Addis Ababa University (AAU), has launched his new autobiographical book entitled, ‘Hibir Hiwote’, in collaboration with the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Office of External Relations, Partnerships and Communications, Society of Friends of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies and History Department of AAU at the historic Ras Mekonnen Hall on July 6, 2023. Shimelis Bonsa (PhD), an associate professor and researcher of African modern and contemporary history as an associate professor at Stony Brook University in New York, stated that Professor Bahru’s autobiography is the first autobiographical essay written by a pioneering Ethiopian historian in the field of autobiographical writings. “According to my view and understanding, the key idea of the book is the great idea of unity, and it refers to his academic, social and . . .

Review | THROUGH GRATEFUL EYES: The Peace Corps Experiences of Dartmouth’s Class of 1967

Jun 23 2023

Through Grateful Eyes: The Peace Corps Experiences of Dartmouth’s Class of 1967 by Charles A. (Chuck) Hobbie (Korea 1968-71) — Compiler/Editor iUniverse Publisher 273 pages July 2022 $2.99 (Kindle); $39.99 (Paperback); $31.95 (Hardback) Reviewed by Evelyn Kohl LaTorre (Peru 1964-1966) • “Talk less and listen more.” “Accept the values of the population you’re working with.” “Adapt to being comfortable being uncomfortable.” These are a few of the sage learnings found in this 2 ½ pound, 8 1/2” x 11” tome that relates the Peace Corps experiences of 19 members of the Dartmouth class of 1967 and several of their spouses. All served in the Peace Corps in the late sixties and early seventies, and their exploits are a sampling of the 30 Dartmouth ’67 graduates who went on to join the Peace Corps. Their fascinating, and often humorous, stories are punctuated with 146 photos that show the youthful volunteers . . .

The Volunteer Who Created Compelling Novels out of Her Family’s Oral History — Mildred Taylor (Ethiopia)

May 15 2023

by Jeremiah Norris (Colombia 1963-65) Mildred Taylor served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia, 1965-67, after having graduated from University of Toledo in 1965. She was born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1943, and is the great-granddaughter of a former slave who was the son of an African-Indian woman and a white landowner. After returning to the U. S. following her Peace Corps experience, she earned a MA degree in journalism at the University of Colorado where she was instrumental in creating the Black Studies Program as a member of the Black Alliance. Mildred’s works are based on oral history, told to her by her father, uncles and aunt. She said that without her family, and especially without her father, her books “would not have been.” She’s stated that these anecdotes became very clear in her mind, and in fact, once she realized that adults talked about the . . .

A LESION OF DISSENT by Karl Drobnic (Ethiopia)

May 09 2023

A Lesion of Dissent by Karl Drobnic (Ethiopia 1966-68) Self Published July 2011 216 pages $0.99 (Kindle) A searing liaison in the sacred chambers of Egypt’s ancient pharaohs as Israeli warplanes rain down terror… frenzy and vengeance as rioting Arabs storm through the strafed streets… and Paul Rhodes’ journey of exile through post-colonial Africa and Asia has just begun. Buffeted by the smuggling, black market deception and patriotic fervor that marked those continents’ passages to independence in the tumultuous Sixties, Paul is impelled country by country to the wild counter-culture havens of San Francisco and a stunning, fateful confrontation with the military powers that stand between him and the woman he cannot forget.

New books by Peace Corps writers | March–April 2023

May 01 2023

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 . . .

One Day in Ethiopia

Apr 26 2023

This is a letter I wrote when I was a PCV in Ethiopia. It was published in the collection Letters From The Peace Corps in 1964, selected and edited by Iris Luce. She wrote in her introduction to her book. It was my good fortune one evening to be seated with the wife of Senator J. William Fulbright, whose daughter was working here in Washington at Peace Corps Headquarters. Mrs. Fulbright suggested that someone should compile a collection of letters from Peace Corps Volunteers in the field to give Americans a firsthand report on the triumphs and the hardships that these people have experienced while working in the Corps “One Day in Ethiopia” was a letter I had written home to my family and friends, several at the agency in Washington that Iris Luce found and included. In her introduction to the chapter, “One Day in Ethiopia,” she wrote: . . .

A bike trip to Massawa, Eritrea and the Red Sea

Apr 02 2023

My first trip to Massawa was on a bike by John Coyne (Ethiopia 1962–1964) In January of 1963, my group of PCVs to the Empire, some 280 + of us, assembled for a conference in Asmara. On the Friday between workshops, four of us: Tim Bodman, Charlie Michener, Ernie Fox, and myself — all Ethie Ones — decided to rent bikes for the 70-mile trip from Asmara down the mountains, across the Danakil Desert, and to the shores of the Red Sea. None of us was stationed in Eritrea, so did we know the way to Massawa. We just knew it was downhill from Asmara, at an elevation of 7,628 ft., to the sea. Starting before sunrise we pedaled five miles to the edge of the mountains. At that level, we were above the billows of white and gray clouds that lay perfectly still, enclosed the valleys below and encased the rugged . . .

Some Early Peace Corps Books You Might Have Missed

Mar 16 2023

The Early Years of Peace Corps in Afghanistan: A Promising Time by Frances Hopkins Irwin and Will A. Irwin | Feb 13, 201 The Peace Corps: The Early Years by Charles Jones and Keith Jones | Feb 7, 2015 My Years in the Early Peace Corps: Nigeria, 1964-1965, Volume 1 by Sonja Goodwin | Sep 17, 2021 My Years in the Early Peace Corps: Ethiopia, 1965-1966, Volume 2 by Sonja Goodwin Eradicating Smallpox in Ethiopia: Peace Corps Volunteers’ Accounts of Their Adventures, Challenges and Achievements by James W. Skelton Jr. , Alan Schnur, et al. | Nov 26, 2019 I Miss the Rain in Africa: Peace Corps as a Third Act by Nancy Daniel Wesson | May 1, 2021 A Few Minor Adjustments: Two Years in Afghanistan: A Peace Corps Odyssey by Elana Hohl | May 6, 2021 Mariantonia: The Lifetime Journey of a Peace Corps Volunteer by Robert L. Forster | Sep 22, 2021 BUILDING COMMUNITY : ANSWERING KENNEDY’S CALL by HARLAN RUSSELL GREEN | May 16, 2022 Moon over Sasova: One American’s Experience Teaching in Post-Cold War . . .

Essays In Honor of Professor Stephen T. Zamora edited by James W. Skelton, Jr. (Ethiopia)

Jan 24 2023

Soon after James Skelton sent the final draft of the anthology Eradicating Smallpox in Ethiopia to the publisher, he began a new writing project. That’s when he joined Professor Alfonso Lopez de la Osa Escribano as a coauthor and the lead editor of this collection of scholarly essays that became a Festschrift (book designed to commemorate an excellent scholar who has retired or passed away). The book is written in honor and memory of Professor Stephen T. Zamora (1944-2016), who taught many courses at the University of Houston Law Center, served as the dean for six years, and created and served as the Director of the Center for U.S. and Mexican Law. Steve was a brilliant lawyer and law professor in the fields of international and comparative law, and was known as an upbeat, kind, thoughtful, pleasant and caring man. Steve’s kindness, good humor and generous compliments came to him . . .

Bob Poole — Recovery of Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park

Jan 22 2023

January 26 at McClaren Hall, Flathead Valley Community College, Paul D. Wachholz College Center will bring Emmy-winning filmmaker Bob Poole to Kalispell, MT • BY MIKE KORDENBROCK January 21,2023 An elephant calf. Photo by Gina Poole An upcoming “National Geographic Live” event at Flathead Valley Community College’s new Wachholz College Center will bring to Kalispell an award-winning filmmaker, with Montana ties, to discuss the story of a national park in Mozambique that has continued to rebound after a prolonged civil war that left the local wildlife population decimated. It’s been a long time since Bob Poole has been to the Flathead Valley’s stretch of northwest Montana, but for the cinematographer and National Geographic speaker, any visit to the state is a reminder of the early years of his career. Poole had an unusual upbringing for an American citizen, in that he grew up abroad. His youth was spent in . . .

From inner-city Detroit to the Air Force and finally the Peace Corps! — Karen Hunt (Armenia, Ethiopia, Kenya)

Jan 04 2023

My journey from inner-city Detroit to military service and the Peace Corps by Karen Jean Hunt First Published on Peace Corps.gov I was a 7 year old in Detroit when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I can still remember my teacher screaming and crying after hearing the news. The news coverage in Detroit also featured the moment JFK announced the Peace Corps at the University of Michigan. After Kennedy’s death, the idea of serving in the Peace Corps stuck with me. I spent most of my childhood in libraries, a safe space for a young girl in inner-city Detroit. I would often skip school, take public transportation downtown, and spend the day in the public library. It was easy to walk in with a group of school children and go unnoticed. Once inside, I could ditch the group and make my way to the card catalog. . . .

One of the Best Thriller and Mystery Novels of 2022 – Richard Lipez (Ethiopia)

Nov 18 2022

The Washington Post has selected Knock Off the Hat by Richard Stevenson (Dick Lipez (Ethiopia 1962-64) as one of the 12 Best Thriller and Mystery Novels of 2022. Dick Lipez, writing as Richard Stevenson, died this year, shortly before the publication of this standout. (Stevenson, writing under his real name, Richard Lipez, was also a frequent Washington Post reviewer.) The story — In post-World War II Philadelphia, detective Clifford Waterman is trying to help a man charged with “disorderly conduct” following a raid at a gay bar. The seemingly small case sends Waterman into a world of corruption involving a dangerous judge who preys on the city’s gay population. Knock off the Hat Richard Stevenson (Richard Lipez – Ethiopia 1962-64) Amble Press, 2022 222 pages 17.99 (paperback), $8.69 (Kindle)

Grab Your Reader by the Throat

Oct 13 2022

by John Coyne (Ethiopia 1962-64) I am a great believer in writing an opening sentence or opening paragraph that hooks the readers and keeps them reading. Writing have change from when a writer could move leisurely into a tale and keep the attention of a reader with long narrative and descriptive sentences. Anytime you are anywhere — glance around — you’ll see people reaching for their iphone, checking messages, national news, or just the weather. No one, it seems, has the time or patience to read anything longer than an email. Today, no reader wants to turn a page of prose unless the next page is promising more surprises. Readers want what they’re reading to be fast, funny, or forget it. Here is what I mean. I have written these openings to grab the reader by the throat and keep him or her reading. This is a short . . .

Sad News — Mark Himelstein passes (Ethiopia 1)

Sep 17 2022

Mark Himelstein September 19, 1939 – September 12, 2022 Mark Himelstein died on Monday 12 September, a week before his 83rd birthday. He was battling hereditary issues with his heart when he lost. He is survived by his wife Nancy, his two sons Matt and Sam, his two daughters-in-law Laura and Alicia, and his grandchildren Solomon, Malakai, Meyer and Rhodes. Mark joins his daughter Suzy in the afterlife. Mark grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He was a fan of baseball and basketball, as is Indiana tradition. Mark graduated from Indiana University with a BA in 1962 and from George Washington University Law School with an LLB in 1967. But if you ever met Mark you would know that he considered his service as a reserve in the Marines (1959-65) and his experience in the Peace Corp (Ethiopia, 1962-64) as the core learning experiences of his life. Mark found . . .