Liberia – Peace Corps Worldwide

Peace Corps Community in the News (week of January 5, 2025)

Jan 11 2025

Hove author uses his fascinating personal experience of evading the Vietnam-era draft as a basis for his latest thriller, by Sophie Morgan in Sussex News | January 3, 2025. “Like my character, I was caught up in the Vietnam war draft lottery. Like him, I was going to go to Harvard Law School. Like him, I went to teach in a private school in Maine. Like him, I got a low number in the draft, meaning that I would be drafted and probably sent to fight in Vietnam. Like him, I had a humiliating medical examination. Unlike him, I took the exit route of joining the Peace Corps [considered national service in lieu of the military]. I was sent to a rural part of south India, where I learned the local language, which later led to my PhD and academic career. I was lucky. My character was not.” — Stuart . . .

New US Ambassador Mark Christopher Toner (Liberia)

Aug 05 2024

RPCV Ambassador Mark Christopher Toner Arrives in Liberia Months After US Senate Confirmation Hearing By Jaheim T. Tumu August 5, 2024 Monrovia:| New U.S Ambassador to Liberia Mark Christopher Toner arrived in Liberia on Friday, August 2. Amb. Torner is expected to present his official credentials to President Joseph Boakai, and to commence his duties. Ambassador Toner, who will succeed Amb. Michael McCarthy, who was noted for his strong stance against corruption during his tenure, arrival signifies an important moment and era in US-Liberian relations. Toner, a career Senior Foreign Service, class of Minister-Counselor, served as the Minister Counselor for Public Diplomacy at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France before his appointment as Ambassador to Liberia. Previously, he was a Senior Advisor at the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and a Senior Faculty Advisor at the National Defense University. Earlier, Toner held positions as the State . . .

ONCE THERE WAS A FIRE by Stephen Shender (Liberia)

May 19 2024

• • • Nighttime. 1748. Hawai‘i Island (the Big Island). North Kohala. A child is born in a grass house. Outside, a raging storm muffles his first cries. Soldiers hunt for him amid the gale. Their king has ordered his death because a priest has prophesied that the infant will become a “slayer of chiefs.” But he is spirited away to a remote valley before the soldiers can find him. He will become Hawaii’s greatest warrior. When strange, pale visitors come from beyond the horizon, and other Hawaiians mistake their leader for one of their gods — returned to them in fulfillment of a prophecy — he’ll recognize these newcomers are men. He’ll use their guns and steel to defeat a succession of rivals for rule of the Big Island, and then the rest of the island chain, ending centuries of fratricidal warfare, and founding the Kingdom of Hawaii. Today, Hawaiians remember . . .

New books by Peace Corps writers | January — February 2024

Mar 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 . . .

“How a Guinea Fowl Led Soldiers to Pound on My Door at 4 AM” by Curt Mekemson (Liberia)

Feb 04 2024

CURT MEKEMSON JANUARY 29, 2024 First the story about the soldiers. I’ve told it before in my book about my Peace Corps experience, The Bush Devil Ate Sam, and on my blog. Because it involved Guinea fowls, it deserves being told again. It was 1967 and I had just returned from my Peace Corps job of teaching history and geography at the nearby Gboveh High School in Gbarnga, Liberia. Much to my surprise — and dismay — I found soldiers standing in our yard pointing guns every which way. It was an ‘Ut-Oh’ moment. Liberian soldiers were scary. “What’s up?” I asked, trying not to sound nervous. You learned early on not to mess with Liberian soldiers. There was a reason why the government refused to issue them bullets. “Your dog ate one of the Superintendent’s Guinea hens,” their sergeant mumbled ominously. The Superintendent of Bong County was the equivalent to . . .

The Volunteer who wrote songs for Korean children — Mary Kim Joh (Liberia)

Oct 27 2023

Mary Kim Joh, also known as Che Sik Chu, was a Korean-American music composer and medical research specialist. She is best known for writing “School Bell” in 1945. This children’s song is taught to pre-school students in South Korea. It is often referred to as a “Korean National Anthem”. Joh was born in Seoul in 1904. She was the daughter of Kim Ik-seung, founder of Korea’s first joint stock companies, and a niece of Kim Kyu-sik. She graduated from Ewha Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea, and in 1930, she was awarded a Master’s degree in music at the University of Michigan. Later, while teaching in the music department at Ewha, she was asked by the South Korean government to compose children’s songs after the end of Japanese rule over her country in 1945. At the end of WW II, the Koreans had no Korean-language school materials. Her 1950 . . .

US Ambassador-Designate, RPCV Mark Toner (Liberia)

Oct 23 2023

In the news— US Ambassador-Designate to Fight Corruption, Lawlessness, in Liberia Front Page Africa – 10/23/2023 The newly nominated U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, Mark Toner, has said that the George Weah government has recognition for corruption and lawlessness and that he will do all in his power to fight against these vices during his assignment here. Addressing the U.S. Congressional Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing on Friday, October 20, Toner said progress made in Liberia since the end of the war in 2003 has been eroded by corruption and lawlessness in the current administration. “The United States is the largest bilateral donor to Liberia, with more than US$5 billion in bilateral assistance since 2003. That assistance has paid concrete dividends in the economic, education, security, and public health sectors,” Toner told the committee. “But that progress has also been heavily eroded by growing lawlessness and corruption within the present administration.” If . . .

NPCA OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD

Oct 21 2023

OCTOBER 12, 2023 The National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) is pleased to announce the Friends of Liberia (FOL) as the winner of the 2023 Loret Miller Ruppe Award for Outstanding Community Service. NPCA members selected FOL for this year’s prestigious award, recognizing the group’s publication of Never the Same Again: Life, Service, and Friendship in Liberia. Chief editor, Susan Greisen (Liberia 1971-73) & (Tonga 1973-74) and co-editors, Susan Corbett (Liberia 1976-79) and Karen E. Lange (Liberia 1984-86) collaborated with more than 100 people across seven time zones via Zoom, email, text, WhatsApp, FaceTime, and phone to realize their final publication in less than two years – all during the COVID pandemic. The proceeds from this powerful anthology benefit educational, social, health, economic, and humanitarian programs in Liberia. WATCH our 5-minute Friends of Liberia Ruppe project video to learn about these programs and why we won. Here is Susan Greisen with his Excellency George S.W. . . .

Answering the Peace Corps Response Call — Yanick Douyon (Liberia, Rwanda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines)

Dec 01 2022

Answering the call to serve… again and again By Kelsey McMahon (South Africa 2014-16) Nov. 20, 2022 Don’t expect Yanick Douyon – a three-time Peace Corps Response Volunteer and a two-time Virtual Service Participant – to slow down anytime soon. “Every opportunity available, I will be there,” stated the dedicated educator. Her resume clearly reflects that the sentiment. Since becoming a teacher in the ’70s, Yanick has taught in countless countries, including the U.S., Haiti, Senegal, China, Vietnam, and Liberia. Recently, Yanick moved from her home in Florida to teach graduate-level English at a university in Mauritania. Secondary school and adult education remain her areas of expertise, but if Yanick has proven anything, it’s that she’s game to lend a hand wherever she feels she can make a difference. “I just get such a feeling of satisfaction when students are learning and I’m doing something in this world . . .

Friends of Liberia: Celebrating 60 Years of Peace Corps Service

Nov 15 2022

Friends of Liberia celebrates the 60th anniversary of Peace Corps service in Liberia. In honor of this banner year, Friends of Liberia has curated activities spanning storytelling in the anthology, Never the Same Again: Life, Service, and Friendship in Liberia edited by Susan Greisen with Susan Corbett and Karen E. Lange, return to in-country service; embassy events; a member engagement series at Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C.; a year-long auction of Liberian artifacts with all proceeds going to programmatic support in Liberia; and more. For more information about these incredible stories and anniversary activities that capture the spirit of service for so many who have answered the call to Liberia in the last six decades and beyond, visit Friends of Liberia’s website.

New books by Peace Corps writers | September – October 2022

Nov 02 2022

BEYOND THE ROAD TO SINYEA by Ann Hales (Liberia)

Oct 03 2022

A Peace Corps Memoir — 1981–1983 When a young woman strides into her dream adventure as a Peace Corps Volunteer, she gets more that she bargained for — the experience transforms her life. As nursing instructor in Liberia, West Africa, in the early 1980s, she witnesses gut-wrenching life circumstances of the Liberian people and their systems of education and health care. While living in a traditional village, she discovers that her neighbors believe she has magical pawers, encounters the “devil” from the Secret Bush Society, and finds “family” when she least expected to do so. This deeply personal memoir is filled with stories of West African life as seen firsthand throughout the eyes of a person who wanted to make a difference in the world. The author revisits her younger self with compassion and curiosity, conveying to readers an understanding of culture clash and the helplessness anyone might . . .

Review — NEVER THE SAME AGAIN: Life, Service and Friendship in Liberia edited by Susan Greisen, et al

Jul 30 2022

Never the Same Again: Life, Service, and Friendship in Liberia Editor Susan Greisen (Liberia 1971-73) & (Tonga 1973-74) Sidekick Press May 2022 254 pages $8.99 (Kindle); $20.95 (Paperback) Review by: D.W. Jefferson (El Salvador 1974-76; Costa Rica 1976-77) • Kudos to editors Susan E. Greisen, Susan Corbett and Karen E. Lange for putting together a wonderful collection of true stories about Liberia, Peace Corps and friendship. The book was published in honor of the 60th anniversary of Peace Corps in Liberia. All of the authors are members of Friends of Liberia (FOL), a nonprofit originally formed by returned Peace Corps Volunteers who served in that country. There are 63 stories in all, some are poems, though the majority are prose short stories. The book includes a map of Liberia, so you can see where each author lived and worked. There is also an abridged timeline which is . . .

Friends of Liberia celebrate NEVER THE SAME AGAIN

Jul 26 2022

Life, Service, and Friendship in Liberia By Steve Kaffen (Russia 1994-96) July 26, 2022 • In honor of the 60th anniversary of Peace Corps in Liberia, Friends of Liberia (FOL), a non-profit started in 1985 by returned Liberia Volunteers, sponsored readings from the just-published book, Never the Same Again: Life, Service, and Friendship in Liberia. The book is an anthology of 63 stories and poems written by FOL members. Proceeds from its sale are to benefit humanitarian programs in Liberia. On Sunday afternoon July 24th, FOL members, former Peace Corps Volunteers and staff, and others disregarded the record-setting temperatures outside and packed to capacity the meeting room of midtown D.C.’s Busboys and Poets restaurant for a series of readings by some of the book’s contributing authors. Susan Greisen (co-editor along with Susan Corbett and Karen E. Lange) described the two-year process from conceptualization to publication. A published author [In . . .

Anthology book launch: NEVER THE SAME AGAIN: Life, Service, and Friendship in Liberia

Jul 18 2022

AT —Busboy and Poets July 24, 5:00 pm 450 K St NW, Washington Never the Same Again is a collection of sixty-three true stories and poems that will take you on a storytelling journey about life, service and friendship in Liberia. This anthology of enduring hope spans sixty years. Written by those of us who lived and worked in Liberia, we share heartfelt accounts of adversity and acceptance, illness and healing, and escape from war and reunion. Glimpse into everyday life in the village, classroom, and clinic where relationships were formed and lost, and many were found again. Once you read this book you will feel as we do…never the same again. Admission is free and doors open at 5 PM at the 450 K location, Davis Room. Books are available at the launch with festivities beginning at 5:30 until 6:30 P.M. with amazing slides and heartfelt readings . . .