Liberia

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Answering the Peace Corps Response Call — Yanick Douyon (Liberia, Rwanda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines)
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Friends of Liberia: Celebrating 60 Years of Peace Corps Service
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New books by Peace Corps writers | September – October 2022
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BEYOND THE ROAD TO SINYEA by Ann Hales (Liberia)
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Review — NEVER THE SAME AGAIN: Life, Service and Friendship in Liberia edited by Susan Greisen, et al
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Friends of Liberia celebrate NEVER THE SAME AGAIN
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Anthology book launch: NEVER THE SAME AGAIN: Life, Service, and Friendship in Liberia
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19 New books by Peace Corps writers — March and April, 2022
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Tacoma-to-Liberia Peace Corps Journey — Kathleen Corey
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Review — IN SEARCH OF PINK FLAMINGOS In Search of Pink Flamingos by Susan E. Greisen (Liberia & Tonga)
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Review — LIVING LIBERIA by Robert Cherry (Liberia)
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Review — A SILHOUETTE OF LIBERIA by Michael Lee (Liberia)
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Review — IN THE BELLY OF THE ELEPHANT by Susan Corbett (Liberia)
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Review: A TIME THAT WAS . . . by Philip Salisbury (Liberia)
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Steven E. Keenan (Liberia 1963-65)

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

  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 . . .

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Friends of Liberia: Celebrating 60 Years of Peace Corps Service

  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.  

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New books by Peace Corps writers | September – October 2022

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 . . .

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BEYOND THE ROAD TO SINYEA by Ann Hales (Liberia)

   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 . . .

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

    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 . . .

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Friends of Liberia celebrate NEVER THE SAME AGAIN

  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 . . .

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

  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 . . .

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19 New books by Peace Corps writers — March and April, 2022

  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 now include a brief description  for the books listed here in hopes of encouraging readers  1) to order a book and 2) 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 copy along with a few instructions. 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 Goal . . .

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Tacoma-to-Liberia Peace Corps Journey — Kathleen Corey

    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 . . .

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Review — IN SEARCH OF PINK FLAMINGOS In Search of Pink Flamingos by Susan E. Greisen (Liberia & Tonga)

  In Search of Pink Flamingos By Susan E. Greisen (Liberia 1971-73; Tonga 1973-74) Penchant Press International, LLC 247 pages 2020  $15.95 (paperback) Reviewed by Cynthia Mosca (Ethiopia 1967-69) • When a friend finds out I was in the Peace Corps, I often hear, “Oh, I thought about that. I even filled out the application.” Susan Greisen’s book, In Search of Pink Flamingos, is filled with heart-stopping adventures in Africa. She writes candidly of her journey from a strict Catholic upbringing on a farm in Nebraska to her new home in the small village of Zorgowee, Liberia. Susan is the only Peace Corps Volunteer and the only white person in this town of about a thousand people. Here she found affection and respect both of which were denied her in her Nebraska family home. I’m recommending her well-written book to all my friends, especially those who never sent in those . . .

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Review — LIVING LIBERIA by Robert Cherry (Liberia)

  Living Liberia: Laughter, Love & Folly by Robert Cherry (Liberia1965–67) Living Liberia August 2017 $15.00 (paperback), $9.50 (Kindle) Reviewed by D.W. Jefferson (El Salvador 1974-76 and Costa Rica 1976-77). • Liberia is a fascinating little country. Founded by former slaves from the U.S., it is the oldest republic in Africa. This and much more I learned from reading Living Liberia by Robert Cherry. The primary narrative of this book tells the story of the author’s return visit to Liberia and his former Peace Corps site in 1982, 14 years after his service there from 1966-68. But it is also a memoir of his Peace Corps years serving as a teacher in an elementary school in the small, rural village of Kpaytuo. The author, a former journalist as well as a teacher, gives us a good deal of background about Liberian history along the way. Thus the book is a great resource . . .

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Review — A SILHOUETTE OF LIBERIA by Michael Lee (Liberia)

  A Silhouette of Liberia — Photographs: 1974-1977 by Michael H.  Lee (Liberia 1974–76) Michael H. Lee August 2017 136 pages $59.99 (hardcover)   Reviewed by: Danielle Yoder (Panama 2012-2014) • A Silhouette of Liberia Photographs: 1974–1977 exhibits beautiful photography of Liberia’s landscape, architecture and people from a time when very little has been preserved. Mr. Lee walks us through his experience living, serving and working in Liberia. Through his lens he is able to capture what one might see in an ordinary day in Liberia, as well as intimate settings such as illusive secret societies and their traditions. Mr. Lee begins by providing some history of the country that informs both the conditions of the photographs shown from the mid-70s and also alludes to the impending civil war period. These shots show mostly friendly faces as well as typical living conditions and hardships born by denizens. I was surprised how . . .

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Review — IN THE BELLY OF THE ELEPHANT by Susan Corbett (Liberia)

  In the Belly of the Elephant: A Memoir of Africa Susan Corbett (Liberia 1976–79) CreateSpace March 2016 396 pages $14.99 (paperback), $4.99 (Kindle)   Reviewed by Brooks Marmon (Niger 2008–10) • IN THE BELLY OF THE ELEPHANT is Susan Corbett’s memoir of her life as an aid worker with Save the Children in Burkina Faso (then called Upper Volta) in the early 1980s, following her Peace Corps service in Liberia. Amidst descriptions of a hard scrabble life in Dori, a small town near the border with Niger, Corbett weaves in occasional reminiscences of her service in Liberia and the harsh attitudes of many of her family members in the US to her decision to work in west Africa. Much of the work can be quite jarring — a reflection of both Corbett’s experiences in the harsh climate of the Sahel as well as an extremely candid writing style. While the book . . .

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Review: A TIME THAT WAS . . . by Philip Salisbury (Liberia)

  A Time That Was . . .: A Peace Corps Volunteer’s Experience of Pre-revolutionary Liberia, West Africa, 1962–1964 Philip S. Salisbury (Liberia 1962–64) Xlibris 2014 244 pages $19.99 (paperback), $29.99 (hard cover) Reviewed by Lee Reno (Liberia 1963–65) • A Time That Was . . . is an interesting and engaging read, particularly for PCVs who were in Liberia before the Liberian civil wars, and perhaps their children. A PCV in the first group of PCVs to Liberia in 1962, Salisbury writes in his introduction, In the pages that follow, I present a rewrite of my journal entries. Despite gaps in coverage, I made an effort to recall days that were written about. My purpose is to communicate the experiences, thoughts, and feelings of a twenty-two year-old who was encountering his first experience in an unknown culture as well as provide a sense of the services I rendered to the Peace . . .

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Steven E. Keenan (Liberia 1963-65)

Steven E. Keenan (Liberia 1963-65) Monday, November 21 4:27 pm PAUL, MY ROOMMATE, AND I were sitting outside the house having just finished supper. I had turned on the radio. We were listening to a music program being broadcast over Voice of America. The music suddenly stopped and we were told of the tragedy to President Kennedy. We heard this within 15 minutes of the shooting. I had been thinking how isolated and cut off we were out there, but not after this. The Liberian people were as shocked and saddened as we were. President Kennedy had a connection with the African people, which few Americans could understand. The Principal of the school and numerous Villagers have come by to give us their sympathy and ask us why? Why President Kenney? We have no answer to give them.

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