Togo – Peace Corps Worldwide

A troubling picture of a new world order, by George Packer (Togo 1982-84) in The Atlantic

Feb 21 2025

Editor’s note: As we continue to shine a light on the human impact of disruption to foreign aid programs, we also look for big-picture analysis pieces that help us better understand the world. Today we share an excerpt of an article by RPCV George Packer (Togo, 1982-84) in The Atlantic that gives context on what the future might look like for the country’s global relationships. The Trump World Order In the MAGA vision of the national interest, might will make right. Read the full article on TheAtlantic.com (paywall) “Trump and Musk’s destruction of USAID was a trial blitzkrieg: Send tanks and bombers into defenseless Poland to see what works before turning on the Western powers. The assault provided a model for eviscerating the rest of the federal bureaucracy. It also demonstrated the radicalism of Trump’s view of America’s role in the world. Every president from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Barack Obama . . .

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 . . .

How I used Hanukkah to teach my community about the diversity of America.

Dec 26 2024

Happy Holidays, everyone! We’ll be taking a break until January 2 (Peace Corps Community in the News will be issued this Saturday). In the meantime, enjoy this archived Peace Corps Volunteer’s story. How I used Hanukkah to teach my community about the diversity of America PeaceCorpsWorldwide.org

Book Review: Falling Seven Times, by Mark Wentling (Honduras 1967-69 & Togo 1970-73)

Dec 24 2024

· Publisher ‏ : ‎ Archway Publishing (August 31, 2024) · Language ‏ : ‎ English · Paperback ‏ : ‎ 318 pages · ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1665763213 · ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1665763 219 · Available on Amazon.com : Falling Seven Times I’ve read and reviewed several of the author’s books. We were both Peace Corps Volunteers in Central America and worked in West Africa, although Wentling went on to work and travel in 54 African countries over the years. My favorite book from his “African Trilogy” is “Africa’s Embrace,” which is fiction but reflects his experience working as a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa in the 1970s. This book begins in Ethiopia with a young woman’s struggle to be a migrant worker to support her family. It is a fictional story based on her experience with his Ethiopian wife. She became a naturalized citizen in 2019. . . .

Part 2–In That Time of Their Lives — Jeremiah Norris (Colombia)

Sep 21 2024

RPCVs in the news — by Jeremiah Norris (Colombia 1963-65) Peter Hessler And, now let us present the man who brought China Home to America, Peter Hessler. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in China, 1996-98, teaching English at a Teacher’s College. Afterwards, Peter continued his work in China as a freelance writer for publications such as: The Wall Street Journal; The Boston Globe; The South China Morning Post; and National Geographic. He joined The New Yorker as a staff writer in 2000 and served as a foreign correspondent until 2007. Based on his experience as a Volunteer in teaching English, Peter has written four books on China: 1) River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze; 2) Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China; 3) Country Driving: A Journey from Farm to Factory, which is a record of Peter’s stories when driving a renter car from rural northern . . .

New books by Peace Corps writers | July through August, 2024

Sep 03 2024

New books — 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 maybe 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. PLEASE, PLEASE join in our Third Goal effort and volunteer to review a book or books!!! Songs of Mali by Ruth Gooley (Mali 1980-81) Peace Corps Writers May 2024 102 pages $15.00 (paperback) Songs of Mali . . .

JACKLEG BOYS by Mark G. Wentling (Honduras/Togo)

Aug 02 2024

A a new book — Jackleg Boys by Mark G. Wentling (Honduras 1967-69), (Togo 1970-73) Vanguard Press 506 pages August 2024 $19.99 (Paperback) Jackleg Boys unfolds with a gripping tale of survival, transformation, and the bonds forged in the crucible of adversity. Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War’s aftermath, Henry and Randy, once privileged sons of an aristocratic Virginian family, find themselves grappling with the ruins of their past. As they navigate the harsh realities of a war-torn landscape, life becomes a catalyst for a perilous journey westward. In a quest for survival, the duo must shed their former identities and confront the moral complexities of their choices. This historical novel explores the lengths individuals go to endure and adapt in the face of calamity, challenging notions of privilege, identity, and the pursuit of a new beginning. Jackleg Boys is a riveting narrative that explores . . .

George Packer (Togo) writes cover story for July/August ATLANTIC

Jun 11 2024

In the news — For its July/August issue, The Atlantic has made climate change its focus, leading with today’s cover story by staff writer George Packer on the rise and possible fall of Phoenix, Arizona. In his cover story, “The Valley”— the second-longest that The Atlantic has published in the past 40 years — Packer provides a sweeping, kaleidoscopic look at the precarious political and physical ecology of Phoenix, demonstrating that the country’s fastest-growing and most dynamic region contains, in microcosm, all of America’s most contentious and dangerous issues: climate change and election denialism, education and immigration, homelessness and zoning, the future of the working class and of a multiethnic democracy. Phoenix’s contradictions are so great — explosive population and economic growth paired with existential political and environmental challenges — they raise questions about the city’s sustainability, and about the sustainability of the American political project. Phoenix, Packer argues, makes . . .

2023 Winner of Peace Corps Writers’ Award for Best Book for a Young Reader

Jul 14 2023

Kansas Kaleidoscope Mark G. Wentling Honduras (1967–69) & Togo (1970–73) In many ways, 11-year-old Marky is a typical kid in 1950s Kansas. He collects baseball cards like other boys his age, goes fishing and hunting with his father, and has a good shot at winning his town’s annual turtle race. But his family is not immune to hardships. Marky and his siblings, for example, rarely see their dad, Boyd, who works the graveyard shift at an aircraft plant 30 miles away. Their mother, Gerry, is a manic-depressive; Marky adores her but is perpetually worried about her oscillating moods. After two decades of marriage and six children, Marky’s parents engage in arguments that escalate in frequency and violence. Intense fights send Gerry fleeing to a neighbor’s house only for Boyd to chase her down. With his older siblings out of the nest, Marky becomes the protector of his two . . .

“Coming to Grips with Poverty in Africa”

May 03 2023

American Diplomacy May 1, 2023 by Mark G. Wentling (Honduras 1967-69 & Togo 1970-73) • Reducing poverty has been at the heart of U.S. foreign assistance in dozens of low-income countries for more than a half-century. Despite U.S. foreign policy objectives, much work, and hundreds of billions of assistance dollars expended, the poorest of the poor have not advanced. While some low-income countries have made some small progress, after decades of aid most are still in the bottom ranks of absolute poverty. All the countries in the Least Developed Country (LDC) category have more poor people than ever before. Thirty-seven of forty-seven of these LDC countries are in Africa. Although a handful of countries have graduated from LDC status, this disturbing ranking remains basically unchanged since the LDC list was established by the UN General Assembly in 1971. This unchanging list of extremely poor countries tells us that a better . . .

Fr. William Ryan (Togo) back in Togo

Apr 20 2023

Fr. William Ryan served in the Peace Corps in Togo from 1973 to 1975. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Washington in 1980. After serving for many years in Hispanic ministry, he returned to Togo in 2006 to become the founding pastor of the mission parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Read more at: www.catholicworldreport.com

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 . . .

Kate Mangino (Togo) EQUAL PARTNERS: Improving Gender Equality at Home

Oct 13 2022

From gender expert and professional facilitator Kate Mangino comes Equal Partners, an informed guide about how we can all collectively work to undo harmful gender norms and create greater household equity. As American society shut down due to Covid, millions of women had to leave their jobs to take on full-time childcare. As the country opens back up, women continue to struggle to balance the demands of work and home life. Kate Mangino, a professional facilitator for twenty years, has written a comprehensive, practical guide for readers and their partners about gender norms and household balance. Yes, part of our gender problem is structural, and that requires policy change. But much of our gender problem is social, and that requires us to change. Quickly moving from diagnosis to solution, Equal Partners focuses on what we can do, everyday people living busy lives, to rewrite gender norms to support a balanced homelife so . . .

Ann Moore (Togo) — The Volunteer Who Invented the Snugli

Aug 29 2022

by Jeremiah Norris Colombia 1963-65 After graduating from the University of Cincinnati, Ann Moore taught pediatric nursing at Babies Hospital, Colombia University, in New York. In 1962, the Chief Resident of Pediatrics at Babies Hospital was asked to organized the first Peace Corps medical team to go to Togo, and Ann was recruited along with 30 other medical and health specialists — doctors, nurses, lab techs, a pharmacist, and a sanitation engineer. Their mission was to teach preventive care. For the entire first year in Togo they worked in an abandoned hospital where they treated —and nurtured patients back to health. In the second year, they were able to teach various good health promoting behaviors — like nutrition, latrine building, hand washing, etc. The volunteers all noted and remarked about the outstanding emotional well-being of African infants, either sick or healthy. All of the babies and toddlers were . . .

KANSAS KALEIDOSCOPE — a novel by Mark G. Wentling (Honduras & Togo)

Aug 22 2022

Kansas Kaleidoscope by Mark G. Wentling (Honduras (1967-69) & Togo (1970-73) Wild Lark Books August 2022 186 pages $4.99 (Kindle); $19.99 (Hardcover) • A young boy’s life in mid-20th-century America persistently and unpredictably veers off course in this novel.In many ways, 11-year-old Marky is a typical kid in 1950s Kansas. He collects baseball cards like other boys his age, goes fishing and hunting with his father, and has a good shot at winning his town’s annual turtle race. But his family is not immune to hardships. Marky and his siblings, for example, rarely see their dad, Boyd, who works the graveyard shift at an aircraft plant 30 miles away. Their mother, Gerry, is a manic-depressive; Marky adores her but is perpetually worried about her oscillating moods. After two decades of marriage and six children, Marky’s parents engage in arguments that escalate in frequency and violence. Intense fights send Gerry . . .