Tunisia – Peace Corps Worldwide

In Memoriam: Roger K. Lewis (1941-2024)

Oct 08 2024

It is with a heavy heart that the Peace Corps Commemorative Foundation announces the passing of our President, Roger K. Lewis, who died on Wednesday at his home in Washington, D.C. after undergoing a medical procedure. He was 83, and is survived by his wife Ellen, their son Kevin and his wife, and four granddaughters. Roger’s dedicated leadership and steadfast commitment to Peace Corps Park has been critical in building the coalition that brought us from the initial concept through a competitive design competition and numerous rounds of design reviews to an elegant result that is scheduled for final approval this month. His legacy will live on in our hearts, and in every part of this project that he championed with such vigor and skill. A celebrated author, architect and journalist, Roger’s history with the Peace Corps and volunteer service dates from his time in Tunisia, where from 1964-66 he . . .

A compelling novel | MISSING PARTS by Diana B. Roberts (Tunisia)

Aug 30 2024

Novel — Missing Parts by Diana B. Roberts (Tunisia 1966-68) Austin Macauley Publishers July 2024 219 pages $4.50 (Kindle); $15.95 (Paperback) Acclaimed fundraiser and seasoned storyteller Diana B. Roberts, affectionately known as Dina, invites readers on a deeply moving journey through the complexities of friendship, resilience, and life’s unpredictable twists in her latest novel, Missing Parts. This powerful standalone fiction weaves the tale of Lacey Pierce and Mimi Faraday, whose lives take divergent paths only to intersect again under the most unexpected of circumstances. Set against the backdrop of the transformative 1960s and 70s in a charming New England town, Missing Parts explores the enduring power of friendship and the profound impact of life’s choices. Lacey and Mimi, once inseparable during their youth, find themselves worlds apart — Lacey is serving in the Peace Corps in Africa, and Mimi is dedicating her life to community service in Newfoundland. . . .

Kim and Vinny Aliperti (Tunisia) and the Billsboro Winery

Jul 26 2024

Kim and Vinny Aliperti met as Peace Corps volunteers in Tunisia from 1992 to 1994, They were married when they returned to the United States, and their honeymoon took them to some wineries. They say they quickly realized they were meant to run a winery. They knew they weren’t cut out for the suit-and-tie city life, and as they walked the vineyards, they knew what we wanted to do. Vinny had been hooked on winemaking as a teenager in his grandfather’s cellar in Queens, NY where he was first introduced to his family’s annual tradition. After the Peace Corps, Vinny was offered an apprenticeship at Wolffer Estate in the Hamptons on Long Island. After three vintages (1997-1999) producing mostly Chardonnay and Merlot with long-time winemaker Roman Roth, he moved with Kim to the Finger Lakes to begin his next chapter at the Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard. It was there . . .

Jody Olsen (Tunisia) Writes Her Peace Corps Book

Jul 23 2024

A Million Miles by Jody Olsen (Tunisia 1966-68) University of Utah Press October 2024 276 pages $24.95 (Paperback); $44.95 (Hardcover) Pre-order now When Jody Olsen enlisted as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tunisia in 1966, she was fleeing familial tragedy and the stifling societal norms of her Salt Lake City upbringing. However, her service in Tunisia upended her religious and cultural beliefs and propelled her into a six-decade career with the Peace Corps, culminating in her directorship of the agency. Olsen’s captivating memoir, A Million Miles, reveals the personal and professional challenges she faced throughout her career, which spanned the Reagan era, 9/11, and the Trump administration. She writes candidly about her struggles as a woman in leadership, as well as personal hardships such as the sudden death of her brother and her emotionally difficult divorce after her husband’s coming out. This memoir is a sharp, vulnerable portrait, a . . .

New books by Peace Corps writers | March — April 2024

May 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 . . .

Jody Olsen (Tunisia) speaks at University of Mary Washington

Oct 11 2023

In the news Former Peace Corps Director Encourages Service for UMW Education Students by Lisa Chinn, UMW Voice October 10, 2023 When she arrived in Tunisia to teach English to a roomful of teenagers, former Peace Corps director Jody Olsen, then in her 20s, worried she’d made a mistake. “My first thought was to head for the door,” she said of the 1966 experience that ended up charting her course. Instead, “I said, ‘Good morning, I’m Mrs. Olsen,’ and my life began.” She shared her longtime relationship with service last week with students at the University of Mary Washington’s College of Education (COE) in Seacobeck Hall. Plucking tales from her lengthy career, including her time as Peace Corps director amid the COVID-19 pandemic, she wove a theme. International experiences — especially teaching abroad with the Peace Corps — can build the foundation for richer careers in the classroom. That’s . . .

“A Road Not Taken” by Jamie Kirkpatrick (Tunisia)

Jun 09 2023

A Road Not Taken Jamie Kirkpatrick (Tunisia 1970-72; APCD 1974-76) June 6, 2023 • Now that I am of a certain age, I’m giving myself permission to occasionally recount a story that has been locked away in my personal vault. This is one of those times… It was nearly fifty years ago, and I was working on the staff of the Peace Corps in Tunisia. (I had previously served as a Volunteer in that country, but that’s another story.) One day, word reached me that a Volunteer who was under my supervision was absenting himself from his job, ostensibly taking some time to watch a movie that was being filmed at a location out in the desert, not far from his work site. It would be a long drive, but I thought this would be a good time to go visit some of my Volunteers in the south. . . .

THIS SALTED SOIL by Jamie Kirkpatrick (Tunisia)

Apr 27 2023

This Salted Soil, by Jamie Kirkpatrick, tells the story of the North African Campaign in World War II, America’s first, but often-overlooked, involvement in the war against Nazi Germany that helped to shape and ultimately secure the Allied victory in that bloody conflict. Using both historical and fictional characters, This Salted Soil, is the story of the battle for Tunisia that took place between November, 1942 and May, 1943. The novel also explores two other related themes: Tunisia’s struggle for independence from France, and the role of Third World countries in the ideological struggle between East and West in the post-war era. Jamie Kirkpatrick served in Kasserine, Tunisia from 1970 to 1972. He was also the Associate Peace Corps Director in Tunisia from 1974 to 1976. Now retired after careers in international service organizations and education, Jamie is a writer and photographer whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, . . .

Review — DISCOVERING TUNISIAN CUISINE by Judith Dwan Hallet (Tunisia) et al

Jan 24 2022

Discovering Tunisian Cuisine Judith Dwan Hallet (Tunisia 1964–66), Raoudha Guellali Ben Taarit, and Hasna Trabelsi; photographs by Judith Dwan Hallet and Stanley Ira Hallet (Tunisia 1964 – 1966) Spirit of Place/Spirit of Design, Inc December 2019 148 pages $36.00 (hardcover) Reviewed by Vana Prewitt (Liberia 1983–86; Peace Corps Response/S.t Lucia 2016 • Discovering Tunisian Cuisine is as much a table-top photo book as cookbook, and sized appropriately so at 9″x12″. One can see the artist’s eye in the exquisite photos of food, scenery, and people. The authors admitted to struggling over the photos until they got it right. It is a nice balance of interesting history, beautiful photos, family recipes, and stories. As a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, I especially appreciated the insights to culture and history as it revolves around food. For example, there are three theories about the origins of Brik, a traditional dish of North Africa that looks a whole . . .

Peace Corps Was

Jun 12 2010

by Peg Clement (Tunisia 1975–77) This essay was first published in the November 2003 issue of PeaceCorpsWriters.org, and won Peace Corps Writers’ 2004 Moritz Thomsen Peace Corps Experience Award. • PEACE CORPS WAS two years of my young life, half my life ago. A time of long blonde braids, still-chubby cheeks, a hardy body withstanding weeks of tummy rumbles, pinkened skin before sunscreen became de rigueur. Quick reflexes, and a back hardened to floor sleeping. Easy laughs. Peace Corps was unexpected, and unplanned for, fun. Many times, it just happened — someone arrives descending feet-first from the louage, at the doorstep, or someone shows up at a beach disco. Instant friends, mix and stir. A prepackaged community, insurance premium against the loneliness of the Sahelian plains. Peace Corps was earnestness. Adults used the word altruistic. We tried to do good, and reached for change, big change — winds of change, . . .

Helen Hildebrandt (Tunisia 1966–68, Senegal 1973–75)

Feb 25 2010

Monday, November 21 6:18 pm MY NAME IS Helen Hildebrandt. I am from Wheat Ridge and Lakewood, Colorado. I was a kindergarten teacher in Sidi Amor Bou Hadjla, Tunisia and an English teacher in Bizerte, Tunisia from 1966 to 1968, and an English teacher in Ziguinchor, Senegal from 1973 to 1975. I have many vivid memories of my Peace Corps experiences. I can still see the Bizerte children happily playing barefooted at the community water faucet. I remember the frail Tunisian man who carried our two beds on his head all the way across the capital city of Tunis. I recall the 14-year-old Senegalese student who implored me to accept his homework paper in spite of the burnt fringes explaining that his young sister had knocked over the candle while he was studying and he couldn’t spare another sheet of paper. And I reflect on the Senegalese man who walked . . .