Zambia – Peace Corps Worldwide

Review: Married to Amazement, by Kathleen Coskran (Ethiopia, 1965-67)

Jul 25 2025

Christine Herbert (Zambia, 2004-06) reviews Kathleen Coskran’s Married to Amazement. This memoir is available on Amazon and Bookshop.org. Title: Married to Amazement: A Memoir Author: Kathleen Coskran (Ethiopia, 1965-67) Published: Apr 24, 2025 (Peace Corps Worldwide) Review by Christine Herbert (Zambia, 2004-06) When Coskran’s memoir kicks off by disclosing to her readers she’s not just old, but old old (81 years), we can’t help but be drawn in by her humor and candor. She doesn’t claim to offer any pearls of wisdom, but instead offers up memories of moments that have brought her into a state of utter amazement and profound gratitude. To this end, she offers a collection of short stories—little snippets of wonder—to offer us glimpses of her extraordinary life experience. This book is an invitation to examine life’s gifts and mysteries through her eyes. That is to say, she offers us not pearls, but absolute gems. She opens with her first grand cross-cultural adventure, a crash . . .

Libby Bennett (Zambia) | New Executive Director of Groundworks Collaborative

Mar 14 2024

RPCVs in the news Groundworks, a homeless shelter in Brattleboro, Vermont Promotes Libby Bennett (Zambia 2006-09) To Be New Executive Director March 13, 2024 BRATTLEBORO—The Board of Directors of Groundworks Collaborative has announced that Libby Bennett, formerly the agency’s Director of Development & Communications, has accepted the offer to lead the organization as its new Executive Director. Bennett has been on staff with the agency since joining the Morningside Shelter team in 2012. Previously, she served as an intern for the organization in 2011 while completing practicum work toward her master’s degree in non-profit management from the SIT Graduate Institute. Bennett points back to volunteering for overnight shifts at Brattleboro’s Seasonal Overflow Shelter in 2010/2011 as her earliest interaction with the agency—inspired to volunteer after hearing a presentation from the founder of Brattleboro Area Drop-In Center, Melinda Bussino. A lifelong resident of Brattleboro and graduate of Brattleboro . . .

Robin Seyfert (South Africa, Zambia) | “Handmade Hope”

Jan 18 2024

In the news — By Christine Spicer .Viewpoint, PLNU RPCV Robin Seyfert knows beauty can be found in people and places that are overlooked or even steeped in darkness. As the founder and managing director of Basha Enterprises Ltd., she sees women who have been trafficked or who are vulnerable to exploitation find hope and healing through dignified work in a safe environment. Basha Boutique sells jewelry, kantha blankets, accessories, and Christmas items, all handmade by women who are rebuilding their lives. The kantha is a profound symbol of Basha Boutique’s work and mission. “A kantha is a quilt made of old saris stitched into straight, even rows,” Seyfert explained. “They are all sewn freehand. We take old discarded saris and stitch them into a blanket that is really beautiful. As each artisan transforms the worn cloth, she is also rebuilding her life.” ‘Basha’ means house in Bengali, and ‘asha’ means . . .

Caleb Rudlow (Zambia) runs For U.S. House from North Carolina

Dec 05 2023

In the news — State House member seeks to run as a Democrat for U.S. House Dec 3, 2023 On Nov. 28, the Democratic member of the N.C. House held a press conference in Asheville to announce that he is running for the 11th District seat, now held by Republican incumbent Chuck Edwards of Hendersonville. Surrounded by supporters and elected officials at the event, Rudow said “WNC deserves representation that works for working families and, after serving the people of Buncombe County as a state House representative for the past two years, I am excited to announce that I am running for Congress in the 2024 election. Too many people in WNC feel left behind by the last few representatives and they want change,” according to a news release. A native of Buncombe County, the 37-year-old Rudow is the third generation of Rudows to call these western North . . .

Lizzie Heilmann (Zambia) awarded Domer Dozen

Nov 11 2023

In the news — Lizzie Heilmann, daughter of Dr. Timothy and Sue Heilmann, graduate of Loyalsock Township High School and 2015 graduate of the University of Notre Dame has been award the “Domer Dozen” award for her work promoting better health care and prevention in Africa. The Domer Dozen program, according to a news release, is the signature initiative of YoungND, the Alumni Association’s young alumni group. The 2023 honorees have displayed extraordinary dedication to the Alumni Association’s mission and have excelled in public service, health care, immigration, church life and entertainment, among other areas. Heilmann was chosen by a selection committee consisting of the YoungND board, university officials and Alumni Association staff, which considered 182 nominees this summer and evaluated them based on a weighted ranking system and their contributions in their respective fields. “Taking to heart the call to serve those most in need across the world, Lizzie . . .

“Troutman, NC resident among the first Peace Corps Volunteers to receive overseas assignment”

Mar 11 2023

By Taylor Jedrzejek Statesville Record and Landmark.com Amid all of her excitement over the opportunity to travel abroad, there was one nagging question that kept popping up in the mind of Randi Epstein: how exactly do I pack for a trip that lasts two years? But even with that burning question, nothing could be done to quell her excitement. After all, Epstein is one of the first volunteers to get a chance to travel oversees for service as the Peace Corps begins to restart it’s outreach programs following the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s super exciting,” Epstein said. “I think, as a volunteer, that it’s awesome to see the world opening up again and I know all of the volunteers are excited to be out on the ground helping the world again.” On March 14, Epstein, a resident of Troutman, will board a flight for the southeastern African nation of Zambia . . .

Review — THE COLOR OF THE ELEPHANT by Christine Herbert (Zambia)

Aug 15 2022

The Color of the Elephant: Memoir of a Muzungu Christine Herbert (Zambia 2004–06) GenZ Publishing January 2022 $15.99 (paperback), $5.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Rebecca M. Zornow (eSwatini 2011–13) • I visited the landlocked country of Zambia from the landlocked country of eSwatini, practically neighbors. As a Peace Corps Volunteer on leave, I wished for more than the cursory understanding of Zambian culture, even more than the quick mist of the thunderous Victoria Falls. But as a Volunteer from another country with much to see, I wouldn’t get that chance until reading Christine Herbert’s memoir, The Color of the Elephant. Christine arrives in Zambia in 2004 and quickly learns to eat nshima (cornmeal porridge) and wear citenge (sarong) but wonders throughout training if she’ll be enough to live up to the experience of two years making a difference in the remote countryside. On a trainee outing with an established Volunteer, Christine wonders, . . .

Review — THE UNHEARD by Josh Swiller (Zambia)

Mar 06 2022

The Unheard: A Memoir of Deafness and Africa by Josh Swiller (Zambia 1994–96) Henry Holt Paperback 2007 265 pages $18.59 (paperback), $11.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Christine Herbert (Zambia 2004–06) • I’ve read numerous memoirs by Peace Corps volunteers, and I can honestly say I’ve never read one as unabashedly gritty and truly eye-opening as this one. Unrelenting in its honesty, Josh Swiller’s narrative takes the reader on a tour of discovery: the life of a deaf Peace Corps volunteer serving in Africa. What can I say about the writing? In short, it is astounding. The narrative drifts between incisive prose, bite-size history lessons, quippy dialogue, sweeping poetry, locker room trash talk and back again with the nimbleness of a flying trapeze artist. Sometimes lilting like a lullaby, sometimes booming like a howler monkey, the words call you to experience his story with all your senses. Every scene is cinematic in . . .

Review — A FEW MINOR ADJUSTMENTS by Cherie Kephart (Zambia)

Feb 13 2022

A Few Minor Adjustments: A Memoir of Healing Cherie Kephart (Zambia 1994) Bazi Publishers, 2017 254 pages $15.95 (paperback), $24.95 (hardcover), $4.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by Christine Herbert (Zambia 2004–06) • When the reader first meets the author, Cherie Kephart, we catch a brief glimpse into the life of a vibrant young woman, living independently, with a future full of possibilities. Then an unexpected and unwelcome visitor arrives: sudden and crippling pain. Slowly her health unravels, each new symptom more baffling than the last. She tries one therapy after another, each diagnosis from each new specialist at odds with the last. In an effort to trace the source of her trauma, the author takes the reader back to the days of her Peace Corps service, ten years earlier. As a member of the very first volunteer cohort to serve in Zambia, she and the Peace Corps/Zambia staff had a steep . . .

Review — A FEW MINOR ADJUSTMENTS by Cherie Kephart (Zambia)

Feb 18 2019

A Few Minor Adjustments: A Memoir of Healing by Cherie Kephart (Zambia 1994) Bazi Publishers September 2017 254 pages $15.95 (paperback), $24.95 (hard cover), $4.99 (Kindle) Reviewed by D.W. Jefferson (El Salvador 1974–76; Costa Rica 1976–77) • Cherie Kephart is the ultimate survivor. She lived through a brutal rape followed by a serious car accident while in college. Then survived both a nasty case of explosive diarrhea and possible malaria while a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zambia. Ten years after her Peace Corps experience she faced a myriad of severe symptoms which defied diagnosis. Through it all she keeps struggling gamely to find a treatment that will allow her to lead some semblance of a normal life and be a useful person in the world. The title, “A Few Minor Adjustments,” is ironic, borrowed from a Peace Corps pamphlet discussing the life style changes a Volunteer faces in their . . .