Dr. Karestan Koenen (NIger 1991-1992) testified before Congress on behalf of the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act

The National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) is endorsing legislation introduced in the United States Senate that would allow Peace Corps Volunteers to receive the same health services and opportunities as other citizens serving our nation overseas.

Senate Bill 813, introduced by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) would provide a technical fix to the Peace Corps Act, allowing volunteers to receive federal support for abortion services in the narrow circumstances of rape, incest or endangerment to the life of the mother.  Peace Corps staff and others serving overseas who receive federal health care currently receive this allowance.

Last year, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, Congress unanimously approved a similar provision to provide such services to military servicewomen, leaving Peace Corps Volunteers virtually alone in being denied this provision.

The following Senators are original co-sponsors of the legislation.  They should be thanked (along with Senator Lautenberg) for their leadership:  Boxer (D-CA), Gillibrand (D-NY), Murphy (D-CT), Murray (D-WA), Shaheen (D-NH) and Warren (D-MA).

Follow these links to:

–Read Senator Lautenberg’s press release (including a quote from NPCA)
–Read the NPCA statement on the legislation.
–Read the NPCA press release.
–Read Senate Bill 813.

(Please Note:  If you have a personal experience related to this issue you would like to share, please contact us at advocacy@peacecorpsconnect.org.  All messages will be kept confidential)

* * * Take Action Now: This is a SENATE ACTION ONLY * * *

–Follow this link if you need contact information for your Senator(s).

– Leave this basic message:  ”I urge Senator ____ to become a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 813, The Peace Corps Equity Act of 2013, to make sure that Peace Corps Volunteers receive equitable and fair health care treatment as other citizens serving our nation overseas.”

– Reach out to five other people you know (they don’t have to be Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) and ask them to take similar action.

Below is a sample letter you can use as a guide, if you plan on sending written communication to your Senator(s).  Please personalize your message.

Dear Senator _______,

I am writing to urge you to become a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 813, the Peace Corps Equity Act of 2013.

Last year, as part of the Defense Authorization Act, Congress gave unanimous approval to a provision allowing military servicewomen medical support and services for abortion in the narrow instances of rape, incest, and life endangerment to the mother.  This passage left Peace Corps Volunteers standing virtually alone among those citizens serving our nation overseas who are denied this service.

The Lautenberg legislation provides a technical adjustment to the Peace Corps Act to bring our current Peace Corps Volunteers in line with others.  I strongly believe that Peace Corps Volunteers – who serve our nation honorably – deserve the same level of respect and support when it comes to all aspects of health care.  I trust you share my view, and I hope and expect you will demonstrate support for fairness and equity by becoming an early co-sponsor of S. 813.

Thank you for reading this letter.  I look forward to your reply expressing your specific thoughts on this issue.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

(Full Address)

(Peace Corps Service if Applicable)

Last week, Congressman Albio Sires introduced the Respect for Peace Corps Volunteers Act of 2013, otherwise known as H.R. 1573. Congressman Sires serves as representative for New Jersey’s 8th district and has provided strong support for Peace Corps in the past. This particular piece of legislation would allow Returned Volunteers to display the Peace Corps name and emblem in either their obituary and/or headstone.

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and Congressmen Mike Honda (El Salvador 1965-67), John Garamendi (Ethiopia 1966-68),  Tom Petri (Somalia 1966-67), and Joe Kennedy III (Dominican Republic 2004-06) are co-sponsors of this bill.

Peace Corps Volunteers have provided a great service to their country and should be given the opportunity to personalize and commemorate their pride.

We urge you to reach out to your representative to cosponsor this bill. This is a House bill only.

Follow this link if you would like more background information before taking action:http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr1573. Email us at advocacy@peacecorpsconnect.org to let us know if you took action or if you have any questions.

Thank you so much!

TAKE ACTION:

(sample message written below – Please take a moment to personalize if you can, sharing how this legislation is meaningful for you and your Peace Corps experience)

Dear Representative ______:

As a returned Peace Corps volunteer, I am proud of my service. Peace Corps is an experience that continues to influence volunteers throughout their lives and I hope to have the ability to acknowledge my appreciation in a way that exists long after I am gone.

I urge you to cosponsor Albio Sires’ H.R. 1573 bill: Respect for Peace Corps Volunteers Act of 2013. You may read the full text of the bill here.

Thank you very much for reading my request.  I would be honored with a reply.

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

(Your Full Address)

(Peace Corps Service – if applicable)

NPCA President Glenn Blumhorst.

The Board of Directors of the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Glenn Blumhorst (Guatemala 1988-1991) as its new President.

Glenn Blumhorst’s appointment follows an extensive nationwide search that began in Fall 2012. A search committee of the NPCA Board of Directors selected him from a robust pool of highly qualified applicants.

Glenn comes to the NPCA with 25 years of international experience, 18 of them working with ACDI/VOCA. Glenn has held leadership positions in small scale projects and complex multinational operations. He has experience servicing and managing large grants and developing strategic partnerships.

Glenn will begin his role leading the NPCA community on February 25, 2013.  Those attending any of the upcoming events between February 28 and March 2, including Capitol Hill Advocacy Day, Director’s Circle Weekend and Board of Directors Meeting, will have the opportunity to meet him in person.

Please join us in welcoming Glenn to the NPCA.

Tony Barclay, Chair
Patricia Wand, Vice Chair
NPCA Board of Directors

When Audrey Scherer signed up for the National Peace Corps Association’s (NPCA) educator trip to Ghana in 2004, she never envisioned where that would take her.  Yes, she got the homestays, school visits and cultural immersion she wanted.  She was able to bring booklets that her students in Baltimore had made about their communities and school.  She was able to share those with another middle school classroom in Akosombo, then bring stories and photos back to her students.  She was even able to set up an exchange between her classroom and that same middle school classroom.

But what came before and next are better told in her words, an inspiring demonstration of why she supports NPCA.

Audrey in Ghana

From lesson plan ideas to a range of professional development opportunities, NPCA offers a depth of resources on global education you can’t find anywhere else. It is truly the premier professional network for teachers interested in global education, thanks to the tireless efforts of NPCA’s staff, interns, and dedicated volunteers.

On a personal note, many RPCVs have their Peace Corps experience to thank for introducing them to their future spouses. I never served in the Peace Corps, but I can say I have my NPCA experience to thank for introducing me to my husband.  We met on a Global TeachNet trip to Ghana in 2004. Both of us were middle school teachers at the time, and we started a partnership between our classes in Ghana and the United States. Now, 8 years later, we are married and have a 1-year-old daughter.

Personally and professionally, NPCA has had a lasting impact on me.  Thank you for your leadership, your advocacy, and your commitment to supporting global educators!”

And thank you to you, Audrey, for making a financial commitment in support of NPCA’s work in Global Education!

Audrey Scherer Tetteh is the Education Program Director for ICONS Project, an organization engaging in online roleplay simulations about global issues.  (Learn more about ICONS and other classroom resources on the education section of NPCA’s website.)

To learn more about the many ways you can support the National Peace Corps Association, visit our Contributing page.  Or to make a donation online now, click here. Learn about NPCA’s recently launched Next Step Travel program here.

Read why other members of NPCA feel that it is import to support the association.

The storyline is great on its own—how a Peace Corps love story transformed one couple into urban farmers and changed their lives for the better.  Combine that with creative editing and you have a winning video. Carrie’s boyfriend, Doug, plays a large part in this story and actually did the video’s narration.  “We became friends right around the time I had applied for Peace Corps and started dating several months later,” Carrie says, “We knew we would only have a year together before I had to leave, but we decided to go for it anyway.  The relationship ended up working out and soon the Peace Corps became this thing that loomed over us.”  Despite doubts about going ahead with her Peace Corps service, Carrie left for Zambia as planned to work as a Rural Education Development Volunteer, unsure of what would become of her new relationship.

“I lived in a very remote village without electricity, let alone cell phone coverage, internet, or a post office,” says Carrie, “We kept in touch through letters which I could mail and pick up when I went to town once a month.  We kept in contact this way for six months while he saved up money to buy a plane ticket to Zambia.”  Doug arrived and spent several months with Carrie, discovering traditional Zambian ways of life.  They both learned about growing their own food and building things themselves—“keeping it simple,” as Carrie says.  When Doug’s visiting visa expired, he returned to the United States, and they continued writing letters to each other for another year.

“When we had first met, we both had vague ideas of wanting to make the world a better place,” Carrie says, “It wasn’t until our time in Zambia that we fully realized that our best contribution would be through sustainable agriculture, permaculture, and homesteading.  In other words, bringing a bit of rural Zambia to the United States.”  Carrie’s inspiration for her YouTube contest video came from this, and depicts the couple in their new life back home. “We’ve now been together for five years and own a small urban farm in Pittsburgh.  We have chickens, ducks, bees, vegetables, and fruit trees,” says Carrie. In the video, Doug comments, “I don’t want to miss out on the most basic and satisfying act of producing my own food.”  The couple is saving money to buy rural acreage for a larger farm.

When Carrie decided for sure that she wanted to enter the YouTube contest, she took eight hours of footage she had taken in Zambia and new footage she had shot of her urban farm and got to work.  “Just about every day for two weeks, I biked an hour each way with my hard-drive to a computer that had Final Cut Pro and put together my video.”  The result is a fascinating, sliding show of her service in Zambia, how she has brought her experience home, and changed not only her life—but her boyfriend’s as well.

Update: Read a story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about the Carrie’s contest win:

Allentown woman learns life lessons in Peace Corps, wins $2,500

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