The National Peace Corps Association and IFDC are partnering to support the development of agricultural value chains in East Africa through Farmer-to-Farmer (FTF) Niche Projects. IFDC will utilize both on-the-ground and online volunteer networks managed by NPCA to strengthen agricultural value chains, ultimately increasing incomes for smallholder farmers and their families. Here, meet Encore volunteer Doug Meyer, who is putting his skills to use implementing an innovative project in South Sudan.

“IFDC value chain projects utilize public-private partnerships (PPPs) to develop the agribusiness and trade necessary for sustainable food security,” said Dr. Richard Jones, agribusiness program leader for IFDC’s East and Southern Africa Division. “Incorporating NPCA programs with the PPP approach makes the projects particularly innovative.

Using PPPs and its Competitive Agricultural Systems and Enterprises (CASE) solution, IFDC is identifying market opportunities for food crops and then catalyzing the development of agribusiness clusters to bring together the various partners needed to develop viable value chains.

Volunteers are selected from NPCA’s Encore Service Corps International to help support agribusiness clusters. Encore volunteers are typically former Peace Corps volunteers or other experienced professionals who have lived or worked in developing countries. They are communicating their progress on the Africa Rural Connect (ARC) website, another NPCA initiative. Africa Rural Connect (www.AfricaRuralConnect.org) is an innovative online incubator of ideas through which volunteers and others can share information and respond to the needs of African farmers.

IFDC staff members and Encore volunteers are working to develop value chains for commodities that have demonstrated market demand and strengthening agricultural support services and institutions that support farmers working small- and medium-sized farms.

“I only wish it were longer!”

Encore volunteer Doug Meyer is an information technology (IT) specialist assisting IFDC in selecting and setting up a platform for mobile data collection in the new country of South Sudan. “Since a goal of the Seeds for Development program is to support, guide, coach and nurture rural agro-dealers in South Sudan to a point where they can stand on their own, we are doing monthly surveys to monitor their sales turnover, volumes, profitability and related indicators,” Meyer said. The project represents a departure from the traditional paper questionnaire forms. Instead, it relies on smart phones that automatically download surveys from the ‘cloud.’ Likewise, every response is instantly uploaded to the cloud.

“Using this technology, the administering officer has instant access to all the data at collection time,” Meyer said. “The service we have selected provides complete support at a very low cost and low capital input, without the need for IFDC to supply programmers or maintain expensive servers. We hope and expect that this new way of monitoring and evaluation can be expanded across a broad scope of projects.” Meyer is also involved in software selection for IFDC’s Cassava⁺ project.

In regard to serving as an Encore volunteer, Meyer said, “I only wish it were longer! Three months is such a short time when scoping and rolling out complex IT projects. There is so much need here for the common, everyday IT skills that I’ve acquired during my career.”

In 2011, Larry Badger served as an Encore volunteer with IFDC to facilitate new communications projects. With a background in film production, Badger wrote and produced videos demonstrating IFDC’s impact in East Africa. “I love to work with people who use their hands and brains to produce something, whether it’s maize or rice, film or video,” said Badger. “IFDC and East Africa definitely left a mark on me.” Two of Badger’s videos can be found on the IFDC website – “The Land of a Thousand Hills” and “Mozambique and IFDC – Working Together to Improve Agriculture and Lives” (www.ifdc.org/Media_Info/Video_Gallery).

“It’s wonderful to be working with IFDC in East Africa,” said Anne Baker, NPCA vice president and Encore managing director. “Both Larry and Doug highlight the particular strength of the Encore model:  connecting individuals with both the professional expertise and the cross-cultural sensitivity of former Peace Corps volunteers with short-term, capacity-building projects. And by building on NPCA’s Africa Rural Connect platform, we greatly extend the reach of their work.  So, it’s a win-win-win situation.”

Those wishing to serve as an Encore volunteer and also work with IFDC can apply at www.encoreservicecorps.org. To learn about NPCA and its programs, visit www.peacecorpsconnect.org.

This post originally appeared on the IFDC website and will also be in the next issue of the IFDC Report (quarterly publication).

Multiple stakeholders meeting in Mwanza to discuss the Medical Association of Tanzania’s proposed continuing education system.

A nationwide physician’s strike didn’t stop Encore Volunteer, Dr. Mike Thomas, from helping the Medical Association of Tanzania (MAT) reach an important milestone.   Thanks to support from Jhpiego, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University, NPCA recruited and supported Mike to spend six weeks in Tanzania through Encore Service Corps International.

For the past several years MAT had been trying to build consensus on a proposed method to promote Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of all health care professionals in Tanzania. Mike’s fresh perspective on the situation turned out to be the catalyst needed to allow MAT to finalize and implement its CPD Award System. The program incentives health care professionals to attended professional events in order to gain points towards receiving an award recognizing them for their efforts in continuing their medical education. By encouraging professional development and tracking participants, the CPD Award System is able to address two critical issues affecting health care in Tanzania:  1. Medical licenses cannot be revoked, and 2. The number of doctors in Tanzania is unknown – estimates put the number of doctors between 1,000 and 3,000 for a population of 35 million.

During Mike’s tenure – just six weeks – he was able to create a booklet about the CPD Award System, and have said booklet and a two city pilot program approved at a stakeholder’s meeting. Final approval for nationwide implementation is anticipated at the November annual meeting of the Medical Association of Tanzania – only six months from when Mike arrived in Tanzania! Also, already over 20 organizations have been approved to issue accreditation including government agencies and several of Tanzania’s universities.

When Mike arrived in Tanzania he encountered many people who were hesitant to move forward with the CPD Award System, especially while physicians were on strike. But once Mike was able to talk with individuals one-on-one, he found that “people’s resistance melted away.” It turned out that most Tanzanians are reluctant to provide criticism in large meetings, and are much more open and accepting discussing issues in less formal settings. Mike considers his ability to recognize this cultural distinction as being critical towards his success in creating a consensus on the CPD Award System.

MAT staff and Jhpiego were also instrumental in making the CPD Award System a reality. MAT staff were welcoming, and Jhpiego provided crucial funding, transportation, and even meeting space. In particular Mike is thankful for the support of former MAT president Dr. Edith Ngirwamungu and Dr. Akwila Temu of Jhpiego, who arranged and participated in meetings with Mike and local stakeholders, and developed much of the CPD Award System. Overall, Mike found his first time in Tanzania to be “heart warming.” Although he is happy to be enjoying spring in the US after weeks of 90°F and 85% humidity!

NPCA’s Encore program recruits and supports skilled volunteers to assist with capacity-building projects with partners in East Africa.  Learn more about other open volunteer opportunities on the Encore website.

(L to R) The Deputy Chief Nurse for Moi Training and Referral Hospital (MTRH), The Director of the MTRH Training Center, Encore Volunteer Ruth Shiers, and the Nurse-Manager for the ICU/CCU at MTRH. Photo Courtesy of Ruth Shiers.

In the U.S. we don’t give much thought to school supplies but at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret, Kenya, new resources are a cause for celebration and tea.

In 2010 Encore Volunteer Gene Marsh submitted a grant to the Shearwater Foundation to, among other things, provide the necessary funds for 20 textbooks for MTRH’s new advanced critical care nursing program.

Getting the funding for the textbooks would prove to be easier than getting the textbooks to Kenya! The textbooks could not simply be sent to MTRH, because in Kenya quality nursing textbooks can fetch a large sum on the black market. Instead, Gene sent the textbooks to another Encore Volunteer, Ruth Shiers (RPCV Tanzania, ’62-64), who would be departing for Moi University in January 2012. Ruth packed the 20 textbooks, weighing 2.5 lbs. each, into her luggage and hoped that her stuffed bag would not cause problems once she arrived in Nairobi. Luckily, everything ran smoothly and the cost of Ruth’s over-weight luggage was actually less than what it would have cost to send the textbooks directly to MTRH!

On the morning Ruth planned to deliver the textbooks to the staff of the MTRH Training Center she did not expect much, just a short exchange with one of the nurse managers. Instead, she was whisked off to a 2-hour-long ceremony in the ICU conference room!  The Deputy Chief Nurse and other dignitaries were present, speeches of appreciation were given, and tea was served to all. Ruth also made a short speech thanking Gene and another former Encore Volunteer Angela Albright, for all the work the pair did to raise the funds for the textbooks, and ensure their safe arrival in Kenya.

The books were processed and added to the MTRH Training Center library, just in time for the 10 new students who started the critical care course on March 19^th.

Since her time as an Encore Volunteer, assigned to a project sponsored by Johnson & Johnson in partnership with Moi University, Gene has gone on to develop the Moi University PhD Scholarship Fund, with the help of the Shearwater Foundation and private donors. The scholarship provides $5,000 to aid a Moi University staff member in attaining their PhD. Click on the link to read more about the 2010 and 2011 recipients.

Ruth Shiers is currently volunteering with Ruth Brink at the School of Nursing.

New opportunities to serve with Encore are available – including at Moi University. Sign up to receive alerts at www.encoreservicecorps.org.

Karen Babich with the nursing, medical and dental students who were assigned to a small village as part of the Community Assessment program.

The NPCA community is an incredible bunch! From those just starting Peace Corps service to those who have retired after a long career, we have amazing skills to continue to put to good use in service to the world. The demand is there. We need you. Will you take the next step in changing the world?

Through Encore Service Corps International, you can serve again in East Africa. NPCA is managing Encore through a Joint Project and is looking for experienced volunteers with specialized skills to work with our partners in Kenya and Tanzania for three to four months in 2012. Want to know more? Visit the Encore website to see the complete job descriptions and apply today. The application is easy!

One of our on-going efforts, supported by Johnson & Johnson, is in nursing education at Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya. To give you a sense of their work and its impact, some of last year’s volunteers shared some short vignettes on their experiences.

A Small Investment with a Big Return

When Angela Albright, an Encore nurse volunteer, helped the Chief of Nursing at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kenya to survey nurses and patients, little did she know that it would be a major tool in advancing patient care. The questionnaires measured patient satisfaction and nurse perceptions of their work environment. Both the quality of patient care and the nurses’ satisfaction in their role were seen as in need of examination. The survey identified areas for improvement and provided data for the Chief Nurse to be able to get support from administration to create a program to upgrade nursing skills and highlight and reward outstanding nursing care. For Angela, sharing her skills resulted in dividends much greater than she ever imagined. Angela also conducted workshops with the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital Training Center on curriculum development. The Training Center is rolling out a strong Critical Care Certification course that is founded on curricular principles.

A Picture is Worth More than Words

Ruth and Karen dressed in "kangas" at their Moi University farewell party.

Audio-visual aids, equipment and textbooks are something we take for granted in teaching basic nursing skills. This is not the case in even large teaching hospitals in Kenya. Because of the design of the curriculum at Moi University, both nursing and medical students receive instruction in patient care skills in the same small classroom. There are no manuals, very little equipment, and limited access to teaching staff. Instruction for procedures are copied and given to students, but the instructions are most often in narrative form with no diagrams to show proper placement, etc. To remedy this issue, Ruth Brink, an Encore nurse volunteer, worked with the Moi faculty member responsible for the skills lab and together they created protocols to demonstrate a variety of procedures. It is planned that large posters will hang on the walls in the skills lab to provide graphic instructions to both nursing and medical students.

Taking the Stigma out of Mental Illness

As is true in almost every country in the world, mental health is the most stigmatized of all the illnesses. This is definitely the case in Kenya where surveys have shown that the majority of people believe that it is caused by witchcraft, spells, and/or is due to cerebral malaria. While the Moi University nursing students didn’t necessarily hold this view, it was clear they were not sure what to believe or how to interact with patients. Psychiatric nurse, Karen Babich, Encore nurse volunteer, took on this challenge. She gave a series of lectures on the neuroscience of the common mental illnesses and the care needed, modeled patient-nurse therapeutic interactions, and held open discussions about various aspects of behavior. As a result of this experience students indicated that they had moved from psychiatric nursing being their least likely choice of practice areas after graduation to thinking it is a very interesting and important area of medicine. Best yet, one-third of this senior class of nurses is seriously considering it as their area of specialization.

Take the next step. Learn more. Apply to be an Encore volunteer today!

Larry with Masai people in Kenya

Are you considering volunteering again with Encore Service Corps International?

Encore Volunteer Larry Badger (Azerbaijan 2005-2007) would tell you: “Do it!”

At this time last year, Larry Badger was a volunteer with the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), based in Nairobi. (See earlier blog report here.) Here are some excerpts from his final report. After you read these, check out IFDC’s current volunteer opening and send in your application!

Project Preparation

There was a fairly comprehensive guide to the project that was laid out for me with IFDC. It was clear that I was going to be helping them in the implementation of the training of farmers and the use of proper fertilizers and techniques to be used in farming. Training the trainers, as it were.

Project Implementation

Major Duties and Accomplishments: Things began to change, almost at the time of my landing in Nairobi. Richard Jones, the person in charge of my work assignments and stay with IFDC, began to re-think my responsibilities. There were reasons for this:

There was an independent contractor from Santa Barbara, CA who had done work for them in the past and he was going to be in Kenya for a few weeks. It turned out that he and I had similar backgrounds in film and video production. During my Skype interview with Richard he learned of my film/video production background and my experience of running my own company for twenty some years. I think things may have begun to change in Richard’s mind as to how best to use me. To make this short, Richard asked that I make a video on the use of hazardous materials by farmers to be shown to agro-dealers in Uganda. I hired an African photographer/editor and we went to work. When that was completed, Richard said he would like me to make a film on the PREFER project in Rwanda and another film about the IFDC effort in Mozambique. Both of these were mostly shot before I left. The Rwanda video was about 80 per cent finished at the time I departed. I finished it here in Oregon, and it is now on the IFDC website. The Mozambique video still needs some more shooting and IFDC is trying to get that done. Once that is completed I can finish editing, writing and voicing that video here in Oregon.

Office space was made available with everything required to be productive. Staff was friendly, accommodating, helpful, and inclusive. I can’t honestly imagine a better working environment. Anywhere!

Cross-Cultural Adaptation: There was none. It just all flowed naturally. The only embarrassing moment came when I hugged my Italian landlady, when she clearly was expecting an air peck alongside the cheek. As my first wife used to say, “You can’t take him anywhere.”

Project Evaluation

Assessment: I believe we met the goals of my experience with IFDC in East Africa. We are still working to complete them, but they will be completed. I believe these videos will work well for IFDC in helping to explain its function in East Africa. For me it was a challenge. It is always difficult to select and work with people you do not know. You don’t know their skill levels, their personalities, they’re work habits. So the learning curve is high in a technical and creative profession that has its share of sensitivity. That’s just in the U.S. It multiplies when working in other cultures and languages. You just have to slosh through it as best you can. There is an African learning curve for film and video producers. I have learned a lot.

Impact: IFDC and East Africa definitely left a mark on me. I love to work with people who use their hands and brains to produce something, whether it’s maize or rice, film or video. It doesn’t matter. Language doesn’t matter. A Masai herds his cattle differently than a rancher in Montana. They each herd cattle. A farmer in Mozambique works his hectare of maize. A farmer in the Willamette Valley of Oregon grows 200 acres of corn. They each worry about markets, weather and pests. They all want the best for their families.

People who work in film and video are a creative lot. They are storytellers. By nature, they are inquisitive, emotional, understanding and loyal to their craft. They respect talent, and story, wherever it is found. Encore was no exception.

Recommendations

You have at your disposal, the greatest of all assets, the Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. We are masters of the change of direction. Those of us who have lived a little longer might have a deeper reservoir to call upon. But twenty-something RPCVs have done a pretty good job of improvising as well.

Joy and Inspiration

Sign me up! I’m ready to go again.

Encore is currently recruiting for volunteers to start in 2012, including additional nurse educators at Moi University and other opportunities in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Through a Joint Project, NPCA is managing the day-to-day operations of Encore. Learn more and apply for Encore volunteer positions at www.encoreservicecorps.org

"8th grade graduation of at Lukop School with one of my very first students in Micronesia, Mary Henry."

[The National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) and Peace Corps have partnered to connect Returned Peace Corps volunteers (RPCVs) with elementary and secondary school classrooms throughout the United States through Peace Corps’ Speakers Match program.  Such classroom visits are an ideal way for RPCVs to carry out the Third Goal and inspire the next generation of Volunteers.  Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Diane Hall visited a classroom this spring and shares her experience here.]

I had the great pleasure to present to two groups of 6th graders on Friday, March 11th at Topeka Collegiate School in Topeka, Kansas. This was my first time to present at Topeka Collegiate and I was very impressed with their “Peace Corps Day.” The school had arranged classes and RPCVs so that everyone interacted with an RPCV. It was an amazing feat of scheduling and a big commitment by the school.

RPCV presenters were rotated in and out of classrooms according to their schedules. At lunch, we, along with the 8th grade class, were treated to a catered lunch. As a group we introduced ourselves to the 8th grade and talked a little bit about our Peace Corps experience.

My presentations to the 6th grade were well received. Since I’d been a volunteer in Palau and an APCD in Namibia, I gave them a presentation choice: Namibia or Palau. Amazingly enough, both groups chose Palau. They were very interested in some of the cultural norms of Palau as well as the work I did. The funniest thing for me in my presentation was a technical one. One of the kids asked about the quality of my photos (from a thumb drive on a laptop through an LCD projector) and I explained that I’d taken them with a 35mm camera and had to scan the original slides into computer photos. Although it seems like only yesterday that I was a Volunteer, if I do the math it’s been over 20 years…and these young people had little knowledge of cameras that weren’t digital. I found myself giving a side lesson on photography in the olden days! Kodachrome…gives us those nice, bright colors…

Topeka Collegiate also had an after school community session that invited local folks to come in and talk to RPCVs. Several of us displayed our souvenirs/artifacts on tables and left them out for the evening activity—an art event for students, parents, and the community. It was a full day of Peace Corps community awareness. Hats off to Topeka Collegiate for truly making a full day of Peace Corps!

Speakers Match is a Peace Corps program that brings Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) into classrooms to present their service experiences with students. To enroll or request a speaker, go to Speakers Match.

In the photo (L-R): Isabella Mbai, Dr. Thomas Kipkurgat, Jeannine Greenfield, Vice Chancellor Prof. Richard K. Mibey, Anne Baker

Anne Baker, NPCA’s Vice President and the Managing Director of Encore Service Corps International, arrived in Kenya Wednesday to start a series of meetings with Encore program partners and potential supporters.  Joining her is Dr. Jeannine Greenfield, a consultant with Encore, beginning her evaluation of the nursing education project funded by Johnson & Johnson.

The trip got off to a slow start when their flight to Kenya was grounded just before take-off from Istanbul due to ash from a volcano in Eritrea, erupting after a 150-year dormancy. After a restless day awaiting news on all flights to East Africa, they were called to complete their trip into Nairobi.  Former NPCA Board Member and Group Leaders Forum Coordinator Ben Bellows’ family hosted Anne and Jeannine for a brief early morning respite before they were able to complete their trip with a flight to Eldoret and to Moi University.

Encore started working with Moi University two years ago, sending volunteers to work with students and faculty in the nursing education program through the School of Medicine.  With thanks to Senior Lecturer and Head of Department of Nursing Sciences Isabella Mbai and Lecturer in Paediatric & Neonatal Nursing O’Brien Kyololo, Anne and Jeannine met with Dr. Paul Nyongesa (Continuing Professional Development Coordinator), Dr. A Kwena (Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry and COBES II Coordinator), and Amos Getanda (Lecturer in Midwifery and graduate of the MSc program), ending with a trip to the main campus and a meeting with the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Richard K. Mibey.

Anne was very pleased to hear such positive comments on the work of the Encore volunteers at Moi University (all of whom to date have been women):

She “made students appreciate what it means to be in the field.”

She “showed me multiple perspectives.  [In mentoring me in preparing for my thesis defense, she] helped me with my approach to research.  I am a better teacher than those who taught me.”

And even a connection to Peace Corps:

One senior lecturer’s Peace Corps Volunteer teacher in secondary school “made us what we are.”

Encore is being managed by NPCA this year through a Joint Project to build capacity among our program partners in the developing world.  To learn more about Encore and to apply for any of the five current volunteer opportunities, visit www.encoreservicecorps.org

Constance Speake (Armenia 06-08) gives a presentation to a Delta Kappa Gamma sorority group, February 2010

At the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA), we like to say that the Third Goal of the Peace Corps (to strengthen Americans’ understanding about the world and its peoples) is our first goal.  That means throwing a spotlight on returned Peace Corps Volunteers like Constance Speake, a former teacher and Armenia RPCV who now shares her experience through Speakers Match, a Peace Corps program that helps to connect returned Peace Corps Volunteers with those who want to hear about Peace Corps experiences.  Recently I asked her a few questions about her Speaker Match experience.

How did you get the idea of speaking in public about Peace Corps? What was/is your motivation?

I loved my 3 years in Armenia and wanted to share it with people; I also wanted people to realize that “older” Americans can join the Peace Corps. Talking to groups seems natural to me, as I taught for 45 years.

What did you do immediately after finishing your Peace Corps service?

I left for Armenia in June 2006, and in the the first year back, everyone I talked to heard about my Peace Corps experience. I had taken some 3000 photos, so I edited them, and learned to burn DVDs with some 50 photos.

How many presentations have you done so far?

I believe I have done about 18 presentations.

During your presentation, who is your audience, what tools (i.e pamphlets handouts) do you use to ensure a successful presentation, and are there question / answer sessions during or after the presentation?

I learned during my first presentation that people could NOT ask questions during the presentation; after 2 hours I was only half done with my presentation because of all the questions. So now I tell the group to please save their questions until I’ve finished, write the questions down to remember them. Then the problem becomes mine, to make sure I’m finished in time for questions.

I begin my presentation by speaking a few sentences in Armenian. Then I talk for 2 minutes about the advantages and disadvantages of being an “older” volunteer. (I was 67 when I went). Then I begin.

The groups have mostly been adults: church groups, neighborhood groups, and conference groups. I will be doing one in September at the school where I graduated from high school 55 years ago. So I assume the age range will be 14-18.

During my presentation I show 5 photos of the results of the grants my host country counterpart and I wrote, showing what can be done when the two people are willing to work hard. I talk briefly about grant writing. My counterpart was wonderful. We got along beautifully — and still do by email. I use neither pamphlets nor handouts. But the first 2 slides are a map of Asia and a map of Armenia so the audience can put themselves in “my” world.

I have only slightly changed my presentation depending on the group.  For example I emphasize church subjects when speaking to a church group; I emphasize the contribution Delta Kappa Gamma made when speaking to those groups.

Tell me more about those grants….

The grants were those three which my counterpart and I did while I was in Armenia. The first year we completed one for the CALL (Computer and Language Laboratory; the second year we completed another one for the CALL, to improve it; the third year we completed one for the Vardenis State College Library which was not quite finished when I had to leave, so it was turned over to another Peace Corps Volunteer. It finally got finished 2 months later.

Thank you, Ms. Speake for sharing this information with me!

There are many ways RPCVs continue to accomplish the third goal, and signing on to Speakers Match is just one of them. By raising awareness of Ms. Speake’s activities, NPCA hopes that more volunteers will be inspired to step up and share their experiences.

Larry (right) at IFDC ESA Headquarters in Nairobi

Over the past 3 months, Larry Badger (Azerbaijan 2005-2007) has been working with the International Fertilizer Development Center’s  (IFDC) East and Southern Africa Division (ESA) based in Nairobi, Kenya to help facilitate new communication projects that are launched. Over the last 35 years, IFDC has focused on increasing and sustaining food security and agricultural productivity in over 130 developing countries through the development and transfer of effective and environmentally sound crop nutrient technology and agribusiness expertise. Here is an update from Larry on his service:

I’m attempting to write and produce three videos for IFDC while I am here. I picked one photographer and spent two days north of Nairobi photographing farmers and Agro-Dealers in the field and shops. It was the first attempt to put the two of these people together, which is such an integral part of the production and marketing chain in Kenyan agriculture. Everything I had seen to date did not do this. My goal is to turn this video into a piece to be used in Uganda about learning to work around and avoid counterfeit agriculture products, such as seeds, fertilizer and pesticides.

The purpose of [the second] video is to demonstrate to donors, governments and trade organizations the difficulties of distributing fertilizer and supplies to farmers in this land-locked country. Materials coming into the port of Dar es Salaam must come through Tanzania and into the most Southern part of Rwanda. Fertilizer moving from Mombasa, Kenya, must move by truck from Mombasa to Nairobi and then up through Kenya, into Uganda and then into Rwanda. The passing of two borders is both time consuming and expensive; adding to the cost per ton for fertilizer. These costs are always passed along to the importers and eventually farmers. This video will address these issues and the fact that government and the private sector are making efforts to transfer the control of purchase and distribution to the private sector.

The experience here has been fantastic. I’ve learned so much about Africa and its people. I’ve come to know and understand how IFDC works in this part of the world. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with each and every member of the IFDC team. Top to bottom. Great people and very gracious to this RPCV and Encore Volunteer. I hope I’ve given as much as I have received. Thank you Encore.

Larry is currently in Mozambique working on the third video for IFDC. To learn more about IFDC’s work, click here.

At the NPCA's national conference in 2002, volunteers built a playground with KaBOOM!

Serve For Sarge

“It is well to be prepared for life as it is, but it is better to be prepared to make life better than it is.”

R. Sargent Shriver

In honoring the life of Peace Corps founder Sargent Shriver, there is no better action one can take than serving others.

To honor Sarge’s endless commitment to service, the National Peace Corps Association urges all members of the Peace Corps community and other supporters to “Serve for Sarge!”  Between now and March 1st (Peace Corps Day), we encourage all to take action individually or collectively in remembrance of this beloved American hero.

While many within our community participate in ongoing service projects, the list below provides some ideas on ways you can serve.

After you have served for Sarge, please follow this link to offer your condolences with members of the Shriver family and share your service contribution.  We will compile all comments and send a condolence book to the Shriver family.

– > Also, post a photo of your activity with a description, on our Flickr group Serve for Sarge! We’ll create a visual record of volunteerism in action.

Possibilities for Service:

• NPCA Member Groups: Contact a National Peace Corps Association member group near you to see if they have any service plans in the coming week or ongoing projects
• Feeding America: Follow this link to make connections with community food banks in your state
• Homeless Shelters/Soup Kitchens: Follow this link to make connections with homeless shelters and soup kitchens in your state
• www.Serve.Gov Federal government site where you can search for local service opportunities
• Visit Those Who Can’t Visit You: Find a retirement center/nursing home, military hospital or other institution where individuals are in need of friendship and encouragement
• Community Clean Up: Identify an area in your community that needs a clean up.  Organize a group or take on the task yourself
• Help a Neighbor in Need: Consider a neighbor who needs some support or has fallen on difficult times.  Consider an act of kindness you can offer to that neighbor to demonstrate your caring and support
• Shriver Family Organizations: The work of the entire Shriver family is synonymous with service to others.  While opportunities may not be available in the next week, consider ways you can lend your support to groups such as the Special Olympics and Best Buddies.
• Your Suggestions: If you have other service suggestions to offer, please include them by offering a comment.