News
Aaron Williams: In international development, it’s time to tackle systemic racism.
Williams issues a clarion call for building a more inclusive network for global development. And he explores the arc of Peace Corps history in an interview about the documentary A Towering Task. By Del Wood and Steven Boyd Saum We are in an historic moment. The protests against racial injustice that have swept the United States and scores of other countries since the end of May were sparked by the killing of George Floyd — one of so many Black women and men killed by police. The protests erupted with anger and frustration — and not only among Blacks. They have also ushered...
What Sustains Us
Food for thought — and for life — in a time of crisis By NPCA Staff Photo: Ackeem Evans, left, with a volunteer for World Central Kitchen. Courtesy Ackeem Evans. Here are two stories that inspired us in the past two days: Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who have carried their sense of community and commitment to the critical work they’re doing at a time of a global pandemic, and when people across the United States and around the world have taken to the streets to protest racial injustice. Ackeem Evans was serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in...
NPCA Town Hall Meeting on Social Action & Climate Change
We are living in unprecedented times, facing crises of immense scale. Join us June 15 for an important conversation. As a Peace Corps community, we saw all Volunteers evacuated from around the world in March. We’re living amidst a global pandemic — with more than 100,000 Americans dead, tens of millions unemployed. And we’ve seen — once again — the death of unarmed Black men and women at the hands of police, a brutal reminder of a legacy of racial injustice, that has led to protests in towns and cities across the nation and around the world. Amid all of this,...
Save the Date: Peace Corps Connect for the Future on July 18
We’re convening for an ideas summit to ask some big questions about the Peace Corps community in a changed world. In the next few weeks, we’re also bringing together members of the Peace Corps community around issues of racial injustice and climate change — to help shape our agenda for the future. In March 2020, Peace Corps Volunteers were evacuated globally because of a global pandemic still taking its toll. That created an unprecedented and enormous challenge on its own. We want to help reignite the work of Peace Corps around the world. So how do we do that, and...
Peace Corps Community Achievements — June 2020
Community News — Achievements of RPCVs | June 2020 By Peter Deekle (Iran 1968-1970) ETHIOPIA John Garamendi (1966-1968) along with his Congressional colleague Chris Van Hollen (MD) is calling for an expansion of the AmeriCorps program as a way to battle the coronavirus in the U.S. — a role aptly suited for evacuated Peace Corps volunteers. Julien Joy (2016-2018) is a master in public policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School. He wants to advance equitable access to quality education and is a Mayoral Leadership in Education Network Student Fellow for the summer of 2020. GUATEMALA Russell Nylen (2019-2020) recently evacuated from his host country...
Stand Against Racial Injustice
Our commitment to empathy and justice — around the world, and here at home By Glenn Blumhorst Our nation is reeling. How could it not be? More than 100,000 Americans are dead from COVID-19. More than 40 million have filed for unemployment since mid-March. And last week we witnessed the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, at the hands of a white police officer. These are not unrelated tragedies. And George Floyd’s death is only the latest in a terrible litany of unarmed Black men and women who have been killed. We condemn the actions that led to...
In Memoriam — May 2020
Members of the Peace Corps community who recently passed away include key leaders who were there at the beginning of the agency, and a National Football League executive who helped lead his team to its one and only Super Bowl championship. William Haddad (1928-2020) was a well-known public figure prior to joining Peace Corps at its inception. After serving in the Merchant Marines during World War II and attending Columbia University, Haddad joined the staff of Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver, and helped secure his nomination for vice president in 1956 on a Democratic ticket led by Adlai Stevenson. In 1957, Haddad was hired...
Here’s a Summary of Peace Corps COVID-19 Related Legislation
Congressional response to the COVID-19 pandemic includes various legislative initiatives that fully or partially seek to support Peace Corps and the 7,300+ evacuated Volunteers. Here’s a summary of the key legislation that is currently under consideration. Support this Legislation! Follow this link to write your members of Congress in support of any/all of the following legislation. Senate Legislation Senate Bill 3700 (S. 3700) NPCA worked closely on drafting this legislation that extends the period through which evacuees could purchase Peace Corps post-service health insurance; instructs Peace Corps to reopen programs as soon as practicable and expedites redeployment of evacuees; and promotes opportunities for...
Peace Corps Volunteers are Needed at Home Now — and in a new National Service Program: The Week in Review
A national service program seems to be an idea whose time has come. Legislation to benefit Peace Corps — and to take back $88 million. Stories of evacuation and service at home. And Twitter shout-outs. By NPCA Staff Here are some top stories (and a couple of Tweets) on the Peace Corps community across the United States — and around the world. We include a sampling of opinion pieces and coverage from states and communities that are home to some of the 7,300 evacuated Volunteers — and nearly a quarter million Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. Stay up to date throughout the...
Helping America Confront COVID-19: Volunteer and Job Opportunities
Ideas and resources for the Peace Corps community By James Rupert Photo: RPCV Mia Richardson donating blood. Courtesy RPCVs in Service at Home As evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers seek new jobs — and as all Returned Peace Corps Volunteers ask what we can do for our country — the COVID-19 pandemic has only increased America’s need for the commitment, experience, and skills we built in Peace Corps. Organizations across the country are hiring new crisis responders: thousands of paid contact tracers to work via phone and internet to suppress COVID’s spread. We need new public health workers — with and without medical or clinical skills. The range of need is vast:...