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...
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...
The Unfinished Business of Peace Corps Volunteers Evacuated from Around the World
On March 15 more than 7,300 Peace Corps Volunteers were told they needed to leave the communities they had called home—an unprecedented global evacuation. They were uprooted from the lives and work they had come to know, sometimes without the opportunity to even say goodbye. They are returning to a country in crisis. National Peace Corps Association is working to ensure they have the resources they need during these uncertain and difficult times. We also want to make sure the world hears their stories. We are gathering here first-person videos and stories, as well as interviews with evacuated Volunteers from...
Community Achievements – March 2020
Community News - Achievements of RPCVs Author: Peter Deekle (Iran 1968-1970) March 2020 COSTA RICA Jason Harris was appointed Santa Barbara’s first Economic Development Manager on February 10, 2020. He will oversee the development and implementation of the City’s economic development program and related functions and goals. ETHIOPIA Mildred D. Taylor (1965-1967) has completed her tenth book, All the Days Past, All the Days to Come (Viking Books for Young Readers), the concluding novel in the Logan family saga. The book is a story of the civil rights movement in America of the 20th century. KENYA Br. Guy Consolmagno (Kenya 1983-85) spoke recently about his Peace...
Community Achievements – February 2020
Community News - Achievements of RPCVs Author: Peter Deekle February 2020 AFGHANISTAN Tony Agnello is preparing a presentation in 2020 for a sermon at a local Unitarian Church entitled Afghanistan - Where Empires Go To Die. The sermon will address the fate of Iran and Khorasan which have been linked throughout history. CHILE Jesse Dubin (1964-1966) reported in 2020 that a Peace Corps Volunteer Scholarship Award at SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry, Syracuse, NY has been funded by RPCV graduates of the College. It is presented annually. Interested parties may contact S. Scott Shannon, Dean of the Graduate School at [email protected]. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Lisa Peña (2003-2006) is...
Global Issues Survey – The Peace Corps Community Takes Action
What global issues do you care most about? What global issues do you think the Peace Corps Community nationwide is in the best position to address and affect real change? These are among the critical questions we are asking in a short survey that represents proactive leadership by National Peace Corps Association. The results will likely shape our future efforts in helping our members pursue the Third Goal of the Peace Corps. Your input will help us identify the global issues our community cares about most and the actions we might take together to address them. By completing the survey, you...
Take a Look at Our Social Impact in 2019
From our 15th annual National Days of Action and our interactive Peace Corps Connect Conference to our continuing and renewed partnerships, this year National Peace Corps Association mobilized the Peace Corps community like never before: we advocated for Peace Corps at all levels, advanced Third Goal efforts, and empowered our affiliate groups to thrive. As we reflect on an amazing 40th anniversary year, we are grateful for our community of supporters that help us achieve our mission. This giving season, we exceeded our $10,000 Giving Tuesday goal to advance advocacy efforts to protect Peace Corps and received donations from thousands of...
Community Achievements – January 2020
Community News - Achievements of RPCVs Author: Peter Deekle January 2020 BELIZE Nancy Heil Knor (1989-1991) has published WOVEN, a book filled with letters, journal entries, and spiritual reflections from her two years in Belize. GHANA Zack Moore received a month-long Fulbright international exchange award, teaching science and technology at Ghana-Lebanon Islamic School. Caitlin Wilson (2017-2019) recently completed her Peace Corps service as an agricultural extension agent and is now pursuing a Masters of Science degree at West Virginia University. She plans to work in the field of natural resource management upon graduation. KENYA Terry Severson (1984-1986) is the forest...
Community Achievements – December 2019
Community News - Achievements of RPCVs Author: Peter Deekle December 2019 ARMENIA Liz Barron (2017-2019) has been chronicling her experiences and observations pertaining to her Peace Corps service through her blog marigoldmoment.com. Read her everyday adventures in Armenia and elsewhere. COLOMBIA Vicky Ramakka (1972-1974) is a a published academic writer who is now writing for popular publications. She recently published her first novel, The Cactus Plot, through Artemesia Publishing. This environmental mystery is set in northwest New Mexico, featuring a botanist dealing with conflicting uses of public land. ECUADOR Andrea Erickson-Quiroz (1988-1990) is currently the managing director for water security at The Nature Conservancy, a charitable...
Community Achievements – November 2019
Community News - Achievements of RPCVs Author: Peter Deekle November 2019 BENIN Molloy Sheehan (2016-2018) recently received a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct research on preventing diseases in Togo. Her scholarship will study four main behavioral risk factors: nutrition, exercise, alcohol, and tobacco use. ECUADOR Amanda Sliva (2017-2019) shared her Peace Corps story and experience with the local Ashland Rotary Club (NE) in October 2019. Sliva is planning a six-month return to her Peace Country, Ecuador, offering English tutoring. GEORGIA Paul Stephens (2005-2007) is co-founder and executive director of the Transcaucasian Trail project, creating a long distance hiking trail in the Caucasus Mountains....