Peace Corps Polyglot

Take Action on Climate Change

Climate change is already having a devastating impact on impoverished nations, which are least responsible for the climate crisis and least able to cope with its impacts. 

Inthe House of Representatives, Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) is deciding this week on whether to provide funding in a climate bill to help millions of the world's most impoverished people to deal with the disproportionate impacts of climate change.

A "Dear Colleague" letter that your Congressman/woman can sign onto is circulating right now urging Congressman Waxman to include support for impoverished communities in comprehensive climate change legislation.  Please contact your Congressman/woman and urge them to sign this letter. 

This is how you can Take Action:

*This is a House of Representatives Action ONLY.  No phone calls/emails are needed to your Senators at this time. 

• If you are not sure who your Congressman/woman is, go to www.house.gov and enter your nine-digit zip code in the upper left corner.
• If you are a constituent of Representatives Payne (NJ), Faleomavaega (Amer. Samoa), McGovern (MA), Braley (IA) or McCollum (MN):  These lawmakers are authors of the letter.  Your message to them should be "THANK YOU for circulating a climate change Dear Colleague letter expressing the needs of the world's most vulnerable people."
• If you are a constituent of Representative Waxman, please urge him to "include funding provisions in climate change legislation to support and protect the world's most vulnerable people."
• For all other Reps, contact their Washington DC office and ask them to "sign the Payne Dear Colleague letter to provide support for the world's most impoverished people in coping with climate change."
• Please share this email with 5 - 10 other people you know and urge them to take action. 

Oxfam America has set up the following toll-free phone number for taking action:

1. Call 1-800-814-2608 NO LATER THAN TUESDAY, MARCH 31.
2. Tell the staff person who answers you're calling to "urge your Representative to sign the letter addressed to Chairman Waxman asking him to include in his bill international investments for a global solution to climate change."
3. After you have made your call, follow this link and report on your call to help track our impact.

*If you would like a copy of the Payne Dear Colleague Letter before you take action you can contact NPCA's Advocacy Team at advocacy@peacecorpsconnect.org.

 

House Dear Colleague Letter Action - Take Action Today!

Friday is the last day for congressmen/women to sign on to the Farr-Honda-Petri-Driehaus Dear Colleague Letter.  Join us in our last push for more signatures. Right now there are 73 congressmen/women signed on, just one less than last year. We must take action in order to progress and exceed last year's number of signatures! You can take action by emailing your representative or by calling them. You can click here for a general form to e-mail your representative. If you are not sure who your representative might be, you can also click here to find out that information and then enter your 9-digit zip in the upper left corner.

This is our last chance promote our efforts, so get out there and take some action! Although cheesy, you CAN make a difference.

Take Action to Get Peace Corps Funding!

We are moving into the closing days of two key actions related to Peace Corps funding for Fiscal Year 2010 - which begins October 1st.  As we reach out to congressional offices here in Washington, lawmakers need to know there are lots of constituents back home who support the Peace Corps.

RPCV Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) are circulating a Peace Corps Dear Colleague letter.  Other Senators are being asked to sign the letter, which urges robust funding for Peace Corps in Fiscal Year 2010.  This letter is expected to be circulating for a brief time period, perhaps closing as early as Friday.  So quick action is important. We need your help!

Take action now:

• If you are a constituent of Senators Leahy (VT) or Gregg (NH), contact us at advocacy@peacecorpsconnect.org for a special action.
• If you are a constituent of Senators Dodd or Corker, thank them for their leadership in support of the Peace Corps. 
• If your Senators are listed at the bottom of this post, they have already signed the Dear Colleague letter and should be thanked for taking positive action. 
• If your senator has not signed the Dear Colleague Letter, please contact your senator through phone, email or both.

BY PHONE:

1. Call the toll-free number to the Capitol Hill Switchboard (877-851-6437) and ask to be connected to the office of your Senator (you can find direct lines or the names of your Senators by clicking here.

2.Identify yourself by name and community, and leave this message.  "I'm calling to urge Senator _____ to sign the Dodd-Corker letter in support of significantly increased Peace Corps funding for Fiscal Year 2010."

BY EMAIL:

1. Click here for a link to an email for your senator.

2. You can use the sample letter below, but we strongly encourage you to personalize your message, possibly indicating your Peace Corps connection- RPCV, staff, applicant, general supporter, etc.

SAMPLE:

Dear Senator _______,
 
At a time when our nation needs to build positve relations with friends and partners around the world, we need to expand opportunities for Peace Corps service.  I urge you to show your support for the Peace Corps by signing the Dodd-Corker Dear Colleague letter.  
It is extremely disappointing that the just approved budget for the current Fiscal Year (FY 2009) will result in less Peace Corps volunteers in the field, not more. It is extremely concerning that we face another year of telling up to twenty countries that have regularly been requesting volunteers that we will not be able to meet their request yet again.  It is disheartening that as Americans are being called upon to serve their nation, we are not finding the political will to employ more Americans through a cost-effective program such as the Peace Corps.
 
The Dodd-Corker letter urges a robust Peace Corps appropriation in Fiscal Year 2010.  I urge you to immediately sign onto this letter as a first step in demonstrating your leadership and commitment to building a bigger, better and bolder Peace Corps.
 
You can sign onto the Dear Colleague letter by contacting Ben Weingrod in Senator Dodd's office or Stacie Oliver in Senator Corker's office.
 
Thank you for considering this request.
 
Sincerely,
 
(Your Name)
(Your Address)

SENATORS WHO HAVE SIGNED THE LETTER:

California Dianne Feinstein

Connecticut Chris Dodd
 
Illinois Richard Durbin

Maryland Ben Cardin 

Massachusetts John Kerry 

New Jersey Robert Menendez 

Rhode Island Sheldon Whitehouse 

Tennessee Bob Corker 

Vermont Bernie Sanders 

Wisconsin Russ Feingold 

RPCVs Attend National Peace Academy Summit

The Peace Corps community was represented at the launching of the United States' first ever National Peace Academy.

The three day summit, at Case Western Reserve University, was attended by 170 scholars, academicians, business representatives, government officials, researchers, and community leaders from around the nation and from 10 other countries. The purpose of the academy is to build a sustainable community of peace, with the help of experts ranging from leaders of local and community based conflict resolution organizations to academics specializing in global humanitarian issues.

Three RPCVs were in attendance at the summit. Pictured in the photo are Mike Abkin (left), who served in Nigeria and is on the Steering Committee of the Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace, and Dave O'Neill (right), who served in Sierra Leone and is currently with the United Nations Foundation. Missing from the photo is Jerry Saunders, who is the chair of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of California Berkley. 

The Academy plans to be a resource and training center for educators, government agencies, and community groups, and, eventually, a full academic program offering undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Haiti RPCV Named Acting Administrator of USAID

Alonzo L. Fulgham, who served in Haiti from 1984 to 1986, has been named the acting administrator of USAID.

Fulgham, fluent in Creole and Spanish, has previously served on the HELP Commission, a Congressional commission charged with recommending improvements to US foreign assistance. He is currently on the board of directors for the Society for International Development.

Fulgham joined USAID in 1989 as a Private Sector Advisor in Swaziland, and was selected as an International Development Intern in 1992. During his time at USAID, Fulgham has served a number of posts in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Afghanistan, Serbia and Montenegro. He served most recently as Mission Director in Afghanistan, where his work won him a Presidential Meritorious Rank Award.

Fulgham holds a BS from Fisk University and a Master of Arts from the National Defense University.

In Memorium: Catherine "Kate" Puzey

We were saddened on late Friday to learn of the death of 24-year-old Peace Corps Volunteer Catherine "Kate" Puzey, who was found outside of her home in Benin early Thursday.

Kate Puzey, a Georgia native and a graduate of William and Mary College, had been teaching English since July 2007 in the rural village of Badjoude, approximately six hours north of the capital city of Cotonou.

A US State Department official said that she appeared to have been murdered, but neither the Benin government nor the State Department have officially determined her cause of death.

Peace Corps Acting Director Jody Olsen said, "Kate was an exemplary member of the Peace Corps family whose dedicated work as a secondary English teacher in a rural public school in Badjoude, Benin, contributed greatly to the lives of the Beninese citizens. Kate's life and work spoke volumes about the kind of dedication she had to her service as a Volunteer, and the U.S. Peace Corps is greatly saddened by her loss. Our condolences go out to her family and loved ones at this time."

The Government of Benin has expressed condolences to the U.S. government and pledged their full cooperation and support in this matter.

There was a memorial today in Cotonou, and there will be one Saturday in Georgia, 11 a.m. at the Birmingham United Methodist Church in Alpharetta.

Links

Peace Corps Press Release:  Peace Corps Mourns the Loss of Katherine "Kate" Puzey

State Department Statement: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2009/03/120305.htm

Atlanta Journal Constitution obituary: Peace Corps Volunteer's Killing Devastates Relatives in Cumming 

ForsythNews.com:  Family Mourns Slain Peace Corps Volunteer

WSBTV.com:  Metro Atlanta Peace Corps Volunteer Killed

Kate's Blog:  Being In Benin

MorePeaceCorps National Day of Action Highlights

A lot of activity has been happening on Capitol Hill as far as the push for MorePeaceCorps.  However, the efforts are just starting to begin.  Now it’s time for following up with congress.  Check to see if your congressmen have signed onto the Dear Colleague letter or co-sponsored House Bill 1066 at the MorePeaceCorps website.

If your congressmen are not on these lists you can contact them and ask them to consider signing the letter and becoming a co-sponsor. Right now there are 89 co-sponsors on the House Bill 1066 and there are 22 signers of the Peace Corps funding Dear Colleague letter.  Currently many of the co-sponsors of the House Bill have not signed the Dear Colleague letter. 

If your lawmaker is among this group you can write them a thank you letter for their co-sponsorship and remind them that they can continue supporting the goals of the legislation by signing on to the dear colleague letter.  Our attention has been primarily on the House, but we expect specific action in the Senate very soon. 

Continue to watch for updates from NPCA advocacy and the MorePeaceCorps Campaign. Thank you to everyone who signed the MorePeaceCorps petition and made comments.  The comments were extremely helpful on March 3rd when the lawmakers could read their constituent's remarks about Peace Corps positive impact.

[Pictured above, RPCV members of Congress:  Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA), Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI), Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-OH), Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA).]

Peace Corps Astronaut Getting Ready for Launch

Joseph Acaba, a geologist-turned-teacher, will become the first person of Puerto Rican descent--and the second person with a Peace Corps connection--to go into space. (Former Peace Corps Medical Officer Mae Jemison was the first.)

He's taking up a Puerto Rican flag that he will present to the senate there. He's also carrying a Peace Corps flag; he served as a Peace Corps volunteer during the 1990s in the Dominican Republic, working in environmental education.

"One thing people probably don't realize is the number of engineers that we have working at NASA that are Puerto Rican, so we've been having a huge impact on the space program for quite a bit of time," he said. His spaceflight "is creating some excitement in Puerto Rico, and that's always good for the students."

The 41-year-old Acaba was born in California and grew up in Anaheim watching reel-to-reel tapes of the Apollo moon missions. He also loved science fiction.

Acaba also served in the Marine Corps Reserves, worked as a hydro-geologist, coordinated a mangrove revegetation project in Florida, then taught math and science at two central Florida schools. NASA picked him as an educator astronaut in 2004. This will be his first spaceflight; he will make two spacewalks.

RPCV Receives Presidential Appointment

Jeff Crowley (Swaziland 89-91), a member of the National Peace Corps Association and its member group, LGBT RPCV, was appointed by President Obama to head the White House Office of National AIDS Policy. Jeff's position will now be linked to efforts to help all people with disabilities.

Jeff is a former officer of the National Association of People with AIDS, and a current research scholar at Georgetown University Health Policy Institute. Jeff has worked on both the National HIV Testing Day Campaign and the Ryan White National Youth Conference.

The Day of Action and Beyond

Last couple of weeks, I've found myself boring the heck out of interns Jaylene, Analisa and Sarah by spewing out random 70's and 80's pop culture references that - at the moment anyway - seemed appropriate to the latest task we were working to cross off our Day of Action "to do" list.

And so it happens again as I reflect back on yesterday.  The Day of Action is over, to which I reply...

"Over, Did you say over? Nothing is over until we decide it is!"

And so we continue.  Intern Sarah is back over on the Hill this afternoon, her MorePeaceCorps canvas bag loaded with outreach materials to 85 more House offices.  A fresh wave of advocates from California, Colorado and New York are due in tomorrow for more meetings with their lawmakers.  We'll look to finalize the House information distribution tomorrow, and turn our attention to the Senate next week, when we hope to have a Dear Colleague letter circulating.

Still taking stock of the flurry of activity yesterday.  32 great volunteers were all over the Capitol, working in teams, covering 79 pre-arranged meetings, connecting with foreign affairs staff in many congressional offices getting face time with at least a dozen lawmakers (including Kevin Quigley and Rajeev Goyal meeting for several minutes with Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, making the case for the Peace Corps Enhancement Act of 2009 and urging sign-on to the Peace Corps Dear Colleague letter that's circulating.

There's a lot of follow up work to be done and we are just beginning that process.  We should starting getting the first updates on additional 1066 co-sponsors and initial House signers of the Peace Corps letter.

So we continue.  It's not over.   "We've only just begun"  starts down another bad culture reference, so it's much better to simply say keep visiting www.morepeacecorps.org, keep taking action and getting others to do the same.