Peace Corps Polyglot

Welcome High Atlas Foundation!

NPCA is pleased to welcome our newest affiliate group, the High Atlas Foundation (HAF).

HAF is a non-profit organization founded in 2000 by returned Peace Corps volunteers as a way for them to leverage the professional relationships and knowledge gained during their years of service for the continued benefit of the Moroccan people.

>> Learn about HAF's Peace Corps Connection and their community-based projects.

"Peace Corps is America at Its Best" - Peace Corps Week Proclamation in California

Around the country, states, cities and municipalities have issued proclamations in recognition of National Peace Corps Week 2008.  Especially noteworthy is that of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger:

When President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, he asked my father-in-law, Sargent Shriver, to become its first director and flesh out the details of the new organization. It was a tremendous challenge, but Sarge rose to the occasion and helped develop programs in fifty-five countries with more than 14,500 volunteers in less than six years. Because of the efforts of these two great men and all those who have had a role in shaping it, the Peace Corps has become one of America's most successful initiatives in advancing peace.

Simply put, the Peace Corps is America at its best. Throughout the world, Peace Corps volunteers are engaged in diverse projects that encourage goodwill and progress. From promoting HIV/AIDS awareness in Malawi to providing technical training in Armenia to teaching English in Paraguay, volunteers are involved in projects that make a real difference in people's lives. As men and women of action, these volunteers embody the concept of public service as envisioned by President Kennedy and my father-in-law.

Since its establishment, more than 25,000 Californians have answered the call of service to help others in 139 countries. They undertake their projects with enthusiasm and gain a better understanding of their host country's culture. And in turn, those helped gain a more informed perspective of the United States. It is a win-win situation and is part of the reason why the Peace Corps has become a big success.

Serving others is part of the fabric of our great nation, and I think this is what we see in programs like the Peace Corps. It is a perfect example of friendship in action, and I hope even more of our residents will consider joining the Corps. I encourage all Californians to join me in giving a big hand to all those who served and those currently serving in the Peace Corps. The Golden State is very proud of its volunteers.  Their achievements are an inspiration to us, and I am proud to acknowledge their efforts.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim February 25 through March 3, 2008, as "Peace Corps Week." IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 25th day of January 2008.

Kenya RPCVs Saddened by Suspension of Program

Over the past two months returned Peace Corps volunteers who served in Kenya have been following events with concern for the friends, family, colleagues and Peace Corps volunteers still there. 

On February 5th Peace Corps announced that it was suspending operations because of continued post-election violence (click here for press release).  Eighty-six volunteers were sent home in January, and the remaining 58 were withdrawn last week.  Given that Peace Corps has had a presence in Kenya since the early 1960s, this latest development is noted with great sadness by the Peace Corps community. 

Friends of Kenya co-leader Arthur Dobrin (Kenya 65-67) has written an op-ed about the situation which was published over the weekend in Newsday: Notebook:  Blood on the Postcard.

Following are links to additional news stories on Peace Corps' withdrawal:

• As Peace Corps Leaves Kenya, Foreign Companies Lose Confidence, (International Herald Tribune)
• Peace Corps worker leaves everything behind because of Kenyan violence, (9news.com)
• Peace Corps Suspended in Kenya, (National Public Radio)

Hard Work Pays Off for Everyone

Well the (still unofficial) results are in, and the Friends of Burkina Faso project, Lambs for School,  ended up in the top four of the America's Giving Challenge.  In a matter of five weeks--most of it in the last ten days--they raised $41,400 from 1,635 donors, meaning they will receive an additional $50,000.  You can see the AGC leaderboard here.

Can we say WOOHOO!?

That the Friends of Burkina Faso successfully took advantage of an amazing opportunity is an impressive accomplishment, a testament to the Peace Corps community and a stellar example of the Third Goal in action.

It's also another example of the value and importance of the National Peace Corps Association to our affiliate groups and to individuals in the Peace Corps community.   

NCPA worked with GlobalGiving for almost two years to develop a framework that would enable returned Peace Corps volunteer group projects to tap into new online resources far beyond what groups could do through the Peace Corps' partnership office or on their own.  NPCA identified several groups--FoBF among them--to participate in a pilot of the program.  Since then NPCA has heavily promoted this partnership and individual projects to our group leader listserv, the NPCA Facebook group Peace Corps Connect,in our monthly e-newsletter, on our website and numerous times on this blog.

Clearly the message got through to our community.  And we're thrilled that these interlocking partnerships yielded such a wonderful result. 

Down to the Wire for America's Giving Challenge

NPCA affiliate group Friends of Burkina Faso made the big time today, with the group's treasurer being quoted in a The New York Times article:  "Charities View for Prizes in Online Giving Experiment."   America's Giving Challenge is being underwritten by the Case Foundation.  The contest has caught the imagination of non-profits and is being seen by philanthropists and non-profit professionals as a test of online giving tools by small, grassroots organizations.

This morning Kristie McComb, President of Friends of Burkina Faso, sent out this message to her fellow group leaders:

Thank you so much to all of you who have rallied on behalf of the Friends of Burkina Faso (FBF) in America's Giving Challenge!  We have been so impressed by the outpouring of support that has kept FBF climbing up the donation ladder for the race to be awarded $50,000 for our "Lambs for School" project. 

Though we know that there are many good charities to support in this challenge, we really believe strongly in our community-driven project to educate 900 young girls in rural Burkina Faso.  Therefore, we are reaching out to you again in hopes that you'll mobilize your members to support a sister organization such as FBF!

Our top competitor has rallied a whole university campus but I think we can do more by rallying the ENTIRE RPCV Community!!!!!!   

And we are the only Peace Corps-affiliated group in the running for $50,000!  We'd like to both succeed in winning the $50,000 for our fellow Burkinabe, and meet the Peace Corps' 3rd goal by putting Burkina Faso on the map in the eyes of many Americans who don't realize that a primary and middle school education aren't a given in some parts of the world like our little corner of rural West Africa.

So what can you do?  Please donate $10 and please encourage your members to as well.  We need as many individual one-time only $10 donations as we can generate before 3pm EST on Thursday, January 31.   

We are currently in 3rd place but only 70 donations separate the top 4 and #5 is not far behind! 

If you have not already done so, please send a broadcast message out to your membership encouraging them to rally for our cause.

$10.  One time only.  As many new donors as we can get.

Thank you for your support!!!!

Kristie McComb
President
Friends of Burkina Faso

I made a $10 donation -- it's easy!  Have you made yours?

$10 +5 minutes = $50,000 for the Friends of Burkina Faso's Lambs for School Project

Kristie McComb, President of the Friends of Burkina Faso (FBF) got in touch with me today.  She wrote:

I don 't know if you know this but last year, at the encouragement of NPCA, FBF joined into a partnership with GlobalGiving (GG) to promote our community-driven projects via GG's interactive website connecting donors with projects. It has been a great partnership so far in that it has greatly increased our exposure beyond our membership.  We've been able to participate in some fundraising competitions and have actually won 2 out of 2!

Well, GG has partnered up with Parade Magazine and the Case Foundation to set up "America's Giving Challenge" which stands to net $50,000 for FBF if we are one of the top four charities to generate the most unique number of donations ($10 minimum).  We started the competition on December 23 and have generated 98 donations so far. Not bad but we are not yet in the top 4 charities though we are only 23 donations away at the moment!

We really believe we have a good chance to win.  We just need to cast our net wider to get these individual donations!

Interested in helping educate 900 rural girls? 

The minimum donation is $10, and duplicate donations from the same individual will only be counted once. So donate $10 once...and then tell a friend.  Simple.

You can learn more about the project here.

(This Challenge ends January 31st)

Peace Corps Third Goal Report

Happy New Year!

We have always been impressed by the breadth and depth of the work that all of you –individuals and affiliate groups – do to support the Third Goal.  Thank you!  As mentioned here last month, through the last cooperative agreement with Peace Corps, we at NPCA were able to explore the question of what the Third Goal really looks like and begin to think about its impact.  Much of the research was based on the activities of our affiliate groups – as demonstrated on their websites, in their newsletters and in their reaffiliation materials.  Curious?  The report is now available  on the NPCA website.

Open Houses Slated for 2008

NPCA is working with Peace Corps (both headquarters and regional recruitment offices) and NPCA member groups to coordinate two open houses in 2008.  We’re pleased to announce that we just set those for the following dates/locations:

· Atlanta, GA on Sunday, March 30 (working with the Atlanta Area RPCVs)

· Seattle, WA on Sunday, May 4 (working with the Seattle Area PCA)

More complete details will be available in early 2008.

In the meantime, read about our past open houses.

PeaceCorpsWriters Awards for 2007

Publisher of www.peacecorpswriters.org, Marian Haley Beil (Ethiopia 1962–64), and editor John Coyne have just announced the winners of the 2007 Peace Corps Writers Awards for books published during 2006. The winning books and authors are:

• Paul Cowan Non-Fiction Award
  Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali (Kris Holloway (Mali 1989-91)


• Maria Thomas Fiction Award
  Whiteman by Tony D’Souza (Cote D’Ivorie 2000-02, Madagascar 2003-03)


• Award for Best Poetry Book
  Wild Women with Tender Hearts by Patricia S. Taylor Edmisten (Peru 1962–64)


• Award for Best Travel Writing
  Ginseng, the Divine Root The Curious History of the Plant That Captivated the World by David A. Taylor (Mauritania 1983-85)


• Award for Best Children’s Book
  The Roaring Twenty: The First Cross-Country Air Race for Women by Margaret Blair (Thailand 1975-77)


• The Moritz Thomsen Peace Corps Experience Award (for best short description of the Peace Corps experience)
  Maid in Morocco” by Orin Hargraves (Morocco 1980-82), March, 06

Winners receive a special citation and cash awards from Peace Corps Writers, an Associate Member of the National Peace Corps Association. Congratulations to all the winners and all the RPCVs who published books in 2006.

DC Partnership Reception Raises Funds for Swaziland Project

“A good example of how geographic and country of service groups, as well as host country partners and NPCA, can all work together in ways that help make a difference.” – Kevin Quigley, NPCA President

For several years, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, DC (RPCV/W) has demonstrated its ongoing commitment to the international development work of Peace Corps through annual sponsorship of a Peace Corps Partnership Project. It raises the money through direct solicitation of its membership, and by hosting an annual Partnership Reception.

This year they chose to support a community preschool in Ncabaneni, Swaziland.  (You can read more about the project, as well as a letter from Meghan Guetzko, the Peace Corps volunteer working on the project, by clicking here.  You can see a slideshow of photos from Meghan and the community of Ncambaneni in the Kingdom of Swaziland by clicking here.)

By all accounts the May 31^st reception at the Embassy of Swaziland was “a smashing success.” RPCV/W Vice President Maura Fulton writes, “Over 45 people attended the event and the Ambassador was very welcoming and engaging. Embassy staff also enjoyed meeting with RPCVs, especially those who served in Swaziland. Special guests Kevin Quigley, President of NPCA, and John von Reyn, President of Friends of Swaziland, offered remarks and guest enjoyed wonderful hors d’oeuvres from The Catering Company of Washington.” (Pictured at right:  RPCV/W President Jim Gore, Ambassador and Mrs. Ephraem Hlophe, RPCV/W Vice President Maura Fulton.)

Because they exceeded their funding goal, RPCV/W is taking on an additional Partnership project in Swaziland and is donating $1200 towards the construction of a community resource center that will provide services aimed at rural women and children affected by HIV and AIDS.

Great job RPCVs of Washington!