(l to r, RPCV/W President Tamar Schiffman, Congressman Farr and NPCA staff Anne Baker and Molly Mattessich)
You could call it the social event of the season for the Peace Corps community in our nation's capital! This year was no exception as more than 300 people gathered last Friday evening for the annual holiday party put on by the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington DC (RPCV/W). It was a stylin' gathering--kudos to the great team of organizers.
The party had an added touch with the group presenting its first ever "Peace Corps Champion" award. The recipient was California Congressman and Colombia RPCV Sam Farr. In presenting the award to the Congressman, RPCV/W President Tamar Schiffman cited Farr's tireless work to press for increased funding for the agency, including his introduction of the Peace Corps Expansion Act of 2009 and his defense of the Peace Corps from an amendment to reduce the $450 million funding recommendation in the House of Representatives.
In thanking RPCV/W for the award, Farr noted that while lawmakers receive numerous accolades over their years of service, this was an award he would particularly cherish.
Autumn is always a time of transition for me, and this October I was in a position at the National Peace Corps Association transitioning from one continent to another, from one set of ideas to another, and in conversation with different types of people, representing our special online community Africa Rural Connect.
My first stop was England. London in the autumn was a bit rainy and chilly for my tastes, but I received a warm welcome from the organizers, presenters, and attendees at Africa Gathering. I gave a presentation about Africa Rural Connect to an audience of social entrepreneurs, technologists, development workers, and Africa enthusiasts, who all appreciated the bottom-up approach that NPCA was taking to solving Africa’s rural challenges. I learned about the creative start-up efforts people with varied connections to Africa were undertaking, and it was a wonderful opportunity to hear the stories and successes of others in this space.
From London, I had a brief overnight retreat with my NPCA colleagues in the Shenandoah Mountains of Virginia, where we all were able to interact in a serene yet casual environment and discuss our visions for the upcoming year. We elaborated on our preparations for the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps, and how we would each contribute to reaching NPCA’s goals of connecting, informing, and engaging the Peace Corps community.
From the mountains of Virginia to the hills of Iowa, I jumped on a flight to celebrate the World Food Prize and attend the Borlaug Dialogue in Des Moines, Iowa, with thought leaders and decision makers from around the world. After a keynote speech by Bill Gates who announced the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s nine new grants for agricultural development, I listened to panels and speeches by current and former presidents of African countries, government ministers of agriculture, and other voices that fight poverty including Jeffery Sachs and Roger Thurow. Highlights of the World Food Prize experience included a formal ceremony at the State Capitol building with the governor, Ethiopian dancers, and singer Chachi Tadesse. World Food Prize winner, Dr. Gebisa Ejeta – who helped create drought-resistant hybrids of sorghum that have enhanced the food supply of hundreds of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa – got up and started dancing with the band, in typical Peace Corps style. There were RPCVs among the attendees and I tried to meet as many as I could.
All of these trips gave me perspective about the efforts that both those who are working from the ground up and starting their own initiatives to impact hundreds of people, to those who are running countries that impact hundreds of millions of people, can do to improve agricultural initiatives around the world. NPCA’s role will be to provide a platform to connect these people online.
I won’t be back in DC for long. As the transition to winter arrives, so too does a fantastic opportunity to travel to Kenya where I will be presenting the Grand Prize winner of Africa Rural Connect at the Africa Gathering conference in Nairobi on December 21. You’ll be able to read more about our efforts to reach out to the African Diaspora, people in sub-Saharan Africa, and the Peace Corps Community on this and the Africa Rural Connect website. I look forward to sharing the experiences with you.
Tomorrow night (Tuesday, Dec. 5)...It's Peace Corps Hockey Night @ The Verizon Center in Washington, DC. The Washington Capitals will face off against the Florida Panthers at 7:00 pm.
Friends and family are welcome, so please spread the word about this fun Peace Corps event!
Due to limited availability of the $20 mezzanine seats, please call Pat Jefferies with the Washington Capitals at 202-266-2347 if you are interested in purchasing tickets in that area. He will accept calls until 12:00 pm on Game Day. Be sure to mention you are with the Peace Corps.
The last 100 House Parties event for MorePeaceCorps was so successful (and so much fun!) that the campaign is kicking off a new set of house parties just for the holidays. To sweeten the deal, two generous donors have agreed to match dollar-for-dollar every contribution made to the MorePeaceCorps Campaign through the end of the year, up to $35,000.
Hosting a holiday house party for MorePeaceCorps on Saturday, December 6 (the day after International Volunteer Day) can help the campaign raise some much needed funds. What does the campaign need funds for? Even grassroots campaigns cost money. MorePeaceCorps wants to continue its communications effort, hire interns, produce exciting MorePeaceCorps advocacy videos, organize visits to lawmakers in 2009, implement an email-your-legislator functionality on the website, and much, much more!
Hosting a house party and making a contribution will help make the vision of a bigger, better and bolder Peace Corps a reality. The toolkit for hosting a party (it's easy and fun!) is available for download on the MorePeaceCorps home page.
If you can't host a party on December 6, try to do one any time before the end of the year. And if not, we hope you will consider making a tax deductible holiday gift to the campaign.
The Shriver Peaceworker Fellows Program is hosting its 6th annual Peace Corps Keynote Presentation November 13 at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The keynote speaker is Bill Josephson, co-author of "The Towering Task," the paper that became the blueprint for the creation of The Peace Corps in 1961. Josephson will talk about the future of the Peace Corps and its role in the 21st century, drawing on his experience with and deep understanding of the founding of the Peace Corps.
Josephson held a number of key positions with the Peace Corps during the 1960s and has remained a close friend and colleague of Sargent Shriver throughout their public service careers. In addition to being a nationally known expert on nonprofit law, Josephson is also a leading expert on the Electoral College, making this November event an especially timely opportunity to hear from him.
For more information, view the event flier or contact the Shriver Center at (410) 455-2493.
Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo visited the Peace Corps headquarters to attend a welcome event hosted by Friends of Paraguay on Monday. During the event, President Lugo and his entourage were served a buffet-style thanksgiving meal, during which they listened to the stories of a number of former Peace Corps/Paraguay Volunteers.
President Lugo then spoke to the group, expressing his thanks to the Peace Corps Volunteers who have served in Paraguay over the years. “It is very moving to be today with those who have worked during their youth as volunteers dedicated to my country, our beloved Paraguay.” said Lugo. “The initiative your Volunteers have is very inspiring, to come from your country, with its customs and higher standard of living, and to offer time out of your lives to serve in some of the poorest places on the planet.”
In addition to the president, in attendance as part of the Paraguayan delegation were Dr. Alejandro Hamed Franco, Minister of Foreign Relations, Auda Royg, Minister and Chief of Protocol, as well as James Spalding, Paraguayan Ambassador in the U.S., and Jose Luis Gonzalez, Advisor to Ambassador Spalding. Liliana Ayalde, U.S. Ambassador to Paraguay and the board and members of the Friends of Paraguay also took part in the event.
We have another exciting update from the MorePeaceCorps Campaign!
On October 14, 2008 at midnight, over 500 students at a dozen college campuses around the country gathered to honor JFK's historic call to action 48 years ago at the University of Michigan. Shortly after reading JFK's speech, students signed a letter to Senators McCain and Obama urging their leadership in the movement to double the Peace Corps by 2011.
Nearly 100 students led by former volunteers and MPC activists Amy Panikowski (Malawi 01-02) and Sam Kraegel (Mongolia 03-05) gathered at a local campus meeting place to sign service pledges which will be presented to the transition teams for Senators McCain and Obama next week.
The Nationwide Campus Day of Action showed that this generation is ready to serve in a bigger, better, bolder Peace Corps! MPC now shifts its attention to raising funds to build up campaign operations in the post-election 2009 phase.
Oxfam America co-sponsored a DVD screening and panel discussion with the League of Women Voters and the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Bringing together national and local organizations, this event not only inspired the attendees to continue and intensify their fight against climate change, but provided concrete information about the harsh effects of climate change on the world’s least fortunate.
The Oxfam America DVD, “Sisters on the Planet”, was previewed, highlighting four inspirational women around the world who work to combat the impacts of climate change in their communities. Giving insight into the situations of climate change effects in less developed communities and especially on women, this DVD only reinforced the call for adaptation funding.
Sharon Henshaw, one of the “sisters” in the DVD, joined representatives from Oxfam America and the League of Women Voter for a panel discussion and question and answer period, Henshaw delivered a touching, personal account of her experience during and after Hurricane Katrina ravaged her home. As the Executive Director of a local organization in Louisiana, Coastal Women for Change, she advocates for increased awareness and preparedness in the face of climate change, leaving us with the question, “What would you take with you if you only had one hour to pack up and go?”
After answering questions, the panel encouraged everyone to contact their representatives in Congress and urge support for adaptation funding. They also urged attendees to host their own “Sisters on the Planet” screening! Visit Oxfam America’s “Sisters on the Planet” website on more information on how to host a screening and to order your free copy of “Sisters on the Planet and contact Samantha (advocintern AT rpcv DOT org) to connect with other concerned RPCVs and find more resources on climate change and advocacy.
(In the photo: Sharon Hanshaw of the Coastal Women for Change in Biloxi, MS)
The High Atlas Foundation, a nonprofit organized by RPCVs that works on locally designed and managed development projects in Morocco, is hosting its Fourth Annual NYC Reception October 15.
The event, which will include an art exhibit, sale, and silent auction, will feature Moroccan artists working with photography and mixed techniques and a book signing by Elizabeth Letts Alalou and Ali Alalou, the authors of the children's book The Butter Man.
Event chairs include an impressive list of leaders from nonprofit, academic, and governmental organizations. The list includes both the current and a former ambassador to Morocco, the director of Fordham University's Middle East Studies Program, and several nonprofit heavyweights, including Carol Bellamy, President and CEO of World Learning. The Peace Corps has its fair share of representation as honorary chairs including Darcy Neill, the former Director of Peace Corps Morocco, Tim Resch, President of Friends of Morocco, and our own NPCA President, Kevin Quigley.
The event will help The High Atlas Foundation reach its fundraising goals and give it the support it needs to continue its work in the field. It will be held at The Urban Center at the New York Palace Hotel. To register in advance visit http://www.events.org/cpage.aspx?e=16087 or for more information, contact Kate McLetchie at [email protected]
On the first day of his first official visit to the US, Korean President Lee Myung-Bak chose to speak about Peace Corps's contribution to his country at a gala event hosted by the Korea Society on April 15th.
Following welcoming remarks by UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon and remarks by former Peace Corps volunteer and Assistant Secretary of State for Asia and the Pacific Christopher Hill, President Lee presented the 2008 James A. Van Fleet Award to the approximately 2500 Peace Corps volunteers who served in Korea between 1966 and 1981.
The award is given to prominent Korean and American individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions to the U.S.-Korea relationship. Today, many Koreans speak of the profound educational and personal impact the PCVs had on them.
Accepting on their behalf was the first Country Director, and later Peace Corps Director, Kevin O'Donnell.
Drawing on his PC language training more than 40 years ago, Kevin charmed the audience of more than 600 by greeting them in Korean and spoke of the enduring connections between the PCVs and their host families.
Many of the speakers noted how appropriate it was the next US ambassador to Korea, Kathleen Stephens (75-77) is a former Peace Corps volunteer.
The award citation says:
Many Americans have dedicated themselves to the cause of U.S-Korea friendship over the years. Few Americans have done more for this cause than the approximately 2,500 men and women who served as PCVS in Korea from 1966 to 1981….
The Peace Corps career volunteers shared with Koreans from all walks of life their skills and their spirit of sacrifice. Traveling to a foreign land, they were determined to contribute to its development and did so in a way that is still remembers and appreciated on both sides of the Pacific. The volunteers shared their talents and knowledge with newfound friends in Korea, and in doing so they developed a deep appreciation for Korea’s culture and language, as well as strong affection for the Korean people.
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