Books, Partners, and Possibility
As international assistance programs come under intense scrutiny and resources continue to be cut, my experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer has demonstrated the linkages between organizations seeking to create a more just and equitable world. In 1983, when I was heading off to Peace Corps service in Togo, a friend of the family told me that I should take good notes since Africa's history was fascinating and I might want to study it further when I got home. Having grown up in a small town in Missouri, I shook my head since I did not know enough about Africa...
Peace Corps Off-Broadway
On the eve of the new millennium, a young American Volunteer stationed in Dakar finds himself pulled into an unexpected web of intrigue. A car crash, a cryptic State Department operative, and a rapidly shifting world order set the stage for Dakar 2000, the latest play from Rajiv Joseph. But this is more than just a thriller: it’s a work shaped by lived experience. Joseph, a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Senegal from 1996 to 1998, has long credited his time abroad as a defining force in his writing. “Being in Senegal, more than anything else in my...
Peace Corps Achievements — January and February 2023
News and updates from the Peace Corps community — across the country, around the world, and spanning generations of returned Volunteers and staff. By Peter V. Deekle (Iran 1968–70) Martin Puryear (pictured, Sierra Leone 1964–66) internationally renowned American sculptor, has been commissioned to create a site-specific, permanent sculpture for the Storm King Art Center in upstate New York, which is scheduled to be unveiled later this year. Reed Hastings (Swaziland 1983–85) announced in January that he will step down from his role as CEO of Netflix, while remaining as chairman, after leading the company for 25 years. Christopher Dodd (Dominican Republic 1966–68), was appointed as Special Presidential Advisor for the Americas by President Biden in November...
Peace Corps Achievements — December 2022
News and updates from the Peace Corps community — across the country, around the world, and spanning generations of returned Volunteers and staff. By Peter V. Deekle (Iran 1968–70) Megan Ranney (pictured, Côte d'Ivoire 1998–2000), deputy dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health and professor of emergency medicine, became one of 100 newly elected members invited to join the National Academy of Medicine — one of the highest honors in health and medicine. Dr. Evelyn Newman-Phillips, Ph.D (The Gambia 1980–83) was awarded Central Connecticut State University’s (CCSU) Distinguished Service Award for the exemplary commitment, vision, and selflessness she has demonstrated to her colleagues, students, and members of the wider social community...
Peace Corps Achievements — October 2022
News and updates from the Peace Corps community — across the country, around the world, and spanning generations of returned Volunteers and staff. By Peter V. Deekle (Iran 1968–70) Maggie Eckerson (pictured, Belize 2019–20), was awarded two United States Presidential Volunteer Service Awards and the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her service in the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps. Sabra Ayres (Ukraine 1995–97) was named Chief Correspondent for Ukraine at The Associated Press (AP), leveraging nearly two decades of reporting that covered U.S. state and national politics, international relations, and developing democracies. Bridget Mulkerin (Senegal 2018–20) became the California Cone Corps Manager at American Forests, a nationwide nonprofit committed to protecting and restoring healthy forest...
Peace Corps Achievements — September 2022
News and updates from the Peace Corps community — across the country, around the world, and spanning generations of returned Volunteers and staff. By Peter V. Deekle (Iran 1968–70) Bill Owens (pictured, Jamaica 1964–66), beer enthusiast and famed photojournalist, published the interactive graphic novel, The Delco Years: A Dystopian Novel, in April. Cindy Nofziger (Sierra Leone 1985–87) cut the ribbon on the 42nd school building she helped construct after founding Schools for Salone — an organization focused on improving education and building schools in Sierra Leone’s rural villages. Andre and Kjessie Essue (Lesotho 1967–68) founded Barn Swallow Gardens — a family farm for mountain-grown, seasonal flowers that began offering a subscription delivery service for fresh flowers...
Everything Will Be Ukraine!
More than 3,400 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in Ukraine. Here are a few ways they have sought to help the communities they served as Russian rockets fly and bombs fall across the country. Logo by The RPCV Alliance for Ukraine By Raisa Alstodt and Natalia Joseph On February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale military assault by Russian forces on Ukraine, including attacks on civilians that have continued against communities across the country. Many of our friends and host family members have fled; many others are staying and fighting to defend their communities. The RPCV Alliance for...
What We Mean by Friendship
With the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Friends of Moldova has stepped in to provide crucial support to thousands of refugees. by David Jarmul Logo by Friends of Moldova Until this past February, Friends of Moldova was like many “Friends of” groups within the Peace Corps community: a loose organization of returned Volunteers sharing news and supporting small grant programs in the country where they served. Then Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and everything changed. As millions of Ukrainians fled the fighting, nearly half a million refugees came to Moldova — a small, crescent-shaped country with a population...
Ukraine Stories
A platform for citizen journalists, volunteers, and those working to deepen understanding of the war and efforts to help refugees. By Clary Estes Photo by Clary Estes The Ukraine Stories newsletter started modestly. In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, so many Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who had served throughout Central and Eastern Europe asked the same question: “What can I do?” For the Ukraine Stories crew, the answer was simple: Tell true stories. Yet this simple answer opened up a complex world of reporting, testimonials, and on the ground volunteering. Since the project’s inception, Ukraine Stories has sought to explain the conflict on...
Peace Corps Achievements — July and August 2022
News and updates from the Peace Corps community — across the country, around the world, and spanning generations of returned Volunteers and staff. By Peter V. Deekle (Iran 1968–70) Kit Evans-Ford (pictured), who served as a Volunteer in St. Kitts & Nevis 2007–08, was awarded the 2022 Tom Locke Innovative Leader Award for her efforts to provide refuge and support for women healing from sexual violence. Hoang Thai Tao (Mozambique 2011–13) spoke at the 2022 Peace Corps Thought Leaders Forum in July, sharing his perspective on harnessing emerging technology trends to maximize social impact and economic development. Internationally acclaimed photographer Alissa Everett (Senegal 1995–97) has produced a...