Peace Corps Volunteers
Return to Honduras
Washington, D.C., December 2, 1998:
Peace Corps volunteers who had been temporarily
relocated to Panama after Hurricane Mitch devastated Central America have
now safely returned to work in Honduras, Director Mark Gearan announced
today.
"After careful consideration, we are pleased
to report that it is safe for our volunteers to return to work in their
communities in Honduras," said Gearan. "Most of our Peace Corps volunteers
can now resume their regular work, and if their communities have a need
for disaster relief or other assistance, we are encouraging the volunteers
to follow through with those efforts."
A group of 13 volunteers returned to Honduras
late last month to help survey all regions of the country. Thirty-eight
Peace Corps volunteers, who were undergoing training, returned to their
training site in Honduras last week. Volunteers whose sites have been severely
damaged by the flooding are working in the capital city of Tegucigalpa
until new sites for them can be found. Others are either safely returning
to their sites or are working side-by-side with Peace Corps volunteers
in sites that need more assistance.
Last month, Gearan announced that several
dozen Crisis Corps volunteers -- former Peace Corps volunteers--will begin
working in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua in early 1999.
They will be assisting with infrastructure rehabilitation, and helping
solve issues with potable water and sanitation, community/municipal planning,
and hillside farming.
Volunteers in other countries affected by
Hurricane Mitch, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, are working safely
at their sites. More than 600 Peace Corps volunteers had been serving in
the region when the hurricane hit; none was injured.
This week, Peace Corps staff from Central
America and the Caribbean are meeting in Guatemala to develop a thorough
post-disaster recovery plan and evaluate reconstruction opportunities.
Currently, about 6,500 Peace Corps volunteers
are working in 80 countries to bring clean water to communities, teach
children, protect the environment, help start new businesses, and prevent
the spread of AIDS. Since 1961, more than 150,000 Americans have joined
the Peace Corps. (www.peacecorps.gov)
Editors note: Honduras
This Week recommends this service to donate to the relief effort
in Rhode Island:
Childreach
155 Plan Way
Warwich, RI 02886-1099
Telephone: 1-800-556-7918
For more information and the latest news
on Honduran disaster relief, check out their website at: www.childreach.org
1 Public Awareness of Peace Corp Activities
Washington, D.C., November 24,
1998
This year, with an annual marketing budget
of less than $120,000, the Peace Corps has obtained an estimated $15 million
worth of free media exposure, including advertisements on television and
in such noteworthy publications as Time and TV Guide.
The Peace Corps has revitalized its image
with a new 52-page recruitment catalog, youth-oriented recruitment video,
and a redesigned Web site. Interest in the Peace Corps has increased 50
percent since 1994, with 150,000 people inquiring last year alone about
serving in the Peace Corps.
"The good work Peace Corps volunteers do
around the world is highly respected here in the United States," Peace
Corps Director Mark Gearan said. "There is a growing awareness about the
enormous contributions that volunteers make overseas, as well as in their
communities when they return home."
As part of its continuing efforts to get
out the word about how more Americans can serve as volunteers, the Peace
Corps has secured an arrangement with Blockbuster to place a new recruitment
video with all of its 4,400 stores across the country. The new video features
volunteers serving in South Africa, Ecuador, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan,
and is free of charge starting in mid-December. (Editor’s Note: Has anyone
seen this video?)
In addition, the Peace Corps has arranged
to have a public service advertisement played each hour on the giant Panasonic
screen in the heart of Times Square in New York City.
Gearan noted that the Peace Corps has been
mentioned in a string of recent movies ("The Waterboy," "Something About
Mary," and "The Horse Whisperer") and television shows ("Seinfeld," and
"7th Heaven"). A commemorative U.S. postage stamp honoring the Peace Corps
will be available in 1999, after the public voted to select the Peace Corps
as one of the most memorable and lasting icons of the 1960s.
The agency's public service announcements
have received increased air time, including prime-time coverage on NBC
and TNT. The Peace Corps was also featured in the November issue of Life
magazine as one of the "100 Best Things About America Right Now."
Currently, more than 6,500 Peace Corps volunteers
are working in 80 countries in education, the environment, health and nutrition,
business advising, and community development. Peace Corps volunteers began
serving in Mozambique and Bangladesh for the first time last month. Since
1961, more than 150,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps. (www.npca.org)
Getting Involved:
Continuing Service
This excerpt from the Peace Corps Web site
provides information about how returned Peace Corps Volunteers can maintain
their connection to the agency and continue their service in their own
communities. For additional details and information, point your web browzer
at: http://www.peacecorps.gov/home.html Through the Fellows Program,
RPCVs work in schools and communities that have a specific need for their
skills and experiences, while they study toward a related academic degree.
Through World Wise Schools, teachers in American classrooms
may elect to be paired with a Peace Corps Volunteer in the field, and/or
receive a visit from an RPCV, lesson plans, award-winning videos, teacher
guides, newsletters, and posters.
The Crisis Corps provides RPCVs
the opportunity to use their cross-cultural language and technical skills
for short-term assistance during humanitarian crises and natural disasters
in the developing world.
Through the Partnership Program,
individuals such as RPCVs, classrooms and organizations can match funds
for completion of a small-scale project in a village where a Peace Corps
volunteer is currently serving.
The Gifts-in-Kind Program provides
material donations, such as computers and books, from the private sector
in response to requests from Peace Corps staff abroad.
Editors Note: The India Restaurant
in Providence was the site of our 12 November gathering. The food was
bountiful and delicious. For those of us not that familiar with Indian
food, this night was a marvelous sampling of yummy things! We had an excellent
turnout- see pictures following. After dinner, Betty Leonard held an informal
meeting and introduced Ms. Ipek Oruch, an exchange Fullbright teacher from
Turkey to our group. Dennise DelaRosa informed us that PCVs in Honduras
had been evacuated during Hurricane Mitch (Note: They have now returned
- see front page articles) Jim Alexander announced that the 1999 Peace
Corp Day would be March 2nd.He will have additional information available
for those RPCVs who would like to participate. Katie Dyer reminded us that
Cadeaux du Monde is again donating money from product sales to UNICEF (they
are also helping Honduran children). Betty also asked everyone to try and
sell as many 1999 PC Calendars as possible since we will donate a portion
of the sales-money to the PCVs in Honduras. (Note: Betty says that we have
already sold almost one hundred calendars - a new RI-RPCV record!) African
Trade Day, sponsored by World Trade Center Rhode Island was held on 17
November at the Providence Convention Center. RI-RPCV participants included
Nanci Smith and Katie Dyer, who were both involved in the planning of this
first-time event. Diplomats from several African countries attended, including
representatives from Liberia, Kenya, Tunisia, Swaziland, Senegal, Nigeria
and Cameroon. The event was well attended by over 150 local business people.
Following the day’s activities, the African diplomats were hosted at a
social reception and participated in a panel discussion at Johnson &
Wales University’s Feinstein Graduate School. Another African Trade conference
is being planned for next year.
DID YOU KNOW ?
Habitat for Humanity recently
opened it’s fourth affiliate in Rhode Island.
Called the East Bay Group it will serve Newport,
Middletown, Jamestown, Little Compton and Bristol County. Believe it or
not, Newport has one of the highest rates of public housing and it is estimated
one out of four children there go to bed hungry! For more information,
the phone for the Newport Office (located at Salve Regina University) is
401-847-6650 ext 3201. Peace Corps Christmas Tree - During the month of
December, the Peace Corps-decorated Christmas Tree will be on public view
at the East Colonnade of the White House in Washington. This tree has been
decorated by current and former PVCs at the request of Mrs. Clinton and
includes handicrafts from 65 countries in Africa,the Americas, Asia, the
Caribbean, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Islands. Career
Information Consultants Directory - Returned Volunteer Services (RVS) at
the Peace Corps is currently updating its Career Information Consultants
(CICs) Directory and needs partcipants who are willing to include their
names. CICs are professionals in specific career fields who are interested
in answering career-related inquiries on a voluntary basis. The CIC Directory
is one of the largest requested publications produced by the RVS and one
of the most important transition tools we can offer to returned PCVs. If
interested, please email Cindy Sloan at cslone@peacecorps.gov or fax her
at (202) 692-1431.
COMING ATTRACTIONS!
Peace Corps Day!
The second annual PEACE CORPS DAY will be
held on Tuesday, March 2, 1999 in honor of the Peace Corps’ 38th anniversary.
Last year, over 5,000 RPCVs inspired an estimated 320,000 U.S. students
by visiting classrooms and this year Peace Corps hopes that over 10,000
RPCVs will participate. Our World Wise Schools liaison, Jim Alexander (827-0712)
is coordinating this event for RI-RPCVs. Contact him for further information.
Trade Research
Need information on an overseas trade or
economic subject? Check out the resources available on the International
Trade Data Network (ITDN) operated by Bryant College’s Rhode Island Export
Assistance Center. You can now access the ITDN via the web at: www.itdn.net.
This is a proprietary service but you can use it free for two months by
logging into their guestbook. Designed to aid regional businesses in finding
overseas markets, the ITDN contains information on legal, economic, financial,
political, and other trade-related issues and is continually updated .
PLEASE Note:
Your articles and inputs
are needed for the next edition of this newsletter!
Is there anything that you would like to
share with our members? If so, please mail or e-mail your submission to
the editor by 1 February 1999 - NMS
Next
RI-RPCV Meeting: Our next meeting will be a potluck dinner held
at 6PM on Wednesday, 13 January 1999 at Nanci Smith’s residence in Portsmouth.
The address is: 58 Heritage Drive Portsmouth, RI This is just across the
Mount Hope bridge in Portsmouth. Coming from the north on Rte 24S take
second exit after crossing river, bear right up hill to light at Mount
Hope Bridge entrance. Make right at light, then take 1st right and 1st
left. Nanci’s is the 6th house on the left - white with blue shutters.
Please RSVP to Nanci at (401) 683-1518 by Friday, 8 January. If no one
answers, leave message on machine.
RI-RPCV Board 1998-99
| Group Leader: |
Betty Leonard |
453-6238 |
eleonard@brainiac.com |
| Treasurer: |
Barbara Fontaine |
789-1665 |
|
| Newsletter: |
Nanci Martin Smith |
683-1518
683-2146 (Fax) |
Srusmith@aol.com |
| Directory: |
Carolyn Anderson |
274-0748 |
|
| Label DataBase: |
Katie Dyer |
624-8224 (h) 848-0550 (w) |
|
| RIRPCV Web Site: |
Stan Premy |
732-0253 |
stanpremy@ids.net |
| World Wise Schools: |
Jim Alexander |
827-0712 |
JCAlex42@aol.com |
| Global TeachNet: |
Lucy Mueller |
792-3201 |
mueller@intap.net |
| Reconnect for newly RPCV: |
Jennifer Ewing |
521-1235 |
|