National Peace Corps Association
e-News
May 2010, Volume 7 Issue 5                                                                                                 www.peacecorpsconnect.org
Sam Farr Colombia PCV
Peace Corps' Return to Colombia has Roots in RPCV Gathering

Another nation with a rich Peace Corps history will soon see the return of volunteers after a nearly 30 year absence.

Peace Corps' announcement last week that volunteers will return to Colombia follows announcements late last year that volunteers will also be returning to Sierra Leone and Indonesia. Undoubtedly one of the most excited members of the Peace Corps-Colombia family is California Congressman Sam Farr (Colombia 62-64), a leading champion for increased funding for Peace Corps.

In February 2008, Congressman Farr was one of nearly 200 Colombia RPCVs who traveled to Cartegena for a three day conference organized by the Embassy of Colombia and the Friends of Colombia (FOC).  The RPCVs met with numerous government officials, including Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. 

US Capitol
Senate Action Alert:  Ask Appropriations Committee to Allocate Obama's full International Affairs Budget

The Senate Budget Committee recently recommended a $4 billion reduction in President Obama's original $58.8 billion International Affairs Budget request. If this recommendation is adopted, Peace Corps may not receive the increase in funding it needs to expand and improve. With final Senate action on a budget in doubt, the final determination would shift to the Senate Appropriations Committee, when it allocates binding overall funding levels for international assistance and other federal programs. 

 

You can help ensure that the Peace Corps and other important foreign assistance programs receive the funding they need! A Senate sign-on letter is circulating urging support for a funding allocation that meets or exceeds the President's full request.

 

Ask your Senators to sign the letter. 

ARC Essay Contest
Africa Rural Connect Essay Contest

Round I of our 2010 competition ended March 15!  We will announce the winners shortly--please check out the website for updates.  It's not too late to add your idea for agriculture in Africa. 

Also, we are excited to announce a new Essay Contest for the summer.  The winning essay will be published in World Policy Journal.  Submit your entry starting June 1.  Please share the Africa Rural Connect site with some who you think doesn't know about it but would be interested--we are always looking to highlight people with creative ideas. 

alegraColombia
Return to Colombia:  View from the Ground

With the announcement by Peace Corps that it will be returning to Colombia after a nearly 30 year absence, we asked National Peace Peace Corps Association board member Allegra K. Troiano (Senegal 80-82), currently a Senior English Language Fellow in Bogot�, Colombia, to offer her thoughts on this news.

"After having spent the last 9 months in Colombia, I can easily say that this is one of the best countries I have ever lived in: the people are very friendly and welcoming; the country is beautiful, clean, diverse, and alluring...."

Education for All
Share Your Peace Corps Experience to Support Universal Basic Education

As NPCA continues to advocate for universal basic education (a 2010 advocacy priority), partner organizations have told us that we can be of great help in the international effort to provide all children with a quality basic education by gathering personal testimonies of returned Peace Corps volunteers or former staff about the importance of making sure that every person around the globe has the opportunity to get a quality education.

 

As a vehicle for collecting these testimonies, we have posted an online petition to Congresswoman Nita Lowey, author of the Education for All Act of 2010

 

We encourage you to sign this petition today, add a comment share this petition with other RPCVs you know.  We will use these testimonies in outreach to congressional offices urging support for the legislation. Your statements can be brief - from one or two sentences to a brief paragraph.

 
Additionally, if you have not done so already, we invite you to take action on the Education for All Act by asking your Representative to become a co-sponsor of the bill.

US Capitol
You're Invited:  NPCA Annual General Meeting & Quarterly Board Meeting

Next month, on June 25-26, NPCA will be holding its quarterly board meeting as well as the Annual General Meeting and Group Leaders Forum in Washington, D.C.

On Friday evening there will be a reception and presentation of the Sargent Shriver Award for Distinguished Humanitarian Service by Tim Shriver, followed by a screening of Frontrunner, a film by Virginia Williams (Morocco 89-91) about the first woman to run for president of Afghanistan. 

The Annual General Meeting and Group Leaders' Forum will take place on Saturday.  To RSVP for any of these events, please email Emily Bello at emily@peacecorpsconnect.org.
Norcal2
NorCal RPCVs Represent in the Bay to Breakers Race

Sometimes, "just because" is enough.

Last weekend an intrepid band of 12 RPCV members of the Northern California Peace Corps Association representing Mali, Cameroon, St. Lucia, Senegal, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Malawi put on their best host country garb and joined the Bay to Breakers Race, an annual run starting at the Bay Bridge and racing across the San Francisco Peninsula to the Pacific Ocean.

Voting
Board Election Results to be Announced Next Week

The 2010 Election for the NPCA Board of Directors is over and all that remains is to count the ballots. 

There were 13 candidates for four seats--one of the most contested board elections in recent memory.  The winners, who will be announced next week, will carry NPCA through the 50th anniversary year of the Peace Corps.

IN THIS ISSUE
Peace Corps' Return to Colombia

Take Action: Senate Appropriations Committee

Africa Rural Connect Essay Contest

Colombia: View from the Ground

Support Universal Basic Education

You're Invited: NPCA Meetings

NorCal in Bay to Breakers Race

Board Election Results to be Announced Next Week

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With the Peace Corps' Speakers Match program, elementary and secondary school teachers can enhance their students' learning through classroom presentations by returned Peace Corps Volunteers.

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RPCV MENTORING

Sometimes the hardest thing about Peace Corps is adjusting to life back home. It can feel like being a fish out of water.

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For more information or to apply for the program, click here.


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