Below are two cool YouTube videos on Peace Corps Guinea...
Showing posts with label Peace Corps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peace Corps. Show all posts
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
[Peace Corps news] New PCV security legislation introduced
In response to a controversy earlier this year regarding apparent poor handling by the Peace corps of incidents of rape and sexual assault of PCVs, legislation has been introduced by both the federal House of Representatives and the Senate intended to provide better security and protection measures for Volunteers.
According to the National Peace Corps Association, the House legislation would require sexual assault risk-reduction and response training, the development of sexual assault protocol and guidelines, the establishment of victims advocates, and the establishment of a Sexual Assault Advisory Council.
The Senate legislation is "nearly identical," according to the NPCA.
According to the National Peace Corps Association, the House legislation would require sexual assault risk-reduction and response training, the development of sexual assault protocol and guidelines, the establishment of victims advocates, and the establishment of a Sexual Assault Advisory Council.
The Senate legislation is "nearly identical," according to the NPCA.
Friday, May 20, 2011
[Peace Corps news] Peace Corps criticized over handling of PCV rape cases
The Peace Corps has been heavily criticized in recent weeks over its treatment of Peace Corps Volunteers who are victims of rape and other forms of sexual assault. A front page article in The New York Times detailed several complaints against the agency's handling of such cases, citing a 'blame the victim' culture.
Hearings were held on the controversy, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The National Peace Corps Association, an RCPV advocacy group with which Friends of Guinea is affiliated, live blogged the Congressional hearings and has other information on PCV safety. Those can be found here.
Hearings were held on the controversy, before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The National Peace Corps Association, an RCPV advocacy group with which Friends of Guinea is affiliated, live blogged the Congressional hearings and has other information on PCV safety. Those can be found here.
Friday, April 08, 2011
[Peace Corps news] In case of a government shutdown...
The National Peace Corps Association has a helpful article explaining contigencies related to a shutdown of federal government operations and how it might affect the Peace Corps and volunteers in the field.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
When the World Calls: The Inside Story of the Peace Corps and Its First Fifty Years
Stanley Meisler has recently published a history of the Peace Corps entitled When the World Calls: The Inside Story of the Peace Corps and Its First Fifty Years by Beacon Press of Boston. Meisler was an early deputy director of the Peace Corps and long-time foreign correspondent for The Los Angeles Times. Meisler has also written books on the United Nations and its former secretary general Kofi Annan. For more information, visit the author's website: www.stanleymeisler.com/
Saturday, April 10, 2010
PC service opportunity in Guinea
I received the following message from Peace Corps Response (formerly Crisis Corps), a program of the Peace Corps.
Peace Corps Response is currently looking for RPCVs to serve a nine-month tour in Guinea as secondary-school teachers for math, chemistry and physics. The Peace Corps program was suspended in 2009 due to civil unrest, but is now in the first phase of re-establishing a presence in Guinea. Response Volunteers are being asked to support the initial re-entry by filling a vital gap between the start of the academic year and the re-introduction of two-year Peace Corps Volunteers.
As a former Guinea Volunteer, we would like to encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity and apply for one of these positions. PCRVs will teach classes ranging in size from 25-100 students, prepare lessons, proctor exams, and participate in school administrative activities. Applicants must have a degree in a related field, advanced French proficiency and familiarity with developing instructional materials.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Peace Corps Response is currently looking for RPCVs to serve a nine-month tour in Guinea as secondary-school teachers for math, chemistry and physics. The Peace Corps program was suspended in 2009 due to civil unrest, but is now in the first phase of re-establishing a presence in Guinea. Response Volunteers are being asked to support the initial re-entry by filling a vital gap between the start of the academic year and the re-introduction of two-year Peace Corps Volunteers.
As a former Guinea Volunteer, we would like to encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity and apply for one of these positions. PCRVs will teach classes ranging in size from 25-100 students, prepare lessons, proctor exams, and participate in school administrative activities. Applicants must have a degree in a related field, advanced French proficiency and familiarity with developing instructional materials.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
[PC Guinea news] PCVs reportedly to be evacuated
The parent of a PCV reports that all volunteers will be evacuated to the Malian capital Bamako later this week for a period of at least two weeks.
Friday, October 02, 2009
[PC Guinea news] Peace Corps Monitoring Security Situation in Guinea
From The Peace Corps:
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 1, 2009
All Peace Corps/Guinea volunteers have been instructed to remain at their sites or a designated location while Peace Corps and the U.S. Embassy in Conakry continue to monitor and assess the safety and security situation in Guinea. All volunteers are safe and accounted for.
The State Department issued a Guinea travel warning earlier today due to civil unrest. Peace Corps leadership in Washington, DC remains in constant communication with the staff on the ground in Guinea and is working closely with the State Department to ensure the safety of volunteers.
Every Peace Corps program has an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) specific to that country and developed in cooperation with Peace Corps Washington and the local U.S. Embassy. The plans are evaluated and tested frequently and information is updated constantly. Volunteers are thoroughly trained in their roles and responsibilities, and posts are prepared for all emergencies.
There are 93 Volunteers in Guinea; 84 are in-country and 9 are currently traveling outside of the country.
Families are encouraged to contact Peace Corps’ Office of Special Services with any questions or concerns they may have. The Office of Special Services is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week (including holidays) at 800.424.8580, extension 1470, or 202.692.1470."
Stay tuned for more updates...
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 1, 2009
All Peace Corps/Guinea volunteers have been instructed to remain at their sites or a designated location while Peace Corps and the U.S. Embassy in Conakry continue to monitor and assess the safety and security situation in Guinea. All volunteers are safe and accounted for.
The State Department issued a Guinea travel warning earlier today due to civil unrest. Peace Corps leadership in Washington, DC remains in constant communication with the staff on the ground in Guinea and is working closely with the State Department to ensure the safety of volunteers.
Every Peace Corps program has an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) specific to that country and developed in cooperation with Peace Corps Washington and the local U.S. Embassy. The plans are evaluated and tested frequently and information is updated constantly. Volunteers are thoroughly trained in their roles and responsibilities, and posts are prepared for all emergencies.
There are 93 Volunteers in Guinea; 84 are in-country and 9 are currently traveling outside of the country.
Families are encouraged to contact Peace Corps’ Office of Special Services with any questions or concerns they may have. The Office of Special Services is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week (including holidays) at 800.424.8580, extension 1470, or 202.692.1470."
Stay tuned for more updates...
Monday, July 07, 2008
[Commentary] Is the Peace Corps broken?
A controversial essay on the website of Foreign Policy magazine opines: In the eyes of Americans, no government agency better exemplifies the optimism, can-do spirit, and selfless nature of the United States than the Peace Corps. Unfortunately, it’s never lived up to its purpose or principles.
Friday, January 11, 2008
[Peace Corps issues] Downsize the PC to make it more effective?
Robert L. Strauss, an RPCV and former Peace Corps recruiter and country director, wrote an interesting op-ed in Wednesday's New York Times.
Strauss opines that the present demographics of the Peace Corps prevents it from being an effective development organization. Most PCVs are recent college graduates.
In the Peace Corps' early days, enthusiastic young Americans offered something that many newly independent nations counted in double and even single digits: college graduates. But today, those same nations have millions of well-educated citizens of their own desperately in need of work. So it’s much less clear what inexperienced Americans have to offer.
According to Strauss: What the agency should begin doing is recruiting only the best of recent graduates — as the top professional schools do — and only those older people whose skills and personal characteristics are a solid fit for the needs of the host country... but that the organization is not doing so because it would cause the number of volunteers to plummet.
Strauss opines that the present demographics of the Peace Corps prevents it from being an effective development organization. Most PCVs are recent college graduates.
In the Peace Corps' early days, enthusiastic young Americans offered something that many newly independent nations counted in double and even single digits: college graduates. But today, those same nations have millions of well-educated citizens of their own desperately in need of work. So it’s much less clear what inexperienced Americans have to offer.
According to Strauss: What the agency should begin doing is recruiting only the best of recent graduates — as the top professional schools do — and only those older people whose skills and personal characteristics are a solid fit for the needs of the host country... but that the organization is not doing so because it would cause the number of volunteers to plummet.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
[PC Guinea news] PCVs to return to Guinea in July
FOG newsletter editor Woody Collahan reports:
Nicole Lewis of Peace Corps' Africa Section has asked me to pass on the following announcement:
"Due to a strike and civil unrest, Peace Corps/Guinea Volunteers went on standfast on January 10, 2007 and were subsequently consolidated in Mali, near Bamako, on January 25, 2007. Due to the ongoing strikes and civil unrest, the U.S. Embassy in Conakry issued an ordered departure from Guinea for U.S. Mission eligible family members on February 12, 2007. Since that time, the Peace Corps/Guinea program has been temporarily suspended.
"The U.S. Embassy in Conakry lifted the ordered departure on April 10, 2007. Peace Corps has determined that the situation in Guinea has stabilized and welcomes the reinstatement of former Peace Corps/Guinea Volunteers at the end of July 2007. In December 2007, Peace Corps/Guinea will further welcome 36 new trainees that will work in the areas of public health, business and natural resource management."
Nicole Lewis of Peace Corps' Africa Section has asked me to pass on the following announcement:
"Due to a strike and civil unrest, Peace Corps/Guinea Volunteers went on standfast on January 10, 2007 and were subsequently consolidated in Mali, near Bamako, on January 25, 2007. Due to the ongoing strikes and civil unrest, the U.S. Embassy in Conakry issued an ordered departure from Guinea for U.S. Mission eligible family members on February 12, 2007. Since that time, the Peace Corps/Guinea program has been temporarily suspended.
"The U.S. Embassy in Conakry lifted the ordered departure on April 10, 2007. Peace Corps has determined that the situation in Guinea has stabilized and welcomes the reinstatement of former Peace Corps/Guinea Volunteers at the end of July 2007. In December 2007, Peace Corps/Guinea will further welcome 36 new trainees that will work in the areas of public health, business and natural resource management."
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