Friends & RPCVs of Guyana is a non-profit, service based organization dedicated to supporting education, health, social, economic, and environmental programs in Guyana through a network of RPCVs, Guyanese nationals, Guyanese-Americans, and all others concerned and interested in the Guyanese Community.

Into the Wild in Lush Guyana

By TARA MULHOLLAND

Published: February 7, 2010

Guyana’s stunning scenery and abundant wildlife make it a haven for adventurers and eco-tourists.

The Peace Corps website recently featured Ashley Benson, who served as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer in Guyana. Working through the Catholic Relief Services, Ashley provided 6 months of much needed support to the “Program on Abstinence for Guyana”. Working with the goal of prevention in mind, Ashley found the experience to be rather rewarding. ” With this opportunity, “Ashley wrote, “I was able to include topics regarding not just the message of abstaining from sex; rather, abstaining from anything that could affect you in a negative or unhealthy way. This broader message developed into a 15-session curriculum encompassing topics such as self-esteem, goals, healthy lifestyles, discrimination, peer pressure, violence, sexuality, volunteerism, and much more.” Click the link above to learn more about Ashley’s experience.

(via radiojamaica.com)

Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana will play each other in a fund-raising Twenty20 match to aid victims of the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti.

The match will be played on Wednesday at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

The teams to be involved in the charity match are currently playing each other in a historic day-night first-class game at the Sir Viv Richards Ground in Antigua.

InterAction has provided a useful list of organizations collecting donations and providing aid for Haiti. Please click in the link to find out how you can help.

Yesterday, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and it’s estimated that up to three million people have been affected. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has joined other government and non-governmental agencies to mobilize resources and staff to the disaster. ICRC’s head of delegation in Haiti, Riccardo Conti issued the following statement:

“Our ability to help depends largely on the situation in Port-au-Prince,” Mr. Conti continued. “It is extremely difficult to move around the city to assess needs. What is certain is that the quake has had a massive impact on a population already reeling from other recent disasters.”

The ICRC is working with other local and regional Red Cross groups to provide medical aid for survivors and support for efforts to recover and identify the dead. Donations for the Haiti Earthquake relief effort can be made at the ICRC website.

(via peacecorps.gov)

Director Aaron S. Williams is pleased to announce the launch of Peace Corps’ Digital Library – a searchable collection of electronic Peace Corps materials from 1961 to the present – and invites current and returned Peace Corps volunteers (RPCVs) to share their unique service experiences through firsthand narratives and personal photos.

As the Peace Corps approaches its 50th anniversary in 2011, the Digital Library is a living collection that represents the agency’s legacy of public service. Since 1961, nearly 200,000 Americans have served with the Peace Corps to promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of 139 host countries. The digital library can be accessed at http://collection.peacecorps.gov.

“The Peace Corps has always been an agency rooted in shared experiences – the volunteers share their perspective and expertise while our host-country communities share their languages, friendship and culture,” said Director Williams. “This unique collection will educate and inspire the next generation of volunteers. I look forward to watching the collection grow in scope and depth as the nearly 200,000 Americans who have served with the Peace Corps share their photos and stories.”

Current volunteers and RPCVs can contribute up to five photos and one story to the Digital Library via online submission forms. The Digital Library is searchable through several built-in features. Visitors can either browse the Digital Library’s individual collections or search by keyword, the host country name, or a specific period of time. The individual collections include press briefings; congressional reports and legislation; posters and graphics; speeches essays and letters; newsletters; volunteer stories; volunteer photos; brochures; and agency photos.

(via morepeacecorps.org)

The United States Congress is beginning final action on Fiscal Year 2010 appropriations. According to Congressman Sam Farr, speaking tonight at an event in Washington to celebrate the Peace Corps, negotiations on the State/Foreign Operations appropriations bill have closed. Congressman Farr says the final bill contains $400 million for the Peace Corps.

“This wonderful news represents a tremendous and historic investment for a bigger, better and bolder Peace Corps”, said National Peace Corps Association President Kevin Quigley. “Our congratulations to the many lawmakers on Capitol Hill who championed this cause, and also to the thousands of members of the Peace Corps community who took action over the past two years. As we prepare to continue future advocacy to improve, embolden and expand the Peace Corps, we applaud everyone who helped secure this initial victory. You really made a huge difference.”

Not really news, but I thought it was neat

Created by OnlineEducation.net

On a trip to collect information on the giant river otter, an endangered species, a group of researchers ended up in Rewa Head. “In just six weeks the expedition recorded an astounding variety of life: 158 species of birds, 22 species of medium to large mammals, and half of Guyana’s known endangered species.”

They also found that “this pristine wilderness—still free from the impacts of the modern world—may not remain so for long. Both a massive logging concession and an even larger oil drilling concession overlap the wilderness.”

Read more about this topic at: http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1129-hance_pickles.html
and more about U.S. timber firm Simon & Shock International’s involvement with Guyana here: http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0221-guyana.html

(via riadzany.blogspot.com)

The Peace Corps volunteers and staff throughout Morocco have been shocked by the death of twenty-three year old So-Youn Kim. Her work at Tamagourte in the youth centre has been highly praised by those associated with her. And today, throughout Morocco, Peace Corps workers paused to remember and pay tribute to the young volunteer.

Back in the USA Director Aaron S. Williams echoed everyone’s thoughts by saying. ”
I am deeply saddened to report a respected member of our Peace Corps family in Morocco, Volunteer So-Youn Kim, unexpectedly passed away today after an illness.

So-Youn, 23, a native of San Francisco and a 2007 graduate of Stanford University, had been serving for one year as a Youth Development Volunteer in Tamagourte. Her primary assignment was in a youth center where she was involved in a wide range of activities in her dual role as English teacher and youth development worker.

Her secondary activities focused on helping the village of Tamagourte’s pottery cooperative and developing an apprenticeship program. She got her hands dirty both literally and figuratively with the lives, pottery and culture of her community. She loved to teach children, support the cooperative and respect the historic craft that is so firmly rooted in that region of Morocco.

So-Youn was a remarkable writer, a voracious reader, a tireless advocate and talented in many languages. Thoughtful and hopeful would be the best way to describe her Peace Corps Aspiration Statement and other communications she has shared.”

Our thoughts and prayers are with So-Youn and her family and friends.