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.