Greetings from Friends & RPCVs of Guyana! To help better inform you about what FROG and our community is up to, we will now post quarterly updates on our website. If you have questions about what FROG is up to, contact us at board@guyfrog.org.

Since July 2011, we have:

Held Board meetings on July 12th, August 16th and September 13th.
Continued planning for a Washington D.C. fundraiser event in October. Join us on October 27^th at the Goethe Institute!
Organized a mini-Peace Corps 50^th Anniversary project on Facebook. Thank you to all those who shared their Peace Corps memories!
Celebrated Peace Corps 50^th Anniversary at a gala event in Washington, D.C.
Launched a strategic planning activity to help FROG develop and implement a five year plan.
Organized the 2011 FROG Board elections. Stay tuned for an updated list of board members!
Continued efforts to potentially build a bottle school in Guyana. Be sure to visit our website frequently for updates!
Received some very generous donations which will go towards FROG grants and program operations. Thank you to all our donors for your kind donations!

The October 1st Grant Application Deadline is Quickly Approaching

It’s that time of year – another FROG Grant deadline is almost here!

FROG provides assistance in the form of small grants and resources to support community driven projects.Â The FROG Grant Program funds projects that support education, the arts, health, the environment, and social and economic development. Grants are awarded for projects up to $500. To learn more about our grants program, visit our grants page here.

Have a great project idea? Submit an application today! Applications for the next round of grants are due October 1st, 2011.

Please contact the us with any questions at board@guyfrog.org.

From the National Peace Corps Association:

After two years of planning, the National Peace Corps Association is finally LESS THAN ONE MONTH away from its Landmark 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps Events! To date, we have over 3700 registered participants you can check to see if you and your friends are on the Historical Record of Attendees.

All National Peace Corps Association events are free of charge (with the exception of the Gala on Saturday). Your $50 gift in honor of the 50th Anniversary to the National Peace Corps Association 50th Anniversary Fund will go a long way to helping us provide these wonderful free events. Thank you for supporting the Peace Corps community celebrations.

Just what are we doing for the 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps? Here’s a breakdown of the National Peace Corps Association events from September 22-25, 2011 read the full details and register here to attend:

Thursday – National Peace Corps Association Advocacy Day

Participants will talk with their Congressman/Senator at meetings about the value of Peace Corps and other issues important to the community and at the end of the day be treated to a thank you reception in the Kennedy Caucus Room.

Friday – National Peace Corps Association Service Day

Answering the Call to Service: participants will be assigned to community service projects throughout Washington, DC.

Saturday – National Peace Corps Association Open Annual Meetings

Find out what the National Peace Corps Association and its Member Groups are all about: Attend the NPCA Annual General Meeting, Group Leaders Forum and Board of Directors Meeting at Shriver Hall, Peace Corps Headquarters during the morning.

Saturday – Global Community Project Competition and Conversations: The Future of the Peace Corps

Attendees will select the first recipient of the $25,000 NPCA Global Community Project Grant, and listen to a conversation with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Former President Alejandro Toledo of Peru, Former Vice President and Business leader Atiku Abubakar of Nigeria, and Ashraf Ghani Former Finance Minister of Afghanistan, moderated by Bill Moyers. Note: The National Theater has reached its full capacity and if you register now you will be added to the waiting list.

Saturday – National Peace Corps Association The Promise of the Peace Corps Gala

Chris Matthews (Swaziland ’68-’70) will emcee an elegant tribute to the Peace Corps. The evening will include a performance by American singer/songwriter Crystal Bowersox, award presentations, and dinner at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. Only 200 tickets remain for this event!

Sunday – RPCV/W Arlington Cemetery Special 50th Program

Emceed by Maureen Orth, this ceremony will include a memorial to fallen Peace Corps Volunteers, speakers representing RPCVs and host country nationals and a special keynote address. The ceremony will be followed by the 50th Anniversary Walk of Flags from Arlington National Cemetery to the Lincoln Memorial.

Sunday – National Peace Corps Association’s Peace Festival

Kick off the next 50 years at this outdoor festival in Washington, DC designed to highlight Third Goal projects with displays, cultural entertainment, food and more.

It’s a lot, we know! We anticipate it will be quite the celebration and reunion of many Peace Corps volunteers and supporters!

PLUS, other groups and individuals also have events happening throughout the weekend.

Full Calendar of Events is here: www.peacecorps50.org.

If you’ve been on the fence about whether to register, now is the time.

Thank you to all of you who have volunteered for or participated in a 50th activity across the country. We can’t wait to see you in September!

-The National Peace Corps Association

2011 FROG Board Nominations Open!

It is time to elect new board members of FROG, and we are now accepting nominations for board candidates. Elections will be held in later September 2011. If you, or someone you know is interested in joining the FROG board, we ask that you do the following:

Nominees must submit their contact information to board@guyfrog.org no later than Sunday, September 25th; and
Nominees are strongly encourage to fill out a Board of Directors Application Form at:http://bit.ly/hZcgb. Feel free to pass this letter to a candidate you feel might be interested.

A FROG board member will take a leadership role in an organization designed to enhance the lives of Guyanese nationals through micro-grants to organizations throughout the country. Opportunities also exist to spread awareness of Guyana and its people throughout the U.S. with fundraising events, T-shirt sales, newsletters, and a number of online tools.

The FROG board of directors meets every few weeks to plan and execute the activities, policy, and general direction of FROG. The meetings are held using Skype in a teleconference setting approximately once every six weeks, or when necessary to conduct FROG activities. The board consists of four main positions (the Executive Committee) and auxiliary positions created by the board when it is necessary to do so. The executive committee will be elected once the new board members have accepted their nominations and have been voted on to the board. The four main positions are as follows:

President. The president is the chief executive officer of FROG, presides at all meetings of the members of FROG, the Board of Directors, and the Executive Committee, and has general and active management of the business of FROG. The president sees that all orders and resolutions of the members of FROG and the Board of Directors are carried into effect. He or She executes bonds or contracts which the Board has authorized to be executed, except in cases where the signing and execution thereof shall be expressly delegated to some other officer or agent of FROG by the Board of Directors. In general he or she performs all duties incident to the office of president and such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors.

Vice President. In absence, disability, or refusal to act by the president, the vice president performs the duties and exercises the powers of the president, and has all the powers of and be subject to all of the restrictions of the office of the president. The vice president may, from time to time, perform such duties and have such powers as prescribed by the Board of Directors or the president.

Secretary. The secretary keeps minutes of all meetings of the membership of FROG, the Board of Directors, and the Executive Committee. He or she sends a copy of all minutes to each member of the Board within two weeks of such a meeting, and files a copy of the minutes in an electronic database maintained for that purpose; sees that all notices are duly given in accordance with these Bylaws or as required by law; be custodian of corporate records; keeps a record of the email address, post office address, and phone number of each member who furnishes such information to the secretary; and in general perform all duties incident to the office of secretary or as from time to time may be prescribed by the president or Board of Directors.

Treasurer. The treasurer is the custodian of all corporate funds and securities and shall keep full and accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements in computer programs or books belonging to FROG. The treasurer deposits all money and other valuables in the name and to the credit of FROG, in depositories so designated by the Board of Directors. The treasurer disburses the funds of FROG as so directed by the Board, taking proper vouchers for such disbursements and submits to the presidents and Board at its regular meetings or when requested by the Board or president, an account of all transactions made as treasurer.

FROG Board members also take responsibility for additional roles. To successfully operate a non-profit organization, everyone’s participation is critical. New board members will be expected to join or take over one or more of the following roles:

Membership Coordinator
Community Outreach Coordinator
Projects Manager
Chief Fundraiser
Technology Chair
Program/Task Manager

Serving on the Board of Directors for the Friends & RPCVs of Guyana can be a richly rewarding experience. The small, yet focused nature of our organization allow us to move quickly and flexibly in order to accomplish our mission. Please share in our success by becoming a nominee, or nominating someone you feel would be an appropriate fit.

Nominations can be sent to board@guyfrog.org, or nominees may fill out the application form athttp://bit.ly/hZcgb. Thanks, and we hope to hear from you soon.

Regards,

The Friends and RPCVs of Guyana Board of Directors:

Kati Ringer – President
Scott Stadum – Vice President
Joanna Knueppel – Treasurer
Aimie Mims – Secretary
Mike Geurink – Chief Fundraiser, Assistant Treasurer
Louise Stenberg – Grants Coordinator
Eric Terpstra – Membership Coordinator, Co-Technology Chair

A bottle school for Guyana

FROG and Hug It Forward are teaming up to bring a bottle school to a community in Guyana in need.Â You can read more about the bottle schools here -

http://www.hugitforward.com/pages/show/id/1

We want to reach out to the current PCV community and ask, if you have a need for a small school or an extension to an over crowded school, please let us know about who you are, your community and the need this would fill.Â Potentially we’ll build many more schools if the first proves to be a success.

For more info, you can write me at sstadum@guyfrog.org

Thanks! Scott

The Seawall Goes to France

(via stabroeknews.com/)

In recent weeks I have heard vehemently from several persons, here and abroad, about the need for Guyana, in the midst of all the bad news, to be shouting about the positive stories that are around.

A friend in Barbados with Guyanese roots, on a recent visit here, was intrigued to learn about our vibrant Amerindian culture with its several tribes and languages. “Guyana should be pronouncing on these things outside,” he remarked. In a conversation with someone in Toronto, my reference to the rodeo at Lethem drew the comment: “A rodeo? In Guyana? Come on!” A Guyanese, many years in New York, saw our documentary “Mabaruma Sojourn” on YouTube and told me, “I never knew Guyana had places like that.”

And then just this past week here, a prominent Guyanese was regaling me with the same point and lamenting the fact that while we have the talent and expertise here to be doing promotional pieces for the country, they are not happening.

I take the point, but there are some realities at play. One is funding. In a poor country, with many pressing daily needs, the generation of promotional material by the establishment is going to be low on the priority ladder. Most of the positive videos one sees about Guyana are the result of either an individual not-for-profit undertaking done by Guyanese, here or outside, simply for the love of it, or they are the result of media engines abroad (Travel Channel; BBC; etc) creating content for their own programmes.

Another impediment is the shortage of people with the requisite creative film-making skill, due to the migration process. Many of these people have left, and the capable ones that remain are understandably drawn to dramatic and arts films, such as the current Ministry of Culture project, rather than to the purely promotional work where there is no financial return.

The problem is encapsulated in the story of Mason Richards, a young Guyanese film-maker who made news recently when a short film of his, called “The Seawall” was accepted as part of the world-famous Cannes Film Festival in France.

Mason, who was born in Campbellville, had migrated to New York where he grew to manhood imbued with the desire to make films. He worked as a journalist at CBS, then moved to Los Angeles with a stint at Paramount Pictures, and with the Paramount credentials he was accepted as a student in the prestigious California Institute of the Arts School (CALARTS) owned by the Disney family. Required to produce an original film, as part of his school programme, Mason came home to Guyana, with a film idea in his head, and, as he put it, “to investigate the roots of what I was?

Back in Campbellville, in the house where he was born, and where his grandmother still lives, Mason fleshed out his idea. “The film is essentially a story of migrant Guyanese and is a tribute to those who stayed, like my grandmother, dealing with all the problems with dignity. I wanted to counteract the Jim Jones image you hear so much about that outside, still and I wanted to show some of the beauty of the place and the strength of the people. “The Seawall”, the title, is a symbol of the separation of these people who had to go beyond the seawall to America and other places.?

Returning to the US, Mason completed the script and then set about making the film happen. Due to financial constraints, he had decided to do a short film (9 minutes) for his first effort raising the US$20,000 he needed from “two generous friends, from family members, and from an organization of Americans who had worked in Guyana.” Less than a year after his first visit, Mason was back here with a cameraman and a sound engineer ready to make his movie. “I wanted to get a natural spontaneous feeling,” said Mason, so he recruited his characters right around Campbellville, including 8-year-old Malachai, a retired school-teacher Marjorie Arthur, and a coconut vendor Gunesh Persaud. None of them had acted before. “I didn’t give them a script,” said Mason. “I just told them what was going on in the scene, and what I wanted them to convey, but I let them say it in their own words. They were wonderful.”

An intriguing part of Mason’s story is the role of “the Americans” who had helped fund the film; they belong to an organisation called “Friends and Returned Peace Corp Volunteers to Guyana” or FROG. The members are Americans who once worked here in private sector or as volunteers and are now trying to spread positive messages about Guyana.

Scott Stadum of FROG told me, “We saw this project as a way to share Guyana with a wider audience: a goal that is a core aspect of FROG’s mission. Working on this project was exciting and challenging but something we felt committed to because of its potential and reach. It was a real honor to be attached to ‘The Seawall’ and to be a part of Mason’s success. My biggest hope is that this is the beginning of a long and successful career for a very talented man.”

“The Seawall” will be touring and screened at film festivals throughout the world and will be widely released early in 2012.

There are a host of lessons in Mason’s story. One is the power of self-motivation that can take an individual to success on a path littered with “time to quit” signs. Another is the cultural muscle I’m always preaching about that lives in people like Mason (away) and his grandmother (here) and brings them through difficult circumstances. A third is that even in a highly developed country like the USA, funding for soft projects with no return is difficult to find.

In what is generally an upbeat story, a particularly inspiring aspect is the part played by the group of Americans referred to earlier who helped fund Mason’s film. They’re obviously going about it in a modest manner, but here we have Americans who once worked here, in various capacities, and are now involved, completely voluntarily, in generating positive information about Guyana. With nothing to gain from it, these folks are putting in their own time and money to spread positive stories about our country, while living in their own.

You have to raise a shout for people like that.

FROG Quarterly Update: April – June 2011

Since April 2011, we have:

Handed out two new FROG grants:
- Suddie Primary Student Lending Library This project will establish a student run lending library where students will be able to borrow books and where parents will receive training on how to reading can benefit their children. The students are excited about this project because they have no access to reading material other than school books.
- School Furniture Refurbishment and Youth Rehabilitation Project The desks and chairs used by the students in this community’s schools are over 20 years old and have long ago outlived their expected lifespan. This project will engage the New Opportunity Corps, a youth detention facility, to help repair the existing school furniture and will help the NOC students develop their skills.
Announced that Mason Richards film The Seawall made it into the Cannes Film Festiva! The Seawall was shown as part of the Short Film Corner, which provides an opportunity for new and emerging artists to share their work and explore ideas and trends within the genre of short films. Congratulations, Mason! Follow his film on Facebook.
Started planning a Washington D.C. fundraiser event for late summer/early fall. Stay tuned for more information!
Held Board meetings on April 12th, May 16th and June 14th.
Received some very generous donations which will go towards FROG grants and program operations. Thank you to all our donors for your kind donations!
Submitted a NPCA Global Community Project Competition proposal for a $25,000 grant for the Guyana Open Mapping Project.
Launched a new FROG website! Thanks to Maximo Stephani for all your help building out new site.

“The Seawall” A Film by Mason Richards

Hello All,

I am happy to announce that my film THE SEAWALL will have its World Premiere in the south of France at the 64th FESTIVAL de CANNES!

Thanks to all who have supported me through the process of getting the film made in Guyana, SOUTH AMERICA. To my family and friends in New York, Los Angeles and around the world– I am grateful for the opportunity to screen the film at the Cannes Court Metrage this month.

I will be in Cannes for most of May, however, I’m also in pre-production for my next short film “Untitled Brooklyn Project” which I will be filming in my old neighborhood later this summer. Much love.

Cheers!

Mason Richards
Director, THE SEAWALL
The Seawall by Mason Richards

Kwatamang New Road Project

FROG was able to assist Nicholas Smith with funding to purchase tractor fuel, with the intent on building a new road for his village. The road is now complete, and community members can now avoid trudging through muddy water to get from one end of the village to the other.

REQUEST OVERVIEW

Kwatamang is a small village on Annai Village Land, between Annai proper and the Rupununi river. The village is divided by a low area that floods during rainy season.

The proposed grant would pay for two drums of fuel so the Kwatamang Village tractor (with help from the villagers) could raise a section of ground linking East and West Kwatamang during the rainy season.

The Senior Councilor Jordan Joseph has stated the the villagers would do all the labour, and the village tractor could be used if the money for fuel could be found.

The section of the land is not to big. maybe 75-100 yards long. The land does not flood high… it is kind of one very large puddle that never drains and is always wet.

The footprints on the left indicate the previous path.

PROJECT SUMMARY

The FROG Grant successfully provided funds to improve a well used path in Kwatamang Village, Guyana. The village is divided into two main hills with a low ground in between. That low ground was always muddy and near impassable during rainy season. The FROG grant gave the village enough to build this ground up. The Grant went towards fueling the Village tractor and paying the labor to collect rock and rocky dirt and build a road through the wet, muddy area.

CHALLENGES AND SUCCESSES

The challenges of the project were few. The main one was that once the Village knew of the Grant money they assumed that it could be spent in any manner whatsoever. I had a young couple approach me very professionally one evening and state they knew I had a lot of money and kindly asked for transpay to Georgetown. They stated that FROG Grant money was fine to use. I had a few other stories like this and honestly receiving this Grant had an affect on how my Village saw me. I must also state that I had been documenting the meetings, the collection of the money, the initial work, the distributing of the money.. everything on video. This videoing was intended to introduce a possible transparent system for local grants. In January I had the best bike wreck I have had in 20 years and my computer with all the video uploaded on it exploded. I had was lucky enough that I took a few pictures with my iPod Touch and this is where the pictures (hopefully) pasted below come from. Also with no computer I was not able to type this very report until I reached Georgetown, a solid month after the project was complete.

The Successes easily outweighed the Challenges. Simply put there is now a path that will make crossing a giant mud puddle a lot easier. The local mini-buses now can drive to Small Kwatamang and pick people up or drop supplies off. The local Bull-ox carts can cross. The Children can come to school on rainy days. The project was designed by the villagers, budgeted by the villagers and completed by the villagers, they have a lot of ownership in the project. Ownership in projects leads towards maintenance of projects, maintenance of projects leads towards sustainable projects. I feel this project is sustainable and successful.

Check out the FROG 2011 newsletter!

FROG Quarterly Update: July – September 2011