MARCH IN HAWAII Twenty members of Hawai’i RPCVs joined thousands for a three-mile walk in the 28th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade and Unity Rally. It was their first time to join the celebration. They were joined along the route by parade watchers who responded when they saw the group’s Peace Corps logo. Members of the affiliate also staffed an information table about Peace Corps that was well attended.
NUTRITION IN THE ANDES Friends of Ecuador partnered with the Association of Producers of Seeds and Nutritional Andean Foods to fund a yearlong pilot project in the Andes Mountains to combat malnutrition and promote the nutritional value of traditional foods. Through the Healthy Children, Healthy Futures program the affiliate supported 400 children at three schools on the Canar region. The children receive a school breakfast, identify good nutritional eating habits, learn to plant seeds in a demonstration plot, and prepare and serve the foods.
HONORING THE FALLEN On a late April afternoon, more than 50 members of the Peace Corps community gathered at FHI360 offices to honor the 304 women and men who sacrificed their lives while pursuing the Peace Corps mission. Helena Gray, the political counsellor for the Namibian embassy, said, “We are immeasurably grateful for the work of the Peace Corps.” Gray was
one of four speakers form embassies in Washington to express gratitude and condolences. The annual gathering was organized by the RPCVs of Washington D.C. It Included music and tributes by family members and representatives of the Peace Corps, the affiliate and NPCA and RPCV/W and there was a reading of the names of those who died in service.
MURALS IN SOUTH LOS ANGELES On a Spring day in May, the RPCVs of Los Angeles painted a mural based on Dr. Seuss’s book, The Lorax, on the walls of the 75th Street Elementary School in South Los Angeles. The mural featured the author’s iconic Truffula trees. The affiliate’s mural was part of a day-long beautification project at the school that included cleaning the school grounds, gardening and the painting of a dozen murals by 1200 students and families and other volunteers.
TRACKING HOURS More than 400 service hours were contributed by members of the NPCA affiliate group, the Northern Virginia RPCVs. In 2016, they cleaned up Old Trail Drive and Natural Falls Trail and staffed an information booth at the annual Multicultural Festival in Reston. The four-year-old affiliate also provided volunteer support at NPCA’s Peace Corps Connect, the 55th anniversary conference in Washington, D.C. Jonathan Pearson served in Micronesia from 1987 to 1989 and is the NPCA’s advocacy director. RPCVS OF LOS ANGELES
HAWAI’I RPCVS
MORE GROUP NEWS
SPOKANE’S ART WALK At the First Friday Art Walk in Spokane, Washington, members of the Inland Northwest Peace Corps Association sponsored a display of silk saris from Nepal, samples of a Colombian farmer’s carreil, and a Thai spirit house. Affiliate members talked with visitors about the arts and other items on display. The Art Walk kicked off a month-long display of artifacts that received lots of publicity from local media.
DEEP POCKETS Friends of India announced they donated $44,595 last year to support
12 | WorldView ∙ Summer 2017 ∙ National Peace Corps Association
PEACE CORPS
RPCVS in Honolulu discovered lots of supporting cheers for Peace Corps when they marched in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade.
five charities. Donations support a girls’ boarding school, medical assistance through a community trust and the home installation of thousands of low-cost bio-sand water filters to provide clean, safe drinking water in Karnataka, a state in southwest India. A project in Tamil Nadu provides education assistance to impoverished students. A project in Odisha assists three leper colonies to become self-reliant. In the last 21 years the members of this affiliate have given an estimated $375,000 to their former country of service.
In Los Angeles, RPCVs decorated a local school.