Columbia River Peace Corps Association

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Serving our community. Engaging the world.

NEWSLETTER

November 2010

Vol. 30, Issue 11 www.crpca.org

CRPCA Kicks Off Peace Corps' 50th in a Big Way photos by Erin Gettling and Bill Stein CRPCA partnered with Portland State University (PSU) and the Oregon Historical Society (OHS) on two major events October 16, 2010 to kick off the year-long celebration of Peace Corps' 50th anniversary. The morning started with a welcome from Professor Martha Hickey, PSU's Director of International Studies, who was instrumental in helping plan our daytime event, "A Call to Service Continues: Celebrating 50 Years of Peace Corps." Next CRPCA's Networking Coordinator Madeleine Mader moderated a panel discussion billed as follows: "In a nostalgia-free retrospective, a panel of RPCVs reflects back to look forward. What motivates and inspires you to live a life of service? How did your Peace Corps experience shape your choices? What guidance can you offer to others seeking to continue to serve post-Peace Corps?" The participants included Nicole Dino (Ecuador

1994-1997), Erin Gettling (Ukraine 2003-2005), and Sally McWilliams (Niger 1981-1983). Pictured here are Kimberly Schneider (Burkina Faso 2002-2005), Sherwin Davidson (Ghana 1968-1970), and James Adriance (Costa Rica 1983-1985).

After lunch on a beautiful autumn day at the Portland Farmers Market, there were three sets of breakout sessions.

Contents:

CRPCA Kicks off 50th in a Big Way, p. 1 Partnerships Make Us Stronger, p. 4 Awesome Tour of the Bull Run Watershed, p. 5 Robert Noyce Scholarship Program, p. 6 First Three Books of 2011 Announced, p. 7 Ten Months of CRPCA Events, p. 9 Empowering Youth in Peru, p. 12 Message from Education Coordinator, p. 14 Annual Calendar Sale, p. 14 Contact Us, p. 15

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The 1pm hour featured the following sessions:

• Peace Corps Today: Ally Packer, PSU's Peace Corps recruiter, and Teresa Taylor, coordinator of PSU's yet-to-be-announced Masters International program, spoke about opportunities to serve in the Peace Corps today.

• Interview Skills: Cleon Cox of the Job Finders Support Group shared hints on how to make good connections with potential employers.

• Writing the Borderland: Peter Chilson, author of Disturbance-Loving Species (2007) and Riding the Demon: On the Road in West Africa (1999), shared an early draft of an astonishing yet-to-be-published piece about the colonel who inspected his classroom during his Peace Corps teaching stint in Niger 1985-1987. He also reflected on the writing life. When he mentioned that he usually runs his works by his writers group, some in the audience murmured that we should consider starting a CRPCA writers group.

The 2pm hour featured the following sessio

questions to ask during the application process.

• Interview Skills: Cleon Cox reprised his presentation for a new audience. Hint for cover letters: start with "you," follow with "we," close with "I."

• Local Community Service

Opportunities: Madeleine Mader moderated her second panel of the day. The participants included Elizabeth Elbel (Ghana 2005-2007) and Kara Helme Lee (Kenya 2001-2003). Pictured here are Madeleine with Bob Granger (Sierra Leone 1969-1971), Julie Granger (Sierra Leone 1969-1971), and Ashley Hollenbeck (Morocco 2007-2009).

The 3pm hour featured the following sessions, which had the added excitement of a fire alarm which emptied all the participants onto the Park Blocks as the farmers market was disbanding.

• International Development Career Opportunities: Madeleine Mader, our super-presenter of the day, led a discussion on careers in international development.

• Résumés and Cover Letters: Barbara Barde of Barde Career Solutio

ns:

• Grad Schools: PSU professors Randy Bluffstone (Nepal 1983-1985

ns provided a workshop on ,

Chair of the Dept of Economics) andsuccessful résumé and cover letter tools.

• Storytelling: Ted Magnuson of Toastmasters led a discussion

Keith Walters (Tunisia 1975-1977), Chair of the Department of Applied Linguistics, talked about wha

of storytelling techniques. We learnedt to look

for in a graduate scho

from each other about pigs in ol and what

Paraguay and restrooms in Sierra Leone. Some attendees hinted that

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we ought to initiate a CRPCA storytelling group.

Lots of networking took place all day long!

The daytime event wrapped up with a great workshop from Idaho RPCVs President Kevin Laughlin (Belize 1979-1981) entitled, "Tools for Living with Unwanted Change." Kevin got us chatting about changes we could make in our lives, and he closed with an inspiring song. Aileen Ly, President of SEAPAX, approached Kevin afterward about reprising his presentation in Seattle sometime.

For the evening we moved down the park blocks to the Oregon Historical Society for a fundraiser to benefit CRPCA's grant program and OHS' 2011 exhibit, Peace Corps: 50 Years of Service. We enjoyed cheese donated by Trader Joe's, beer donated by Ninkasi Brewing, and wine donated by a Yamhill Valley vineyard.

The main attraction was the Middle Eastern music from Negara and belly dancing from Origin.

Thanks to all who purchased tickets and who donated. But the biggest thanks go to the events' organizers: CRPCA's Amy Evans, Erin Gettling, Madeleine Mader, Bill Stein, and Marta Wicke; OHS' Sue Metzler and Rachael Snow; Peace Corps' Ally Packer; and PSU's

Martha Hickey. CRPCA's October 16th events to kickoff Peace Corps' 50th anniversary celebration were a great success! A big thank you to Martha Hickey and Portland State University for sponsoring the daytime program and providing the event space. Thanks also to the Oregon Historical Society for offering up the museum as space for the evening's fundraiser.

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Partnerships Make Us Stronger by Bill Stein Shortly after I became your President, in our June 2009 newsletter, I laid out a vision for CRPCA that by many measures and by many great people has largely been achieved. Basically that vision had to do with meeting our members' expressed demands for more types of group activities. This newsletter's pages have portrayed the amazing growth in CRPCA's engaging programs, charitable activities, social events, and (more recently) Peace Corps 50th anniversary events. For this I credit the best damn RPCV group board in America (more on that next month). Now that I only have six months left in my term, I'd like to revise my personal priorities for CRPCA. I now see that the key job of CRPCA's President--indeed all our group's leaders, though it's not mentioned in our governance documents--is to recognize and nurture opportunities for greater connections in our community. Some of the organizations we've partnered with in the last year--in ways large and small--include the Cascade Festival of African Films, Committee for a Museum of the Peace Corps Experience, Development Salon, Global Sistergoods, Oregon Food Bank, Oregon Historical Society, Peace Corps, Portland Area Global AIDS Coalition, Portland Community College, Portland Rose Festival, Portland State University, Thirsters, and Toastmasters. We've also welcomed (or are welcoming) the following organizations to speak to our members: Iracambi, Mercy Corps, Microenterprise Services of Oregon, and Moyo Jasiri. We're developing closer ties with our grant recipients, we're inviting authors to speak to our Book Club, and we've hosted two very fruitful gatherings of our region's RPCV groups. With a few notable exceptions, these are mostly new relationships for CRPCA. In many cases, we didn't even make the first contacts--they did--but we embraced the possibilities for making our organization stronger and our members better informed and/or inspired.

On a more personal note, my life has been enriched by chats with inspiring people such as Binka le Breton of Iracambi (Brazil), Kevin Laughlin of Idaho RPCVs, Jody Olsen of Peace Corps, and Bob Textor of Thirsters. And simply from attending most of CRPCA's events, I regularly meet some of the most interesting people around. You can do this too! CRPCA officers serve one-year terms that can be renewed for up to three years in the same position. I am presently undecided whether I'll run for a lame-duck year next April. I can say that I (and possibly some of my fellow board members) would happily step aside for someone who has enthusiasm for Peace Corps and the Third Goal, a strong volunteer ethic, connections in the community or the will to make them, great communication skills, and strategic thinking about what's in the best interests of our organization. Our next generation of leaders won't necessarily need to share the current group's priorities, but you'll be working from a strong foundation of people who volunteer to help us again and again. It bears mention that we have an open position on our current board. We're seeking a Fundraising Coordinator who has great, even crazy ideas for how we can raise $3,000 more this year to replenish our grant fund, which is doing amazing good for organizations around the world. If you have any questions about this position, which is way more fun than it might sound, please contact me at president@crpca.org. If you have your eyes set on any of our other board positions in the near future, please make yourselves known to us! Participate in the business meetings which precede our potluck gatherings. Send original content for publication to newsletter@crpca.org. Sign up as a mentor or mentee in the RPCV Mentoring Program. Finally, let me know if there's anyone else we should be partnering with!

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Awesome Tour of the Bull Run Watershed photos by Bill Stein*

CRPCA members, families and friends were treated to a spectacular early autumn day (October 2, 2010) to view and learn about greater Portland's primary water source, the protected Bull Run watershed on the west side of Mount Hood. We traveled in a comfortable 26-passenger van. The first stop was a short hike to the Bull Run River. There our knowledgeable guide, the Portland Water Bureau's Briggy Thomas (pictured here with her hand up), asked us to introduce ourselves by name, country of service, and how our Peace Corps communities accessed water.

The next stop was lunch at Bull Run Lake. *This photo by Frances Hernandez.

After lunch we visited the Foreman's House overlooking Reservoir #2. On the grounds was found a small snake. The view was stupendous!

We were invited to descend to the base of the dam, but for security reasons we couldn't take pictures of the inside of the dam.

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As for what we learned: Water from Bull Run is cleaner today than it has ever been since the gravity-fed system began serving Portland in 1895. They only ceased logging in the watershed in the early 1990s. Portland does not filter its water. Other big cities with unfiltered water are among our nation's greatest: Boston, New York, San Francisco, Seattle. All are in a constant battle with the EPA, which wants all surface drinking water in America filtered for Cryptosporidium. The only things added to Portland's water supply are trace amounts of chlorine and ammonia as disinfectants (these can be removed by in-home filtration if desired) and a chemical to raise the pH so the water bleaches less lead out of pipes in homes (there is no longer any lead in the distribution system). In blind taste tests, Portland people prefer Bull Run water, Vancouver people prefer groundwater, and Wilsonville people prefer Willamette River water. For those curious about the Mt Tabor reservoirs, they'll be taken off-line when underground reservoirs at Powell Butte go on-line. That doesn't mean the much-loved reservoirs will go away as water features. A solution for the uncovered west-side in-town reservoirs has not yet been decided. We've got a great backup source of water: well fields tapping aquifers alongside the Columbia River. These have the capacity to serve Portland (albeit with lawn-watering restrictions) if the Bull Run is ever affected by a catastrophic fire or volcanic eruption. Water from these aquifers (which are not connected to the surface waters in the Columbia River) is presently blended with Bull Run water in Portland's water supply for a few weeks each summer.

Frances Hernandez sent this link about the interesting character who discovered Bull Run, Isaac Smith. For those who missed this year's Bull Run tour, we're definitely going to organize another one next year. Stay tuned! Water Treatment Plant Tour? Following our Bull Run tour, some members expressed curiosity about seeing what happens at the other end via a tour of Portland's sewage treatment plant. They do offer tours upon request, and we'd like to gauge how many people are interested before contacting them. If this sparks your interest, please e-mail president@crpca.org in early November.

The Robert Noyce Scholarship Program at Portland State University

The Robert Noyce Scholarship is a National Science Foundation funded program seeking to recruit and train science and math majors and professionals to become exemplary K-12 teachers. The program lasts two years and students earn a Masters of Science in Teaching degree and a teaching certificate. We have fifteen $20,000 scholarships that pay about 80% of the program costs. Participants are required to work in a high needs school for four years upon completion of the program. Applicants must have a B.S. or B.A. in a science discipline by spring term of 2011 with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. We are particularly interested in students who have been underrepresented in the science community, students with knowledge of a second language, and who have experience teaching under-served populations. The application deadline is December 1, 2010. For information and applications go to http://www.pdx.edu/cse/noyce. You may also contact the program coordinator, Jennifer Wells, at 503-725-8345 or at wellj@pdx.edu.

First Three Books of 2011 Announced The CRPCA Book Club will round out its first year of existence with three RPCV memoirs from distinctly different countries. These were the remaining top vote-getters in this past spring's Book Club survey. There will soon be a new survey to determine our books for April-June and September-December 2011. First get started reading our 12/06 Book Club selection, as we'll have a unique opportunity to speak with the author about her journey across Africa 57 years ago. Check our Book Club webpage for a complete listing of all eleven books from our first year of organized book discussions, including borrow/purchase links for Multnomah County Library, Powell’s, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

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Tinker, Irene: Crossing Centuries: A Road Trip Through Colonial Africa (2010) Mon, Dec 6, 2010, 6:30-8:00 pm Gather at the home of Irene Tinker, 3030 SW Moody Ave, Apt 1508 in Portland (free guest parking is available at

the Mirabella Portland). Prepare to discuss this long-ago voyage with the memoir's author, in whose home we'll be gathering! Feel free to bring wine/cheese to share.

US Ambassador Alan McKee: Irene Tinker's vivid memoir recaptures a pivotal moment, circa 1953, when East Africa was on the road to independence. It dramatizes both how far new nations have come since then and how burdened they remain by ghosts of the past. Her book contains useful history, rigorous political science, and fascinating ethnography, all enhanced by the added dimension of a woman’s perspective. But, above all, this is a good story, in the tradition of great African travelogues from James Conrad and Graham

Greene to Paul Theroux. Crossing Centuries will warm the hearts of old Africa hands and seize the imagination of readers new to what used to be called the Dark Continent.

Hessler, Peter*: River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (2001) *RPCV China Wed, Jan 12, 2011, 6:30-8:00 pm Gather at the home of Jerry Gabay, 4248 SE Ash St in Portland. Feel free to bring snacks to share.

© Kirkus Reviews: A two-year sojourn in a small city in central China yields this youthful, gracefully impressionistic portrait of a time and place from newcomer Hessler. In 1996, Hessler reported for his Peace Corps duty to Fuling, a city of some 200,000 souls astride the murky Yangtze River, which cuts through the green and terraced mountains of Sichuan Province. This account is a chronicle of the author's days in Fuling and of a brief summer interlude of travel farther afield. Hessler's writing is unselfconsciously mellow, a lazy pace that works admirably in conjuring up Fuling as a place. There is the gentle knock of the croquet ball in the morning when the court below his window comes to life. There is this river city of steps pressed against hills; there are ridgelines cut with ancient calligraphy and pictographs that disappear under water during the rainy season. There are his students--a poignant, watershed generation who delight him to no end. Big things happen while he is in China (the Three Gorges Project is in full swing and Deng Xiaoping dies), but it is the everyday stuff that is so affecting. The surprise and unpredictability of the townsfolk catch him unawares more than once, he feels the sensitivity of being a foreigner, with all eyes upon him and little cultural abrasions

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everywhere: "Those were our Opium Wars, quiet and meaningless battles over Chinese and American history, fueled by indirect remarks and careful innuendo." And he loves it, despite the dislocations and frustrations: even the creepy drinking bouts at banquets ("Every banquet has a leader, a sort of alcoholic alpha male") and the relentless mocking of his foreignness by strangers (for, although the Peace Corps is no longer considered a running-dog outfit, foreigners are nonetheless seen as freaks) become sources of nostalgia after a while. A vivid and touching tribute to a place and its people.

Named "best [Peace Corps] memoir of Asia" by Peace Corps Worldwide in 2009.

Thomsen, Moritz*: Living Poor: A Peace Corps Chronicle (1969) *RPCV Ecuador Mon, Feb 7, 2011, 6:30-8:00 pm

Gather at the home of Mike Waite, 7008 Kansas St in Vancouver, WA (360-314-4117). Feel free to bring snacks to share.

© St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Hilariously funny at times, grimly sad at others and elavened with perceptive insights into the ways of the people and with breathtaking descriptions of the Ecuadorian landscape. Named "best memoir of Peace Corps life in Latin America" by Peace Corps Worldwide in 2009.

Bissell, Tom*: Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia (2004) *RPCV Uzbekistan Wed, March 9, 2011, 6:30-8:00 pm

Location at the home of Richard Rystrom, 3501 Division Ave in Vancouver, WA.. Feel free to bring snacks to share.

© Google: In 1960, the Aral Sea was the size of Lake Michigan: a huge body of water in the deserts of Central Asia. By 1996, when Tom Bissell arrived in Uzbekistan as a Peace Corps volunteer, disastrous Soviet irrigation policies had shrunk the sea to a third its size. Bissell lasted only a few months before complications forced him to return home, but he had already become obsessed with this beautiful, brutal land. Five years later, Bissell convinces a magazine to send him to Central Asia to investigate the Aral Sea’s destruction. There, he joins forces with a high-spirited young Uzbek named Rustam, and together they make their often wild way through the ancient cities (Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara) of this fascinating but often misunderstood part of the world. Slipping more than once through the clutches of the Uzbek police, who suspect them of crimes ranging from Christian evangelism to heroin smuggling, the two young men develop an unlikely friendship as they journey to the shores of the devastated sea. Along the way, Bissell provides a history of the Uzbeks, recounting their region’s long, violent subjugation by despots such as Jenghiz Khan and Joseph Stalin. He conjures the people of Uzbekistan with depth and empathy, and he captures their contemporary struggles to cope with Islamist terrorism, the legacy of totalitarianism, and the profound environmental and human damage wrought by the sea's disappearance. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes powerfully sobering, Chasing the Sea is a gripping portrait of an unfamiliar land and the debut of a gifted young writer.

Ten Months of CRPCA Events Following are the confirmed CRPCA events for November 2010 to August 2011, for the benefit of those who'd like to go ahead and populate 2011 calendars with our group activities. There will be a lot more to come, so please continue monitoring our events at crpca.org

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and in future newsletters.

November 2010 Wednesday, 11/03, 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm - Book Club. Please note new location: the home of Linda Centurion, 3940 SE 47th Ave in Portland. The book to read is When Things Get Dark: A Mongolian Winter's Tale by Mongolia RPCV Matthew Davis (2010). Friday, 11/05, 6:00 pm - Restaurant Gathering at Dwaraka Indian Cuisine, 3962 SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland. RSVP required to Mitch Auerbach, social@crpca.org or 503-505-2160. Tuesday, 11/09, 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm - Service Activity working in the Portland Fruit Tree Project office, 1912 NE Killingworth St in Portland. Kids welcome! RSVP to CRPCA's Service Coordinator, Tom DeMeo (service@crpca.org, 503-267-3943) by Friday, 11/05. Sunday, 11/14, 4:30 pm to 8:00 pm - Potluck Gathering. Location at the home of Tom DeMeo, 301 NE 67th Ave (tan bungalow 1.5 blocks south of Glisan) in Portland. All are welcome to the 4:30pm business meeting, 6pm potluck, and/or 7pm program. Note the earlier than usual start time so we can avoid a December business meeting!

Time Agenda Item / Activity

4:30 Approve 10/10 business meeting minutes, seek nominations for Fundraising Coordinator

4:35 Discuss and vote on proposed amendments to FY2011 budget

5:00 Discuss and possibly decide on grant decision protocol

5:45Decide format of CRPCA’s newest recurring fun member training(s): storytelling and/or writing group(s).

6:00 Potluck dinner (please bring a dish to share)

7:00

Program: Empowering Women Through Leadership: A Local/Global Connection. Presentation by Jennifer Ruwart, founder and CEO of Moyo Jasiri.

Tuesday, 11/16, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm - Service Activity at the Oregon Food Bank, 7900 NE 33rd Drive in Portland. RSVP to CRPCA's Service Coordinator, Tom DeMeo (service@crpca.org, 503-267-3943) by Friday, 11/12. Please see our Service page for additional details. Monday, 11/29, 6:30 pm - Soirée. An informal gathering at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland. This is a great way to link up with other RPCVs, hear interesting stories from around the world, and grab a beer and a bite to eat among good company. You can usually find us in the front room. Kids welcome until 9pm.

December 2010 Friday, 12/03, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm - Game Night. Location at the home of Bill Stein, 4308 SE Lexington St in Portland. RSVP to president@crpca.org or 503-830-0817 if you want to go in on a group pizza order. After we eat, pick a game and find folks to play it with. Games on hand include Blokus, Eurorails, Monopoly, Scrabble, Settlers of Catan, and Ticket to Ride. Or you're welcome to bring your own. Fun for the whole family! Monday, 12/06, 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm - Book Club. Location at the home of Irene Tinker, 3030 SW Moody Ave, Apt 1508 in Portland (free guest parking is available at the Mirabella Portland). The book to read is Crossing Centuries: A Road Trip Through Colonial Africa by Irene Tinker (2010). Thursday, 12/09, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm - Service Activity at the Oregon Food Bank,

7900 NE 33rd Drive in Portland. RSVP to CRPCA's Service Coordinator, Tom DeMeo (service@crpca.org, 503-267-3943) by Monday, 12/06. Please see our Service page for additional details.

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Sunday, 12/12, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Potluck Gathering. Location at the home of Cate Wilcox, 4609 SE Mitchell St in Portland. No pre-dinner business meeting. All are welcome to the 6pm dinner (please bring a dish to share) and 7pm program (TBA). Tuesday, 12/14, 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm - Service Activity working in the Portland Fruit Tree Project office, 1912 NE Killingworth St in Portland. Kids welcome! RSVP to CRPCA's Service Coordinator, Tom DeMeo (service@crpca.org, 503-267-3943) by Friday, 12/10. Friday, 12/17, 6:00 pm - Charity Dinner. Join other CRPCA members for a holiday celebration and contribute to a local charity serving needy children! Plan on joining us at a local Thai or Vietnamese restaurant (location TBA) and please don't forget to bring a wrapped present for a needy youngster. Families and kids are most welcome at this holiday celebration! Space is limited so please reserve to Mitch Auerbach, social@crpca.org. More info to follow. Monday, 12/20, 6:30 pm - Soirée. An informal gathering at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland. Note that this one will be a week earlier than usual; take a break from your holiday preparations!

January 2011 Saturday, 1/08, 6:00 pm - Post-Holiday White Elephant Party. Lucky Labrador Beer Hall (NW Portland), 1945 NW Quimby St in Portland. Please bring a wrapped re-gift, perhaps something you received for the holidays that will be of more value to someone else. Again this year: no holiday-themed gifts (please leave Santa Claus at home). This is among CRPCA's most family-friendly events each year, and this year we'll be projecting photos from past CRPCA events as we eat, drink, open gifts,

and laugh. More info to follow on the pizza and salad buffet. Wednesday, 1/12, 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm - Book Club. Location at the home of Jerry Gabay, 4238 SE Ash St in Portland. The book to read is River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by China RPCV Peter Hessler (2001). Monday, 1/24, 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm - Joint quarterly Happy Hour with Development Salon, Global Sistergoods, and the Portland Area Global AIDS Coalition. Location TBA. Note the date change from our usual last Monday. Friday, 1/28, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm - Game Night. Location at the home of Jim Maddry, 4053 NE 16th Ave in Portland. RSVP to games@crpca.org or 503-288-3046 if you want to go in on a group pizza order. After we eat, pick a game and find folks to play it with. Games on hand could include Blokus, Eurorails, Monopoly, Scrabble, Settlers of Catan, and Ticket to Ride. Or you're welcome to bring your own. Fun for the whole family!

February 2011 Monday, 2/07, 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm - Book Club. Location at the home of Mike Waite, 7008 Kansas St in Vancouver, WA (360-314-4117). The book to read is Living Poor: A Peace Corps Chronicle by Ecuador RPCV Moritz Thomsen (1969). Sunday, 2/13, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Potluck Gathering. Location at the home of Linda Centurion, 3940 SE 47th Ave in Portland. All are welcome to the 5pm CRPCA business meeting (where we will decide our winter grant awards), 6pm dinner (please bring a dish to share), and 7pm program: Yemen before it was popular: one ex-diplomat's experience. First-hand account by Noah Siegle, former Foreign Service Officer, US Department of State. Yemen is known to host Al-Qaeda and sits at the cross-roads of strategic power politics. The Peace Corps closed its program there in the early 1990s. Noah Siegle currently serves as Director of International Affairs for the City of Portland.

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Monday, 2/21, 6:30 pm - Soirée. An informal gathering at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland. Note the date change from our usual last Monday.

March 2011 Tue, 3/01 - Opening of the Peace Corps: 50 Years of Service exhibit at the Oregon Historical Society, 1200 SW Park Ave, on the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's executive order establishing the Peace Corps. More info to follow. Wednesday, 3/09, 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm - Book Club. Location at the home of Richard Rystrom, 3501 Division Ave in Vancouver, WA. The book to read is Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia by Uzbekistan RPCV Tom Bissell (2004). Sunday, 3/13, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Potluck Gathering. Location at the home of Anne Kimberly, 4261 SE Alder St in Portland. All are welcome to the 5pm CRPCA business meeting, 6pm dinner (please bring a dish to share), and 7pm program: Zoom Uganda tells the story of twelve orphaned girls through their photographs and journals. Their images and words, authentically revealed, bring a distant community into sharp focus. Matale, a community devastated by HIV/AIDS, is in the Rakai district of southern Uganda. More than half of Matale’s children have lost one or both parents to the disease. RPCV Julie Resnick, Ugandan colleague Thomas Lwebuga, his daughter Noela, recount the experience and the impact of creating this program. Monday, 3/28, 6:30 pm - Soirée. An informal gathering at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland.

April 2011 Sunday, 4/10, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Potluck Gathering. Location TBA. All are welcome to the 5pm CRPCA business meeting (where we will elect our 2010-2011 board members), 6pm dinner (please bring a dish to share), and 7pm program (TBA).

Monday, 4/25, 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm - Joint quarterly Happy Hour with Development Salon, Global Sistergoods, and the Portland Area Global AIDS Coalition. Location TBA.

May 2011 Sunday, 5/15, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Potluck Gathering. Location TBA. All are welcome to the 5pm CRPCA business meeting, 6pm dinner (please bring a dish to share), and 7pm program: Your Cell Phone and Bolivia: the Lithium Connection, presented by CRPCA's Madeleine Mader. Monday, 5/23, 6:30 pm - Soirée. An informal gathering at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland. Note the date change from our usual last Monday.

June 2011 Saturday, 6/04, 8:30 pm - Starlight Parade. This year we will apply to march holding the flags of 139 current/former Peace Corps countries in either the Starlight Parade or Grand Floral Parade. More info to follow. Saturday, 6/11, 10:00 am - Grand Floral Parade. This year we will apply to march holding the flags of 139 current/former Peace Corps countries in either the Starlight Parade or Grand Floral Parade. More info to follow. Sunday, 6/12, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Potluck Gathering. Location TBA. All are welcome to the 5pm CRPCA business meeting (where we will decide our spring/summer grant awards), 6pm dinner (please bring a dish to share), and 7pm program: Past CRPCA grant recipients. Stories, images, and/or videos reporting how our small investments have gone to good use in communities around the world. Monday, 6/27, 6:30 pm - Soirée. An informal gathering at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland.

July 2011 Fri-Mon, 7/01-7/04 - CRPCA's 3rd Annual Local Campout. Beacon Rock State Park (the dramatic western entry to the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge), 45 miles from central Portland. Plan to spend the Fourth of July weekend in the company of CRPCA friends, with plenty of time to get back to town for parties and/or fireworks! More info to follow.

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Monday, 7/25, 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm - Joint quarterly Happy Hour with Development Salon, Global Sistergoods, and the Portland Area Global AIDS Coalition. Location TBA.

August 2011 Thu-Mon, 8/04-8/08 - West Regional Peace Corps Campout, hosted by Idaho RPCVs near Idaho City, Idaho. More info to follow. Monday, 8/29, 6:30 pm - Soirée. An informal gathering at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland.

Empowering Youth in Peru by Monica Melgar, MEJOR Communities volunteer For the past four months I’ve been working as a volunteer of MEJOR Communities empowering youth in Peru. The Columbia River Peace Corps Association has contributed to this project through a small grant, and I would love to give an update on all the work we’ve been doing. San Francisco is a small community of about 300 people situated in a rural part of Northern Peru that has recently been going through some interesting developments. In the past two years they have been given the opportunity to expand in many areas including the installation of electricity and a septic system. However,

without a solid education in health, leadership, and how to utilize and adapt to these new opportunities, some communities may not actually see many benefits.

Luckily, MEJOR Communities also began working in San Francisco during the last two years. Volunteers last year educated the youth of the village on several crucial health topics that would strengthen their quality of life and inspire them to spread their newfound knowledge. This year, we are implementing the necessary next stage of education: translating comprehension into action. Last year, the youth learned the importance of leadership and project planning, topics that are typically not taught to them at school or by their parents. This year, they designed a project that would benefit the health of their community. They used community assessment skills and worked on their public speaking to finally decide on a project to install improved stoves in the community. Cooking on an open fire inside of a home has several health risks and creates more work for all members of the family. It is important to MEJOR Communities that the project promotes healthy living, but even more crucial is the role that the youth play and what they learn from being leaders of such an influential project.

When we started talking about the kitchens back in July, the girls were definitely too shy to exert any more initiative than what we outlined for them. However, once we assigned them jobs and told them that they would be working as a team to complete every stage of the installations the girls realized their integral roles. They made it clear that they wanted to meet the challenge and asked thoughtful questions about how to best complete their tasks. It was incredible to see how ownership over a project gave them such a sense of empowerment and confidence. MEJOR Communities has been able to give about 18 dollars to each improved stove project. While this isn’t a majority of what the kitchens cost, it has been a great start to get the families thinking about the stoves and begin working with the youth to explore all the options of how they can better their situations. It’s wonderful to see how this project expanded the youth’s abilities to assert initiative and think critically about how to meet their goals.

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San Francisco also faces complications with waste management, like many communities in rural areas. Early on, the youth assessed the option of developing a trash system for their

community but concluded that development in this area still lies in the educational stage. To address this, several youth helped create various communication tools such as signs, a

mural, and an educational video all instructing the community how to best handle their waste. The video cameras provided by MEJOR Communities turned out to be the perfect tools to spread awareness. The youth learned how to use the cameras, as well as edit the videos and add voiceovers. Since San Francisco recently installed electricity, many

families have TVs for the first time and love to watch videos, especially if they involve people they know! The youth completed four educational videos which will remain in the village and be watched time and again, reinforcing all the valuable information they contain. Also, the youth will have a constant reminder of their capacity to affect change and inspire their community to action.

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I want to extend a giant thank you to the Columbia River Peace Corps Association, both from MEJOR Communities and the entire community of San Francisco. Without your generous contribution we would not have been able to provide the learning tools necessary to help the youth receive such a thorough, progressive education. To read about the Editor, Katie Masferrer’s, trip to visit the volunteers last month, you can visit the MEJOR Communities’ blog at www.mejorc.wordpress.com

A Message From Our New Education Coordinator Dear CRPCA members, I am very excited to have been elected as the new CRPCA education coordinator! I returned in September from serving in Guatemala as a youth development volunteer from 2007-2010, and although returning to life in the States is quite an interesting and sometimes difficult adjustment, it has been wonderful to be home with family and to return to a great city like Portland, especially during such a lovely fall season! It has also been very comforting to so quickly meet and become part of such a

welcoming and fun RPCV community here, and I am very excited to continue working with and getting to know everyone, as well as coordinate more educational events with CRPCA and Portland area schools and organizations in the future! Any suggestions are more than welcome, at education@crpca.org, and I look forward to many more events with the CRPCA family! Laura Kutner Peace Corps Volunteer, Guatemala '07-'10 Portland, OR 503-250-0997

Extra Special Annual Calendar Sale:

Each year CRPCA sells beautiful wall

amcalendars to help fund our Grant Progr . This

orps a lot

o purchase yours please visit: ml

year in honor of Peace Corps' 50th anniversary, the 13 original Peace Ccountries are featured. As always, there's of information, art and holidays from all 139 Peace Corps countries, yet we're still just charging $10, so get yours today. Thttp://www.crpca.org/calendar.ht

Contact Us:

2010-2011 Board Members

Office Name Country & Years of PC Service Phone Email

President Bill Stein Niger 1990-1993 503-830-0817 president@crpca.org

Secretary Brenda Michel Sierra Leone 1986-1988 503-408-6933 secretary@crpca.org

Treasurer Phyllis Shelton Honduras 1986-1988 503-704-6298 treasurer@crpca.org

Newsletter Editors

Katie Masferrer Peru 2004-2006 503-946-8567 newsletter@crpca.org

Alanna Randall Belize 2001-2003 971-340-9763 newsletter@crpca.org

Webmaster Scott Eckert St. Vincent & the Grenadines 1987-1989

971-832-9695 webmaster@crpca.org

Education Coordinator Laura Kutner Guatemala 2007-2010 503-250-0997 education@crpca.org

Events Coordinators Amy Evans Jamaica 2000-2002 503-890-2731 events@crpca.orgErin Gettling Ukraine 2003-2005 971-404-4308 events@crpca.org

Fundraising Coordinator Your name here?! Nominations to president@crpca.org

Grants Coordinator Richard Rystrom Ukraine 2007-2009 360-993-5365 grants@crpca.org

Membership Coordinator Marta Wicke Mozambique 2001-

2003 480-747-3875 membership@crpca.org

Networking Coordinator & Program Coordinator

Madeleine Mader Cameroon 1984-1986 -- networking@crpca.org

Service Coordinator Tom DeMeo Ghana 1980-1982, Botswana 1982-1984 503-267-3943 service@crpca.org

Social Coordinator Mitch Auerbach Guatemala 1980-1982 503-505-2160 social@crpca.org

CRPCA has joined Facebook. “Like” our Facebook Page and get information on upcoming events in your news feed! Search for Columbia River Peace Corps Association, or go to http://tiny.cc/hs4sb

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