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MercyCorps Raising Funds For Niger Food Crisis

This year, as many as 7.8 million people – more than half of Niger’s total population – face the grim prospect of months without sufficient food.

Sporadic rains during the last growing season have had a devastating effect on harvests and food supplies, leaving households with little to save for the long “hungry season” between harvests. There are already widespread reports of families – particularly women and children – skipping meals and having to forage for semi-edible grasses, leaves and other wild food.

They need help to survive until the fall harvest, and the Government of Niger has requested urgent assistance from the international community.

Mercy Corps – which has worked in some of Niger’s poorest villages since 2005 – has plans to deliver food and other critical assistance to more than 211,000 people threatened by the hunger crisis. Through government grants, private support and partnerships with local organizations, Mercy Corps will supply nutritious food to vulnerable households, in addition to supporting community banks and early warning response mechanisms.

Read about how Mercy Corps is preparing a response to the growing crisis in Niger:http://www.mercycorps.org/topics/agriculture/21223

Click here to donate: https://donate.mercycorps.org/donation.htm

News

Peace Corps Week: March 1 – 7, 2010

Celebrate the 49th anniversary of the Peace Corps

This year join the Peace Corps community nationwide and celebrate the Peace Corps’ 49th anniversary with a third goal activity! Honor Volunteers of past and present and your host countries by bringing the world home. You can do this through a variety of ways such as organizing a cultural event, presenting an exhibit of photographs or crafts, or visiting a classroom.

Don’t forget to register your third goal participation at http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/speakersmatch/! This is the only means we have to demonstrate the impact of third goal events to Congress.

Full URL: http://www.peacecorps.gov/thirdgoal

Features

Niger ’66 A Peace Corps Diary

Five Returned Peace Corps Volunteers began filming their experiences during a return trip to Niger in 2008. Now they are hoping to turn these experiences into a full-length documentary.


Jic Clubb, Filingue 1967

From the documentary web site:

In the summer of 1966 a group of 65 idealistic Peace Corps volunteers headed for Africa and landed in the dusty, heat-scorched desert of Niger.

We stayed for two years working in agriculture, digging wells and starting health clinics for women and their babies.

In 2008 five of us returned to Niger to revisit the country, see our old friends and witness how our work has improved the lives of the people there.

The documentary also explores the culture shock of re-entry into the U.S. in the turmoil of 1968 and how our experience in Africa influenced our future work.

This is our collective story.

Come check out the Niger ’66 web site to see the trailer and read about the progress of the film.

Full URL: http://www.niger66.com

Features

After Nearly Four Decades Apart A Friendship Blossoms

In case you missed it, come check out our April 2009 Camel Express (PDF, 1.3 MB), posted directly below, for the heartwarming story about how a Peace Corps volunteer from the early 1970’s reunited with his old Nigerien friend over thirty years later, and they continued to enrich each other’s lives.


John and Idy reunite after 31 years

John Baird first met Idy Gondah while living in his village as a volunteer in the early 70’s. John never thought that decades later he would help Idy’s son Mourtalla make the dream of coming to America to further his education become real, but against long odds Idy is already one year through his education.

In addition to the Camel Express, you can find more information about John, Idy, and Mourtallah on two MySpace pages set up with information about their story and how you can help Mourtallah and others with their educations:

John’s page dedicated to helping African students:http://www.myspace.com/supportafricanstudents

Mourtallah’s Story:http://www.myspace.com/mourtallahsstory

Features

Contribute To The Peace Corps 50th Anniversary Digital Library

The Peace Corps is inviting former volunteers to submit stories and photos from their volunteer experiences to be used in the 50th anniversary celebration of the Peace Corps. From their web site:

The 50th Anniversary Digital Library provides a searchable collection of electronic Peace Corps materials from 1961-present, including:

  • Photos and stories contributed by Volunteers and RPCVs, using an online submission form
  • Digitized newsletters, speeches, annual reports and other key agency historical materials
  • Contributions of photos and historical documents from country posts
  • Brochures, posters, audio and video clips, and marketing materials from each decade of Peace Corps history

Peace Corps invites current and returned Volunteers to share a story and/or photos from your Peace Corps experience. Stories will be collected from Volunteers serving in each generation of the Peace Corps, from the 1960s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and on through to the present.

By sharing a story and photos that reflect your unique experience in the place and time you served, you will help enrich Americans’ understanding of what it means to have been a Peace Corps Volunteer. Many of the stories and photos submitted to the digital library will be used to honor and celebrate our legacy of service during Peace Corps’ 50th anniversary celebration in 2011. Digital library materials will be accessible to the public through the Peace Corps website, and will be shared with the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

We are currently accepting electronic submission of stories and photos from current and returned Volunteers only. If you are a Volunteer or RPCV, please read the complete photo submission guidelines and story submission guidelines for details on what we are collecting and how to submit your materials.

If you are not a Volunteer or RPCV but would like to submit material to the Digital Library, please contact us at digital@peacecorps.gov.

Full URL:
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.former.fiftieth.library.contribute

Features

YouTube Video: Niger RPCV Dr. Bill Miles Discusses His Memoir

Author and Northeastern Professor William Miles, discusses his memoir, My African Horse Problem on December 3, 2008.

Miles returned to Niger in 2000 with his ten-year-old son Samuel, to resolve an inheritance dispute over a horse. His experience captivated National Public Radio, and “All Things Considered” covered both his pre-departure story and follow-up after his visit. His account weaves together memoir, history and anthropology and journeys back to his days in Niger in the 1970s and 1980s as a Peace Corps volunteer and Fulbright scholar.

Features

One Hundred Years Of Archeology In Niger

Niger has always been a rich country for archeological research. This blog post links to a research paper outlining some of the more notable archeological finds and their significance.

It’s highly technical information, but it’s interesting to get an idea of all the work going in in the country relating to the history of mankind.

Full URL:
http://mathildasanthropologyblog.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/one-hundred-years-of-archaeology-in-niger-pdf/

News

Niger RPCV Plans Cross-Country Fundraiser for World Food Program

Andrew Marinelli, a recent RPCV from Niger, is planning an ambitious “Third Goal” service project. Beginning in March of 2009, he will begin a 6,000 mile bicycle ride from Key West, Florida, to San Francisco, California, stopping at primary and secondary schools along the way to give talks about his experiences in Niger, and help spread awareness about global hunger, rising food costs, and areas affected by conflict, while raising money for the World Food Program

With a goal of raising $100,000 for the WFP, Andrew will cross fifteen states, and visit ten state capitals and dozens of college and university campuses. He will also be contacting local media across the country with the hopes of reaching a target audience of millions of people.

To learn more about how to help via sponsorship or other activities, you can contact Andrew by phone or email:

Andrew Marinelli
World Food Program – Fundraiser Event Coordinator
Phone: 803-443-9343
andrewmarinelli@gmail.com

News

Peace Corps RPCV Career Event To Be Held February 10-13 In Washington DC

Reconnect with the Peace Corps community and give your job search a jump start with four days of career-development workshops and discussions for recently returned Peace Corps Volunteers.

This is a FREE event for RPCVs. Pre-registration is required for all sessions, and attendees are responsible for their own travel, food, and lodging costs.

For more information, visit:http://www.peacecorps.gov/rpcv/events.

News

EstroGenius Festival Presents Voices Of Africa

Partnership With Peace Corps Niger And Friends Of Niger Supports Young Girls Scholarship Program

The Estrogenius Festival’s Voices Of Africa (VOA) is a collaboration with Peace Corps Niger. This unique collaboration, featuring stories, poems and songs written by young Nigerien women, will be held on Saturday, November 1, 2008.

Ginger O’Neill, a former Estrogenius Festival volunteer, created the Pangea Festival in Niger along with co-creators Michelle Stoner and Sheena Washington while serving a two-year Peace Corps appointment in the country. Pangea brings together people from diverse villages and features events for girls and teens that help them to express their voices through music, poetry, prose, yoga, dance and other creative disciplines.

During the Pangea festival, young Nigerien women wrote poems, stories and songs that were translated into English and sent to New York City to be performed as part of Voices of Africa. 100% of the funds raised from the performances will be donated to the Young Girls Scholarship Program, which sends girls in Niger to school and the Pangea Festival in Niger.

The event will be held on Saturday, November 1st, at the Manhattan Theatre Source. Please visit their web site for tickets, or to make a tax-deductible donation:

http://www.theatresource.org/

Tickets are $15, and you can also make a tax-deductible donation here:

https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/store/931

All proceeds benefit the Young Girls Scholarship Program which provides academic scholarships to Nigerien girls.