President’s Message
Board News
Evacuee Assistance
Advocacy News
Project Support
Outreach
Social Activities
Calendar of Events

Board News

New RPCV-NJ Board Members!

RPCV-NJ has added two new board members in 2020, bringing the number up to 10, the maximum permitted by the organization’s bylaws.  Also, as usual, elections took place at the first board meeting of the year and the board members & officers from the prior year were re-elected. Following approval of updated bylaws (not done since 1988), Molly Levine was voted into the newly created position of Vice-President.

In February, Vikki Ott (Sierra Leone 2017-18) was elected. Vikki served as a Community Health Promoter in rural Sierra Leone, working collaboratively with a community health clinic and secondary school to strengthen basic primary health care knowledge and practices. She entered Peace Corps as a mid-career transition from corporate communications to a current focus of working with NGOs and non-profits in areas such as marketing, communications and project management. 

In April, Violet Esipila (Ukraine 2017-2020) was also elected to the board. Her education background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from William Paterson University and a Master’s degree in Human Resources and Employment Relations from Penn State University.  As a Peace Corps Ukraine Volunteer, Violet devoted 90 percent of her international development in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in ensuring and increasing effective strategic planning on multiple social issues. Her focus included empowering youth, women, and primary teachers in the areas of educational best practices, on raising awareness of gender equality, leadership, HIV/AIDs, disabilities, and early detection methods of breast cancer. Her recent activities included partnering with international partners in planning, organizing, and implementing early detection of breast cancer awareness in a community of over 400,000 thousand people in Ukraine.

Evacuee Assistance

The outpouring of support from the Peace Corps community to help evacuees reintegrate has been inspiring. From the many resources available from the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) to several RPCV communities forming online, our community has shown that we are here to help each other and that we are stronger together. Thank you to everyone who has offered their assistance. 

Several evacuees have reached out to RPCV-NJ to request resume reviews, asking for volunteer recommendations, looking for networking connections in specific areas, and asking how to become involved with our Chapter. Through the work of our Outreach Committee and Board of Directors, we have facilitated connections between evacuees and RPCVs throughout the state and followed up on all requests. 

If you are an evacuee who is looking for career connections, resume review, location-specific opportunities, or similar, contact rpcvnj.outreach@gmail.com. We also encourage you to reach out directly to the resources provided on our Assistance to Peace Corps Evacuees page, join the NPCA and select RPCV-NJ as your affiliate chapter, and get involved with RPCV-NJ.

Vikki Ott, Outreach Chair
 

Evacuee Perspective

COVID-19 Evacuation Experience
Anna Zauner

I returned to New Jersey on March 19, only four days after Peace Corps announced its worldwide suspension of service and evacuation of all volunteers in response to the growing threat of COVID-19.  I was serving in the highlands of Guatemala as a Youth in Development volunteer for six months before the unexpected evacuation. Guatemala was Coronavirus-free up until only a few days before the evacuation announcement. However, the government’s swift and intense containment measures almost prevented us from departing.

When COVID-19 was announced by the World Health Organization as a pandemic virus on March 11, Guatemala was still COVID-19 free and had little to no limitations in the country. We received updates from the Country Director on Friday, March 13 describing the situation around the world and in-country, citing that there was no international travel ban in Guatemala and no “Standfast” order by Peace Corps. The next day, we received an email update from Peace Corps Washington informing all volunteers that due to the pandemic some countries were being evacuated when necessary but many other posts were operating effectively and had no confirmed cases. At this point, there was one confirmed case reported in Guatemala and we were all offered Interrupted Service. The next day, Sunday, March 15, Global Director Jody Olsen made the decision to evacuate all PCV/Ts around the world.

We received the evacuation notice at 10 pm that Sunday, just hours after the Guatemalan government announced that all school would be cancelled countrywide for 21 days. As a Youth in Development volunteer I was already thinking of ways to visit, motivate or meet with groups of students to keep them occupied during that time. What felt like the longest 46 minutes of my life passed before receiving the follow-up email with the departure dates for the different departments in Guatemala. I had been assigned to the second group leaving on Tuesday. This relieved a little bit of my anxiety since I would have a full day to say goodbyes and pack up my belongings.

I woke up on my last full day in site, hoping that the memory of evacuation from last night was only a nightmare. I started the day telling my host family and whatever neighborhood friends I could find the news of my early departure tomorrow. I ran into groups of my students spending their first day off of school congregating along the trail to school. I was able to describe to one group of girls that I would be leaving tomorrow due to COVID-19, holding back tears and hoping that they understood I was leaving because I had to and not because I wanted to. One of my closest work partners in my community scheduled a meeting in the town center for me to explain to my group of coworkers in the community the reason I would be leaving and that the future of my return was uncertain, which was the only word to explain the evacuation process.

There was no clear direction on whether or not we would be able to return to our sites after this evacuation. A follow-up email from the Country Director cast a dim light on hopes of return, by instructing all volunteers to give away all of their belongings they could not bring.

After my farewell meeting with my coworkers I was able to feel some closure and accepted the offer from one co-worker for a last lunch shared in my family home. During this lunch, there was a lot of uncertainty. Peace Corps volunteers who were scheduled to leave that morning were informing other volunteers that on the way to the airport all of the buses carrying volunteers were suddenly turned around. Minute by minute more information was pouring in; the President of Guatemala, Alejandro Giemmattei cancelled all flights going in or out of the country. No planes were leaving. The border of Guatemala into Mexico was scheduled to close that evening at 8pm.

In a matter of hours we realized that there was no way to leave Guatemala, no planes and no ground transportation to Mexico. When all of this information was revealed I was trying to enjoy my last Guatemalan lunch with my hospitable coworker before panicking. And as lunch was finishing up, I received an update from post, “Have all of your things packed and ready in an hour to go to your consolidation point.” Being about 30 minutes from my home with nothing packed and relying on Guatemalan public transportation for my timely return, I began to panic.

Running through the town center to catch the next bus, I was flagged down by a friend in the town. She informed me to be careful as Guatemalans were becoming hostile towards “tourists,” warning me that I shouldn’t be walking around alone. All of the sudden, a place that was home became a source of fear. I hoped I would be able to inform my host family I was actually leaving today and still be able to pack up all of my belonging in time.

With a heavy, rapidly-beating heart I rushed to load all of my things into a tuk-tuk heading to the home of the nearest neighbor with a car, who offered to drive me the rest of the way. I arrived at the consolidation point just on time. Somehow all volunteers in the area had been able to pack and get ready to go within an hour. We arrived at a hotel close to the airport that night, where the severity of the situation was explained to us.

At 8 pm that evening, Guatemala had suspended all public transport and gatherings of more than 10 people. We had just made it in time or else our bus carrying 12 people could have been pulled over and arrested for breaking the law. The Guatemalan president was taking public health precautions extremely seriously and all restrictions were strictly enforced by police.

The group of volunteers in the hotel consisted of about 60 people, which was violating the new Guatemalan restrictions. In our time spent in the hotel we had to leave in very small groups as to not arouse suspicion. Our evacuation was scheduled tentatively for 9 am the next morning on a private plane. At early breakfast the next morning as we were preparing for the flight, the sound of message alerts could be heard in the room, followed by a collective groan. The flight was cancelled until further notice. We were informed that we were not granted airspace and negotiations with the Guatemalan government were still in progress. There was talk of a possible flight for the next day but no one had the strength to get their hopes up.

On Wednesday, March 18 it became official. I was only able to believe it once we were on the buses headed to the airport. Peace Corps had secured a private plane for all 169 volunteers and trainees as well as some high-risk embassy staff, qualifying our flight as an embassy flight and gaining some leverage in the negotiations. We were granted the air space in Guatemala and Miami. The only way they could transport such a large number of people without possibly getting arrested was to coordinate an embassy escort, made up of multiple vehicles and about 20 motorcycles. We arrived with sirens blaring and lights flashing to an empty airport. Hours later when we finally touched down in Miami the entire plane erupted with applause for the hard work our post administration put in to bring us home.

The process of evacuation was hectic at best. While I was able to say some goodbyes, I felt as though I was unable to express the reality of the situation. As I remember the words of my host family as I was trying to explain through tears that I was hoping to come back but unsure if I would be able to. They said to me, “No tenga pena” —don’t have shame. “We will keep your room for you, this room is yours.” Although I do still have shame—shame for the lack of proper goodbyes, shame for the lack of understanding and shame for leaving the community I had pledged to give two years, only to leave after 6 short months.


Any other evacuees willing to share their experience are invited to send their story to
Vikki Ott  rpcvnj.outreach@gmail.com to be posted on the RPCV-NJ website.

Advocacy News

Advocacy participants had an in-district meeting with the office of Corey Booker in February at his Newark Office.  During this meeting, volunteers brought up our concerns of budget cuts and asked that the Senator support bringing the funding up to $450 million for the next fiscal year to help Peace Corps grow and fill the requests of other nations for volunteers.

Our biggest success was on Capitol Hill Day, March 5^th, where eleven NJ volunteers gathered with a couple hundred others to visit the offices of lawmakers to support the Peace Corps. The day started with some speeches from our Peace Corps Allies, Representatives Kennedy, Garamendi and Graves.  Our NJ volunteers managed to convene 11 meetings this day.  In our meetings, we discussed current Peace Corps issues including use of the P.C logo on final resting places (H.R 1411), and the P.C. reauthorization act 3456. This resolution includes funding of $450 million, the Respect Act, increased disability pay from GS-7 to GS-11, and enhanced non-competitive eligibility for recently-returned volunteers. Many of the staffers with whom we met showed support for our issues and listened as we shared some of our incredible stories of service. Anyone can attend Capitol Hill Day and we invite volunteers to consider attending next year.

Do you want to help??

People interested in attending in-district meetings can contact Susan Metzger as we are beginning to line some up now for the upcoming months. Take Action! You can follow this link for letter-writing actions that include a call to sign these important Dear Colleague letters. 

Susan Metzger
rpcvnj.advocacy@gmail.com 

Project Support

FUNDED PROJECTS - 2020
At the February board meeting support was approved for the two Peace Corps Partnership Projects, lead by PCVs from New Jersey.  $500 was donated at that time for each of the following projects:
 
Ghana—Girls Empowerment Program and Extension: Jasmine Miller, NJ PCV.  The girls club would meet once a week at the local school and provide a safe environment for girls to learn about themselves, build self-confidence and gain leadership skills.
 
Benin—Constructing Safe Classrooms: Maxwell Lieblich, NJ PCV.  The funds would be used to build classrooms in a village school that serves 18 forms (grades), 828 students and 80 teachers.  The middle/high school serves multiple villages. 
 
As everyone knows, all Peace Corps volunteers were evacuated after the March 15^th announcement to that effect. RPCV-NJ is following up on the status of those donations. In the meantime, in early April, this note was received by RPCV-NJ:
 
My name is Jasmine Miller and I am a returned Peace Corps Ghana Volunteer. I was evacuated because of the COVID-19 pandemic but before that, I had applied for a Let Girls Learn Grant for my community in Ghana. I was evacuated before I could get the funds to begin work on the project but I wanted to let RPCV-NJ know that I and my community were thankful and appreciative of the donation. 
 
Thank you,
Jasmine
 

Outreach

MONMOUTH FILM FESTIVAL
  

During Peace Corps Week 2020, RPCV-NJ was invited to take part part in the annual Film Festival at Monmouth University. RPCVs set up table displays from their countries of service and had the opportunity to share their experiences with those interested in the Peace Corps, including prospective volunteers. Among the display items was an impressive letter from John F. Kennedy to Donald Yates commending him for his first year of service. The event attracted students & family members, faculty and the general public. 

RPCV INTERNATIONAL CALENDAR SALES - preorders for 2021 calendars
RPCV-NJ continues to work in partnership with RPCVs of Wisconsin-Madison as a local distributor for their International Calendars http://www.rpcvcalendar.org
Calendars will be available this summer for anyone ordering by July 31^st
 
Funds raised from the sale of these calendars in NJ will support RPCV-NJ activities including Project Support, Volunteer/Service Activities, Social Events and the pursuit of the Peace Corps' Third Goal which this calendar contributes to. Consider buying these high-quality, informative calendars for family, friends, teachers, co-workers, etc.
To place an order, complete this form 

ORAL HISTORY ARCHIVAL PROJECT UPDATE
The Peace Corps Oral History Archival Project (OHAP) was started in 1997 by Robert Klein (Ghana, ’61-63) in order to save as many of the unique stories of Peace Corps Volunteers for the future as possible.  Digital interviews are conducted by volunteer RPCVs throughout the country and over 700, including many from New Jersey, are archived in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library’s Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection. In fact, the national Oral History Archival Project has been so successful that we have overwhelmed the JFK Library, and late last year they asked us to slow the pace of our interviewing and may ultimately limit submissions for those RPCVs who served during the Kennedy administration.

Needless to say, the current pandemic has stopped us altogether from interviewing the New Jersey RPCVs who are currently on our interview list.  We will resume once it is safe to do so.  To date, 27 interviews of NJ RPCVs have been conducted. In addition RPCV-NJ OHAP team members have interviewed several RPCVs across the country in order in an effort to establish interviewers in other states (including California, Oregon, Washington, Florida & Hawaii).

In the meantime, the national OHAP leadership team is investigating working with other major libraries with oral history archives in order to save as many stories as possible. We want your story saved!  If you are interested in being interviewed after we resume interviewing, contact Candy Wiggum candy@peacecorpsoralhistory.org

Candy Wiggum,  NJ Interviewer & OHAP Leadership Team Member

Social Activities

This is definitely a tough time to be writing an update about RPCV-NJ "social" activities, but we are hopeful that the pandemic will eventually fizzle out so we can get back to our normal lives. Right before the virus hit our area hard we had set up two social events that we scheduled for April. The first was a luncheon at a Kosher delicatessen and the other was a tour of The Museum of Natural History followed by dinner in NYC (NJ and NYC RPCVs were to be invited.)  Of course, as you already know, these two social events, as well as all other RPCV-NJ events, have been canceled/postponed until further notice due to the coronavirus.

When we are able to resume business as usual we have a number of social events planned.  The list below shows what we already have on the books and more will be added as we assess our needs.