Peace Corps Senegal: Mango Grafting (1 of 4)

Scion Preparation The first step to a successful mango graft is effective scion (budwood) preparation, one month in advance. PC/Senegal Demba Sidibe shows how to remove leaves and cut the scion from the tree. From: pcsenegaladmin Views: 12636 12 ratings Time: 01:21 More in Education

Andrew Oerke Speaks about poverty alleviation

Andrew Oerke worked as country director for the Peace Corps in Malawi and Jamaica and has directed nonprofit organizations working in more than 100 countries. He began microfinance in the 1960's in Africa. He is a co-author of "Future of the Western Hemisphere" www.amazon.com From: drjacksonhaiti Views: 2 0 ratings Time: 01:36 More in Nonprofits & Activism

Poverty in Africa!

the problems in Africa are numerous and cannot be solved by one person, but there are a lot of ways you can help. Whether you just want to donate money or actually go to Africa in person to volunteer, you can do your part. All it takes is a bit of time and the desire to help your fellow man. Difficulty: Easy Instructions 1 Donate money. There are many organizations that are collecting money for Africa. Donate to A Dollar For Peace or Africa Now. The money goes towards supplies, food, tools or resources such as HIV education or teaching someone how to farm. 2 Play the Free Rice vocabulary game. Twenty grains of rice are donated to the UN World Food Program for every word you guess right. This rice goes all over the world, including Africa. Not only are you helping hungry people in Africa, but you're expanding your vocabulary along the way. 3 Sponsor a child in Africa, through an organization like World Vision. When you sponsor a child, they are provided with clean drinking water, proper health care and proper schooling. 4 Learn about problems in Africa and tell others about them. Whether it's the situation in Darfur or deforestation in Tanzania, you can help just by learning about the situations and spreading that knowledge to as many people as possible. 5 Write to your Congressman or Congresswoman. Encourage them to support legislation that helps Africa, like legislation that provides debt relief or sends HIV medication to Africa. 6 Volunteer by joining the Peace Corps <b>...</b> From: yellizy Views: 42 0 ratings Time: 01:35 More in Film & Animation

Moringa Seed Storage - Phostoxin

Shelley White, Peace Corps/Senegal Agroforestry volunteer, shows how to properly use the chemical phostoxin to store seed and keep it safe from pests From: zijaaustralia Views: 0 0 ratings Time: 01:52 More in Education

Alonzo Fulgham: Your Role in Economic Development and National Security Policy

Chief Operating Officer Alonzo Fulgham joined USAID in 1989 and has broad authority over the formation and implementation of its policy and strategic planning agenda and program and management reforms. As a Sr. Foreign Service officer, he served in several countries and Washington, DC. He received a Presidential Meritorious Rank Award for his work as Mission Director in Afghanistan, USAID's Superior Achievement Award for his accomplishments as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Secretary, and numerous awards for his work in Afghanistan, Eastern Europe, and South Asia. Fulgham has a BS from Fisk University and an MA from the National Defense University. A Peace Corps volunteer in Haiti from 1984 to 1986, he speaks Creole and Spanish. From: CarnegieMellonCIRP Views: 0 0 ratings Time: 01:03:03 More in People & Blogs

POVERY IN AFRICA

PLEASE READ DESCRIPTION!!! here is the reality of Africa... the problems in Africa are numerous and cannot be solved by one person, but there are a lot of ways you can help. Whether you just want to donate money or actually go to Africa in person to volunteer, you can do your part. All it takes is a bit of time and the desire to help your fellow man. Difficulty: Easy Instructions 1 Donate money. There are many organizations that are collecting money for Africa. Donate to A Dollar For Peace or Africa Now. The money goes towards supplies, food, tools or resources such as HIV education or teaching someone how to farm. 2 Play the Free Rice vocabulary game. Twenty grains of rice are donated to the UN World Food Program for every word you guess right. This rice goes all over the world, including Africa. Not only are you helping hungry people in Africa, but you're expanding your vocabulary along the way. 3 Sponsor a child in Africa, through an organization like World Vision. When you sponsor a child, they are provided with clean drinking water, proper health care and proper schooling. 4 Learn about problems in Africa and tell others about them. Whether it's the situation in Darfur or deforestation in Tanzania, you can help just by learning about the situations and spreading that knowledge to as many people as possible. 5 Write to your Congressman or Congresswoman. Encourage them to support legislation that helps Africa, like legislation that provides debt relief or sends HIV <b>...</b> From: yellizy Views: 0 0 ratings Time: 01:35 More in News & Politics

CapHaitien2011.mov

Some video from a week in Cap-Haitien, Haiti's second largest city, after a medical mission with two friends from the Peace Corps. Music is "Throw Down Your Heart" by Bela Fleck. From: davehotstream Views: 1 0 ratings Time: 05:12 More in Travel & Events

After noticing that a rather large number of patients have been getting blood transfusions lately, I wandered down to the lab and asked the manager, Salah, if there was a need for blood here. He replyed in the affirmative, citing a need for type-O in particular. (I am O+.) I was working at the time, but promised to come back after my shift to donate.

During my shift, I tried to encourage my collegues to donate as well. Unfortunatly, Palestinians seem to be as lame as Americans when faced with the idea of voluntarily going under the needle, and I didn't get any takers. However, at least the excuses where different. Rather then citing a colorful recent sexual history, most stated that they could not donate during Ramadan, that thier hemoglobin was too low, or that women couldn't donate.

I actually didn't think that I would be able to donate myself, as my hemoglobin is generally through the floor and I have been joing the rest of the hospital in the Ramadan fast. But I guess that a diet of yellow rice and chicken is high in iron, because I was actually in the double-unit bracket (although I only gave one.)

I did warn them about recent travel to Haiti (which is a rule-out for America because of the risk of malaria) but that was not a problem. Which basically drove home my insistance that although I am happy to help treat the people here, if I need any real medical care I am heading over to the Israeli side faster then you can say "gesundheit".

Peru: Quake And Recovery

National Archives and Records Administration - ARC Identifier 88612 / Local Identifier 490.81 - Peru: Quake and Recovery - Peace Corps. (1982 - ). This film documents the events surrounding an earthquake in Peru in 1970 that represented the worst natural disaster in the history of the western hemisphere, killing approximately 66000 people. Scenes focus on the Peace Corps' assistance program whose goal was to provide Peruvians with the knowledge and skills to rebuild their country. - From: TheEarthquakeChannel Views: 94 1 ratings Time: 08:39 More in Travel & Events

It is almost inexplicable that a serious live music fan from Tennessee would miss Bonnaroo (the US answer to Glastonbury Festival) for each of its 9 first years, but that is indeed what I have done. Thankfully though, 2011 was finally my year, and all the stars aligned to get me there with a schedule [...]

JessicaI have been in touch with a young lady named Jessica who has spent the last few weeks in Gaza, and I was happy when she gave me a call, saying that she and another volunteer, Emmett, were in town and were hoping for a visit. They were involved in an Art Exchange in Gaza, where they worked with art projects with the kids there, and exchanged the art with other kids in the states.

Unfortunatly, I had to work that night. I did manage to sneak away-- I wanted to smoke shesha with them, and smoking during the day on Ramadan was not allowed. I had suggested to then that they visit the night market, but we found out that was closed. I was shocked-- 2AM shopping was half the fun of Ramadan while I was in Yemen. However, the Israelis did not allow shops to be open at such a later hour. So with only about 8 hours that one can eat, Palestinians can still only shop during less then half of those. (Another blow to the economy.)

Jessica had actually been in Palestine about a year ago and knew more about Hebron then I did. Emmett had not been, so the next morning we had breakfast in my room and then headed out. (As it was Ramadan, I had snagged some food during my overnight shift to store in my room, where we ate away from the eyes of fasting Muslims.) We walked to the old city, where we were approached by what I call an "impromtu tour guide". Seeing that we were on the way to the Cave of Ibraham, he told us that it was closed, but that he would show us around.

People come to Hebron for two reasons-- to see the Cave of Ibraham, and to see the occupation. As most visitors to the Cave are Jewish and therefore stay in the settlements, any westerners that can be found in the old city can generally safely be assumed to be examining the effects of the occupatiuon, as we were. Our tour guide, Ibrahim, was well aware of this and basically started to give us the tour without asking. It's hard to say "no" to someone whose schpeal basically starts with "come and see what terrible things have happened to our city." To say "no" sounds like "I don't care".

Ibraham was a great guide. His "specialty" seemed to center around the different art and graffitti that can be found around the settlements, as can be seen here. The most shocking, of course, was a door that proclaimed "Gas The Arabs JDL" (JDL stands for "Jewish Defence League".) which made me both angry and highly confused.

Shada Street

Palestinains on the left, Isrealis on the rightThe roads that are around and in the settlements are often segrgated,with some roads allowed for Palestinians to walk on, and others restricted. (There are also areas where Israelis are not allowed to go.) There is even one street, Shada street, where a divider through the center of the road seperates the area that Palestinians are allowed to walk from the areas where Israelis are allowed to walk. (Only the Israeli side allows cars, in general Palestinians are not allowed to drive in the Israeli-controlled areas of "H2".)

Our tour ended with a walk through a beautiful Arab Graveyard and a stop at a subterrian lake which Abraham and Sarah supposidly washed at at one time. Washing in it yourself was supposed to be good luck, so I headed down. The stagnent water was rancid, smelly, and buggy so I quickly dabbed myself with the green water while Jessica snapped a quick picture. Afterwards, I felt much dirtier then before.

In retrospect, ew.Ibrahim concluded his tour at this point, and Jessica talked us into heading to the "Synagogue part" of the Cave of Ibrahim. After the shooting in 1994, the cave was seperated into two parts. My tour book informed me that I was not allowed into the Jewish half, but Jessica told me that would be assumed to be Jewish and allowed in. Turns out that she was right. We walked right in to an area that was crowded and stuffed with people and books. Jewish tourists mingled amoung the people praying as we examined the Cenotaphs from the Jewish side. It was too busy for me, so after seeing everything we decided to check Ibrahim's claim that the mosque was closed. (It wasn't, the little twerp.)

The mosque side has a totally different feel. The first thing that we noticed was the hostility of the soldiers as we endered, which contrasted strongly with the welcoming smiles that we got walking into the other side. One of the soliders asked Jessica if she had "anything sharp, like a knife". (I did not point out that had she been carring a knife for the purposes of harming someone she was not likely to verbally own up to it.)

Damn it, this doesn't look like Mt. DoomWhen it is not Ramdan, many people will come simply to sit in the cool shade and drink water (as often the mosque is the only place where drinking water can be found.) The only think that I don't like about it is that women are forced to cover in incredibly hot denim capes that Jessica said made us look like hobbits from Lord of the Rings. We took a seat by a fan and were approached by a kid asking for money. I offered to take a picture of him instead. He counted by asking if he could take my picture, and I handed over my camera. As a result of this action, my camera was returned about a half hour later with about 5 lovely pictures (and 45 blurry ones) documenting the mosque and it's visitors from every concievable angle. Palestinian children are easily amused. He did take some good pictures, especially pictures that I would have never taken, such as the following pictures of people praying:

There is nothing that bridges a language gap like a phrase book.Jessica and Emmett left that day for a small area outside of Bethlaham. They were going to be staying with a woman who is dealing with an entroaching settlement that is slowly taking over Palestinian farmland. At night, fences will appear that grab farmland and are protected by the IDF. My hat is off to her, I can barely stomach the "Gas The Arabs" sign.



If you have money to blow, we could use

a few new incubatorsI have been working in the NICU, and during Ramadan most of my shifts have been night shift. This is because people prefer to be home during "Iftar", the meal where the fast is broken.

For me, one of the best parts is getting fed at 3AM. Normally, I would either have to wake up to get food at this time, squirrel some food away, or just go hungry.

On my first night, I was a little surprised when I found out that during the 16 hour shift, it was expected that each staff member would go take a nap for a few hours. It was hard for me to imagine this happening in America. I was also put off by the fact that my presence was needed to assure that there was adequte staffing while one was napping.

This little one is hoping that her

next leap will be the leap home.

Seriously, it's a 360-degree ultaviolet device

for jaundice.I had some friends visiting, so I took my "nap" early to go smoke some sheesha with them. I came back and the other staff took thier turns a little later. At one point, a sleepy staff member came out and told me a bit about himself. It turns out that he had two jobs-- one here, and one in Ramallah. Ramallah is about a 3 hour round trip. I asked, surprised, how many hours he worked in a week. He told me 40. I nodded, thinking that this was normal, until he told me that he had an additional 35 hours at the hospital that we were at. Turns out that he is working two full time jobs.

I found out the reason for this when I asked if he had kids. It turns out that he and his wife are not able to have kids, so the extra money that he is raising has gone to two unsuccessful in-vitro fertilization attempts. They are trying for a third. Having kids is vital to family life here in Palestine. (As there are no retirement homes here, it is also vital for a comfortable old age.)

Needless to say, I was a little more willing to work nights if it meant giving people a few hours to sleep when they were working double shifts. (Espeically since this hospital hasn't been able to pay anyone in three months.)

Swag from tonight. Books are pure gold.TIPH stands for "Temporary International Presence In Hebron". They are not very temporary, having been here since 1994 when a Israeli settler doctor went on a rampage in a mosque and killed 29 men and boys while they prayed. (Such a thing has never happened since, so I told them that they are obviously having a positive impact.)

They are stationed in a hotel that a former guidebook decribed as a "beacon of luxary in Hebron" (or something like that) before TIPH took it over. Today, TIPH's main attraction for me is thier full nightly buffet bar (including a salad bar), library, and large number of internationals that constantly staff thier office.

Oh yes, and they are one of the few places in the city, it turns out, where one can buy booze. So I had a good night.

I think that this clip from "American Dad" sums it up best:

Feeding a donkeySo I got invited by a "friend" to take dinner at his house. This was one of the rash of invites that I got while I was sick, and I finally decided that it was just easier to say yes. Since I was being picked up in a car, fed, and then was promiced to be taken home that night, I figured "why not?" I was getting a little tired of the hospital food, especially the yellow rice and dry chicken that they serve every bloody day.

Now, I love eating at the houses of Palestinian friends, but I wish that I didn't need a hostage negtiator to get out and back home. Because Palestinians really don't have a concept of "alone time", most people are pretty concerned that I am bored or lonely spending so much time on my own, and are pretty horrified at the thought of my sleeping away from my family. So, an invite generally comes with a request for me to sleep over. Explaining that I sleep better in my own room is generally a waste of time, so I have to come pre-loaded with excuses for getting back that night (generally a sceduled phone call to the states.)

So in this visit, I was pretty pleased when my male host offered to drive me home almost as soon as the last bite of food was down my throat. Not that I wasn't ready to go. I had been in his villiage for almost 6 hours. First, we went to his parents house. None of his family spoke very much English, which was expected, but what wasn't expected was that he decided to take off shortly after we arrived. He went to visit a friend and left me with his mother, brother, and two sisters, where I attempted to smalltalk in Arabic for a half hour. I am not fond of small-talk in English, so I was pretty relieved when he finally came back with his father. I was ready to strangle him when he left again ten minutes after that for another half hour.

Finally, we went to his house where his lovely wife was making food. We hung around with a few people outside, I fed the donkey, and finally sat down to eat after about two hours of me nodding politely as his family. I nearly burst out into simultanous tears and laughter when I saw the food-- yellow rice and chicken. My host told me that this was traditional food for visitors, which is probably why it is served at the hospital daily. But since he also eats at the hospital (and therefore knows what I eat) I did want to ask him just what the hell he was thinking. Instead I smiled and enjoyed the food, complimenting his wife after every bite.

After dinner I was gifted with some old jewelry which I tried to refuse. I wondered if such trinkets are actually worn, or if they are just continously regifted to others, because that is what I will be doing with them. I kissed the wife and thanked her again for dinner as she cleaned up and my host shuffled us out the door.

I discovered later why he was in such a hurry to leave. As soon as his house was out of view, he asked me if I would like to have an affair. I replyed in the negative, attempting to "save face" by saying that I had someone back at home. Mr. Charming pointed out that I had been here a month already and that he didn't think that I would be wise to wait much longer for relations. He asked me if I was a virgin. I told him that I didn't wish to discuss it and then pointed out various contellations to him.

Rural Palestine would be a lovely place for an

elicit affair, were I so inclined, which I wasn't.The strange thing was that he brought this up three more times. I reminded him that he had a wife. He told me that she would not know. I got pretty upset at this point, although I am sure that he was not the first man to take a potential mistress to his house, have his wife cook and clean for her, then expect a quickie in the car while I was still digested her cooking. The third time he brought up a possible affair, I decided "to hell with saving face" and lectured him sternly about makin assumptions about non-Muslim women, the sanctity of marriage, and my choice and right to say "no" regardless of what he assumed about my sexual past.

Needless to say, I think that it is going to be a while before I accept any more invites.

I've been sick again (this time tonsilitis, which I am prone too) and my illness has been causing a few cultural snafus. Just like the local belief that a stomachache apparently needs to be treated with food, a sore throat (and other respirtory illnesses) need to be treated with a journey out of the city and into the country.

So, when news hit the hospital that I was sick, a "rash" of invitations came rushing in, each to a villiage more distant then the last. Although it's rude to refuse an invitation to another's home in this culture, I tend to put my foot down when I am not feeling well and just want to rest. Unfortunatly, the invitations do not appear to be voluntary, and I have taken to hiding in my room to avoid them. The first one I thought that I would be able to perry with an excuse, but the lady said that if I came to her house I would be better. I laughed at her joke, then realized that she was serious. At that time I had a slight fever and I was an hour from the end of my shift and an hour from bed. Unlike milky food which can be hidden in the trash, I have had a harder time trying to convince people that I just don't want to travel or meet a ton of people when I have a fever.

For me, it seems unreasonable to make any type of demands on someone that doesn't feel well, and I am trying not to feel frustrated that people will not just accept my "no thank you, I don't feel well, perhaps another time" and drop it. I am trying to imagine my own reaction if I found out that someone was continuing to smoke during a nasty chest infection-- I would not take a "no thank you" to my advice to stop smoking if I really cared about the person, no matter how polite. I think that people here feel the same way about getting me some fresh air. But, after working for eight hours, I really just want to rest and spending another four hours trying to stumble through a conversation with my weak Arabic is just not an option.

I have been transferred to the NICU, where I have been for the last few days. The plus sides is that I don't have to try to talk to scared parents that don't understand my English. The con side is is that I am working with men who don't really know how to react to a woman like me, but I think that we will all learn. People of opposite genders are not friends here, unless they are also family.

I was talking to some NGO workers the other day, and I learned about the problem in Hebron that involves water.

You have probably heard at one point or another that the water is not divided equally amoung the groups here. There are basically two governments, the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is below the Israeli government. The Israeli government decides who gets the water and how it is devided up amoung the people, and the PA who rations out the water that the Israeli government decides that they get.

Needless to say, there isn't a water problem that I know of in the settlements. The area of the city outside the settlements is another matter, however. Most of the Palestinians have water tanks that are on their roof. The PA gives each house 2, and richer families will buy more. The water is rationed to different areas during the month. When it is your month, you fill up your tanks and that is all the water that you get for a few weeks. This means that water usage that it not considered "vital" will have to wait. Some couples will even have to forgo sexual activity as they are unable to properly wash afterwards to pray. (I also heard that during the Intifada, bored Israeli soldiers guarding the settlements would shoot at the water tanks to rupture them, and leave the families without water.)

This is obviously not an issue here at the hospital, where we are able to have all the water that we need. But after learning this, I have taken steps to conserve.

Beleive it or not, the hospital isn't all

dying children and crazy staff.

There are good days, too. The day before I got sick, we admitted a little guy with Down's Syndrome who was having respiratory problems. I had not been able to determine what exactly was wrong with him, but he had obvious cardiac surgery, acidosis (probably respiratory), and was gray. I guessed that he was about less then a year-- age was hard to judge because of developmental delays. We did the same respiratory resuscitation efforts that we had done on Farah the day before and he was admitted to our pediatric ICU.

He wasn't doing very well when I came into today, with bruises on his body from what looked like DIC. I found out that he had been coded during the night. He was on a respirator and a heart monitor that was showing periods of apnea. I think that the heart monitor may have also been a defibrillator that was keeping him alive, but I wasn't able to find out. I worked in another area for about an hour, then when I went in to see how he was doing I saw that he had died. He was wrapped in a sheet that was taped closed, and someone had written something (probably a prayer) in green. I am not sure why the child died, or if he would have died had he been in the States. Down Syndrome kids tend to have pretty significant cardiac problems, so it was probably related to that and may or may not have been fixable.

About an hour later, the family started to congregate. I didn't take much notice of the men, but a young woman came in and sat in a different set of chairs and started to cry. Everyone was busy with rounds at this time. Now, the problem with working with families that have lost someone is that death rituals differ greatly, including among different areas and classes. So although my first instinct was to take this women in to see her son, I wasn't sure if that was appropriate.

I did know that, regardless of culture, it wasn't appropriate in any situation for this women to have to quietly sob while people were laughing at the nursing station five feet from her. I tried to get someone to take her someplace private (I didn't want to lead her away without telling her where she was going, and I didn't have the words to explain) and they started to take her into Farah's room (the young baby I've been caring for). Knowing that the last thing that women needed to see was another women holding a living baby, I intercepted the her and took the bewildered women into the nursing break room. I gave her some tissues and a glass of water and then demanded that she be allowed to see her son.

Finally, two nurses took her into the PICU and unwrapped her son for her to see and touch. She cried,touched his face, and asked that he be covered up. The family wrapped up the youngster in a blanket and took him away.

Been sick for the last 24 hours with some sort of stomach virus that has been going around. I think that I am finally over the worst of it. The staff here have been really great about taking care of me, although mostly they come into my room to try to talk me into eating food that I can not digest. One of the doctors thought that I had meningitis and wanted to give me a spinal tap, I managed to talk him out of it. (They draw spinal fluid in this place with the same frequency that most people draw blood tests.) I am going to head out in a bit and try to find a store that sells ramen. Instant ramen is a pretty universal food, I am hoping. I keep trying to explain to the housekeepers that I would rather be punched repeatedly in the stomach then try to digest the oil-laden hummus, flatbread, and yogurt that they keep bringing me.

My one (and only) patient, Farah, went down a few days ago to have a gasto tube placed as tube feedings unfortunatly seem to be a part of her permenent future. While she was down there, I got to wondering what would happen if a patient coded while on the unit. I had not been shown a crash cart, paddles, or anything like that. And I came pretty close to finding out. About an hour later, one of the nurses got a call to pick her up. I was behind the nursing station when the doors opened and Nabila called out that we needed O2. I wasn't able to figure out what happened exactly, but Farah was grey as stone and her mother was in tears. We took her into the room and I used a nasal cannula that was there to give her O2 until someone brought a vent. We got an O2 monitor at her and she was running at 76% O2 (normal is 95-100). We manged to get to O2 stats up, but she kept on stopping breathing on me and I had to shake her awake. It took 20 minutes to get her color back, and I insisted that the doctor be called when the poor little girl wouldn't stop gasping for breath. Normally, I would have called arapid responce the second that she had gotten off the elevator, and reamed surgery for sending what obviously was an unstable patient on an elevator without supplimental O2. On that note, I don't think that I have seen any portable O2 anywhere in the hospital.

Anyway, she is doing a lot better now.

Nabila, my preceptor, hasn't been paid in

three months, yet here she is diligently

showing how we get a flushAs Friday is a Muslim holiday, Thursdays are basically Fridays here in Hebron. As a result, there is a fireworks show going on at some big place about 200 yards outside my window. They shoot off about 20 or so every hour. It was cool at first, nows it's starting to get annoying.

Life at the hospital goes on. I found out today that no one here has been paid for a month. One of the nurses told me that since there is no money for the Ramadan feast (Ramadan is in August) she is planning on eating her children for the Iftar, or breaking of the fast. I think that the joke might have lost something in the translation. (There go the damn fireworks again.)

My patient, Salah, whose name is actually Farah (Salah is the mother) is still here. The doctors said a week ago that Farah could go home as soon as her parents buy a home suction machine. I am starting to wonder if the parents know that. I have tried to get the other girls to ask the mother if she has questions about this request, but the baby is still here. Not that I mind, I enjoy taking care of her. (That is us in the picture.)

Me and FarahBut I am really worried about her. I think that I mentioned that her mother and father are older, which is probably why she has so many congenital defects. She was also an IVF baby. Her mother is the second wife of her husband, which is often a role where the women has to try a little harder to prove her worth. The father rarely visits and seemed uninterested in the child. (In fact, when the father is here, it seems like there are two babies to care for.) What worries me the most is that there is very limited interaction between the mother and the baby. With the baby being likely developmentally delayed (I suspect Down's Syndrome), deaf, and mute from the trach, she will need much more stimulation then most babies to help her mind grow. But she is never held or talked to, which is only going to make her disabilities worse. She will cry, but it is completely silent, so she can't even ask for attention. Oh yes, and she is a girl, not a boy.

Farah and her mother, SalahThe mother left for Behtlaham for the night again, and one of the nurses on the night staff threw a hissy fit. Not only was she yelling and carring on in front of the other patients and parents, but I wanted to laugh at her because there were only 6 patients for three nurses. I was like, are you kidding me? If any of my old 5A colleges are reading this, you are probably laughing as well, as we would have 6 patients to a nurse. Sure, Farah needs feeding and suctioning, but all the other patients are cared for by thier parents. I offered to come back and care for her, but they wouldn't let me.

And there go the fireworks again...

Unrelated note, what is up

with this picutre?For my first day off, I took a walk into the old city of Hebron. Hebron is unique in that it is the only area in Israel and the occupied territories to have a settlement in a major city. Hebron is divided into two areas, H1 (under Palestinian control) and H2 (the Israeli settlement.)

Guard tower at the separation

between H1 and H2As a Red Cross/Red Cresent volunteer, I have made it a goal not to become involved in the politics of the situation. Although I have my own beliefs, I am not here as a protestor to to serve some agenda, at least I am trying not to. It is hard when everyone wants to talk to me about politics, or you walk around in Hebron.

I am willing to consider arguements about Israel's right to be here and it's founding, etc etc, but do firmly beleve that the settlements are wrong. Supported and populated mostly by the most extremist populations, it is generally believed that they serve simply to increase the land holdings of areas that are not under Palestinian control. They are akin to people moving into the “Green Zone” of Iraq, and are not only agaist international law, they are against Israeli law as well. They are tolerated in this country for the same reason that the US tolerates things like Abu Ghraib and Gitmo-- it is thought that they are necessary.

Hebron old city market, with the covered to catch garbage.

Can you imagine living here?A lock to a shop soldered shutIn the case of the settlements in Hebron, they have causes the old city and it's holy site – Ibrahimi Mosque-- to become heavily fortified by Israeli solders. Lonely Planet states that there are 4000 soldiers to protect the 500 settlers (no, that isn't a typo, in fact I just looked itup again to be sure.) After eeing the rooftop lookout points and walking through three checkpoints to get to the mosque, I did not find this hard to believe. The settlement houses are across a small alley from the Palestinian houses, and the Palestinians have had to put webbing over the roads as the settlers will throw trash out the window. In one house that I visited, my host said that he had to keep his windows closed and locked lest his neighbors from across the way toss rocks and Maltov cocktails into his home. (I did not believe him about the Maltov cocktail part until he showed me a area that had been bombed by such a concoction.) He also showed me that many shops were forcefully closed and their doors welded shut to prevent the re-opening of the shops. The shops were too close to the settlements (often, they were in the first floor of the building) and so they were taken away. Resisters were arrested.

The old cityHebron's recent history includes a massacure in the Ibrahimi Mosque, were a settler (who happened to be a doctor) walked in and killed 29 men and boys while they prayed, injuring another 200. This is most of the reason for the security to get into the Mosque. After walking through two remote controlled locked doors and being searched by two guards, I could start to feel the irritation. My irritation reached its peak at the last Israeli solder who searched me. She was blonde with an American accent, and when she asked me: “Where are you from?” I couldn't help but answer “America. And you?” She gave me a dirty look and let me pass. So much for not getting involved politically.

Praying at the tomb of Abraham



The mosque about 100 meters from my

window that is the bane of my exsistance.Well, I am starting to fall into the swing of things here. I really wasn't sure if this was going to work, but it's been about a week and I am starting to feel slightly helpful. I am able to occasionally sleep though a call to prayer although one of these damn minarets are right outside my window. (For some reason, the loudspeakers even manage to work when the power is out.)

My time here so far has been highly frustrating with moments of light. A few people treat me like I am a bit of a moron. Other times there are situations where I just want to cringe. For example, I saw a few nurses busy over a medical calculation. They had their cell-phone calculators out, and I wandered over to see what math problem was so completed that it requered three nurses. As I moved over, I hear that they decided to give five pills. I looked at the order, and saw that 0.25 mg of aspirin were ordered, and the pills were 0.1 mg each. It was such an easy problem that I quickly doupted my own answer, but I stopped them and insisted that only 2.5 pills were needed. They did not believe me, but fortunatly a doctor took my side.

The nurses trying to figure out how to setup the respirator.

(To thier credit, I couldn't figure it out either.)I am actually a bit annoyed with the nursing staff this evening. I have had just one patient for the last week, the little girl Salah with the trach tube. It's good that I took her-- her mother had to go home for an evening, and I was able to spend alol my time with her, suctioning, feeding, and holding her. Her mother is still afraid to hold her, but little by little I have encouraged her to hold the little girl. I also found that that a stay in the hospital is 200 sheckels (about $70) a night, not including money for medications. This is a lot of money here. So when the mother asked again for permission to leave for the night and go home again, I was horrified when the nurses said no, there would be no one to feed or suction the little girl. Isn't that what the staff are there for? I agreed to stay with the girl while the mother went home (I would just be hanging in my room anyway) but by this time the mother sensed that she was causing trouble and decided to stay. What are nurses here for, it not to do care like this? I have taught the mother to suction, feed, and give medications to the child, no one else has provided this education. Too bad we do not have a shared language, but when I ask for teaching to be done I am either told that the teaching was already done, or my instructions to the next shift are ignored.

Unfortunatly, when I see things like this happening, there isn't much I can do to stop it. I tried to intervene when I saw that a simple blood draw was being done in the radial artery on the wrist. (Generally, this is done on the vein in the crook of the arm, which is lower pressure, less dangerous, and much less painful.) The nurses told me that it had to be done this way. I went back to the nurses station and the sounds of that kid screaming made my stomach hurt. But I don't know how to request that the protocol change without sounding bossy or ungrateful. There is already a lot of resentment here towards internationals that think that they know better.

A little cutie with pneumonia who was the first

not to cry at the sight of me. In fact, she wants

me to visit her at home.In short, the most dissapointing thing that I have found is that I was not brought here to help, but rather to learn. Most people assume that I am a student. Although of course learning is part of the reason that I came, it was mostly to fill in some sort of gap that doesn't exsist. Most departments are overstaffed in an attempt to create jobs. Unemployment is high. Honestly, it would be a better use of my resources to go back home and raise money for the hospital then to actually work here. But I am here, and I think that I can make a difference, even if it is just to one little baby girl that needs a little extra love.

I am continuing to work with Salah, the little girl that I spoke about yesterday with the congenital defects. She is still needed almost constant suctioning. Today the doctor ordered that we try and perform feedings with the bottle, but she will almost immediatly start to choke, and she doesn't try top suck (probably because she has never successfully fed from the bottle or nipple.)

Her mother is an older lady (40+) who is having a very hard time dealing with her daughter's medical needs. I noticed that she has had no visitors, which is rare in Palestinian cultute. I learned today that she is actually from Bethlaham, so she is a long way from home. She also doesn't have any other kids. She is trying to be positive about her daughter, but when little Salah vomitted everything that ws given her, the mother broke down and stated to cry. If the child survives, then this women's next few years is going to be spent caring for a child that can not even eat. The mother has been very good about doing the suctioning and feedings herself, but today I had to take over when she was threatening a nervous breakdown. Even if I could speak English, there would be no words of comfort that I would be able to give her.

She must have been looking forward to having a child very much. Of course, there is no guarentee that any child will be born healthy, but I am sure that she was not expecting to suddently take care of a child that is so ill. I tried to get her to leave this afternoon, even for a few hours. She left overnight a few days ago, and returned in much better spirits, but the mother didn't want to leave. The child will be discharged soon, and hopefully will some day be able to have surgery to correct some of her defects. But I worry that the baby will die much before that.

We also got a terrible case of meningococcal meningitis. I was horrified to see that he was not put on droplet isolation, but they did have contact isolation (of sorts). He was covered with sores due to a very high PTT that was probably caused by DIC.

Nursing StationWell, I have completed day 2 and 3 of my hospital work. Today was very slow, we didn't have any admissions. I am starting to remember what I found most frustrating about working overseas, and that is the slow pace of life. Honestly, the workload of the entire unit could be done by one nurse from the hospital that I used to work at. The parents do most of the care, leaving the nurses to just administer medications. There were four nurses today, including myself. That means that there is about only one patient per nurse. Much of the day is spent talking and eating. There is a special concern over my eating habits to the staff, and the kitchen will often call the floor to tell me to come eat.

Intake/med room/1 of 2 sinksThere are a lot of areas that I think that I could help improve, but it would be difficult and rude of me to make suggestions. I have been careful to practice my own way of doing things as I do not want to offend. Wearing gloves is one example-- although I have been told that I can do this, I have also been told that it is "not necessary" when I don gloves, and after getting my glove caught on some tape the head nurse suggested that I not wear them. For a woman working with a head nurse "suggestions" are not considered to be very optional, although gloves are one area that I will not give on. Another area is the practice of introducing normal saline into the trach prior to suction-- I just can not justify adding water into the trach of an infant that can not cough. Two children had noticeably sunken fontanels, one of which I pointed out to the doctor, who stated that the baby was not dehydrated. Another problem that I ran into was during charting. I charted the normal physical assessment which included lung sounds, skin color, etc and was told that it was too much. The other nurses notes (thankfully, they chart in English, although I think that this is a bad idea since no one there really can speak English) simply contain the work done and retractions. I also noted that the nurses would chart different values then the ones noted. When I counted the respirations of an infant as 107, the nurse charted it as 72 (later changed to 75) because 102 was "too high". This makes me uncomfortable, and it is hard to request changes when I am so new there.

SalahI did get my own patient today. Little Salah is a little girl who was born with severe congenital defects. You can see in the picture that she has a trach, 6 fingers on her right hand, and deformed ear canals. The doctor attributed her deformation to her father, who he described as "an old man". (The father walked in a few seconds after he said this, and appeared to be around 60.) I have not been able to find out more about her condition, but I think that even in America there would be little that could be done for her. She requires almost constant suction, feeding through her NG tube, and is on an antiepeleptic drug phenobarbitol. She is going to stay until her mother "psychologically accepts her condition" and has learned to care for her. I think that this will happen soon. The mother would not allow me to touch her or play with her two nights ago, but today the mother picked her up and cooed to her and was able to perform feeding and suction. At the end of shift, I was told to give report. Sif, the head nurse, was there for report and I assumed that he would translate. I said that the infant was stable, was not needing suction as often, but that the mother needed to understand the importance of checking residue prior to feeding. The new nurse taking over nodded. I asked Sif if the night nurse understood and he said yes. (The new nurse didn't know enough English to even ask my name, so I found that doubtful.)

An empty patient roomI am learning a lot. I inserted my first NG tube, although I wish that it had not been on a baby of a month old. All patients get an IV, and scalp IV's are not inserted by the doctor, so I am terrified when I will first do this. One woman that I helped is obviously a new mother (she looks almost exactly like "Rogue" from XMen) and I was horrified to find, when removing the diaper, that the baby has stool so firmly caked to her bottom that it took five minutes to scrub off. I checked the diaper almost once an hour after that. It didn't help that the hospital only carries diapers for 6kg babies (there isn't a baby more then 4 kg on the unit) and no wet wipes. The paper towels fall apart like tissue paper when wet. I have taken to using gauze to wipe bottoms. I told the nurse that the new mother should be educated about the importance of keeping the bottom clean, and the head nurse told me to educate her myself. I pointed out the obvious-- I didn't have the language skills to share this. He asked another nurse to do the education, but the nurse said that the mother had already received the learning.

There are only two sinks on the floor with liquid soap and paper towels, so I carry a bottle of Purelmeds (both vitamins) as we didn't have any. At the same time, there is only one book on the unit on pediatric drug dosing. What I wouldn't give for my maternal and child textbook! When the head nurse found me looking up my meds in the book, I think that he got offended as if I didn't trust what he was giving. I explained that I was researching for my own learning, and I was told to just ask if I had questions. Very different then what I was used to, where nurses are expected to look up every dose prior to administration.

We'll see how this goes...

Maria Jassop The Role of Haitian Civil Society in Conflict Prevention and Resolution

In the lead up to Haiti's November elections and the March run-off elections, the United States Institute of Peace teamed up with the National Democratic Institute to mobilize and train a local civil society network to help prevent election-related violence in their communities. Potential for violence was high, amid an already tense environment and slow and arduous efforts to rebuild after Haiti's devastating earthquake in January 2010. Ms. Jessop will describe the training initiative and its impacts to date. She will also discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by civil society organizations in preventing conflict and promoting dialogue in Haiti. Maria Jessop is a Senior Program Officer with the Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) where she conducts education and training programs in conflict and post-conflict contexts. Jessop has led USIP's civic and human rights education projects in Iraq since 2008. As part of State Department's Africa Contingency Operation Training and Assistance (ACOTA) Program, she regularly conducts negotiation training in Africa for UN Peacekeeping Officers. Jessop also specializes in facilitated dialogue approaches to resolving intergroup conflict, fostering reconciliation, and engaging civil society. Jessop has trained civil society leaders in Iraq, Colombia and Haiti in facilitated dialogue and also teaches a course on Intergroup Dialogue at USIP's Academy in <b>...</b> From: RumiForum Views: 1 0 ratings Time: 40:24 More in Nonprofits & Activism

No pictures, I am afraid, I forgot to bring my camera. I should have some tomarrow.

I am hoping that this is just first day jitters, but I am actually not sure if this is going to work, but I am certainly going to try. The language barrier is a real problem. All the people that work are Palestinians and have only a very basic skill of English. I think that they thought that my Arabic was better, but if they are willing to give it a go, so am I.

I am working on the Pediatric ward, and my preceptor probably has the best English there. The kids that were there involved a few babies with hyperbilirubin, a baby with terrible congenital defects, and a few older kids with chronic health problems (respiratory). The first problem that I noticed was that gloves are not used, even when working with blood. During the first IV start that I saw, the nurse pulled out a glove and I was shocked when it was used as a tournaquit rather then as protection. I am going to talk to the medical director about this tomarrow, and I haven't decided what I am going to do about it-- espeically since gloves are probably not used because the hospital can not afford them. I might just have to buy my own supply, but I would wonder how it would look if I was the only one using them. I am not sure what I am going to do about this. The hygentics in the hospital are not too good, with surfaces not being wiped properly even after they are stained with blood products. I saw a baby laid on the same surface that had been used for a lumbar puncture only a few minutes prior without the paper being changed. As it was my first day, I decided to just watch and not say anything.

The worst part was that I couldn't answer the questions of the parents or even explain what I was doing when I went in to take vitals. At one point, a mother went to the door and motioned to me. I told my preceptor, who was charting, that help was needed and she told me to go in myself. I did, but obviously couldn't understand what she needed. I mean, how awful is it to have a sick kid, and a nurse who can't talk to you to boot? Communication and teaching is such a vital part of nursing, and this is why I am not sure if I will be successful here. Even asking a simple question like "do you want some tea?" is rewarded with a barrage of Arabic rather then a yes or a no. I am not very good at learning languages in the first place, and I don't think that I can raise to a level where I can be a helpful worker. But, as I said, I will try.

There was rounds in the morning, and for some reason they would switch to English when the doctors would announce what his plans were for the child. At one point he pointed at a premature (29 week) newborn and asked everyone what we should be concerned with regarding the eyes. No one there knew, and he was very pleased when I finally said that we should watch for retinopathy of prematurity, so maybe I will be able to help after all.

We will see tomorrow, maybe it will go better.

Well, I finally made it to the hospital. I am in my new room listening to call to prayer. My room faces west and I am able to watch the stunning sunsets over the city of Hebron. The strangest thing is that it feels like I never really left.

Yesterday, after a very brief argument over the day of the week in a Tel Aviv bus station, I discovered that it was actually Friday, not Thursday. This meant that the offices of the Red Crescent would be closed, and I would not be able to travel that day. This was actually pretty good news, as it meant that I would have a day in Jerusalem, although I was eager to start my work. At the bus station, I met a guy from Holland, Jaap, who was coming in to volunteer as well. It turned out that he was not only going to Damascus Gate, but he was also planning on staying at the Palm, which was the same place that I was last time.

We actually met due to the extreme rudeness of the Israeli citizenry that I have encountered here. We had been waiting for about 30 minutes in the searing heat for a bus to come. When it finally did, Japp helped me to load our luggage onto the bus while the rest of the people got on. When he started to get on the bus, the driver told us that there was no more room. We had to grab our bags from the bus, which drove away almost the second that our bags hit the pavement. Although this behavior was what I may have expected in America, I was used to the hospitality of the countries that I had been in and was pretty shocked. But it did give me a traveling companion, and we spent the day in Jerusalem together, visiting the tomb of Jesus and watching Shabbat at the Western Wall.

Ack, I am so tired. Will write more later. But here is a picture of the Seperation Wall for your viewing pleasure.

Made it in!!!

I didn't think that I would. I got into the airport having made a few friends on the plane and was chatting with them in an attempt to look casual as I approached the passport station. I had read somewhere that whistling people appear to be less worrisome, so I whistled a silent toon and tried to look tired but excited.

When I approached the customs person, I think that my first mistake was answering a little too pat. On the plane, I talked to a few Israelis who all expressed a good deal of shock when finding out that I was planning on asking for a three month visa. I was told by all of them that there really wasn't enough here to have a three day stay. I also found out that there really isn't an age limit for working on a Kabutz. So when they asked what I would do here, I said that I wanted to start in Jerusalem and move outward to see everything, and maybe volunteer in a Kabutz if there was time. She nodded, hit a few more keys, then asked me to go to the office "for security reasons".

When I went to the office, there were a few people of obvious Arab decent there (the women where wearing scarves) and no other white people. I waited patiently, trying very hard to stay calm. I felt a little better when another white woman was shown in. She was irate, swearing under her breath. I folded my hands and tried to look polite, feeling a little better. I felt a lot worse when she was was told a few minutes later that she was free to go.

All the people I was waiting with (and a few new people) were cleared and I started to feel screwed. An hour later, I finally noticed that one of the security men were looking at my passport. My stomach sank when he started to key my name into a computer. I basically gave up hope when he picked up the phone and told the listener my name.

I was called in a few minutes later, and the minute I stepped in a second man who looked like a policeman walked in behind me. Great, I thought, they are going to arrest and deport me on the spot. The computer guy asked me if this was my first time in Israel. Knowing that he knew the answer anyway, I said that it wasn't. He asked what I had done during my last trip, and before I could answer the two men started talking. I wished that I knew Hebrew. Mr. Computer then asked me about money, and asked to see my credit cards. I handed them over, with a glimmer of hope. He dashed that when he then asked me if there were any "problems" during my last trip.

In a move that probably allowed my entrance, I told him flatly that yes, there were problems, I was arrested and deported during that last trip. Hegding my bets that his computer didn't have any details about my arrest, I said (very somewhat truthfully) that I was following "a guy I met" from Denmark. I said that I stayed with a group of international women, and that I was arrested "for being in the wrong place". I said that it was stupid. I also told him that I was planning on volunteering during my stay. I told him that I was in contact with the Red Crescent and was also hoping to work with the Israeli version of the Red Cross, and perhaps a Kabutz. I said that I was a nurse.

He then asked me many times if I knew anyone here. He asked if I was still in contact with the women or the man that I was "following". I laughed a little and said no, I didn't even remember their names, I think it was Gustov or something. I talked with a few others later who had been held, and questions about people that we knew in the area were a common theme. Finally, I was asked to wait somewhere else. I assumed that they were holding me so that they could get the right people to escort me out of the country.

My hopes dashed was actually a bit of a relief, as was the coke machine that was in the new place I was waiting. I got a coke and watched some football on TV while I waited my fate. After about another hour, a women said my name, handed me my passport, and said that I could go.

"Uh, where?" She pointed to customs. I opened my passport and saw a three month stamp. It was a beautiful moment.

Peace Corps Director of Rape and Murder Cover Ups

www.cspan.org May 11, 2011 Peace Corps Budget http theothermccain.com Peace Corps Wiki www.peacecorpswiki.org Peace Corps Dir. Aaron Williams www.rti.org kickthemallout.net www.scribd.com peacecorpsworldwide.org From: rachelabombdotcom Views: 17 1 ratings Time: 03:25 More in News & Politics

For a Good Time Join The Peace Corps

www.cspan.org May 11, 2011 Peace Corps Budget http Peace Corps Dir. Aaron Williams www.rti.org kickthemallout.net www.scribd.com From: rachelabombdotcom Views: 2 0 ratings Time: 04:39 More in News & Politics

Over 1000 white women in peace corps raped in last 10 yrs by 3rd world scum!

niggermania.net abcnews.go.com More than 1000 young American women have been raped or sexually assaulted in the last decade while serving as Peace Corps volunteers in foreign countries, an ABC News 20/20 investigation has found. In some cases, victims say, the Peace Corps has ignored safety concerns and later tried to blame the women who were raped for bringing on the attacks. "I have two daughters now and I would never ever let them join the Peace Corps," said Adrianna Ault Nolan of New York, who was raped while serving in Haiti. She is one of six rape and sexual assault victims who agreed to tell their stories, in hopes the Peace Corps will do a better job of volunteer training and victim counseling. The report will be broadcast Friday night on 20/20. In the most brutal attack, Jess Smochek, 29, of Pennsylvania was gang raped in Bangladesh in 2004 by a group of young men after she says Peace Corps officials in the country ignored her pleas to re-locate her. "They all took turns raping me," she told ABC News. "They raped me with their bodies,. They raped me with foreign objects." Smochek says the group began to stalk her and tried to kiss her and touch her from the very first day she arrived at the city where she was assigned From: Tremleypoint3 Views: 0 0 ratings Time: 02:59 More in News & Politics

The Role of Haitian Civil Society in Conflict Prevention and Resolution with Maria Jessop

In the lead up to Haiti's November elections and the March run-off elections, the United States Institute of Peace teamed up with the National Democratic Institute to mobilize and train a local civil society network to help prevent election-related violence in their communities. Potential for violence was high, amid an already tense environment and slow and arduous efforts to rebuild after Haiti's devastating earthquake in January 2010. Ms. Jessop will describe the training initiative and its impacts to date. She will also discuss the challenges and opportunities faced by civil society organizations in preventing conflict and promoting dialogue in Haiti. Maria Jessop is a Senior Program Officer with the Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) where she conducts education and training programs in conflict and post-conflict contexts. Jessop has led USIP's civic and human rights education projects in Iraq since 2008. As part of State Department's Africa Contingency Operation Training and Assistance (ACOTA) Program, she regularly conducts negotiation training in Africa for UN Peacekeeping Officers. Jessop also specializes in facilitated dialogue approaches to resolving intergroup conflict, fostering reconciliation, and engaging civil society. Jessop has trained civil society leaders in Iraq, Colombia and Haiti in facilitated dialogue and also teaches a course on Intergroup Dialogue at USIP's Academy in <b>...</b> From: RumiForum Views: 1 0 ratings Time: 14:06 More in Nonprofits & Activism

Peace Corps in Haiti

Guest Randy Mont-Reynaud on Color of Hope explains where she would spend her million dollars in Haiti if she had it. From: TeleLakaytv Views: 0 0 ratings Time: 02:07 More in Nonprofits & Activism

Senator Leahy Travels to the Dominican Republic and Haiti

From March 21 -23, 2011, Senator Leahy led a Congressional Delegation on a fact-finding trip to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. In the Dominican Republic, the delegation commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps. In Haiti, they visited camps for internally displaced persons and spoke with relief workers assisting the Haitian people as they rebuild following the earthquake of 2010. This composite slide show features photos taken by both Senator Leahy and his staff. Audio excerpts from interviews he gave to Vermont press accompany the photos. From: SenatorPatrickLeahy Views: 1 0 ratings Time: 04:34 More in News & Politics

Creating a Peace Corps in Haiti

Guest Randy Mont-Reynaud on Color of Hope explains where she would spend her million dollars in Haiti if she had it. From: TeleLakaytv Views: 0 0 ratings Time: 02:07 More in News & Politics

Pop Quiz: The Peace Corps

Do you know which president created this int'l volunteer organization? From: ChannelOneNews Views: 1 0 ratings Time: 01:15 More in News & Politics

Secretary Clinton, Under Secretary McHale Mark 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, by video message, and Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale deliver remarks at the reception marking the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, in the Ben Franklin Room at the US Department of State in Washington, DC, on March 15, 2011. [Go to www.state.gov for more video and text transcript.] From: statevideo Views: 7 0 ratings Time: 40:22 More in News & Politics

Peace corps Dominican Republic

PLEASE TURN UP THE VOLUME, THE AUDIO IS VERY LOW.This video is a personal narrative which reflects a life changing experience that occured when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic. This digital story was a "Shriver Peaceworker" project. The stepping stone for this story was, " I knew I was in the Peace Corps when...." The images I use are not my own. PLEASE TURN UP THE VOLUME, THE AUDIO IS VERY LOW. From: Ilaurencio Views: 212 3 ratings Time: 04:08 More in Education

Peace Corps covered up gang-rapes of idiotic liberal White women

See where trying to help nonwhites lands you? From: TheEqual3 Views: 1 0 ratings Time: 07:42 More in People & Blogs

2010 was not a good year for movies, at least not for me, which is to say 2010 may have been a spectacular year for film, but given how few new movies I actually saw during 2010, I wouldn’t know. Last year (2009), I managed to see 9 out of 10 best picture nominated films [...]

HAITI - Je t'aime

Providence, RI Aug. 17, 2007(iReportero)- In an exclusive interview with Monsieur Dennis Dolan Crook, iReportero has learned that M. Dolan-Crook will be moving to Port-au-Prince, Haiti next week as PDG of Interbanx LLC, a world wide biofuels company that will be doing business in Haiti and Latin America. M. Dolan-Crook is an international energy expert who started in the Peace Corps working in Tunisia on energy projects in the 70's. On a recent visit to Haiti, M. Dolan-Crook took this video of a Crafts and Music Fair near his hotel in Port-au-Prince. iReportero egl385@yahoo.com From: egl385 Views: 29991 19 ratings Time: 04:32 More in Travel & Events

More than year after the earthquake in Haiti, I still take a lot of pictures like these… Many people cannot go home and rebuild until rubble is removed from their site or until their damaged houses have been repaired. Hundreds of bodies remain in thousands of flattened buildings. Some sites have been cleared by machine, [...]

Click on the buttons below to share this post… Filed under: Haiti, Places Tagged: 2010, Haiti, hiking, sunset

the Kenya Top Bar Hive (KTBH) in Jacquesyl, Haiti

This video is the result of training regarding the Kenya top bar hive or KTBH conducted in Jacquesyl Haiti in July of 2009 as funded by USAID and administered through Partners of the Americas. As you can see, the inclusion of stretcher handles onto the KTBH allows it to be easily carried and also facilitates hanging the hive for protection from ants and other pests as well as bush fires—which are often used to clear land where such hives are used. The handles also give you a convenient place to hold comb removed from the hive during hive inspections. If you leave the ends of the hive rectangular as shown here you may have to cut small recesses for the handles to ensure that they are not too far apart for a top bar to straddle. You may want to view some of my other videos on the KTBH for a fuller explanation of its design and use. Suffice it to say here that the width of the top bars, 35 mm for European derived bees and 32 mm for African derived stock, the trapezoidal cross section of the interior and wax guides along the length of the topbars allows bees to build comb with minimal attachment to the sides and bottom of the hive so that the comb can be easily removed for inspection or harvesting. If you find the queen during the transfer you can place her in a screen cage to protect her during the operation. A match box or film canister with holes punched in it large enough for the workers to feed the queen but not so large that she can escape can also be used. In any case <b>...</b> From: ebutoooy Views: 3830 3 ratings Time: 04:23 More in Education

Sargent Shriver Remembered at Wake in DC

Former colleagues, friends and admirers gathered to remember Sargent Shriver, an in-law of the Kennedys and the first director of the Peace Corps. Hundreds filled Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington to remember Shriver's life. (Jan. 21) From: AssociatedPress Views: 86 3 ratings Time: 01:57 More in News & Politics

MVI_0407.MOV - Haiti Earthquake Relief Medical Mission - Taiwan Root -

Project Haiti Heart www.ProjectHaitiHeart.org Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps www.TRMPC.org From: MingYoungMD Views: 67 0 ratings Time: 00:03 More in News & Politics

MVI_0485.MOV - Haiti Earthquake Relief Medical Mission - Taiwan Root

Project Haiti Heart www.ProjectHaitiHeart.org Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps www.TRMPC.org From: MingYoungMD Views: 15 0 ratings Time: 00:12 More in News & Politics

MVI_0495.MOV - Haiti Earthquake Relief Medical Mission - Taiwan Root

Project Haiti Heart www.ProjectHaitiHeart.org Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps www.TRMPC.org From: MingYoungMD Views: 50 0 ratings Time: 00:32 More in News & Politics

MVI_0356.MOV - Haiti Earthquake Relief Medical Mission - Taiwan Root -

Project Haiti Heart www.ProjectHaitiHeart.org Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps www.TRMPC.org From: MingYoungMD Views: 23 0 ratings Time: 00:20 More in News & Politics

MVI_0472.MOV - Haiti Earthquake Relief Medical Mission - Taiwan Root

Project Haiti Heart www.ProjectHaitiHeart.org Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps www.TRMPC.org From: MingYoungMD Views: 21 0 ratings Time: 00:20 More in News & Politics

MVI_0366.MOV - Haiti Earthquake Relief Medical Mission - Taiwan Root -

Project Haiti Heart www.ProjectHaitiHeart.org Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps www.TRMPC.org From: MingYoungMD Views: 6 0 ratings Time: 00:13 More in News & Politics