A monthly newsletter of The West Cascade Peace Corps Association in Oregon's Southern Willamette Valley

Miriam Aiken has decided to resign as President of the WCPCA. She has been on the board for over two years and will continue serving WCPCA as membership chair. She's working hard to put the membership database in a format that future membership chairs can easily access and master. We thank Miriam for all the service that she has provided WCPCA.

Because of the efforts of Miriam and other board members, WCPCA is in excellent shape. Patty McAfee and Juliet Bender have already organized events for the rest of the year. Deb Jones is maintaining our website and she and Dorothy Soper edit the newsletter. James Cloutier has organized volunteer activities and is taking responsibility for our participation in the Eugene Celebration. Dale Morse keeps our books. Randall Donohue is working with a subcommittee to design a membership survey. Felicia Keeney is advising us in our reorganization of web based activities. Andrew Dempsey-Karp is representing WCPCA at the Oregon Country Fair and others have stepped up for other responsibilities.

In addition, we are in good financial health. Our dues and distributions from the Beryl Brinkman Memorial Fund invested at the Oregon Community Foundation allow us to fund humanitarian projects including Peace Corps partnership projects.

We do, however, have one need.  We are currently a board of a half-dozen members but we need others who can assume organizational responsibilities as officers and in the IT area.   We plan to meet four to five times a year and stay in touch via email and occasional subcommittee meetings.  We're a welcoming and mutually supportive group. If you are interested in joining us, please come to our next board meeting at 7 PM on Sunday, May 5th, at Dorothy Soper's house. You'll find Dorothy's address in your membership directory or you may send an email to inquire, info@westcascadepca.org.

Board of Directors, WCPCA

Once again the U of O Peace Corps recruiter's office and WCPCA will cosponsor the NOM (for nominees) party to celebrate Lane County residents who are newly nominated as Peace Corps trainees. We'll celebrate with a potluck on Friday, May 3rd, 6-9 pm, at the Many Nations Longhouse on the U of O campus. See driving directions and parking information below.

Please wear your country-of-service clothing and bring a potluck dish to share. Also, there will be a raffle. One canned good item (for Food for Lane County) and an unwrapped white-elephant type item from your country-of-service will be good for one raffle ticket. Additional raffle tickets will be available for purchase.

Please plan to attend this fun-filled evening, which will include a small panel of newly-returned RPCVs, great food, reconnections, and a warm send-off for the nominees!

The Many Nations Longhouse is located on the U of O campus at the north end of Columbia Street, just off of E. 17th Avenue. The Longhouse is behind the School of Law (1515 Agate Street) and immediately south of the Museum of Natural History ( 1680 E. 15th Avenue).

The best place to park will be in the faculty/staff parking lot at the corner of Agate and E. 17th Avenue with the entry off of E. 17th. This parking lot will be open and free of charge to the public after 6pm.

On street parking is available on Agate Street, in front of the Law School, on E. 15th Avenue, to the side of the Museum of Natural History, as well as elsewhere nearby. Be aware that most meters in the area must be activated until 8pm and that much of the other on street parking is posted for two hours only and this will apply to the time period of the NOM party.

Juliet Bender, (Mexico, 2009-12) and Patty Mac Afee, (Cameroon, 1989-91) Program co-chairs

The April potluck brought out about 35 members to enjoy a wonderful evening at Howard and Marvy Schuman's home. We want to thank them for extending such a warm welcome to the participants.

For the program, recently Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV), Elke Richers, shared her experiences as a Youth Development volunteer in the Central Andes Ancash region of Peru. She gave an overview of her projects: HIV prevention, community recycling, health training and environmental education. Following her presentation, Elke responded to numerous questions from the audience relating to food, community life, and cultural aspects of the Quechua people with whom she lived. We thank Elke for her excellent presentation as well as for her Peace Corps service.

Peru was well represented at the potluck. Shown in the photo, left to right, are Elke Richers (Peru, 2010-12), Rolly Thompson (Peru, 1964-66), Bob Watada (Peru, 1964-66), Rosa Sakanishi, who is Peruvian, and Wayne Thompson (Peru, 1964-66).

In the future, we look forward to seeing additional members at our potlucks. The next potluck (after the May 3rd NOM party) is scheduled for October 11th at the home of Juliet Bender and Charles Goldsmith. Please add this date to your calendar.

Juliet Bender, (Mexico, 2009-12), Program co-chair

Heartfelt thanks go to the fourteen WCPCA members and friends who formed an efficient clean up crew at the Food for Lane County's annual fundraiser, Chefs' Night Out, in early April. After enjoying culinary treats the crew dispatched its work in record time.

The board met on April 15th for the second time this year. Decisions made or discussions held at the meeting and not noted elsewhere in the newsletter are the following:

Jonathan Pearson began a cross country driving trip in Oregon and joined WCPCA members at the April potluck. This gave him an opportunity to see one of our traditional activities and visit with those attending. Jonathan wrote a highly complementary article about the potluck and its program and has featured it along with photos on the NPCA website. Thank you, Jonathan, for visiting to get acquainted with us and taking part in a festive evening.

Dorothy Soper, (Ghana, 1963-65)

WCPCA member, Felicia Kenney, is the author of the article, Health Justice, Returned Volunteers conduct survey on health impacts of service which appears in the spring issue of the NPCA publication, World View.

In the article Felicia describes her experience with illness while a PCV in Benin, 2003-04, and how this led to her being a founding member in 2012 of an organization of RPCVs called Health Justice for Peace Corps Volunteers. The group's goal is "to improve the support system for RPCVs who are ill or injured because of their service." This and subsequent quotations are from the article which can be read in full on the Health Justice organization's website.

Each of the five founding members of the Health Justice group experienced a serious illness or injury while a PCV and has had difficulty in securing adequate care upon returning to the US. Before deciding upon a course of action, the group surveyed RPCVs to learn the health outcomes of their service and the nature of current medical needs.

Outcomes of the survey indicate that Peace Corps attention to volunteers' medical care is correlated positively with the Peace Corps budget. Some of the recommendations made to the Peace Corps based upon the survey are that greater attention be paid to volunteers' exposure to pesticides, that ways be sought to improve the Department of Labor's handling of Peace Corps claims, and that reform be made to the After Corps/CorpsCare insurance program. Above all, the Health Justice group recommends that the Peace Corps conduct its own survey on volunteer and returned volunteer health.

Felicia concludes the article by saying that the Peace Corps has taken two important steps as a result of the survey. "First, the Peace Corps now has five staff members working on post-service health needs. There used to be one. Second, Lariam® is no longer being used as a first line malaria prophylaxis."

I hope that many of you will read this highly detailed article on an important topic. We'll all appreciate updates from Felicia regarding the work of Health Justice for Peace Corps Volunteers.

Dorothy Soper (Ghana, 1963-65)