Peace Corps

Pumping Up in Port au Prince (New York Times)

By Bryan Schaaf on Wednesday, March 19, 2008.
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A recent article in the New York Times took a look at two gyms in Port au Prince - a Gold's Gym in the wealthiest suburb of Port au Prince and one of the home-made gyms which are far more  common both in the city and the countryside.  The homemade gyms are nothing compared to a Gold's Gym - but they are testament to Haitian creativity and possess a sense of camraderie that you will not find at an establishment that caters to the rich. Exercise can be empowering and as Haitian bodybuilder Julien Mr. Spencer puts it, "You can't buy fitness."  Read more »

The "Reverse Peace Corps" Approach: Atlas Corps Seeks to Grow

By Bryan Schaaf on Wednesday, January 23, 2008.
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Peace Corps has the goals of exposing Americans to other cultures, exposing people of other cultures to Americans, and offering assistance whenever possible.  But Peace Corps can't be called an exchange.  When was the last time one of our colleagues was able to come to the United States via Peace Corps?  For this reason, I was pleased to learn about a new organization called Atlas Corps which brings nonprofit leaders from the developing world to volunteer for one year in the U.S.  Senator Harris Wofford serves on their Senior Advisory Board and has praised their innovative "reverse Peace Corps" approach towards development.

Peace Corps Announces Creation of "Response Corps"

By Bryan Schaaf on Tuesday, November 27, 2007.
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In an announcement on November 19th, the Peace Corps stated that it would bolster the already existing Crisis Corps and rename it "Peace Corps Response" to reflect its increased breadth and depth. Most are familiar with Peace Corps,  but less have heard of the Crisis Corps.  The Crisis Corps was a mechanism through which returned volunteers could serve abroad for a period of several months to a year.   Read more »

Spotlight on a Community: Thomonde

By Bryan Schaaf on Thursday, October 18, 2007.
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At Haiti Innovation, we frequently discuss issues relating to health, community mobilization, and development.  From time to time, we also like to focus on a particular province to illustrate that  positive changes that are being made.  In this way, when people ask you if there is hope for Haiti, we hope you will reply with a resounding yes. Read more »

Peace Corps Haiti Closed

By Robert Miller on Thursday, March 2, 2006.
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peace corpspeace corpsIt would seem that fate isn't without a sense of humor. Not a week has passed since we rallied to put PC back in Haiti, only to learn that it has been closed for good. Last night, I attended the 45th birthday of the Peace Corps celebrated on Capitol Hill with the likes of Senators Dodd, Kennedy, and Obama, Congressmen Farr, Shays, and Honda, et al. Sergeant Shriver and Eunice were there with their son Tim, as well as PC Director Vasquez and his wife. It was, as far as the PC and the hill are concerned, a star studded event. Read more »

Time for Peace Corps to Come back to Haiti?

By Bryan Schaaf on Sunday, February 26, 2006.
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peacecorp-logo Elections were (relatively) successful and the country is (relatively) stable at the moment. Port au Prince is still a powder-keg and kidnapping remains a major problem, yet to be addressed. Anyone who has lived in Haiti know that’s most of the country is not like Port-au-Prince. None of the Peace Corps volunteers worked in Port. Our office was/is there, the airport was there, and the staff had ready access to Haitian and American government officials when needed. Read more »

Replace Hope with Action

By Chris Schron on Thursday, June 16, 2005.
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It seems that every day brings news of some new calamity in Haiti.  Today we learned that the Peace Corps is shutting down its mission and pulling its volunteers out.  Yesterday, it was more kidnappings. Read more »

Peace Corps Haiti Suspended

By Bryan Schaaf on Sunday, June 12, 2005.
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The Peace Corps in Haiti was recently suspended due to safety concerns. Though the majority of this largely rural country remains calm, the situation in Port au Prince, where Peace Corps headquarters is based, has deterior Read more »