News & Events

News & Events2021-04-10T06:16:50+00:00

Read our 2020 Annual Report

Please enjoy reading  Friends of Colombia's 2020 Annual Report and reflect on what your support has allowed FOC to accomplish this year! For those still thinking about making an end of year donation it's not too late to help us reach our fundraising goal of $13,000. Your tax deductible contribution will allow us to continue our work in 2021.    

Career Panel Speaker Series

Thanks to all of our speakers and attendees that participated in our Career Panel Speaker Series! We kicked off our first panel on April 9, which focused on Careers in the Federal Government. Regina Ernst (2013-2015) gave a great overview of how human resources, NCE, and USAJobs works. Mike Deloge (2011-2014) spoke about his role at the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. And Andrea Doyle (2012-2014) was able to speak about her job at Peace Corps and new role at the General Services Administration.   Our second panel on April 25 focused on a diverse array of careers available in the

Support FOC by Purchasing a Book!

Earl Kessler, Former Peace Corps Volunteer (1965-1968) and current FOC member, wrote an informative and engaging book about the development of Puerto Badel, a rural town outside of Cartagena, when he was a Peace Corps volunteer. The book "Letters from Alfonso: Learning to Listen" tells the story of construction, development projects, and slum improvement when residents of a Colombian town, wiped out by flood, took the future into their own hands. Earl's life intersected with that of community leader, Alfonso Perez Correa. Working with Alfonso, Earl learned lessons in local participation and empowerment that have helped bring success in meeting

Ensuring the Future of the Peace Corps Op-Ed

by Jerry Norris   In a March 15 open letter to Volunteers worldwide, Peace Corps Director Jody Olson wrote: we are acting to safeguard your well-being and prevent a situation where Volunteers are unable to leave their host countries.    Unfortunately, several U.S. media outlets interpreted that the intent of her letter was to also fire the Volunteers. Returning Volunteers suddenly found themselves without paid leave, with health insurance for only two months, and ineligible for unemployment benefits. For some of those returning from countries with no  coronavirus cases to U.S. hot spots in New York and California, their sudden

PC Colombia Volunteers evacuated due to COVID-19 pandemic

The return of all Peace Corps Volunteers to the United States is heartbreaking to witness, however Friends of Colombia is particularly devastated to know that the countless positive relationships the PCVs formed in Colombia have been unceremoniously interrupted. In this challenging moment, FOC wanted to reassure the 96 volunteers who had to leave Colombia early know that they will always be welcome back. We expressed this idea directly to Colombian Ambassador to the United States Francisco Santos, and, in the true Colombian nature, Ambassador Santos recorded a message of gratitude and open arms. “What you give back Colombia, we appreciate

Long-Time FOC Member Pat Wand Wins 2019 Peace Corps Champion Award!

By Michael Band (CII-3 2011-2014) and Pat Wand (C-8 1963-1965)  Each year the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, D.C. (RPCV/W) organization honors someone whose work has made a great impact on the Peace Corps and its community by presenting them with the Peace Corps Champion Award. The 2019 Peace Corps Champion was none other than long-time FOC member, Pat Wand! Upon accepting the award, Pat shared some of her thoughts about Peace Corps past and future, "When PC started nearly 60 years ago, many people said it couldn’t succeed; it was a risky, dangerous undertaking for the U.S. to

Help Send the Marina Orth Foundation’s Rural Robotics Champs to Estonia

Please help the Marina Orth Foundation’s rural robotics champs, from El Carmen de Viboral outside Medellin, Colombia, travel to Tallinn, Estonia, to participate in the 2019 International Robotex Competition from November 26 to December 3. In only their first year in our robotics program, these great rural public school kids won second place against 19 private schools to qualify at Robotex Latam. This was their first competition! To learn more about the team and donate to this wonderful program please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/send-colombian-robotics-team-to-estonia?rcid=r01-15683396589-4c9269adb7a5470e&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w 

Peace Corps Connect Conference 2019: A Report

Austin, Texas, June 21-23, 2019 FOC Editorial Note: Peace Corps Connect is an event intended to unite RPCVs. It offers a space to think critically about the weight of the Third Goal, the duty we have to tell the story of our host nations and its peoples to the American public. The following Report was drawn from notes taken by RPCV (2017-19) Cutter Ulhorn at the Conference, in which he contrasted his experiences against those of Volunteers in the 1960s RPCVs are an odd bunch. They go against the grain: they care and continue to care, not just because they

A Synopsis of FOC’s White Paper

Over the past several months, a new Colombian produced film titled: Pajaros de Verano (Birds in Passage) has been playing in various venues, such as Film Festivals in California and Colombia. In its opening scene, a banner reading: “Peace Corps”, is predominantly featured. The film then goes on to depict Volunteers being involved in the marijuana drug trade. Margarita Sorock, RPCV, Colombia, attended a viewing of this film in Cartagena and has written a review for the FOC Newsletter. Given that this film has now been chosen to be Colombia’s entry in the Foreign Film Category of the Oscars, it

The All-Girls Little Engineers are International Robotics Champions

BY MAUREEN ORTH Guess what? Our all-girls team the “Little Engineers” are international robotic champions! Thank you, you got us there! The RoboRAVE 2018 competition ended the weekend with our girls winning first place in the middle school category, beating boys teams from China, Japan, India, the US and Mexico. This is an amazing accomplishment. We also want to congratulate our other great team, Digiminds, who were the youngest group in their category. They also made the finals, placing 7th out of 31 teams. They taught a thing or two to the older kids! It was because of your generosity

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