0202 February 1998.pdf - Friends of Nigeria

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Letters to the Editor Deja Vu All Over Again To the Editor: I wanted to share this experience with you. On Monday I was walking down Market Street in San Francisco and saw a demonstration in front of the Shell Building. It was a group (including many Nigerians, particularly Ibos) who were protesting the murders of the seven in Nigeria. It was, I believe, the very same place where thirty years ago a friend of mine, Mimi Budd, staged a demonstration against Nigeria because of Biafra. Also one of the Nigerians gave a speech that sounded exactly like the speech that a Nigerian friend of mine, Pius Eze, gave when we spoke together at the Eugene Oregon Lions Club in the late 60's. "Deja vu all over again." Frank Ehrenfried Nigeria XXI '66-67 Proud and Nostalgic To the Editor: I'm so glad you found me with the newsletter. It was not only interesting and very well done but it brought back a flood of memories. It seems so long ago and only yesterday at the same time. Since we left Nigeria my wife and I have only been able to return to West Africa once. Christmas 1997 was spent with our Peace Corps daughter and her friends in Niger. It was wonderful being in the environment of Africa and the Peace Corps again. Listening to the sto- Friends of Nigeria Box 256 Orange City, IA 51041 Editor: Cathy Onyemelukwe Publisher: Peter 1. Hansen Layout: Katy Hansen Board of Directors: Cathy Onyeme1ukwe (President) Peter J. Hansen (Vice President) Robert D. Cohen Vincent 1. Garofalo Richard James Carl Petersen John L. Romano Marge Snoeren Nick Thiemann ries, seeing the enthusiasm and effort, watching the ease with which our kids blended into a different world made me both proud and nostalgic. It was also amazing how paternalistic the Peace Corps bureaucracy remains and the continuing clash between independent and self motivated young adults and 'those in charge.' The more things change the more they stay the same. It was sad and frustrating to be almost within hailing distance of my home in Kano and not be able to go back for a look. Nigeria is being eaten by itself, and those in power have made it a forbidding and forbidden place. Even the horror of Biafra didn't create the xenophobia and isolation that seems to exist now. Peter Stolzman Nigeria 66-68 Our "Italian" Cook To the Editor: I would be interested in reviewing Katharyn W. Sa1tonstall's book. I was in Ibadan with Nigeria VII (1963-65)-the same years as the book. Her husband had dinner at my house because the cook that I shared with my two roommates was known throughout Nigeria Peace Corps. He had worked for Italians for twelve years. So when Sa1tonstall came to town, he had dinner with us. Afterwards, I loaded him on the back of my little Honda 50 and we motored back to the resthouse where he was staying. Eric Strauss 2534 Chilton Way Berkeley, CA 94704 Nigeria VII '63-65 Reading Piece by Piece To the Editor: I taught Creative Writing and English at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka from 1965 until 1967 - leaving one week before the War broke out and Nsukka was the first town captured. Unlike the Volunteers that were evacuated, with a hundred pounds of currency hidden in my sock, the Peace Corps office had already asked me to leave and make my own way to Lagos by way of crossing the Niger at Onitsha. There, at the last road or essentially 'river' block, an English speaking-reading Ibo guard 2 asked me to read out loud a poem from my first book, Piece by Piece, that was published in Nsukka during the previous year. Much to my relief, the guard laughed and seemed to enjoy the poem so much he skipped searching my bags -or perusing my journals to see if I was also a spy-and waved me on to the ferry. Rarely has it ever since felt quite so liberating to read my work aloud! I've lived in San Francisco most of the last 30 years(!) where I continue to work variously as a teacher, publisher and writer. Ironically I've recently been teaching some creative writing at the Youth Guidance Center where there are no less than five Ibo guards with whom I've become good friends. Thanks again for sending the newsletter. Looking For... To the Editor: Stephen Vincent Nigeria '65-67 I just recently moved to tr.
Peace Corps . Book Reyiew World Wise Schools: Be a Part of Peace Corps Day 1998 by Monica Fitzgerald Outreach Coordinator World Wise Schools President Clinton has declared education the nation's top priority, and during a recent speech he recognized World Wise Schools as the Peace Corps' fastgrowing global education program. Peace Corps Day (formerly known as World Wise Schools Day) is an annual event in which Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) go into schools across the U.S. to share with students their experiences of living in other cultures. Last year, an estimated 4,000 RPCVs spoke with as many as 100,000 students nationwide, in all grades, during this annual event which highlights the global education work of the World Wise Schools program. World Wise Schools is a part of Peace Corps' Domestic Programs which works in many ways to support Peace Corps' Third goal, "strengthening Americans' understanding of the world and its peoples - to bring the world back home." Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan recently announced that Peace Corps Day '98 will be held on March 3, 1998, in honor of the Peace Corps' 37th anniversary. "Peace Corps volunteers truly bring the world home," said Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan. "I hope all Returned Volunteers-no matter if they served 30 years ago or have just returned-will see Peace Corps Day '98 as a chance to teach a new generation about the culture and people of their country of service." Celebrations Cultures Across The theme of Peace Corps Day '98 is "Celebrations Across Cultures." In addition to the classroom visits by RPCVs, the following will also take place on March 3rd: • Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) around the world will visit classrooms in the villages where they live. • PCVs with their overseas students and U.S. students will communicate via live video conferences calls. and telephone • A World Wise Schools' Destination video will be broadcast to millions of students on Channel One's "The Classroom Channel." • Each RPCV group will plan local special events and activities which will be coordinated by the group's World Wise Schools Liaison. Update Richard Riley has agreed to be the Honorary Chairperson for Peace Corps Day '98. Check out for more information about Peace Corps Day '98. Requests for the Peace Corps Day '98 brochure can now be sent to either of two e-mail addresses: or or by phone contact Monica Fitzgerald at 1-800-424-8580 ext. 2283. One suggestion is to ask your local government or Board of Education to proclaim March 3, 1998 "Peace Corps Day" in your area. Ask your local press to attend your Peace Corps Day '98 events. Send any press clippings to Monica at WWS. I am excited about the potential that this one-day event has to raise awareness among educators nationwide of the yearround resource that local RPCV scan provide. In closing, please contact me at or at 800-424-8580 ext. 2283 if you need anything. [Editor's Note: Friends of Nigeria now has its own World Wise Schools Liaison. Carl Petersen, 619-755-5764, who joined the Friends of Nigeria Board at the San Diego Conference in July, has accepted this role. He may contact you to take an active part on Peace Corps Day '98. If he does so, say yes'] 3 Small Bridges to One World, A Peace Corps Perspective, Nigeria, 1963-1965 by Katharyn W. Saltonstall Review by Alice R. O'Grady PC Nigeria staff '64-67 Small Bridges to One World, A Peace Corps Perspective, Nigeria, 1963 1965, by Katharyn W. Saltonstall, is a very readable book about her experiences in Nigeria as the wife of the country Peace Corps Director, Bill Saltonstall, who served from 1963 to 1965. Having no young children to care for at home, Kathy had the unusual opportunity of traveling with her husband when he visited many of the over 700 pevs in virtually every corner of the country. She recounts problems with vehicle breakdowns on the roads, dissatisfied headmasters, and difficulties of the volunteers they visited. These difficulties included loneliness, discouragement, and poor health. However, the book is not a downer. Saltonstall devotes much of the book to describing certain volunteers and their devotion to their projects. None was large and impressive; each was small and, well, impressive! The enthusiasm of the volunteers, and their devotion of so much of their time to helping improve the lot of the Nigerians around them, is described with little editorial comment on the author's part. Though the travel segments are the most memorable, she wasn't always traveling. Her attempts to make her home in Lagos a welcoming place for volunteers seems to have succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. Saltonstall does very little delving into the philosophy of what her husband and the rest of us were doing. At one point, however, she admits that our attitude was unconsciously condescending, implying that the American way is the best way. A point worth discussing. Find FON on the WWW The Friends of Nigeria the URL: http://www.ultranet.coml- web site has gregj onz/fonl Our thanks to Greg Jones and his sons for producing and maintaining this site.
Page 1: Friends of Nigeria Vol. 2, NO.2 Nig
Page 5 and 6: • Friends of Nigeria - Membership
Page 7 and 8: News Items from Nigeria , Obasanjo

0202 February 1998.pdf - Friends of Nigeria

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?