The Journey of Azzedine Downes - Peace Corps Online

I N T E R - A M E R I C A R E G I O N
NEWS FROM INTER-AMERICA
The 1990s havesignaled the resurgence
of the Peace Corps in Latin America. New
programs have begun in Argentina, Bolivia,
Chile, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama,
and Uruguay.
Throughout Latin Americaand thecar-
ibbean, Peace Corps is expanding into
new areas of environmental protection,
business, and urban and youth
development.
In the more advanced countries, such
as Argentina. Chile, and Uruguay, Peace
Corps is promoting the new concept of
"vertical programming," which links
grassroots organizations with government
ministries.
NATIONS AT A GLANCE
ECUADOR
American Diversity lnitiative Piloted
ThelAregion has piloted astafftraining
model for theAmerican Diversity Initiative
in Ecuador. The Staff Diversity Training
Rica. Photo by PCVMary Ellen Miller.
consisted of rwo 2-day events, one conducted
in English for the bilingual PC
Ecuador staff onJune 17-18 and another
inSpanish for the monolingual Ecuadorian
staffconducted on November 22-23. The
workshops were developed by Washington
D.C. staff representatives Neil Bacon
and Resna Hammer, Men Ames and PC/
Ecuador staff Robert Drickey, Beny Bem
and Timothy Callaghan. In addition, the
PUEcuador facilitatorsincluded AnaMaria
Casrro-Comejo. Susana Wappenstein, and
Susana Castro.
The workshops included swions on
issues of diversig-, sexual harassment, Volunteersuppon,
andissues ofconfidentialig-.
Whde the facditaton acknowledged that a
staff mining of this nature cannot resolve all
Volunteer support issues we do feel that it
made great smdes in raising the consciousnw
of Ecuadorian s d to the issues of
ethnic minority, senior, andgayVolunteers.
Thls training workshop model was used
to conduct a workshop in Honduras on
February 16-18. The IA region plans to
continue conducting pilot diversity work-
shops at posts for the next three heal years.
BELIZE
Youth Enhancement Services
When PCVEd Cunha came to Belize as
a youth organizer, he decided to focus his
work on youth and sports. He soon
realized that many kids in his town were
school dropouts with nothing to do but
'hang out.' He organized a group of
parents and professionals to workon ideas
activities that would be more stimulating
and productive. The group created a
training institute, "Dangriga Youth Train-
ingcenter (DYTC)," to provide the youth
with marketable lice slalls and other career
information thatwould help them prosper.
Recruiting young people who were in-
terested in participating in the program
was not a problem, and soon Volunteer
trainers in tailoring, agriculture, and home
economics began theirwork. Community
support was ovenvhelming, and Cunha
acquired program funding and 50 acres of
land to establish a permanent training site
for DYTC. ~ducatibn Department off;cials
and Human Resources Development
personnel in Belize have evaluated the
training program and have promised
continued support.
Another resourceful and dynamic PCV,
Bill Frame, has taken over the program
management aIter Ed's COS this Summer.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Improving the Quality of Banking
Although there is a dearth of well-
managed credit in small towns and rural
areas of the Dominican Republic available
to local micro- and small entrepreneurs,
Volunteers are working to improve the
quality of banking and savings and loan
cooperatives based in smaller cities and
towns that provide consumer banking
selvices (money orders, savings accounts,
and Fxed-term deposits) and credit to
rural-based Dominicans. Volunteers Col-