Peace Corps News

Astronaut Mae Jemison was the Peace Corps Medical Officer in Sierra Leone and Liberia

Jemison says people often assume that she considers the space mission her proudest achievement, but she jokingly downplays her trip into space
Mae Jemison worked as a doctor and as the Peace Corps medical officer for Liberia and Sierra Leone. She has also been a college professor and started her own companies. She says people often assume that she considers the space mission her proudest achievement, but she jokingly downplays that trip. "Basically, you just sit on top of a rocket, and someone else pushes a button," Jemison said.

Jemison, who now lives in Houston, describes her experience as a doctor, scientist, astronaut, entrepreneur, teacher and one-time aspiring dancer. To succeed, she says, the students have to sidestep mental obstacles and not conform to other people's expectations. Jemison can remember looking up to the stars as a child and deciding that one day she would go into space, even as the National Guard patrolled her South Side Chicago neighborhood to quell urban unrest in the late 1960s. The day came on Sept. 12, 1992, when Jemison rode aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor and became the first black woman to go into space. But back in 1968, none of the astronauts looked like her, and the times were turbulent, but she still dreamed. "When I talk about optimism, that young girl is the most important, cherished part of me," she said. "She's my hero."  Read more.

As a Peace Corps Medical Officer, Jemison once ordered the evacuation of a volunteer to Germany saving his life
"In the early 1980's, I served as a doctor for Peace Corps volunteers in Liberia and Sierra Leone in West Africa. Within the first two weeks I was there, a volunteer got sick. Another doctor diagnosed malaria, but after the man had been on chloroquine for 24 hours, it didn't look like that to me. He got progressively worse, and at 2 a.m., after a power failure in the hospital, I started rummaging around our medical unit with a flashlight to find antibiotics for a broad-based medical cocktail."

"I was sure it was meningitis with life-threatening complications that we could not treat successfully in Sierra Leone, so finally, I called for a military medical evacuation on an Air Force hospital plane based in Germany. Just to start the process cost $80,000. When I gave the order, the U.S. Embassy personnel just looked at me. I was 26."

"They started questioning whether I had the authority to give such an order. Yet, after being up for 36 hours — familiar territory for a former Los Angeles County hospital intern — I was very calm and knew what the issues were. I patiently told them I didn't need anyone's permission or concurrence. By the time we reached the Air Force hospital in Germany, I had stayed up with that patient for 56 hours. Of course, he survived."  Read more.

Mae Jemison wears red for charity
New York Fashion Week opened amid an international debate about too-thin models, yet the first major runway show of the event featured women of all shapes, sizes, ages and colours. And the crowd loved it. That first show on the catwalks at Bryant Park was the Heart Truth show, an annual event in which celebrities wear red dresses created for them by famous designers. Heart Truth is part of the Red Dress project, a federal initiative spearheaded by Laura Bush, to raise awareness about heart disease. Read more.

Caption: Mae Jemison, wearing Lyn Devon, walks the runway at the Red Dress Heart Truth fashion show during Fall 2007 Fashion Week in New York on Friday, Feb 2, 2007.(Fashion Wire Daily/Gruber)

Read more about Peace Corps Medical Officer Mae Jemison.

Peace Corps Volunteer Sidney Slover helped start a donut production and distribution company to raise money for youth projects in Honduras

Peace Corps Volunteer Sidney Slover helped start a donut production and distribution company to raise money for youth projects in Honduras
"My name is Sidney Slover, I am a Peace Corps volunteer in the area of business in Las Vegas, and have dedicated my service to promote income generating activities. Working with the local youth group (La Casa de la Juventud), formed to create and run projects for local youth, I was requested by the members to develop an income generating activity that would provide money for their youth projects. We knew that the project had to be something that could be made using local resources and not too complex. Hondurans have a noticeable sweet tooth and love bread products, donuts just seemed a like a logical direction, so one day, before a meeting I made a batch of glazed, yeast raised donuts. As the members of the youth group tried the finished product, a general consensus was made that donuts were the way to go to raise money."

"The first step was aesthetics and image; we needed a name and a logo. After much deliberating, we chose the name by a strange set of happenings. We had to cancel out the obvious choices (Dunkin Donuts was suggested) and go with something creative and original. We wanted something with alliteration and took Deca from decadent, wanting our name and slogan to be Deca Donas (“Que Decadente!” or, “So Decadent!”). Upon presentation the reaction by the Hondurans was clear, they were confused and did not like the name. Apparently, the common meaning here for decadent is similar to “almost rotten,” or “one foot in the grave.” Obviously, this name would not work! Just then, one of the members of the group spoke up and suggested casually “de calidad,” or “from quality. Using the first part of DE CAlidad, DECA, and using “De Calidad” as our slogan, our name was decided. Our logo came about from a similar cooperation. One of the group members is a skilled artist and created several sketches of possible logos. After a vote, one was chosen, and using a scan of the sketch as a guideline I formed the current logo with graphic designing software."

"Like in any business, the first few months were the most difficult. Tasks included getting all the necessary equipment, creating the right connections with suppliers, training the workers, setting up the books, finding the best way to sell, etc.. The first week, a group from the weekend school interned in production and sales to satisfy requirements for their class, and Deca Donas was finally producing. One of the women from this class stayed on as an employee and within two weeks we had added on two more women in production."

"In the future, we hope to expand our product line (cinnamon rolls, éclairs, banana bread, etc.) as well as integrating other small producer’s products into our distribution chain so that they have the capacity to sell their products in larger markets. For instance, there is a local jelly company that has the facilities to produce and sell their strawberry and blackberry jelly in large volumes, yet do not have the know how to reach the market efficiently. Deca Donas hopes to be a full service business resource in the community, helping develop a higher quality product, more efficiency, and better run administration for small producer groups."

"In order to achieve any of these goals, we need to expand our product to distribute on a regional level, and eventually on the national stage. Attaining the project grant listed on the Peace Corps website is the first step toward this goal. It will enable us to purchase industrial equipment so we will be set up to produce a higher volume of our product at a consistent quality. The total amount needed to fulfill this project grant and thereby receive the money is $9,650. We are hoping to rapidly fund this through donations (100% tax-deductible) by individuals and companies. This project is more than just a small business endeavor deep in the mountains of Honduras. It is a model of inspiration for the entire country and elsewhere. For everyone who do not believe the expansion of original ideas possible. We create jobs. We will be providing money to youth projects. Most importantly, this project serves as a teaching model and support for those with similar interests. This is our main goal.  Please help us in any way that you can, whether by donating at the Peace Corps website and/or by spreading the word of this project to other organizations and individuals who may find this project of interest."  Read more.

Read more about how Peace Corps Volunteers and RPCVs have raised funds for projects.