HoTPCA

Welcome!

Are you new to Austin? Are you an RPCV who would like to attend social events, get involved in projects, or re-connect with the Peace Corps community? Are you a friend or family member who supports Peace Corps goals?

If so, HoTPCA invites YOU to join us by becoming a member (Join Now). Check out our upcoming events and plan to attend. Join the conversation on our Facebook page.

We look forward to seeing you.

Upcoming Book Club Selections

The second Thursday of the month:

February 9 – The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom by Simon Winchester

March 8 – The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan

See the Events Calendar for details.

HoTPCA donates to Stoves Saving Lives

Girl cooking pancakes on concrete stove In 2011, HoTPCA donated $1000 to Max Greenblum’s Stoves Saving Lives project in El Salvador.

The photo at the right shows a girl cooking pancakes on one of these low-cost, fuel-efficient stoves.

Read the full report.

HoTPCA Donates to YESSERA

YESSARA trainees start a bamboo products business

In 2011, HoTPCA donated $850 to Young Ethiopian Self Sufficiency Enhancing Re–education Association (YESSERA) to support one student.

The photo shows previous graduates of the program.

Read the full report.

Casa de Katie Update

In 2010 HoTPCA made a $335 grant to Amigos de las Escuelas project in Rio Bravo – known as Casa de Katie.

Casa de Katie has benefited in the past by many donations. The donations were either distributed to needy families, sold for money to pay expenditures or used at Casa de Katie in the kitchen, education room, internet room, etc. We again are asking for donations and some suggested items are:

*** children’s clothing from baby to teens, kitchen items of every type, toys especially Legos & blocks & K-neks & games, musical instruments like guitars, tools especially a jigsaw and table saw, electrical items, TVs, furniture, fans and building material ***

Donations will be gathered up in Austin for delivery to Rio Bravo. If you can make donations, please contact Jim Maxwell at fjmax@peoplepc.com. Read the full Spring-Summer 2011 Casa de Katie Report.

Peace Corps Advocacy Day, Capitol Hill

	Texas RPCVs visited Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison’s office during Peace Corps Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill on Sept. 22, 2011 for the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps.

We Improve Tomorrow - Guatemala

In 2010, HoTPCA granted $500 to the We Improve Tomorrow (WIT) project which funds merit-based educational support to motivated, underprivileged and indigenous Guatemalan children who may otherwise not have access to an education. Joanne Crompton Clark, RPCV Guatemala, reports:

In 2010, with the support of HOTPCA, we assisted 85 students at three scholastic levels – 45 at elementary, 27 at secondary, and 13 at the vocational level. More students are pursuing knowledge at the secondary and vocational levels than previously (25 secondary and 6 vocational students in 2009).

Xenajtajuyup School in Guatemala

Upcoming Book Club Selections

The second Thursday of the month:

September 8 – The Pickup by Nadine Gordimer

October 13 – Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

November 10 – The Man Who Tried to Save the World: The Dangerous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of an American Hero by Simon Winchester

December – no meeting

January 12 – Staying On: A Novel by Paul Scott

February 9 – The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom by Simon Winchester

See the Events Calendar for details.

Saraguran Children, Loja, Ecuador

Saraguran children dancing in traditional dress

The Saraguran people can be found in the Andes of southern Ecuador. They are a group that still follows their agricultural roots in the fertile soils around them. Twenty-five percent of Ecuadorians have indigenous heritage, and these children are showing off some of their native styles of dress for a Christmas program. Most of the time, these same youth would be found in a t-shirt and jeans, though some of their peers still wear traditional outfits on a daily basis.

The program was hosted by the Centro San Juan Bosco, which is a center for youth ages 5- 12 hosted by the city government of Loja, Ecuador. Children typically attend school for only half a day, so this gives them a place to go before or after their classes and receive tutoring or enrichment activities, in addition to a nutritious meal.

Submitted by Chandi Wagner, RPCV Ecuador, 2005-2007

World Refugee Day

Check out a slide show of pictures from last month’s World Refugee Day (June 18th).

Thank you Katrina for making these available.

Peace Corps in Austin Day

	In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Peace Corps, HOTPCA RPCVs attended a City Council Meeting on March 3, 2011 to hear Mayor Leffingwell proclaim “Peace Corps in Austin Day”. Following the Mayor’s Proclamation, HoTPCA President Chandi Wagner briefly spoke on HoTPCA’s presence and activities in the Austin area.