Friends of Falun Gong USA Reaches Out to Peace Corps Volunteers
Friends of Falun Gong USA Reaches Out to Peace Corps Volunteers
WASHINGTON, June 28, 2002 (FoFG USA) Among numerous organizations with booths at the “World Bazaar” on June 21-22 in Washington, DC there was Friends of Falun Gong USA. The World Bazaar was one part of the four-day National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) conference held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel and other sites in the Washington area.
The Peace Corps is a US government program that has sent Americans with the volunteer spirit to work in developing countries for more than 40 years. Volunteers learn the language and culture of the countries they serve in, and exchange skills and knowledge with people there. The NPCA is a non-profit membership organization for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCV’s) who want to continue their volunteer work and help improve understanding across cultures.
More than 1700 RPCV’s attended the conference in Washington, and most of them browsed the World Bazaar. There were graduate schools giving out information on their programs, handicraft and clothing sellers showing their wares, and non-profit organizations promoting their ideas and missions.
Friends of Falun Gong USA was one of the non-profit organizations hosting an informational booth at the Bazaar. Many RPCV attendees stopped by to ask questions of the volunteers who staffed the booth. The volunteers handed out information about FOFG and talked about its mission of supporting Falun Gong practitioners’ freedom of belief and ending the persecution in China, but also answered basic questions about the practice of Falun Gong. Flyers, videotapes, CD’s, and other materials were carried away by visitors to the booth.
FOFG was one of several organizations given an expanded write-up in the RPCV newsletter “3/1/61” in advance of the conference. It read, “Friends of Falun Gong is a U.S.-based non-profit organization of individuals who firmly support and advocate for freedom of belief and other human rights.”
Many of the RPCV’s expressed interest in FOFG and a few became members for free on the spot. Many others expressed support, understanding, and concern about the persecution in China. FOFG accomplished the purpose of increasing awareness among a very receptive group of Americans from all over the U.S.
