If you live in the DC area, come to Gaddi Vasquez's confirmation hearings on Wednesday, November 14, at 3:30 pm at the Dirksen Building, Room 419. Let's fill the room up with Returned Volunteers and show the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that we still believe in the Peace Corps.

The Committee for the Future of the Peace Corps

By Admin1 (admin) on Tuesday, November 13, 2001 - 9:25 am: Edit Post

Again, you people are great. Barbara Ferris says that the checks keep coming. Your are a tremendous help to what we are trying to do. RPCVs are contribution in all sorts of ways and from all over the country. They are involved in this serious campaign to save the Peace Corps. This is the Third Goal of the Peace Corps at its very best. On behalf of those of us who started this campaign against the nomination of Gaddi Vasquez, thank you very much. We would not be appearing in front of the Foreign Relations Committee tomorrow if you hadn't made all those call, sent all those emails, made your voices heard.

We place the Ad tomorrow morning (Wednesday) in RollCall. Even though at the moment we don't have the total $6000, we are counting on more funds arriving at Barbara's office.

We need one last contribution from you--this in the form of a sentence or two, a statement, a letter--giving the reason(s) for your opposition to the appointment of Gaddi H. Vasquez. Your statement will be collected, with hundreds of others, and presented to the Foreign Relations Committee at the Heading on Wednesday afternoon. The names gathered from the petition posted on Hugh Pickens' great website, PeaceCorpsOnline.org, and those names sent directly to me on the petition form, will also be added to this packet of documents that we will be presenting to the senators.

Email your statement to tokamaphepa@aol.com. That is the email address of Matt Losak (Lesotho 1992-94) who will complete the packet of documents for the Committee. Your statement need not be long, just strong. Matt needs it by the end of the day, today.

One other point. Yesterday afternoon, at the important meeting in California arranged by Pete Johnson with Senator Dodd, a Volunteer evacuated from Uzbekistan spoke and told Dodd about the importance of the Peace Corps in that region of the world. She also talked about the poor planning, the mixed messages, and the lack of Peace Corps leadership leading up to and during the evacuation. If you know of anyone who is in the DC area, who was a Volunteer recently evacuated from the "Stans" and who has a story to tell, and wants to tell it, please let Barbara Ferris know. Her office # 202.530.0563. Or call Matt Losak at 202.223.8700. I'm told by Mike Learned, who was at the meeting, that Senator Dodd was most impressed by what the woman had to say. Yet another reason we need someone with international experience directing the Peace Corps. Thank you all again. Those of you within range of Washington, D.C., I'll see you tomorrow at the Hearing. John Coyne