Mary Ackley is currently a member of the corps serving in the Fiji Islands



Mary Ackley is currently a member of the corps serving in the Fiji Islands

Peace Corp Week celebrated

Commitment to Peace Corp is a family affair

By Mary Jane Happy, Press & Guide Newspapers

PUBLISHED: March 13, 2005

DEARBORN - Joanna Ackley is proud of her daughter. Ackley lives in Dearborn and works as the Social Studies department chair at John F. Kennedy high school in Taylor.

She was recently asked by the school's Culture Club to give a presentation about the Peace Corps to recognize the organization during Peace Corp Week.

Joanna knows a lot about the topic. Her daughter Mary Ackley is currently a member of the corps serving in the Fiji Islands.

Mary graduated from Dearborn High in 1998 and the University of Michigan in 2002 with a degree in environmental engineering.

Joanna describes her daughter as an adventure seeker.

"As a sixth grader she asked for her birthday and Christmas presents to be able to go to NASA's space camp for kids," said Ackley.

"When she was in high school, she asked to go to Outward Bound for winter training."

Mary was an honor student at Dearborn High and active in the DHS marching band, jazz band, Key Club and Model United Nations.

At the University of Michigan she was active in the marching band, raced concrete canoes for the college of engineering and graduated with honors.

Before joining the Peace Corps, Mary worked as an environmental engineer.

In September 2003 Mary was sent to Los Angeles for training for her assignment in the Fiji Islands. The volunteers were flown to Fiji and were given two months of intensive language and culture immersion.

Mary learned to speak native Fijian fluently. She lived with a Fijian family and experienced first hand the country's environment.

In her host's home, there was no furniture, no running water, no hot water, very little meat, no window screens and open doors. There was little or no electricity and lots of bugs.

"Mary once told us that a chicken walked into her host family's house and laid an egg," said Joanna.

Following her stay with the host family, Mary was sent to the tribal village of Vunisinu where she teaches villagers about environmental issues like recycling and composting.

Fiji's tribal culture does not honor the wisdom of women, but Joanna believes that they truly accept her daughter as someone who can help them.

Last summer, Joanna, her husband and another daughter Angela, traveled to Fiji. While there, Angela helped out at the local grade school teaching a lesson on recycling. Angela is currently a student at Western Michigan University.

During their visit, the village chief told Joanna that Mary has spread important environmental knowledge and old fashioned American goodwill and that she has made a significant, sustainable difference in the quality of village life.

"I believe I'm making a difference in the lives of my villagers, said Mary. "I'm happy that the village people are appreciative of the United States for sending me to them."

Joanna's presentation to the Culture Club was a success. She shared native items including watermelon, papayas, a sulu, and hand made grass rugs and fans that were gifts to her daughter from the village chief.

Mary Ackley's tour of duty with the Peace Corp will conclude sometime between September and December 2005.

When this story was posted in March 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:

The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in over 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related reference material in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can use the Main Index to find hundreds of stories about RPCVs who have your same interests, who served in your Country of Service, or who serve in your state.

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RPCVs in Congress ask colleagues to support PC RPCVs Sam Farr, Chris Shays, Thomas Petri, James Walsh, and Mike Honda have asked their colleagues in Congress to add their names to a letter they have written to the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, asking for full funding of $345 M for the Peace Corps in 2006. As a follow-on to Peace Corps week, please read the letter and call your Representative in Congress and ask him or her to add their name to the letter.

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Add your info now to the RPCV Directory Call Harris Publishing at 800-414-4608 right away to add your name or make changes to your listing in the newest edition of the NPCA's Directory of Peace Corps Volunteers and Former Staff. Then read our story on how you can get access to the book after it is published. The deadline for inclusion is May 16 so call now.

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March 12, 2005: This Week's Top Stories The Coyne Column: Read Winning Essay by PCV 12 Mar Laura Germino helps Migrant Workers Advocacy Group 12 Mar Sam Farr impresses medical-pot advocacy group 11 Mar Fred O'Regan writes Op-Ed on Canada seal hunt 11 Mar Fern Holland remembered In Oklahoma 10 Mar Mountaineer Charles Houston receives honorary degree 10 Mar Elaine Chao led delegation for President's inauguration 10 Mar Chris Dodd wins Hispanic Capital Award 9 Mar Pat Waak is new Colorado Democratic Party Chair 9 Mar Chris Matthews withdraws from Florida Event 9 Mar Timothy J. O'Brien returns to Korea 8 Mar Tomas Belsky's paintings inspired by service in Brazil 7 Mar Christopher Hill to be Assistant Secretary of State 7 Mar Allen Moore is Sen Frist's Deputy Chief of Staff 7 Mar Jim Doyle heads trade delegation to Mexico 5 Mar Al Kamen says Narcissus Is Now Greek AND Roman 4 Mar Diana Gomez says to do something about Peace 4 Mar

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March 12, 2005: RPCV Groups in the News San Diego RPCVs host reception with Gaddi Vasquez on March 6 4 Mar Alaska RPCVs speak for dividend 4 Mar Western North Carolina's RPCVs sponsor Africa Night on March 6 3 Mar Maryland RPCVs lobby their Senators for Peace Corps 3 Mar Connecticut RPCVs hold fundraiser on March 5 3 Mar Charles Baquet speaks at Louisiana PC Breakfast on March 4 28 Feb RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

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March 1: National Day of Action Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went.

Make a call for the Peace Corps PCOL is a strong supporter of the NPCA's National Day of Action and encourages every RPCV to spend ten minutes on Tuesday, March 1 making a call to your Representatives and ask them to support President Bush's budget proposal of $345 Million to expand the Peace Corps. Take our Poll: Click here to take our poll. We'll send out a reminder and have more details early next week.

Peace Corps Calendar: Tempest in a Teapot? Bulgarian writer Ognyan Georgiev has written a story which has made the front page of the newspaper "Telegraf" criticizing the photo selection for his country in the 2005 "Peace Corps Calendar" published by RPCVs of Madison, Wisconsin. RPCV Betsy Sergeant Snow, who submitted the photograph for the calendar, has published her reply. Read the stories and leave your comments.

WWII participants became RPCVs Read about two RPCVs who participated in World War II in very different ways long before there was a Peace Corps. Retired Rear Adm. Francis J. Thomas (RPCV Fiji), a decorated hero of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, died Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 at 100. Mary Smeltzer (RPCV Botswana), 89, followed her Japanese students into WWII internment camps. We honor both RPCVs for their service.

Bush's FY06 Budget for the Peace Corps The White House is proposing $345 Million for the Peace Corps for FY06 - a $27.7 Million (8.7%) increase that would allow at least two new posts and maintain the existing number of volunteers at approximately 7,700. Bush's 2002 proposal to double the Peace Corps to 14,000 volunteers appears to have been forgotten. The proposed budget still needs to be approved by Congress.

Read the stories and leave your comments.