Brendan Lynch is living on the tiny island of Tonoas in the Pacific Ocean, working as a Peace Corps volunteer and teaching children to read English



Brendan Lynch is living on the tiny island of Tonoas in the Pacific Ocean, working as a Peace Corps volunteer and teaching children to read English

Peace Corps volunteer making an island difference
By JONDI GUMZ
Sentinel staff writer

Brendan Lynch was never a swimmer or a surfer while he was growing up in Santa Cruz. Now 24, he’s living on a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean, working as a Peace Corps volunteer and teaching children to read English.

His environs on Tonoas (pronounced Ton-OH-wass) are quite different from his hometown. He lives in a treehouse built by a tribal family. There are neither roads nor electricity, and he has to travel by boat to another island to pick up his mail or send e-mail.

He hopes Santa Cruz residents will support his efforts to establish a library at the Sino Memorial Elementary School by donating children’s books, especially those with pictures.

"Even adults (on the island) go to the library," said his father John, a classics professor at UC Santa Cruz. "They like to learn English."

He hasn’t seen his son since his Peace Corps assignment began, but he has been able to speak to him via cell phone and Internet connections.

Lynch is in his second year on Tonoas, which has a population of less than 1,000. The Pacific was his second choice after Nepal, but the Peace Corps is not sending Americans to that country because of the ongoing revolution.

The island is on the equator, so the temperature is hot, the ocean warm, and the weather rainy and prone to typhoons. Coconut milk and fish are staples of the local diet.

"It sounds like paradise, but it’s not," Lynch’s father said. "It’s a tribal society, a very giving society, but there is no economy."

Outsiders are drawn to the Chuuk lagoon (also known as Truk) for scuba diving, because more than 50 Japanese destroyers were sunk there during World War II. But divers tend to stay on their boats rather than come ashore.

Opportunities for youths are few, and drinking is a problem. Schooling ends after eighth grade unless teens travel by boat to Weno, where there is a Jesuit high school. But those who are accepted are sometimes unable to adjust to the more urban culture, with electricity, motor vehicles, and bars and restaurants.

Lynch, who studied Latin, has learned the native language Chuukese. He took advantage of his location to spend a month traveling in the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. His Peace Corps tour ends in December.

He graduated from Bellarmine Prep in San Jose in 1999, then earned his college degree in 2003 with honors from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., majoring in human and organizational development.

At Vanderbilt, he worked with children in poor neighborhoods, but his decision to go to Micronesia took his parents by surprise.

"He always liked stretching himself," his father said. "He liked putting himself in situations where he had to adjust."

To donate books to Tonoas, e-mail Brendan Lynch at brendan—j—lynch@hotmail.com. Special media rates apply to books, and the mail service is operated by the United States Postal Service. For more information, call John or Sheilah Lynch at 423-0516 or e-mail jplynch@ucsc.edu

Contact Jondi Gumz at jgumz@santacruzsentinel.com.

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


Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

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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Crisis Corps arrives in Thailand After the Tsunami in Southeast Asia last December, Peace Corps issued an appeal for Crisis Corps Volunteers and over 200 RPCVs responded. The first team of 8 Crisis Corps volunteers departed for Thailand on March 18 to join RPCVs who are already supporting relief efforts in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and India with other agencies and NGO's. 19 Mar 2005

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March's Feature Stories - only on PCOL Dream Come True - Revisiting India after 34 years The Coyne Column: Read Winning Vanity Fair PCV Essay Tomas Belsky's paintings inspired by service in Brazil RPCV reunites with friend after 40 years RPCV reviews "Los Heraldos Negros" by Cesar Vallejo Photo Essay: Taking it to the Streets

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March 19, 2005: RPCV Groups in the News New Jersey RPCVs host exhibit in Maplewood on April 2 20 Mar Maryland RPCVs eat crab cakes in Annapolis 17 Mar Illinois RPCVs present "Life on the Big Red Island" 13 Mar San Diego RPCVs host reception with Gaddi Vasquez on March 6 4 Mar Western North Carolina's RPCVs sponsor Africa Night on March 6 3 Mar Connecticut RPCVs held fundraiser on March 5 3 Mar RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

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March 19, 2005: This Week's Top Stories RPCV points out catalytic effect of Iraq 19 Mar PCVs set up Basketball pool in Ukraine 19 Mar Sam Farr introduces bill to monitor ocean fisheries 18 Mar Bridgeland does not rule out run for Congress 18 Mar Jim Doyle promotes Institute for Discovery 18 Mar Newspaper says Bangladesh is safe for PCVs 18 Mar Joan Ruddiman revisits Peter Hessler's "River World" 17 Mar Mark Schneider says Save Haiti from more violence 17 Mar Troy Johnson joins delegation to Indonesia 17 Mar Chris Shays says baseball not exempt from the law 17 Mar "Hurlyburly" benefits gypsy women in Romania 15 Mar Chris Matthews interviews Schwarzenegger 14 Mar Fred Burke dies in NJ, trained early PCVs 13 Mar Mike Honda introduces Student Privacy Protection Act 13 Mar FT details Cheney-McPherson relationship 13 Mar Tucker McCravy reports on Tsunami Reconstruction 10 Mar Dennis Braddock retires with record of accomplishment 9 Mar

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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 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.

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