July 7, 2005: Headlines: COS - India: Tsunami: Service: Ipswich Chronicle: A village in India decimated by the tsunami disaster early this year is better off, thanks to the efforts of students at Doyon School
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
India:
Peace Corps India:
The Peace Corps in India:
July 7, 2005: Headlines: COS - India: Tsunami: Service: Ipswich Chronicle: A village in India decimated by the tsunami disaster early this year is better off, thanks to the efforts of students at Doyon School
A village in India decimated by the tsunami disaster early this year is better off, thanks to the efforts of students at Doyon School
The Student Leadership Team got involved when Doyon parent and former Peace Corps volunteer Carmel Valianti told some students about a friend who was working as a trauma nurse in Chennai. She told Valianti that one big need was replacing the fishing boats destroyed by the huge tidal wave, which killed more than 10,000 in India.
A village in India decimated by the tsunami disaster early this year is better off, thanks to the efforts of students at Doyon School
Doyon students buy boat for tsunami victims
By Faith Tomei/ ftomei@cnc.com
Thursday, July 7, 2005
A village in India decimated by the tsunami disaster early this year is better off, thanks to the efforts of students at Doyon School.
In early June, a $3,000 check was sent to the Global Volunteer Network to purchase a fishing boat for the people of Chennai, India. The 22 members of the Student Leadership Team signed the letter that went with the check.
"We are honored to have been able to participate in such a worthy cause and contribute toward the relief effort," they wrote.
Students raised most of the money at a silent auction in March, where parents and others bought murals, collages, boxes, and other creations of Doyon students. Each grade had a project that went to the highest bidder. Ipswich businesses also donated items for the auction.
Students also made wrist bands with the word "tsunami" and "bully buster" bracelets and held a bake sale after the auction.
The Student Leadership Team got involved when Doyon parent and former Peace Corps volunteer Carmel Valianti told some students about a friend who was working as a trauma nurse in Chennai. She told Valianti that one big need was replacing the fishing boats destroyed by the huge tidal wave, which killed more than 10,000 in India.
When the students learned the extent of the devastation along India's coast and the importance of fishing boats to the villagers' survival and long-term development, they voted to adopt the project. Teachers Karen Troxell and Betsy Castonguay helped the fourth- and fifth-graders on the Student Leadership Team with this effort.
Students at the Doyon School hope to establish a long-term friendship with the Chennai villagers, allowing both communities to learn and grow from their exchanges of letters and photos next school year and beyond.
An organizer of the rebuilding effort in India wrote to the Doyon students, "Your kindness and dedication to improve the lives of others less fortunate is an inspiration to the world."
Fifth-graders on the Student Leadership Team who participated were Elizabeth Barbarisi, Jillian Bemis, Mariah Brockelbank, Kayla Cohen, Emily Domingues, Peter Eliopoulos, Emily Fenton, Megan Freiberger, Beau Gauthier, Lexi LaFrance, Brianna Maglio, Rachel Mahoney, Christine Marini, Samantha Stanley, Rhiannan Thompson, Abigali Trigilio, and Haley Upton.
Fourth graders were Bryn Golesworthy, Ryan Green, Dewey Robinson, Alexis Rowland, Josh Sazin, and Brian Silverstein.
When this story was posted in July 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 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related stories in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can find hundreds of stories about what RPCVs with your same interests or from your Country of Service are doing today. If you have a web site, support the "Peace Corps Library" and link to it today. |
 | American Taboo: A Peace Corps Tragedy
Returned Volunteers met with author Philip Weiss in Baltimore on June 18 to discuss the murder of Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner. Weiss was a member of a panel that included three psychiatrists and a criminal attorney. Meanwhile, the Seattle U.S. Attorney's office announced that Dennis Priven cannot be retried for the murder. "We do not believe this case can be prosecuted by anyone, not only us, but in any other jurisdiction in the United States." Read background on the case here. |
 | June 14: Peace Corps suspends Haiti program
After Uzbekistan, the Peace Corps has announced the suspension of a second program this month - this time in Haiti. Background: The suspension comes after a US Embassy warning, a request from Tom Lantos' office, and the program suspension last year. For the record: PCOL supports Peace Corps' decision to suspend the two programs and commends the agency for the efficient way PCVs were evacuated safely. Our only concern now is with the placement of evacuated PCVs and the support they receive after interrupted service. |
 | Friends of the Peace Corps 170,000 strong
170,000 is a very special number for the RPCV community - it's the number of Volunteers who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961. It's also a number that is very special to us because March is the first month since our founding in January, 2001 that our readership has exceeded 170,000. And while we know that not everyone who comes to this site is an RPCV, they are all "Friends of the Peace Corps." Thanks everybody for making PCOL your source of news for the Returned Volunteer community. |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: Ipswich Chronicle
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - India; Tsunami; Service
PCOL21212
37
