July 17, 2005: Headlines: COS - Sri Lanka: Return to our Country of Service - Sri Lanka: NGO's: Service: Sunday Observer: RPCV Tucker McCravy has been returning to Sri Lanka since 1995 to work with Serendib
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Sri Lanka:
Peace Corps Sri Lanka:
The Peace Corps in Sri Lanka:
July 17, 2005: Headlines: COS - Sri Lanka: Return to our Country of Service - Sri Lanka: NGO's: Service: Sunday Observer: RPCV Tucker McCravy has been returning to Sri Lanka since 1995 to work with Serendib
RPCV Tucker McCravy has been returning to Sri Lanka since 1995 to work with Serendib
This year marks the first year that Serendib - Sri Lanka will invite teachers and students from throughout the island to join free-of-charge in this unique educational experience. The Foundation is currently seeking corporate and NGO sponsors to assist with funding this year's initiative.
RPCV Tucker McCravy has been returning to Sri Lanka since 1995 to work with Serendib
Peace Education Camp in August
by Nancy Bolden
The 9th Annual Peace Education Camp will be conducted by Serendib - Sri Lanka, an education foundation based in Sabaragamuwa Province and composed of local government English teachers. This Camp will bring together students and teachers of all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds from throughout Sri Lanka to participate in a 7-day residential program designed to foster peace and ethnic reconciliation through education.
Working in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Serendib - Sri Lanka hopes to expand its activities for the first time beyond the borders of Sabaragamuwa to benefit the teachers and students from around the island.
Since 1997, a dedicated group of experienced English teachers in Sabaragamuwa Province have been sacrificing their time and creative energies for the benefit of the students and teachers in Sri Lanka. Serendib - Sri Lanka, also known as the English Camp Foundation, is the founder of a unique residential program which brings Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim students together in a learning environment of harmony and ethnic reconciliation.
Serendib - Sri Lanka has worked closely in cooperation with the Provincial Department of Education as well as the Ministry of Education to spread this valuable program to other provinces in Sri Lanka as well.
Nearly 4,000 students and 500 teachers have been directly trained by the resource persons in Sabaragamuwa, with an even greater impact in other areas of the country where this program is being replicated at district and provincial levels.
Tucker McCravy, former Peace Corps volunteer and Founder of Serendib - USA, has been returning to Sri Lanka since 1995 to devote his skills to this project and as a M.Ed. graduate in International Educational Policy from Harvard University who has personally trained the current staff of resource persons at Serendib - Sri Lanka. 'There can be no peace without harmony in Sri Lanka', McCravy believes, 'and the most effective way to achieve this is to begin with the younger generation using education as a vehicle for peace'.
McCravy has brought with him a team of volunteers from Harvard University and Washington D.C. to help with the 9th Annual Camp program which will take place in August. Among these volunteers are experts in engineering, videography, public health, education and law. The volunteers are based in Ratnapura and will be donating their services to Serendib - Sri Lanka.
Serendib - Sri Lanka is planning its 9th Annual Peace Education Camp to be held in middle of August 2005. This year marks the first year that Serendib - Sri Lanka will invite teachers and students from throughout the island to join free-of-charge in this unique educational experience.
The Foundation is currently seeking corporate and NGO sponsors to assist with funding this year's initiative.
As Sri Lanka is moving more towards peace and local civil society organisations and corporations are making effective contributions in this regard, Serendib - Sri Lanka would like to offer these communities the chance to be a part of the 9th Annual Peace Education Camp.
In addition to immediate plans for the 9th Peace Camp, the Foundation is currently developing an implementation plan for the Global Learning Centre, an English medium (Year 1 through A/L) school - centered program on strengthening students' skills in English and information technology, and focused on bringing together all the ethnic and socio-economic groups from throughout Sri Lanka.
Serendib - Sri Lanka plans to recruit approximately 25 per cent of international staff for this school, and students from impoverished and tsunami-affected areas will attend the Global Learning Centre free-of-charge as residential pupils. Serendib - Sri Lanka hopes to open the school for Years 1-5 beginning September 2006.
Any individuals, corporations or NGOs interested in sponsorship opportunities for this worthwhile program may contact Serendib at their headquarters in Ratnapura on (045) 2231715 or Tucker McCravy at 077- 6562159.
Alternatively, the website contains all the details of this program, and can be viewed at http:///www.serendib.us.
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: Sunday Observer
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Sri Lanka; Return to our Country of Service - Sri Lanka; NGO's; Service
PCOL21285
01