2006.09.10: September 10, 2006: Headlines: COS - Mali: Obituaries: Fallen: OregonLive.com: Peace Corps Volunteer Justin Brady had 'spirit of giving'
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Mali:
Peace Corps Mali :
The Peace Corps in Mali:
2006.09.06: September 6, 2006: Headlines: COS - Mali: Obituaries: Peace Corps: Peace Corps Mourns the Loss of Volunteers Justin Brady and Matthew Costa in Mali :
2006.09.10: September 10, 2006: Headlines: COS - Mali: Obituaries: Fallen: OregonLive.com: Peace Corps Volunteer Justin Brady had 'spirit of giving'
Peace Corps Volunteer Justin Brady had 'spirit of giving'
"I've known a lot of volunteers," Kateri Clement, director of the Peace Corps in Mali, said Saturday. "Justin inspired me. His intelligence, his artistic abilities. I was in awe of what he was able to accomplish."
Peace Corps Volunteer Justin Brady had 'spirit of giving'
Peace Corps worker had 'spirit of giving'
Helping - Justin Brady, 27, was volunteering in Africa when he was killed in a boating accident
Sunday, September 10, 2006
ABBY HAIGHT
Justin Brady did not waste time when he arrived in Mali as a Peace Corps volunteer.
From his first days in the tiny village of Donthieribougou, Brady threw himself into working for the village. Within months, the Oregon State University graduate was teaching basic health care and working to bring clean water to a community that had neither drinking water nor electricity.
Brady, who grew up in Bend and lived in Philomath before joining the Peace Corps in the West African country, died Sept. 3 in a boating accident on the Niger River in Bamako. He was 27.
A friend and Peace Corp volunteer, Matthew Costa, 24, of Connecticut also was killed when the mast of their sailboat hit a power line on a river tributary. Two other volunteers on the boat escaped serious injury.
"I've known a lot of volunteers," Kateri Clement, director of the Peace Corps in Mali, said Saturday. "Justin inspired me. His intelligence, his artistic abilities. I was in awe of what he was able to accomplish."
Residents of Donthieribougou and the close-knit Peace Corps community paid tribute to Brady and Costa in a memorial service last week in Mali.
Peace Corps Deputy Director Jody Olsen arrived in Portland on Saturday and will attend Brady's funeral service at 1 p.m. Monday at DeMoss-Durdan Funeral Home in Corvallis.
Brady is survived by his mother, Tianna Silen, and stepfather, David Silen of Philomath; father, Roger Brady of Bend; sisters, Amber Toedtli and Cherish Berry; and brothers, Wesley and Nathan.
"Justin served," Olsen said. "He had a spirit of giving back. He had a spirit of wanting to make a difference. He said this many times to his family, to his colleagues. That was what drove him forward."
It was a direction Brady had charged toward since before birth.
His mother remembered the labor for her second child was so brief her physician joked she should name her son, "Just in time." He walked at nine months and was determined to ride a tricycle even when he couldn't reach the pedals.
While studying for a degree in construction engineering management at Oregon State, Brady rode his bicycle solo across the country -- 4,500 miles in 51 days.
"I think he would have been the type in the 1400s that, when everyone said the world was flat, Justin would have been the one to say, 'That isn't practical,' " Silen said. "Then he would have signed onto a ship, swabbed the deck and gone out to find out if the world really was flat."
Given the choice of serving his two-year Peace Corps duty in the Caribbean or waiting six months for an assignment in Africa, Brady chose to wait.
"He wanted to go to the farthest place and the place with most need," Silen said.
Brady arrived in Mali in January 2005 and plunged into his work and the Donthieribougou community. He created a vibrant Web page, www.justinbrady.net, with writings, photos and films of his experiences.
The boat outing on Sept. 3 was a brief holiday for the Peace Corps friends, and Brady's family treasures a photograph of Brady and Costa taken shortly before the accident.
"They're glowing with happiness," Silen said. "They're going out on an adventure."
Deaths are rare among the 7,800 Peace Corps volunteers who serve in more than 70 countries. The loss of Brady brought grief to his fellow volunteers -- but also resolve, Olsen said.
"He's a person to celebrate," she said. "He's a person that this community can feel so proud of. He represents the best of who we are."
Abby Haight: 503-221-8198; abbyhaight@news.oregonian.com
When this story was posted in September 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Chris Shays Shifts to Favor an Iraq Timetable In a policy shift, RPCV Congressman Chris Shays, long a staunch advocate of the Bush administration's position in Iraq, is now proposing a timetable for a withdrawal of American troops. How Mr. Shays came to this change of heart is, he says, a matter of a newfound substantive belief that Iraqis need to be prodded into taking greater control of their own destiny under the country’s newly formed government. As Chairman of the House Government Reform subcommittee on national security, he plans to draft a timetable for a phased withdrawal and then push for its adoption. A conscientious objector during the Vietnam War who said that if drafted he would not serve, Chris Shays has made 14 trips to Iraq and was the first Congressman to enter the country after the war - against the wishes of the Department of Defense. |
| Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process. |
| Gates charity races to spend billions Warren E. Buffett’s gift of $31 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation means that for tax reasons, starting in 2009, the foundation must distribute $3 billion annually, or a little more than twice what it distributed last year.
PCOL Comment: The Foundation says that "preventing the spread of HIV is the most durable long-term solution to the AIDS epidemic, and a top priority for the foundation." Peace Corps Volunteers and Returned Volunteers have been doing just that in AIDS Education for the past 15 years. Why not consider a $100M annual contribution to the Peace Corps to put 2,500 additional volunteers in the field to expand AIDS education worldwide? |
| The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace. |
| Changing the Face of Hunger In his new book, Former Congressman Tony Hall (RPCV Thailand) says humanitarian aid is the most potent weapon the United States can deploy against terrorism. An evangelical Christian, he is a big believer in faith-based organizations in the fight against hunger. Members of Congress have recently recommended that Hall be appointed special envoy to Sudan to focus on ending the genocide in Darfur. |
| PC will not return to East Timor in 2006 Volunteers serving in East Timor have safely left the country as a result of the recent civil unrest and government instability. Latest: The Peace Corps has informed us that at this time, the Peace Corps has no plans to re-enter the country in 2006. The Peace Corps recently sent a letter offering eligible volunteers the opportunity to reinstate their service in another country. |
| Chris Dodd considers run for the White House Senator Chris Dodd plans to spend the next six to eight months raising money and reaching out to Democrats around the country to gauge his viability as a candidate. Just how far Dodd can go depends largely on his ability to reach Democrats looking for an alternative to Hillary Clinton. PCOL Comment: Dodd served as a Volunteer in the Dominican Republic and has been one of the strongest supporters of the Peace Corps in Congress. |
| Peace Corps stonewalls on FOIA request The Ashland Daily Tidings reports that Peace Corps has blocked their request for information on the Volkart case. "After the Tidings requested information pertaining to why Volkart was denied the position — on March 2 — the newspaper received a letter from the Peace Corps FOIA officer stating the requested information was protected under an exemption of the act." The Dayton Daily News had similar problems with FOIA requests for their award winning series on Volunteer Safety and Security. |
| PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come. |
| History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help. |
| RPCV admits to abuse while in Peace Corps Timothy Ronald Obert has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor in Costa Rica while serving there as a Peace Corps volunteer. "The Peace Corps has a zero tolerance policy for misconduct that violates the law or standards of conduct established by the Peace Corps," said Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez. Could inadequate screening have been partly to blame? Mr. Obert's resume, which he had submitted to the Peace Corps in support of his application to become a Peace Corps Volunteer, showed that he had repeatedly sought and obtained positions working with underprivileged children. Read what RPCVs have to say about this case. |
| Why blurring the lines puts PCVs in danger When the National Call to Service legislation was amended to include Peace Corps in December of 2002, this country had not yet invaded Iraq and was not in prolonged military engagement in the Middle East, as it is now. Read the story of how one volunteer spent three years in captivity from 1976 to 1980 as the hostage of a insurrection group in Colombia in Joanne Marie Roll's op-ed on why this legislation may put soldier/PCVs in the same kind of danger. Latest: Read the ongoing dialog on the subject. |
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: OregonLive.com
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Mali; Obituaries; Fallen
PCOL34391
91