To Honor 40th Anniversary Celebration Of Peace Corps Dominican Republic President Mejia Condecorates Its First Director In The DR.

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By Admin1 (admin) on Sunday, July 01, 2001 - 1:53 pm: Edit Post

To Honor 40th Anniversary Celebration Of Peace Corps Dominican Republic President Mejia Condecorates Its First Director In The DR.



To Honor 40th Anniversary Celebration Of Peace Corps Dominican Republic President Mejia Condecorates Its First Director In The DR.

To Honor 40th Anniversary Celebration Of Peace Corps Dominican Republic President Mejia Condecorates Its First Director In The DR.

February 2, 2001

To Honor 40th AnnivErsary Celebration Of Peace Corps President Mejia Condecorates Its First Director In The DR.

SANTO DOMINGO - As part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of continued Peace Corps service around the world, the President of the Dominican Republic, Hipolito Mejia, awarded the country's highest honor in the service category to Andres S. Hernandez, the first Peace Corps director stationed in the country in 1962.

The ceremony, held in the Hall of Ambassador's in the National Palace, was headed by President Mejia and attended by the Director of the Peace Corps Office in the Dominican Republic, Anita Friedman, and by representatives from the American Embassy in Santo Domingo, the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) - the major national organization for past volunteers - and by "The Friends of the Dominican Republic", a nonprofit organization that represents the more than 3,500 volunteers who have served in the Dominican Republic over the past four decades. Friends of Mr. Hernandez in the Dominican Republic also attended.

Mr. Hernandez was distinguished with the Duarte-Sanchez-Mella Medal of Merit by President Mejia for his continued support and involvement in the Peace Corps mission in the Dominican Republic, and for the many years he has dedicated in service and collaboration to the Dominican people.

The Peace Corps continues to be committed to assisting the government and the people of the Dominican Republic to improve the quality of life for the majority by providing technical assistance in agriculture, health, water and sanitation, education, natural resources management, and community economic development. It specifically supports the new Administration's priorities to provide better services for people in rural areas, with a focus on agriculture and education.

A major in Rural Economy, Mr. Hernandez graduated from the University of Edinburg in Scotland. He also studied rural development programs in Tennessee. Appointed by President John F. Kennedy in 1962 to establish the first Peace Corps program in the Dominican Republic, Mr. Hernandez created a very successful program with over 300 Peace Corps volunteers who actively worked in the following areas: co-op development; building of rural schools; forestry; establishing innovative fishing projects in the Cibao region.

The Peace Corps programs headed by Mr. Hernandez in the Dominican Republic became models for future programs in Latin America.

After his successful stay in the Dominican Republic he was transferred to Guatemala where he served as Director of the Peace Corps in that Central American nation. There he introduced many of the successful programs he had already established in the Dominican Republic. Mr. Hernandez currently lives in Santa Rosa, New Mexico.

Since 1962, more than 3,600 Peace Corps volunteers have worked in various development programs in the Dominican Republic. United through "Friends of the Dominican Republic", former volunteers and staff members support the Peace Corps mission in the Dominican Republic and share their knowledge of the country to the Peace Corps and to the American public.

After Hurricane Georges, the Peace Corps increased the number of volunteers in the Dominican Republic by 25 percent. Volunteers in all sectors worked in emergency response activities and immediately launched recovery projects including the promotion of rapid-production crops, rebuilding of water systems, schools and latrines, and housing reconstruction.

Currently, the Peace Corps has 150 volunteers working in these sectors, located across the country. Volunteers work with host country individuals in an effort to help meet the basic needs of the communities in which they serve. Worldwide, there are 7,000 volunteers in 76 countries.

Currently the FDR and the National Peace Corps Association, an organization with more than 150,000 returned Peace Corps volunteers who have served in 134 nations during the past 40 years, are holding their respective annual Board meetings in Santo Domingo. For the first time in its history the Association is meeting outside the United States.

Both organizations are meeting from February 1-4 at the Hotel Santo Domingo to discuss their specific annual agendas and to individually plan 40th anniversary celebrations of the Peace Corps.



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Story Source: US Embassy in Dominican Republic

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Dominican Republic

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