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Frontlines Editor Ben Barber to Discuss His Plans for the Future and the USAID-Peace Corps Relationship

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Frontlines Editor Ben Barber to Discuss His Plans for the Future and the USAID-Peace Corps Relationship MAY INSIDE At Town Hall, Shah Launches THIS ISSUE Policy Office, First Lady Hails Agency Afghanistan at a glance. By Angela Rucker See page 12. At his first Town Hall meet- Michelle Obama thanked the reinvigorate the Agency and he Photo courtesy of IRD ing with USAID employees May Agency for “inspiring” work called for greater use of science This Afghan man is learn- 5, Administrator Rajiv Shah said overseas. and technology in development. ing business skills as USAID will establish a policy Shah introduced a number of Obama said that, “Over the women train for construc- tion jobs and the Internet and budget office while first lady initiatives that he said will years, your work here has reaches more schools. touched millions of lives” through work on health care, edu- FRAMEWORK OBJECTIVES: cation, disaster aid, and Peace and Security agriculture. “I know that the mission has Pakistan’s largest wholesale market recovers been difficult over the last from bomb fire................................SEE PAGE 6 decade. The work that you do Governing Justly and Democratically has not been easy. You’ve often been asked to do more and more Internet centers encourage discussion and with less,” she said. transparency in Eurasia .........................SEE PAGE 6 Shah called for more innova- Investing in People tion, risk taking, and transpar- Brazil prepares youth for labor market ...........SEE PAGES 3 ent discussion of Agency fail- ures so they can become Economic Growth learning tools. He cited the U.S. and Sweden join forces to support example of development inno- financing in developing countries .................SEE PAGE 5 Photo by USAID Photo by vators like the late Nobel Humanitarian Assistance Administrator Rajiv Shah welcomes first lady Michelle Obama during a Town Hall meeting at the Ronald Reagan Building May 5. The Peace Corps: its goals, volunteers, and see TOWN HALL on page 10 ᮣ relationship with USAID ........................SEE PAGE 2 WFP Head: U.S. to Help Muslim Hunger Leads Entrepreneurs to ‘Dangerous World’ By Angela Rucker and Brittany Jackson President Calls for The Obama administration nomic growth, and job cre- $1.8B Plan announced in April that USAID ation lag. will help new business owners The event took place nearly One person out of six in the launch ventures in Egypt and one year after President Barack world is in a state of chronic other mainly Muslim countries. Obama pledged a “new begin- hunger, said Josette Sheeran, A team of entrepreneurs-in- ning” with Muslim-majority executive director of the U.N. residence will try to kick start countries during a closely World Food Program (WFP), the Egypt business innovations watched speech in Cairo. which gets 40 percent of its —one of many plans announced Obama appeared at the confer- funding from USAID. Photo by Ben Barber, USAID Ben Barber, Photo by President Barack Obama announced in April that the U.S. will help during a two-day Presidential ence to follow through on that “A hungry world is a danger- entrepreneurs in Muslim-majority countries. Here, a West Bank Summit on Entrepreneurship promise. ous world,” she said at an April farmer supported by USAID grows vegetables under plastic in the held in Washington. “Today, we’re fulfilling my talk at the Johns Hopkins Uni- Jordan River Valley. See story, this page. Several hundred people commitment in Cairo to versity School of Advanced from more than 50 countries— deepen ties between business International Studies. Hunger U.S. Agency for International Development PRSRT STD not all of them Muslim— leaders, foundations, and affects foreign policy, peace, and Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs stability, Sheeran said. Washington, D.C. 20523-6100 Postage and Fees attended the conference. entrepreneurs in the United PAID USAID High-profile entrepreneurs States and Muslim communi- The 2008 global food crisis Penalty for Private Use $300 Official Business Permit No. G-107 who work in Islamic coun- ties around the world,” Obama pushed an additional 200 million tries said it is possible to sur- said to an appreciative crowd people into hunger, yet Sheeran mount obstacles that may be of delegates packed into an said that “hunger is not over- unique to some countries or auditorium at the Ronald Rea- whelming” and must be handled cultures and to play a role in gan Building. “just one cup at a time.” transforming societies— “Trade between the United Food aid isn’t what it used to particularly in developing be. It’s now sophisticated and countries where trade, eco- see SUMMIT on page 10 ᮣ see HUNGER on page 11 ᮣ Page 2 INSIDE DEVELOPMENT Interview with Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams New Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams, a former senior official at USAID, sat down on April 7 in his Washington headquarters office with FrontLines editor Ben Barber to discuss his plans for the future and the USAID-Peace Corps relationship. Q: Wasn’t it once up as high as And in the USAID mission, field, shoulder to shoulder with amazing to get that kind of 15,000? many, many people are former people working on projects that leadership opportunity at 22 Peace Corps volunteers or staff. are going to become sustainable years of age. WILLIAMS: That’s right. In Then, when you talk to the host at the village level. Now, there And I was very fortunate the Kennedy/Shriver era. We’d governments, many of the minis- are some advisors in secondary because I met my wife in the Aaron Williams like to attain that if we continue ters have been positively impacted cities and capitals, but Peace Dominican Republic, which Q: What are your priorities as to receive resources. by Peace Corps volunteers in the Corps volunteers work primarily changed my life forever. Even- director of the Peace Corps? Growth is my first priority. past, at a very early age in some at the grassroots/village level. If tually, after I got my master’s What would you like to accom- The second is innovation. The cases; teachers that they encoun- you look at our HIV/AIDS pro- degree in business, I chose to plish in the next few years? Peace Corps is about to celebrate tered, or mentors, coaches, et grams, our malaria programs, join USAID and had a marvel- our 50th anniversary in 2011. I cetera. So they have a very posi- that’s where you’ll find a lot of ous 22-year career there. WILLIAMS: Well, this is a now have the chance to take a tive view of the Peace Corps. our volunteers in those sectors, wonderful time for the Peace look at all of our operations Then, when you go out to the working in towns and villages. Q: How do you see the Corps. The president has across the board—in headquar- field and look at projects in any USAID and the Peace Corps issued a call to service to ters, in the field—to see how we given country and you look at Q: Can you tell us a little bit relationship in Washington and Americans, and the Peace can innovate, reform, improve the leading NGOs—World about your own Peace Corps the field? Corps is a part of that. He’s our processes and our operations. Vision, CARE, Catholic Relief experience? asked us to build the Peace Services, Save the Children, WILLIAMS: It is absolutely a Corps. Q: What are the main goals of Mercy Corps—many of their WILLIAMS: I served in the wonderful relationship. Every- And Americans are the Peace Corps? project leaders are returned Dominican Republic from ’67 to where I go in the world, I visit responding. Applications are Peace Corps volunteers. ’70. I was a teacher trainer my with the USAID mission direc- up. We’ve got 15,000 applica- WILLIAMS: Our goals are: first two years. I worked in a tors, many of whom are my tions for about 4,000 positions, number one, provide Americans Q: What do you look for in vol- program that provided a high former colleagues and friends, so we have the demand. to countries that want trained unteers—what age group, exper- school education to rural school- and we have a very strong Americans want to serve. And personnel to assist them in tise? Generalists or farmers and teachers. The average one had a partnership between our Peace Congress has been very sup- development projects; two, give engineers? sixth-grade education. Corps country directors and portive. We have strong, the people of those countries a I rode on horseback and the USAID mission. bipartisan support on the Hill. better understanding of America, WILLIAMS: Enthusiasm and a walked and rode a motorcycle to And this is all encouraged I have three areas that I’m to see the true face of America, willingness to serve. That’s at visit them and I lived with them and supported by all of the focusing on as my priorities. shoulder to shoulder, side by the top of my list. Age has no in the villages where they lived ambassadors where we have First of all, we’re going to side, working with them at the bearing on it whatsoever. Our during the week. So I spent the Peace Corps programs. A lot of expand the number of coun- grassroots and community level; oldest volunteer is 85 years old. week out in the countryside with these folks are former Peace tries where we currently oper- and three, to bring that rich, var- She’s a health care worker in them and then I spent the week- Corps volunteers. We are look- ate. We just announced this ied experience back home to rural Morocco.
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