To be honest, I went back to Africa in 2023 for one main reason. I wanted to trek to see the gorillas in the wild in Rwanda before my body failed me. However, the trip was so much more than the gorillas, as you will read in the following paragraphs. I traveled with a great…Read more »
Author: susangreisen
Hidden Volcano Abyss
On May 9th 2023, NOVA on PBS broadcasted a documentary, entitled “Hidden Volcano Abyss,” about the largest volcanic explosion documented in our lifetime in the Kingdom of Tonga. The Hunga Tonga – Hunga Ha’apai explosion occurred on January 15, 2022. The documentary explains the geologic and human impact this explosion had on this tiny nation.…Read more »
Former President of Liberia Recognized
Thanks to Dale Gilles (a returned Liberian Peace Corps volunteer and staff member) who keeps his pulse on Liberia, forwarded this article written about Liberia’s former President. I want to share it with my followers. Published May 2023 (verbiage taken from the Forbes article), read the entire article here. However, I have highlighted President Sirleaf’s…Read more »
I Wish I Had Known Him
To my followers: I have not written many blogs in the past months due to my intermittent international travel since December 2022. There is so much to write about after visiting the Middle East and Africa in that time period. But, today I want to focus on the passing of a man who I wish…Read more »
Peace Corps…Alive and Well?
(Click on any of the highlighted links for these blogs) This message goes to all those in the “service industry.” I’m speaking of people like teachers, nurses, NGO workers, Peace Corps volunteers, and others: people who want to make a difference. I have often wondered if I made a difference or influenced others because of…Read more »
Tonga, Post Volcanic Explosion
I was on a hiatus, traveling internationally, but I’m back and wanted to give attention to and an update about Tonga where I served as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1973-74. As a member of Friends of Tonga (FOT), this past year has been the most challenging for FOT since their inception. January 14th marked…Read more »
“Letters Never Written”
John Kucij served as a Peace Corps volunteer from 1971-1973 in Voinjama, Liberia. John returned to Liberia in 1997 with a Friends of Liberia (FOL) delegation to be an “Observer” of the Liberian presidential election that was to end to civil war. His heart wrenching story of what he found when he returned to Liberia…Read more »
“Ripping Out the Seams”
Rebekah Schulz reads an excerpt of her story about the deep bond she formed with a Liberian woman who taught her a valuable lesson during her sewing classes. The fragility of life in Liberia culminated with an ending that Rebekah will never forget. Read the full story and 62 others from 50 authors in our…Read more »
“The Concerned Women of Weamamuo”
Nimu Sidhu shares an excerpt of her touching story of how she joined the women in her village in Liberia to protest a dangerous bridge.Their success shows the power of uniting for one common cause. Nimu served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Vaye Town, Liberia from 2013-14. Read her full story and…Read more »
“Peace Corps Goals Liberian Ways”
Maxwell Sines writes a beautiful story contrasting eating, sleeping and living in the Silicon Valley, his home in California, versus Tappita, Liberia where he served as a Peace Corps volunteer from 2010-2012. Read his full story and 62 others from 50 authors in our anthology, Never the Same Again: Life, Service, and Friendship in Liberia.…Read more »