Friends of Somalia Reunion

[Grant]

Held in Washington DC as part of the 50th birthday party for the Peace Corps, here is our part of the general announcement:

"Friends of Somalia Reunion

More than seventy RPCVs and PC Staff who served in the nine programs in Somalia got together for two dinners on the evenings of Friday, September 23rd and Saturday, September 24th. In addition to meeting old friends and making new ones, Friends of Somalia raised more than $10,000 for famine relief.

The first dinner, held at the home of Marty and Evelyn Ganzglass (Somalia 4) brought together many volunteers who hadn’t seen each other for more than 40 years. Congressman Thomas Petri, (Somalia 4) and his wife Anne also attended. After a meal spiced with the welcome addition of zambusi (a traditional triangular fried Somali samosa like appetizer), Bob Blackburn, former Northern Regional Peace Corps Director from 1964 to 1966 conducted a spirited auction to raise money for Somali famine relief. The bidding was hot for a variety of Somali coins, Blackburn’s Somali Land Rover license plate, five copies of Marty Ganzglass’ novel, “The Orange Tree” and other items. Ahmed Elmi, Chairman of the Somali American Community Association made a brief presentation about The Amoud Foundation, (http://www.amoudfoundation.com) a small Somali run NGO on the ground in Somalia running feeding stations and providing supplies to clinics and hospitals. To the cheers of Friends of Somalia, he also announced that Mohamed Abukar, the first Somali American Peace Corps Volunteer, who himself grew up in refugee camps, was now serving in Ecuador as a teacher and agricultural advisor.

The second dinner, catered by Barlin Ali of “Somali Tea and Treats”, at the home of Lance Graef (Somalia 2) and his wife Judith, was a traditional Somali dinner with rice and meat, cooked vegetable dishes and papaya and lime juice and Ramadan cookies for dessert, accompanied by traditional incense in meerschaum burners and classic spiced tea. After dinner, Hibak Kalfan, a Somali-American who co-founded The African Future (http://www.theafricanfuture.org) spoke of their organization’s activities within Somalia to bring much needed humanitarian assistance to the most needy of Somali women and children.

Also attending the dinners, in addition to Bob Blackburn, Deputy Directors Bill Donohoe and Bill Thompson attended along with a relic of a former time when universities were part of the staff in some countries, John F. Fanselow, Contractor’s Overseas Representative from Teachers College, Columbia University which trained many of the ESOL teachers in Somalia. Bill Sharrar, the Peace Corps Doctor also attended as did Courtney Knauth, the wife of the Director the Peace Corps in the mid sixties. She was a great support to many volunteers and her presence at the reunion reminded us of her dedication.

At the end of the weekend, Friends of Somalia participated in the march on Sunday, September 25th, and carried banners urging Congress to do more to help Somali victims of famine and drought."

[FAH1223]