30th Anniversary - Past Events

Boston Area Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Turns 30



PAST EVENTS


January 13 (Saturday) - Lecture at Kennedy Library 
January 19-21 – Martin Luther King weekend events 
February 24 to March 1st - Peace Corps Restaurant Week
March 2, 2008 – Call to Action in Darfur-- Film: The Devil Came on Horseback

Lecture at Kennedy Library

Sunday January 13, 2008
Maria Shriver will introduce American Idealist, a new documentary chronicling the accomplishments of her father, R. Sargent Shriver, who started several programs in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, including Peace Corps and Head Start.  Following the screening, there will be a conversation with the film director, Bruce Orenstein; Shriver's biographer, Scott Stossel; and William Josephson and Edgar May, friends of Sargent Shriver's. At the Kennedy Library, 2:00-4:30 pm. Register at www.jfklibrary.org under Education and Public Forums.

Martin Luther King Weekend Events 

Friday-Monday, January 19-21
BARPCV’s 30th Anniversary Committee suggests some relevant things to do in honor of Martin Luther King and in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Boston Area Returned Peace Corps Volunteers:

  1. Hear students debate current issues including military-Peace Corps service at the Boston Public Library Saturday afternoon. Click here for more information
  2. Hear Liz Walker talk about Darfur in Watertown for Monday breakfast.
  3. Stand out for Martin in front of Cambridge City Hall on Monday mid day.
  4. Help elders in Dudley Square, Boston with People Making a Difference on Monday mid day.
  5. Watch the film American Idealist about Peace Corps’ founder Sargent Shriver on PBS Monday night at 10 pm. PBS will air American Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver, a biographical documentary about Robert Sargent Shriver, the founder of Job Corps, the Peace Corps, VISTA, Community Action, Head Start, Legal Services for the Poor, Youth Corps and more. All but forgotten today, Shriver initiated social programs during the 1960s that helped shape an era that dared millions of young Americans to live out their ideals.


Restaurant Week

Many joined us for Peace Corps Week. This year, we celebrated the first BARPCV Restaurant Week, an opportunity for returned Volunteers and extended Peace Corps family and friends to share meals and partake in promoting cross-cultural understanding, world peace, and friendship. Dinners were held at local ethnic restaurants across Boston to bring together the BARPCV community and help BARPCV celebrate 30 years of continued service! Click here for photos from the week!

Due to the overwhelming interest in continuing Restaurant Week next year and even possibly starting up monthly dinners, please send any suggestions for restaurants that we should visit to events@barpcv.org.

Darfur Film: The Devil Came on Horseback

Sunday, March 2nd:  2:30 – 4:30 pm
Studio Cinema, 376 Trapelo Rd., Belmont
In 2008, the BARPCV decided to focus on the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan, where genocide is systematically taking place.  Public awareness this genocide must be increased.  On Sunday, March 2, 2008 BARPCV, in collaboration with local partners, screened the film The Devil Came on Horseback.

The film exposes the tragedy taking place in Darfur, Sudan, as seen through the eyes of an American witness who has since returned to the US to take action to stop it. Using the exclusive photographs and first hand testimony of former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle, THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK takes the viewer on an emotionally charged journey into the heart of Darfur, where an Arab run government is systematically executing a plan to rid the province of its black African citizens. As an official military observer, Steidle had access to parts of the country that no journalist could penetrate. He was unprepared for what he would witness and experience, including being fired upon, taken hostage, and being unable to intervene to save the lives of young children. Ultimately frustrated by the inaction of the international community, Steidle resigned and returned to the US to expose the images and stories of lives systematically destroyed.