Book launching planned for coffee table book
Describing first 50 years of Peace Corps in the Philippines
Ask not – huwag nang itanong commemorates the first 50 years of the Peace Corps in the Philippines. Edited by Hans C. Groot, Ph.D, a member of the first batch of volunteers to come to the Philippines, it includes articles by former Peace Corps volunteers and staff as well as Filipinos who hosted or worked with volunteers.
An official launching of this 130-page coffee table book is planned for Friday, November 4, 2 pm, and will be hosted by U.P. President Fred Pascual at U.P. Executive House. Among the guests will be Willy Gaa, the recently retired Philippine Amnbassador to the U.S. and retired Ambassador Oca Valenzuela (Brazil, Egypt).
As part of the launching ceremony, Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams, will present and donate a copy of the book to Magsaysay Foundation. In 1963, the Magsaysay Foundation presented its award for International Understanding to the founding director of the Peace Corps, R. Sargent Shriver.
Ask not recounts not only the early days of the Peace Corps but also describes the Philippine origins of the Peace Corps, describing a direct link between the Peace Corps and the Thomasites, young American teachers who came to Philippines at the beginning of the the 20th century.
The book is published online and can be previewed and purchased at [a limited number of copies also will be available at the launching].:
http://www.blurb.com/books/2504993
Volunteers and staff recall their service days in the Philippines and most emphasize the lasting impact the Philippines has had on their lives.
The work of the volunteers is described and some of the programs initiated by volunteers are described in greater detail. Also included is a writeup on the 1963 Magsaysay award presented to the Philippines.
To date, some 8,700 volunteers have served in the Philippines – to work in education, health, social welfare, agrlculture, fisheries, and coastal resource management. The latest group of volunteers was sworn in on September 16, 2011.
Groot, editor of the book, arrived in the Philippines October 12, 1961. Following in-country training at U.P. Los Baños, he was assigned as elementary school aide in Ilog, Negros Occidental. After a few months, he was re-assigned to teach journalism at U.P. Los Baños, where he also helped set up the College of Agriculture’s agricultural extension information program, working closely with provincial radio stations and newspapers.
Upon completion of his Peace Corps service, Groot joined the U.S. Agency for International Development in Manila as rural communications advisor. In mid-1966 he resigned from that post to pursue graduate studies in communication. He returned to the Philippines 1968-69 to do research for his doctoral dissteration. He earned his master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin (UW) in Madison.
He taught at U.W. for several years, then joined the international division of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, working with NGO-based family planning programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America. He provided technical assistance to numerous family planning programs in the Philippines – such as UP/PGH, Iglesia ni Cristo, Jescomea, Mary Johnston Hospital, Wesleyan Colleges, and Lorma Colege.
The Philippines proved to be a strong attraction; soon after his retirement he returned to the Philippines where he now lives in Silang, Cavite. He continues to serve as VP for Institutional Relations of the Peace Corps Alumni Foundation for Philippine Development (PCAFPD), a group that provides college scholarships for deserving and financially needy high school graduates.
