Dear Friends of Ecuador,

As 2012 is quickly coming to an end and 2013 is right around the corner, Peace Corps Ecuador is once again selling calendars to support current volunteer projects. The 2013 calendars were created by the Volunteer Advisory Council (VAC), an elected representative group of volunteers currently serving in Ecuador. Proceeds from calendar sales fund grants for small projects in volunteer communities.

The calendar is 12x12”and features beautiful color photographs of Ecuador taken by current volunteers. It is in English and Spanish and includes both U.S. and Ecuadorian holidays. One calendar costs $10 or five calendars for $40 plus a shipping and packaging cost of $5 for every 5 calendars that are ordered (in other words, 1 to 5 calendars cost $5 to ship). Given the limits of our current PayPal template, if you want to order more than five calendars, place a second order (there is another $5 shipping fee for 5 to 10 calendars in any case).

They can be purchased on the Friends of Ecuador website and will be taken back to the U.S. with PCVs this fall and then mailed in time to arrive before the New Year. For more information, please contact VAC at EcuadorVAC@gmail.com.

Muchísimas gracias, Cuerpo de Paz Ecuador & VAC

Go here to our Flickr feed for sample photos of these beautiful calendars.

2009 VAC Calendars are available for $10 (including shipping). Buy yours today.

We are happy to once again support sales of the VAC Calendar. The calendar is produced by Peace Volunteers in Ecuador. Proceeds go to support projects on the ground in Ecuador supported by volunteers. Here are some sample photos. You can purchase calendars for $10 on our site using our secure server (which includes shipping and handling). To order a calendar, go here. Get them (or five!) while they last.

Jeff Jackson is serving on the Manabi coast in Bahia. He finished training in 2005 and is now working with several community groups in urban Bahia. Read his blog for a glimpse into current Peace Corps living.

RPCV's Brian Riley and Steve Gilchrest performed several songs of thanks to Francisco Garces for his retirement as APCD for Natural Resources.

We are fortunate to have links to all five songs here for the first time.

Brian Riley 1 01 Track 01.mp3
Brian Riley 2 03 Track 03.mp3

Steve Gilchrest 1 03 Track 03.mp3
Steve Gilchrest 2 04 Track 04.mp3
Steve Gilchrest 3 05 Track 05.mp3

The photos of Francisco's Retirement are also available here. Here's Sharon Murray's note about how to access and download them from Flickr.com.

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Date: Summer 2005

"After overcoming some technical difficulties, I'm happy to say that the images from the entire book are now on line! You can get there through the Friends of Ecuador website, or you can go directly to Flickr.com to see the the first in the series of images. Click here to go to Flickr.com

Once you arrive at this link, you will see the photo of the cover of the memory book. Look to the upper right hand side of that image, and you'll see some arrows to click forward through the "Friends of Ecuador photostream" --- this will allow you to view all 46 photos in the series (including the cover, a frontispiece, and about 84 pages of photos and notes from volunteers, in more or less chronological order of service). In order to view each page in a size large enough to read all the text, go down to the list on the lower right and click the link that says "See different sizes". Once there, choose the 'large' size and you will be able to read everything.

Unfortunately the process is a bit clunky and you have to return to the photo sequence to select the next photo and repeat the enlargement process, but if you're patient you'll be able to read every image in the book!!!! You can also download each page to your own computer if you are so inclined!

... [On] the Friends of Ecuador website, you can also see Francisco's heartwarming thank you letter to those who contributed to the book. And finally, attached to this email are a few photos Maria Eugenia Cobo sent me of the actual despedida event in Quito, including shots of Francisco and others looking over the book.

So with that, once again I'd like to thank each and every one of you who took the time to contribute and help put this together. Of course, a big thanks to Josh Busby and the team at the FOE website as well, for allowing so many people to enjoy the book from the comfort of their own homes, wherever they may be! Finally, I'd also ask everyone to distribute this email widely to all your ex-PCV contacts so as many others as possible can also enjoy the book (and check out the FOE website in general!).

It was great hearing about so many of your lives through this process, and I sincerely hope to run into many of you at some point along the way.

Cheers,

Sharon"

Long-time Natural Resources APCD Francisco Garces recently retired. We want to congratulate Francisco for his many years of dedicated and talented service, for having nurtured scores of volunteers. Steve Church, Omnibus 75, has recently been hired as the new APCD, and we wish him much success. Francisco’s shoes will be hard to fill!

RPCV’s sent Francisco a book of photos and remembrances (some of which will soon be posted soon on the site). Francisco thanked volunteers with these words:

"Queridos Ex Voluntarios: Al medio dia de hoy durante una despedida que el Staff del Cuerpo de Paz de Ecuador tuvo la gentileza de preparar tuve la sorpresa de recibir de manos de María Eugenia Cobo el libro de memorias de mi trabajo con el Cuerpo de Paz, enviado por Uds. La emoción que me embargó fue enorme. Al leer sus mensajes y ver las fotos mi corazón se conmovió tanto que lo único que pude hacer fue derramar lágrimas. A través de la lectura del libro pude sentir su cariño y su aprecio por mi trabajo que no era otro que apoyarles para que Uds.a su vez brindaran su apoyo a inumerables agricultores, niños, profesores, guardaparques, jefes, muchos de ellos difíciles, ONGs, municipios, ministerios y mas. Al tiempo que les agradezco por tal gesto único, les quiero en esta ocasión asegurar que sus esfuerzos no fueron en vano. Cuando visiten al Ecuador nuevamente, podrán ver miles de alisos, pachacos, laureles, pinos, cipreces, guayacanes, acacias, chanules y mas, que están creciendo vigorosamente. Quizás mas importante, podrán hablar con muchas personas con las cuales Uds trabajaron que entienden sobre la importancia de los árboles, agroforestería, viveros, y sobre los beneficios de areas protegidas, bosques naturales, biodiversidad, vida silvestre y mas, y que en muchos casos también están obteniendo beneficios económicos, por ejemplo, a través de actividades de ecoturismo. El haberles conocido a través del Cuerpo de Paz fue una oportunidad única para mi y que la llevaré en mi corazón hasta el fin de mis dias. Quiero desearles a cada uno de Uds. y a sus familias mucha salud, mucha paz, y toda la energía necesaria para que puedan seguir haciendo todo lo posible, dondequiera que estén, para conservar este también único planeta.

Con un abrazo muy fuerte me despido hasta pronto Francisco"

El Clima is the PCV newsletter circulated among Volunteers, staff, and Friends of Ecuador.  The June 2004 issue is available in two segments.

June 2004(1)
June 2004(2)

Other country-of-service PCV newsletters are available here.