SIMI WOMAN MAKES PEACE CORPS HISTORY : GROUP'S MAIDEN TEAM TO JORDAN SALUTED BY FIRST LADY.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency.Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Marguerite Lane, 67, a former Holiday on Ice figure skater who now organizes graphic design and advertising businesses in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. , helped the Peace Corps reach another milestone Wednesday with the departure of its first contingent to Jordan - after a send-off by Hillary Rodham Rodham is an English surname which may refer to a number of persons or places. People Family of Hillary Rodham Clinton
Americans should be proud of the 29-member contingent, all but seven of them women, Clinton said at a ceremony at the White House complex's historic Old Executive Office Building. The 29 volunteers include four married couples, 18 single women and three single men. Lane is the eldest volunteer - hanging up her skates decades ago to organize the businesses in Simi Valley, and Corvallis, Ore. Most of the group will work on projects aimed at generating income for rural women in the Arab kingdom - the Corps' first major project of its new Women in Development initiative. Jordan's King Hussein Noun 1. King Hussein - king of Jordan credited with creating stability at home and seeking peace with Israel (1935-1999) ibn Talal Hussein, Husain, Husayn, Hussein and Queen Noor ``have personally been very supportive,'' Clinton said. Several other volunteers will help Jordanians develop new national parks This is a list of national parks ordered by nation. Africa
The first lady has visited volunteers in 13 of the 91 countries where the Peace Corps serves, said its director, Mark Gearan Mark Daniel Gearan is a politician, lawyer and communications expert. He is also the current president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. Early Life and Education Gearan was born in Gardner, Massachusetts and attended public schools there . ``The Peace Corps was my dusty pathway to adulthood . . (it) actually made me a citizen of the world,'' said Health and Human Services Noun 1. Health and Human Services - the United States federal department that administers all federal programs dealing with health and welfare; created in 1979 Department of Health and Human Services, HHS Secretary Donna Shalala, who served in Iran in 1962-64. Michelle LeFebvre, an Arvada, Colo., health care manager, sat beside Clinton, representing the volunteers. She introduced her husband, fellow volunteer Roger Maggard, saying Peace Corps service ``had been a goal of mine for some time . . . finding someone who also wanted to join the Peace Corps was a prerequisite for serious dating.'' They married in 1995. The group leaves for Jordan tonight to spend three months of in-country training in Arabic language and cross-cultural sensitivity before starting formal two-year assignments in August at rural villages in the vicinity of Madaba, about 30 miles outside Amman, Jordan's capital. The cultural orientation began in Washington with reminders that dressing modestly and avoiding alcohol speeds the personal bonding and acceptance Westerners need to function effectively in the Islamic world, several said. Like the other 6,500 volunteers in 91 countries, they receive actual local living expenses during their tours, plus $5,200 repatriation Repatriation The process of converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country. Notes: If you are American, converting British Pounds back to U.S. dollars is an example of repatriation. allowances at the end. Peace Corps departures for new Islamic countries have been rare since the Corps left six countries for security reasons during crises in the Persian Gulf between 1990 and 1991. Contingents have returned to Morocco, Tanzania and Mauritania. It shut down for budgetary reasons in Tunisia last year. |
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