LGB RPCV NewsLetter - February 2000

In This Issue
u PC'S Current HIV/AIDS
Programs
u AIDS Education in
Honduras
u Bulgarian Closets
u HIV/AIDS Fund Update
NewsLetter u Financial Report
u Membership Dues

February 2000

W
e begin the new year with an article by Kent Klindera about Peace
Corps’ HIV/AIDS related projects. q Jesy Goldhammer describes her
times as an AIDS educator in Honduras. q Brian Hartig talks about com-
ing out to his Peace Corps colleagues in Bulgaria. q We have more information about
Peace Corps’ HIV/AIDS Fund. q Bill Erdmann reports on the state of our finances.

Shining Stars: Peace Corps' HIV/AIDS Programs

I just received a report documenting
Peace Corps HIV prevention and care
activities from around the world. There
are some pretty creative people out there
and it gives me hope that maybe we are
winning the war against this tiny virus
called HIV. In Moldova, PCVs actually
have helped create HIV awareness nights
at local roller discos. I guess Olivia
Newton-John and Xanadu can also help in
the fight against AIDS!
Back in the early 90s, I was honored to
be the first full-fledged HIV prevention
volunteer in Thailand. I currently work
for an international non-profit in Washing-
ton DC, focused on the sexual health of
adolescents. Peace Corps has not always
been a leader on HIV issues. However,
through the perseverance of some amazing
volunteers, practically every Peace Corps
country today is implementing HIV
prevention and/or care programming.
Many of us in the LGB RPCV group were
early pioneers in the effort to make Peace
Corps a leader, and after reviewing current
programming, we should celebrate our
successes.
As the LGB RPCV gang launches an
HIV-fund for Peace Corps Partnership
programming, the newsletter editor and I
thought it might be helpful to review
current Peace Corps HIV/AIDS program-
ming. I am grateful to Ruth Mota (PC
AIDS Program Coordinator) for supplying
me with a recent overview of all HIV
programming. Peace Corps manages HIV
By Kent Klindera, RPCV
prevention programs in all three global
regions where volunteers serve. Since
Africa has been hardest hit by the
epidemic, the largest number of HIV/AIDS
programs are being implemented in this
region.
“...through the persever-
ance of some amazing
volunteers, Peace Corps
is implementing HIV
prevention and/or care
programs everywhere.”
There are basically four ways in which
HIV interventions have been implemented
in Peace Corps countries. 1) A health
program may have a “stand-alone” AIDS
project, where HIV prevention and care
services are the primary focus of volun-
teers’ work. 2) An AIDS project may be
integrated into an existing health or water/
sanitation program as one of the health
topics to be addressed by volunteers. 3)
HIV prevention may be included as a
major goal in other sectors, such as
education or youth. 4) Volunteers from
any sector may implement secondary
projects in their communities that focus
on HIV prevention or support.
Some of the highlights of these
programs include the following programs:
Africa: In South Africa, education
PCVs have assisted teachers in incorporat-
ing AIDS learning activities into their
lesson plans and reached hundreds of
additional students through festivals.
Similarly, in Tanzania, volunteers have
begun implementing a program in which
they serve as biology teachers part time
and work in HIV and health related
activities part time in their schools and
communities. A Kenyan PCV has written
an HIV curriculum for deaf students.
In Cameroon, in addition to developing
women’s empowerment trainings aimed at
empowering them to talk to their
husbands about HIV infection, they have
extensively implemented the Peace Corps
developed Teach English/Prevent AIDS
curriculum in secondary schools. In
Senegal, PCVs have produced an AIDS
video in Wolof directed at truck-drivers
and chauffeurs. Finally, in Malawi,
volunteers have implemented HIV
interventions through their Child Survival
Project by developing a local AIDS
resource library, and PCVs have offered
HIV counseling training at testing sites.
Through their support and care project,
host-country volunteers have been trained
in home-based care, maintenance of a
revolving drug fund and will-writing.
Europe, Mediterranean, and Asian
Regions: In Kazakhstan, PCVs have
written and received funding for various
AIDS prevention projects. One involved
sponsoring a three-day teacher training on
Continued on page 6

1
LGB RPCV NewsLetter - February 2000
Out About AIDS in Honduras
- by Jesy Goldhammer, RPCV
I was with the first group of Peace
Corps Volunteers in Honduras in 1995
assigned the task of educating our
communities about HIV and AIDS. We
began with 22 health volunteers. At the
end of our service more than two years
later, only 8 of us had completed our
tours. Our most common complaint was
that there were too many odds working
against us and no support or resources to
get anything accomplished. During our
initial three months of training in the
wealthy hills above the Capitol City,
Tegucigalpa, we were taught the Spanish
words for HIV and AIDS, information
about the virus, and how to utilize role-
play in prevention education. What I
wanted to know was who was affected by
the virus, when and how the virus first
infected people in Honduras, and what
was being taught to people about HIV and
AIDS. I knew this information was
necessary in order to implement preven-
tion education on various levels in the
communities where we would live.
The Honduran media mimicked the
mighty voice of much of the US to the
north, preaching that AIDS was a gay
disease. Their staunch Christian culture
went a step further, teaching that AIDS
was the punishment for the sin of being
gay. I was the first volunteer to serve in
Sabana de San Pedro, a rural town of 800
in Departmento de Yoro. Before I arrived
two people had recently died of AIDS
related illnesses. Most of the people in the
town had never seen a North American
woman, and I heard that people thought I
had been sent by Christ himself to
condemn the sinners (gays) and praise the
worthy (practicing Christians).
I had just barely come out as a lesbian
in my own country, and I hadn’t really
considered who I could and could not be in
Honduras. From the little I knew, I
decided to let go of my outer butch image
and get in touch with my inner femme or
else I might spend my entire time there
convincing everyone that I was a woman,
which seemed like a huge waste of time. I
grew my hair and wore it back in a non-
offensive ponytail. I left my fatigues and
combat boots at home and packed closed-
toed sandals and large cardboard-like
dresses that made me feel so sexless. You
couldn’t tell if I was fat, thin, pregnant,
curvy, pear-shaped, or large breasted, only
that I was a woman and was not easy
prey, and this felt safe. I had no idea that I
was preparing to temporarily lose my
identity as a strong, independent, and
educated queer woman with unlimited
choices, opportunities, and freedom. I was
not going to be the person I was here at
home. I gave it all up to develop my
relationship with the people of my town.
I had to experience life through their eyes,
and walking into their culture as an
outsider and a foreigner, my life was on
their terms.
“I missed tough women
who wore men’s clothes,
walked with heavy feet,
taking giant strides. I
missed the American
lesbians, gays, tranies,
drag queens, and artists
who had taught me to
value open-mindedness,
honesty about being a
lesbian, and to be grateful
for the past struggles that
have helped me be free.”
The men of my town had little to do
with me, unless they were in large groups
yelling out obscenities that really had
nothing to do with me, but was a way to
get the approval they so desperately
needed from each other. It was dreadfully
humiliating, however, because I would
have clobbered these guys in my own
country. But here Peace Corps had taught
us to say “gracias,” which you couldn’t
have paid me to say. They did bother me
less over time. With the women I
developed deep loving relationships that
for the first time in my life were based on
a power greater than sex. I experienced
intimacy that was not sexual, which was a
foreign concept to me. Eventually the
women accepted me without a husband
and children and embraced me even though
with my white skin and green eyes were
almost ridiculous to them. I began to
realize how precious this experience was
2
and that I’d better absorb every moment
of it, because soon I would be gone and all
I’d have would be these memories.
I tried letting go of my fears and self-
centeredness, but this didn’t happen
overnight. I wasn’t the free, independent,
staunch and isolated lesbian that I had
come to depend on, or the image my
culture taught me to paint on my exterior.
As women we shared together the
suffering of having fewer rights than dogs,
and the joys and rewards of honoring each
other because nobody else was going to do
it. They taught me about the wealth that
burns in their hearts no matter how empty
their wallets. They graciously opened
themselves to me and showed me the
richness of their souls.
In return I attempted to educate both
women and men about HIV/AIDS, in a
way that they could understand. I spent a
lot of time in classrooms, churches, health
centers, and bars learning how they learn. I
encouraged open dialogue in monthly
workshops and proved to the people of
my town that this virus will change the
face of their lives and their community if
they didn’t behave consciously.
HIV is not a gay disease in Honduras.
AIDS was first detected in the 80s after
American and Central American soldiers
poured into the country to train anti-
Sandinista forces in Nicaragua. Many of
these soldiers had relationships with
Honduran women. One result was that bi-
racial children were left behind. Another
result was that some of these children and
their mothers were some of the first
Hondurans to be HIV infected. Today
HIV spreads mostly because of promiscu-
ous sexual behavior (most men have a
wife, girlfriends, and visit prostitutes on
occasion). Young people also travel from
rural regions to the city to work in
sweatshops. They are often free from
sexual constraints for the first time, and
they return home infected.
Condoms are considered only with
prostitutes, and prostitutes are the only
people the government protects somewhat
through easy access to regular testing,
education, and with condoms themselves.
In my town I taught men to use condoms
with their girlfriends to protect their
wives. Although the local health center
supplied condoms, the men were too
embarrassed to get them there. I started
Continued on page 6

Cracking the Closet Door in Bulgaria
- by By Brian Hartig, PCV
During training toward the end of the
last month of summer I was outed here in
Bulgaria by another volunteer to a select
few Bulgarian nationals. Don’t get me
wrong. It was not really an intentional
outing. No one wanted anyone else to get
hurt in the deal. In fact, it was done with a
sense of obligation, with a certain sense of
educational duty felt by the “outer.” She
felt she could no longer stand by while her
family casually spouted phobic remarks.
It was when those remarks turned
“homo-” phobic, though, that I eventually
became the example, the vehicle by which
to show a people unexposed or unused to
great differences and variances that
stereotypes were not always true, were
sometimes fallacious, and were often
unrepresentative. As a potential teacher,
however, who would go on to teach
kindergarten through 11th grade in Central
Bulgaria, I knew that this unintentional
“incident,” unless countered, could very
well spell the demise of my service.
Deep down I didn’t want to deny her
words. It went against everything that I’d
always felt contributed to the life-
education of those who didn’t realize they
know “us.” But I had to place this outing
in perspective and consider the new
situation within which I found myself
with Peace Corps. So I spoke with the
volunteer (and with another volunteer to
whose family the news had spread),
expressed my views and asked them to do
what they thought was best. They did.
The final solution hurt. It hurt a lot. It was
a denial of my sexuality. The volunteer
stated to her host parents that she’d been
mistaken about me and that I was straight
as the proverbial arrow. I felt I’d just
denied—through a pander, no less—
within the expanse of a weekend, who I
was, and had regressed the movement and
had negated any educational value
possible, to the point at which it had been
before our arrival.
Once again, though, “perspective”
came floating back. I realized that it had
become the main issue in this incident and
I knew that in the long run that the wise
decision had been made because of it; I
simply could not educate in Bulgaria if I’d
been sent back to America. And although,
Peace Corps, obviously, would never send
me back for being gay (it has a non-
discrimination policy regarding sexual
orientation), I would very readily be sent
LGB RPCV NewsLetter - February 2000
back—or to another country—if I had, all
of a sudden, become ineffective. And that,
gentle reader, was the bottom line.
In a nutshell, this story has come to
represent the situation to me here in
Bulgaria for lesbians and gay men. Some
have equated Bulgaria to America in the
‘50s yet at a slightly accelerated pace. Not
a whole lot different than what you might
experience in other East European
countries, though sparks of change,
however, are apparent often in my daily
life. The personal opportunity to counter
phobias and bias exists and allows me the
possibilities to make a difference in
individual lives.
But back to perspective. It being so
important, allow me to give you a bit of it
“In the Marines they
used to tell us that the
front lines would fall and
that infantrymen would
die without aid from the
support units. It’s never
before been more pow-
erfully brought home to
me than here in Peace
Corps just how true that
maxim is.”
regarding my background. Before I entered
Peace Corps I was co-founder/ President/
Executive Director of Louisiana’s first
non-profit group for lesbians and gay men,
Louisiana Electorate of Gays And
Lesbians, Inc. (LEGAL, Inc.). We worked
to bring about one of the South’s first
Hate Crimes laws, which was inclusive of
“sexual orientation” wording. We also
successfully fought an amendment to
Louisiana’s Constitution to outlaw “gay
marriages.” No small potatoes according to
me and according to those who told us not
to even fight that fight in Louisiana. We
were also successful, amongst other
things, in organizing the various lesbian
and gay student groups around the state.
I was known by some as Louisiana’s
State Faggot, my picture on all of our road
3
maps right there next to the State Bird. I
was out to the extent that I believed the
closet door could never have been shut
again as it had been removed from its
hinges.
And so it was soon after starting
LEGAL that I had vowed never to allow
myself to be pushed around through fear
of acknowledgment of who I was. That
ideal, held so dearly, however, because of
“perspective,” was altered here in
Bulgaria—and rightly so—in order to
further another cause. I realized that my
fight was not here in Bulgaria. I could exist
closeted again and still be an effective
person. It may have been a decision
against my principles, but it was one that
was based on common sense. Sometimes
common sense wins over in such situa-
tions when you are so far away from
home and have so little recourse against
bigotry or ignorance.
Actually, my Dallas recruiter had even
asked me point blank if, considering my
background of six years as a gay rights
activist in Louisiana, I would be able to go
back into that closet I had known so
intimately for so long. That was a tough
question that called for a well-thought-out
answer. I was ready for it, though, and
having been closeted in the military before
I knew what I was up against and had
decided that I could do it again. I knew the
loneliness and, somehow, having already
existed through it, knew I could willingly
(this time) do it again.
My time spent here can not truly be
described as totally closeted. As a matter
of fact I realized soon after my arrival in
Bulgaria that my time here was not meant
to be used solely as a vehicle for education
for those Bulgarian students I was to
teach. Another way to educate regarding
sexual orientation soon surfaced which,
although not evident coming in, made itself
quite evident during training. I think we as
Americans coming to other, less economi-
cally developed countries, to teach and
help bring about positive change,
sometimes forget that we ourselves are
still learning, growing, finding out who we
are and learning how far we can mentally,
as well as physically, go.
Most volunteers who enter Peace
Corps are right out of college, starting
their careers and, quite often, looking for
direction, either professionally or
personally. I’ve met many volunteers here
LGB RPCV NewsLetter - February 2000
Cracking the Closet...
who, for lack of a better word, were
“confused” not only about their career
path choices but also about who they are
and how they fit into the whole system.
As a former Marine Corps officer, and
human rights activist I did what I felt I
could to blend leadership with a positive
forward-thinking sense of self and did my
best with the other volunteers to lead by
example. What I’d accepted without
thinking about it over the past six years,
suddenly had become something I would
have to consider deeply for the next two
years. For starters, I knew I would have
to be careful with how I came out to other
volunteers.
I could tell you straight away (ahem)
how I did this and the complications it
presented, but instead I’ll relay another
little incident, which happened toward the
end of training. One-day while sitting in
Bulgarian language class with a rather large
group of volunteers we were playing a
game whereby we were asked personal,
yet general, questions. When it came to
my turn, the doozy was asked of me:
“Tell about your last love interest.” As I
had taken the tack of not “coming out”
guns a’blazing and no-holds-barred to the
other volunteers (rather taking an “as-it-
comes” approach), not everyone—
including instructors—knew about me.
Answering this question in front of the
group gave me the wonderful opportunity
to educate.
Beginning my answer in Bulgarian I
started by using the word “He.” I was
quickly halted by the instructor who
explained that I was using the male
pronoun and that what I wanted to use
was the Bulgarian word for “She.” So not
one to be easily dismayed, I unabashedly
came out with the word “He” again, was
once again stopped and corrected.
Obviously I continued onward using
“He.” At long last, after several delayed
starts, it was understood, by everyone
who hadn’t known already, that I knew
what I was talking about. The laughter by
those in-the-know was contagious. Soon
everyone felt at ease and was joining in.
Later on in the day, however, a friend
who had obviously not had a clue about
me, approached me and asked if he could
speak with me about something. He said
that as I had revealed my sexual orienta-
tion earlier that day he sat next to me
stunned, his feelings slowly turning to
anger and then to betrayal. He explained
that he had felt I had hidden something
important from him and he didn’t
understand why. I saw how he had taken
my coming out personally. As he had
thought about the situation further,
though, he said, he realized how wrong he
was to feel this way. If I had come out to
everyone in the beginning, he reasoned, he
would have felt that I was flaunting my
sexuality when there was no reason to do
so.
“I chose not to hide
my sexual orientation to
the group, but at the
same time not to an-
nounce it outright or
force it down anyone’s
throat.”
He ended up telling me that he now
understood how fine a line lesbians and
gay men walk when choosing whether or
not to be out about their sexual orienta-
tions. He had just wanted to tell me this
and to thank me to helping him to learn
about something he had known little
about. I felt personally fulfilled. Though it
is a very fine line, indeed, that we are
forced to walk regarding how and whether
we disclose our sexual identities to those
around us. I agree. Too far to one side and
you’re labeled an outspoken, in-your-face
activist. Too far to the other and your
reticence challenges that of St.
Augustine’s.
I chose not to hide my sexual orienta-
tion to the group, but at the same time not
to announce it outright or force it down
anyone’s throat. In so doing I led by
example and taught some people, in a
passively progressive way, about who we
are, who I am. As the question came up I
gave it my honest answer; I didn’t seek
them out, but I didn’t run either. I found
that when you come out this way, though,
that word does get around, but that word
gets around selectively and, as I presented
in my last incident, it got around quicker
to some than to others. That, however, is
the nature of the beast.
After my gradual self-outing I realized
4
how everyone who had a story to tell me,
and felt they could tell it, told it. In the
process, they were letting me know that
they accepted me and that they under-
stood—as well as a straight person
could—the difficulties I faced in my daily
life— particularly now in Bulgaria. With
this newfound status our Peace Corps
Medical Officer eventually asked me if I
would feel comfortable giving a short
presentation on being gay and living in
Bulgaria to the new group of incoming
volunteers. This self-outing I instantly
recognized was to be a horse of a different
color—a different way entirely from how
I came out to my group. I pictured myself
instantly being labeled by the new group
as the “gay volunteer” before even being
known as “Brian the volunteer from B-8
group”. I suppose that slightly bothered
me. I’d known the feeling before, though.
I accepted the proposition, however,
and made a presentation to the new group
in two time periods. I slowly outed
myself, but over a much shorter period of
time—half an hour. I learned many things
in that half-hour, though. I learned that
everyone in the room knew someone who
was gay or lesbian, that the majority
respected not only my orientation but my
speaking to them about such a personal
matter, and that, in view of the average age
of incoming volunteers, many, as hetero-
sexuals, were very happy to hear what
was presented because it allowed them to
understand the pitfalls before they were to
meet them—thereby their avoiding this
year with their group what had happened
to me last year with mine. They also
knew, as I presented the topic in this way,
that the talk was not mainly directed
towards those who considered themselves
lesbian or gay. It was also, and in a way
more so, directed towards those in the
group who considered themselves
heterosexuals and for a very simple
reason—people like myself (and others in
the room who chose or chose not to reveal
their sexual orientations) needed to know
how to deal with the situation of being out
or not (if and when it came up) and that
their support would be not only appreci-
ated but also very necessary.
My biggest lesson from that presenta-
tion came to me over the year as I worked
as a member of our Volunteer Support
Network. I realized just how important it
was to have the topic brought up to the

new group and how much its simply being
brought up by a leader from the group
before theirs lent it an air not only of Peace
Corps—and volunteer-sanctioned
authority but one of honesty and a
sense—which some volunteers may not
have had previously—that “it’s OK to be
gay.”
I reveled in the applause I received at
the end of my speech but not for myself. I
smiled inwardly for those others who may
not have felt they’d feel comfortable being
out, but that they could, at least to any
one person in their group shed light on
their secret. And in so doing they could
receive something that they would do well
to have over the two-year period in-
country: support.
Since my period of instruction, I have
had many volunteers approach me to
thank me for speaking on the topic. Also
since my presentation I have spoken with
volunteers who were having difficulty
dealing with gay sexuality and felt more
comfortable speaking to me personally. So,
in a way, these volunteers were already
working to provide support to others who
needed it. And in the end I suppose, that’s
what it’s all about—support.
In the Marines they used to tell us that
the front lines would fall and that
infantrymen would die without aid from
the support units (supply, motor
transportation, etc.). It’s never before been
more powerfully brought home to me than
here in Peace Corps just how true that
maxim is. “Just showing up,” as Mark
Twain once said, is not “90 percent of the
job” (at least not for volunteers in a foreign
country); support is. Now many others in
Peace Corps know exactly how important
support—or simply its availability—can
be.•
Brian Hartig can be reached at
[brianhartig@yahoo.com].
LGB RPCV NewsLetter - February 2000
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Peace Corps' HIV Project Fund
Off and Running
In our last issue we described the Peace Corps Volunteer helped the local
establishment of the HIV/AIDS Preven- community build an HIV/AIDS Informa-
tion and Education Fund to be adminis- tion, Prevention and Care Center. This
tered by the Peace Corps Partnership center provides information and services,
Program. LGB RPCV’s initial contribu- such as patient counseling and transmis-
tion of $1000 and a $1000 match from a sion prevention, as well as outreach
couple of our members has since been programs for five neighboring villages.
increased by a dozen or more contribu- We have also learned that the Partner-
tions made by our members as a result of ship Program has begun soliciting
our solicitation in the November 1999 foundation and corporate contributions for
newsletter. On January 30, the Bay Area the fund. LGB RPCV’s contributions are,
LBG RPCV group voted to contribute an of course, part of the membership dues,
additional $300. we solicit each year, either as an affiliate
In the meantime, Vic Basile, the Peace member of the NPCA, or as members of
Corps manager who oversees the LGB RPCVs alone. Please consider this
Partnership Program, has announced the now with our MEMBERSHIP SOLICI-
availability of funds for HIV/AIDS related TATION that you’ll receive with this
projects to Country Directors, other on- issue or with your NPCA membership
site staff, and the Peace Corps world in renewal when it is due. A special thanks
general. Our organization is given credit to all of those members who made
for initiating the fund. He wrote, “this additional individual contributions to the
funding is available immediately to any fund.
Partnership Project with a focus on HIV/ If you’d like an email copy of the
AIDS prevention and education.” As an Partnership Program announcement,
example of such a project, Basile contact Mike Learned with that request on
describes a recent successful “Partnership [103571.2317@compuserve.com].•
Program” project in Malawi where a
Contributions to the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Education
Fund should be made out to the Peace Corps Partnership
Program. On the check memo line write “HIV Fund.” Contribu-
tions can be deducted as charitable contributions.
Mail your check to:
Eric Zander, Program Manager
Peace Corps Partnership Program
1111 20th Street NW, Room 8301E
Washington, D.C., 20526
5
LGB RPCV NewsLetter - February 2000
Honduras...
Continued from page 2
secretly dispensing them out of my home
and was regularly visited by both men and
women. It was through these visits that
my relationships with the local men
slowly developed enough that I was able
to run a few workshops for them. This
would have been an impossible undertak-
ing my first year.
Initially my work was seen by most as
intriguing and curious. There were those
who were deeply offended that I would be
inviting discussions and formal education
about topics that were so un-Christian. In
addition to HIV/AIDS, I also lead
workshops on empowering youth and
women, and trained community health
workers and midwives. I also taught
family planning, basic math, literacy, and
about using traditional healing and
medicine. Yet there were many who
supported me completely. The funny
thing was that my supporters came from
every aspect of the community: church,
school, health center, and bars. This was
to my advantage because all these
institutions were essential to get my work
accomplished.
When I left La Sabana in April 1997, I
was totally exhausted and hungered for
familiarity. I missed tough women who
wore men’s clothes, walked with heavy
feet, taking giant strides. I missed the
American lesbians, gays, tranies, drag
queens, and artists who had taught me to
value open-mindedness, honesty about
being a lesbian, and to be grateful for the
past struggles that have helped me be free.
I was so tired of being “la gringa.” I had
never come out as a lesbian in Honduras
because I thought it would be unsafe to do
so. At first I thought that I had lacked the
courage to do this, but I have begun to
think that being gay in Central America is
really so much more complicated than I
ever wanted to admit. Maybe it was a
courageous thing not to come out there.
What I am sure of is that my experiences
in Honduras were rich. They have changed
my life, and I am a smarter and more
patient lesbian because of them.•
Jesy Goldhammer left the world of HIV/
AIDS counseling in 1998 to be a landscape
gardener in Oakland, CA. This month she
celebrates one year clean and sober. You
can contact her at [gjesica@slip.net].
HIV/AIDS Programs...
Continued from page 1
HIV instruction for 20 teachers, and the
other an anti-AIDS poster competition
that attracted 300 applicants and lots of
media attention. Many materials like
pamphlets, pocket calendars and
bookmarkers with HIV prevention
messages were also printed in Russian and
Kazakh. Other programs include
developing harm reduction/peer education
strategies for young injecting drug users,
and the program hopes to be working
directly with people living with HIV soon.
In Moldova PCVs developed a 30-minute
radio program (“Side by Side”) that
reaches 95% of the territory in Moldova.
It has been developed and presented by
teenagers. On the air the youth are able to
correct misinformation about HIV and
other health topics of interest to adoles-
cents, while they talk about the conse-
quences of unhealthy behaviors. In
addition, volunteers with youth peer
educators conduct week-long camp
training on reproductive health and HIV
issues. Finally, PCVs have assisted in
sponsoring weekly “Anti-AIDS Discos”
in various clubs and roller-rinks.
Inter-America and Pacific Region:
In the Dominican Republic, most PCVs
have focused HIV prevention work on
youth, working through elementary school
presentations, youth symposia, parent-
child communication classes, and an AIDS
Day Rallies. In Jamaica, HIV issues are
taught in life-skill courses in communica-
tion and goal-setting, and other life-
planning abilities, which protect them
from health risks including exposure to
HIV/AIDS. Using a peer education model,
Jamaican PCVs are working to reach
marginalized young men. In Ecuador, in
addition to teacher training, volunteers
work with commercial sex workers
regarding condom promotion, and some
volunteers are involved in a prevention
program for immigrant populations. One
PCV works specifically with the issue of
domestic violence and HIV.
As you can see, there is some pretty
creative thinking going on in the minds of
PCVs and host country nationals. These
programs are pretty remarkable, and have
begun to be a “shining star” in terms of
Peace Corps programming in general.
There is an amazing amount of effort out
there by some amazing folks. It is
6
interesting to me, however, that none of
the activities cited in this recent Peace
Corps report on HIV programs mentions
programming targeted specifically at
LGBT people. There are some Peace
Corps countries where openly LGBT
folks live, and in other places, as we all
know, there is definitely same-sex
behavior. It seems to me it may be an
issue that we might want to bring up with
those at Peace Corps headquarters. Are
the needs of LGBT people being met
throughout the world? I bet not!
As we begin this new venture of
funding HIV-related projects through
Peace Corps Partnership programs, it
seems our money will be well spent. As
an RPCV group, however, we must assist
Peace Corps in recognizing the needs of
our LGBT sisters and brothers worldwide.
Reading the recent report, I am encouraged
to see that the creative spirit of Peace
Corps Volunteers and their host country
colleagues lives into this new millennium.•
Kent Klindera, volunteered in Thailand
from 1988-92. He currently lives in Our
Nations Capitol and is Acting Director of
International Programs at Advocates for
Youth [kent@advocatesforyouth.org].
PO Box 14332
San Francisco CA 94114-4332
lgbrpcv@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/lgbrpcv
Editor Mike Learned
Layout Kevin H. Souza
The LGB RPCV Newsletter is
published quarterly by the Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual RPCV Organization,
an affiliate of the National Peace
Corps Association. We exist to
promote Peace Corps ideals and
acceptance of gays and lesbians
throughout the world. Submission
of articles or graphics to be pub-
lished in the newsletter is encour-
aged. The right to use or edit
materials remains with the editor.
Copyright remains with the author.
Send submissions or inquires to the
above postal or e-mail address.

1999 Annual Financial Report
It’s that time of year again when we let
you know where we get the money to
keep this group going and how your
money is spent to support our activities.
We are almost totally dependent on you
for our funds. Almost all of our income
last year came from membership dues,
either when you joined the National Peace
Corps Association (NPCA) and desig-
nated us as your affiliate group, or when
you sent us membership dues directly. If
you’re a member of the NPCA, please
remember to designate LGB RPCVs as
your affiliate RPCV group when you
renew your membership. If you aren’t a
member of the NPCA, please respond
now to our enclosed request for dues.
Our biggest expense supports the
printing and mailing of our quarterly,
“award-winning” newsletter. The
publication goes not only to our RPCV
members, but also to volunteers in the
field who request it, Peace Corps staff in
every country where Peace Corps has a
presence, Peace Corps Recruiting Offices,
and to Washington Peace Corps staff.
Thanks to the continued efforts and
long hours spent by Kevin Souza, our
Web site and e-mail address don’t cost
much money, although they remain among
our most important communication tools.
Supporting regional affiliate groups is
our next most significant expense. If you
live in an area with a local LGB RPCV
chapter, half of your dues automatically
go that chapter. Local chapters are
currently active in San Francisco, Seattle,
Southern California, and Washington D.C.
Expenses exceeded income this year,
because of a significant drop in member-
ship income and our $1000 contribution
that initiated the Peace Corps Partnership
Program’s HIV/AIDS Prevention and
Education Fund. As always, we welcome
any ideas you have about how your
membership dues should be spent.•
LGB RPCV NewsLetter - February 2000
Income
Membership dues from NPCA
Individual dues
T-shirts
Total Income
Expenses
Newsletters
HIV Fund Contribution
NPCA dues, fees
NPCA conference
Group chapters
Other
Total Expenses
Year End Balance
Membership Dues Needed for 2000
Each February we enclose our annual
dues solicitation with our newsletter for
those members of LGB RPCV who are
not also members of the National Peace
Corps Association (NPCA). We have two
categories of membership in our organiza-
tion. Those who have joined the NPCA
have the opportunity to join one of its
affiliate organizations (like LGB RPCVs).
Half of our members reach us through this
route. If you’re a member of the NPCA
pay your membership dues when they
notify you (this can be any month of the
year), and please remember to indicate
LGB RPCVs as your affiliate group.
If you’re a member of LGB RPCVs
alone, we ask for your membership dues
each February, and you have received a
membership coupon with this issue of the
newsletter. The other half of our members
fall into this category. We also have a
number of people on our mailing list who
are a year or more behind in dues, either as
members of the NPCA or LGB RPCVs
alone. These people are also receiving a
membership dues coupon with this issue.
Our membership numbers have slipped
in the past year. We have lost about 100
dues paying members. About two thirds
of these were NPCA members, one third
LGB RPCV members alone. We plan a
7
1,725
1,730
70
$3,525
2,207
1,000
565
125
323
181
$4,401
$3,942
major membership renewal drive later this
spring to boost our membership numbers.
We have existed as an organization for
nine years, and have had many accom-
plishments over that time. We were
instrumental in getting Peace Corps to add
“sexual orientation” to its equal employ-
ment opportunity policy. We have been
active participators in five NPCA
conferences. We produce an award
winning quarterly newsletter and host a
superb web site. We have an active mentor
program, where we connect lesbian and
gay Peace Corps applicants with our
members. We provide materials for and
participate in Peace Corps recruiting
efforts at Pride Events around the country
each summer. We initiated the Peace Corps
Partnership Program’s HIV Prevention
and Education Fund late last year. We are
entirely dependent on our your dues and
contributions to be able to accomplish our
goals and fund our activities.
If you have received a membership
solicitation with this newsletter, please
take the time now to fill out the dues
coupon, write us a check for $15, and mail
them to us. If you’re a member of the
NPCA, please rejoin when your member-
ship is due, and identify LGB RPCVs as
your affiliate group.•
LGB RPCV NewsLetter - February 2000

Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
Who are we?
We’re an organization of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and others who are former Peace Corps volun-
teers, current volunteers, former and current staff members, and friends. Founded in Washington D.C. in
1991, we have several hundred members throughout the country and around the world who have served in
the Peace Corps since its beginning in 1961.
We are composed of a national steering committee, together with regional chapters. We currently have
local chapters in San Francisco, Southern California, Seattle and Washington D.C. We are an affiliate
member of the National Peace Corps Association.
What’s our purpose?
We promote Peace Corps ideals and acceptance of lesbians, gays and bisexuals throughout the world.

What do we do?
u Provide support to our national members and current volunteers.
u Facilitate the creation of regional chapters.
u Actively involve ourselves as an affiliate of the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA).
u Promote policies and projects that support Peace Corps ideals and the acceptance and active
involvement of lesbians, gays and bisexuals within the Peace Corps.
u Take an active part in Gay Pride events around the country encouraging gays, lesbians and bisexu-
als to consider the Peace Corps experience.
u Offer our members as informational resources and mentors for lesbians, gays and bisexuals who
have been offered a Peace Corps assignment.
u Host social events for our members.
u Communicate regularly with our members and others through a quarterly newsletter and our web site.

New Membership * Address Change Form

New Member
Name: Change of Address/Renewal
I would talk with applicants
Street:
about my experience.

City: State: Zip:

Phone/Fax/E-mail:

Country of Service: Years:

PC Project: Current Work:

Membership: $15 for LGB RPCV Affiliate Only or FREE to Current Volunteers
$40 for LGB RPCV Plus the National Peace Corps Association

LGB RPCVs; PO Box 14332; San Francisco, CA 94114-4332

E-mail: lgbrpcv@yahoo.com * http://www.geocities.com/lgbrpcv
8