LGB RPCV NewsLetter - May 2005

In This Issue
 Lesbian Health in Moldova
 Gay Activism in Jamaica
 A Partner in Burkina Faso
 Crisis Corps in Namibia
 Findlay Runs for NPCA

NewsLetter
Board
 Membership Update

May 2005

I
n the May issue PCV Molly Lamphear brings us up to date on the Lesbian and
Bisexual Women’s Health Project in Moldova we helped fund.  Tony Hron
chronicles the unexpected turn in his life during and following his Peace Corps
tour in Jamaica.  We have a follow-up story from Mark Canavera and his long
distance partner Parza.  Robert Philipson writes about his Crisis Corps assignment
and time in Namibia.  Bob Findlay is running for the NPCA Board.

Moldova: Lesbian Health Project Update

Editors note: LGB RPCVs and
others contributed funds late last
year to the Peace Corps Partner-
ship Project, Healthy Lifestyles for
Lesbian and Bisexual Women in Mol-
dova. The project is now under way.
GenderDoc_M, the local NGO and
Moldova’s gay rights organization
is the local partner who is spear-
heading activities. This is an edited
report received recently from Molly
Lamphear, the PCV coordinator with
contributions from Lada Pascar, Gen-
derDoc_M’s Coordinator of Women’s
Programs and Boris Balanetskii, MD,
Coordinator of HIV/AIDS projects.
About 15 young women from the
local Lesbian and Bisexual Women
(LBW) community recently took part
in the seminar at the GenderDoc_M
office in Chisinau, Moldova’s main
city, on sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs) and safer sex practices affect-
ing them. The seminar was organized
by a team of lesbian activists includ-
ing Faina Grossman from Germany,
an expert in the field with experience
conducting such seminars in many
countries. She is the author of an
illustrated brochure on lesbian safer
- Molly Lamphear, PCV
sex practices.
During the first part of the seminar
Faina Grossman gave a presentation
describing women’s STDs in rela-
tion to lesbian and bisexual women,
followed by a group discussion.
The project is now un-
der way. GenderDoc_M,
the local NGO and Mol-
dova’s gay rights organi-
zation is the local part-
ner who is spearheading
activities.
Participants discussed different issues
in relation to LBW STDs: the safety
of lesbian sex, the degree of danger
in transmitting HIV/AIDS among
female lovers, issues of trust between
long-time partners, and the necessity
of open dialogue between partners
in relation to sexual practices and
STDs. The second part of the seminar
was dedicated to safer sex lesbian
practices. The participants learned
how to protect themselves and their
sex partners from STDs, how to talk
1
with their partners about the neces-
sity of practicing safe sex, and how
to reduce the danger of transmitting
HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.
The presentation was followed by
a discussion that revealed that young
women from the local LBW commu-
nity rarely use measures of protection
during lesbian sex. In the end of the
discussion the participants admitted
that the seminar was very effective
and useful, that a lot of them had
heard this information for the first
time, and that they had gained very
important theoretical and practical
knowledge. At the end of the seminar
many participants said that they now
understood the necessity of using
measures of protection during lesbian
sex and learned how to talk about that
with their partners.
Another seminar, this one for
medical workers (gynecologists,
obstetricians, family doctors etc.)
is planned in June. The topic of this
seminar is “Lesbian and Bisexual
Women: How can doctors answer
health needs of this group.” The
main aim of the seminar is to give
the doctors working directly with
continued on page 7
LGB RPCV NewsLetter - May 2005

Jamaica Peace Corps Service Leads to Gay Activism

- Anthony Hron, RPCV
When I decided to become a Peace ing for.
Corps Volunteer, I wanted a change Compared to my mid-western The Jamaica OutPost and
from the teaching career that I was experience, my Jamaican gay experi- OutReach Caribbean are two
pursuing, but I never expected the ence was like a tight rubber band means for LGBT communi-
direction this change would take or – the same core issues but stretched cation in the Caribbean that
the personal satisfaction that would to the extreme. The anti-gay rhetoric
should be supported, particu-
result. I had hoped to serve in the and violence was much greater, but
fairly new environ- the cohesion of the larly by LGBT RPCVs who
mental program in I had read that this community was have served in this part of
China, but time- greater as well, at the world. Go to the two web
lines prevented that small Caribbean na- least within the sites that Tony and Jason ad-
so, of the choices tion was highly homo- highly segregated
minister. You can subscribe
left to me, Jamaica social castes, a
seemed the most
phobic, but I figured it vestige of the by check or through PayPal
suitable based couldn’t be that much colonial power dis- to provide additional funds
on my meatless worse than Nebraska tributions. While I for printed versions of the
dietary preference. was more closeted newsletter and other activi-
I had read that this and Iowa 20 years ago in Jamaica (I never
ties of The Jamaica OutPost
small Caribbean when I was coming out. revealed my sexu- at www.jamaicaoutpost.com.
nation was highly ality to my host
homophobic, but I figured it couldn’t family during training for instance), I Check out their www.out-
be that much worse than Nebraska did find a degree of expression I had reachcaribbean.org for other
and Iowa 20 years ago when I was never experienced in the States. For gay and human rights proj-
coming out. I figured wrong – it example, as a representative for a gay
ects and activities through-
was worse in some ways, but much organization, I routinely discussed
better in others – and I would soon my sexuality and issues related to ho- out the Caribbean.
find myself enmeshed in the issue on mosexuality with complete strangers.
many levels. homes, jobs, family or social stand-
I also became a member of a large
Within weeks in-country, another ing kept nearly everyone in the closet
gay community for the first time – the
trainee and I were in contact with and most from pursuing any kind of
by-product of monthly social gather-
the country’s primary gay rights committed relationship. There were
ings hosted by J-FLAG that drew
organization, the Jamaica Forum for exceptions, like the male couple who
hundreds of gay men and women. In
Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J- lived together and had two adopted
fact, I had more dates in the first 6
FLAG), being managed at the time by months of my service than I had in sons, the drag queen who performed
a woman named Emily, a recent col- for tourists by night and enjoyed his
the previous 6 years in Iowa! I was
lege graduate from, by coincidence, community’s protection by day, and
even asked to be a judge for two drag
Minnesota. The coincidences kept the lesbian couple who ran a gay inn
queen competitions, complete with
coming when I was assigned a work on the north coast. There were a few,
formal dinners, swimsuits, evening
site in the capital city of Kingston but fear kept most in a well-protected
gowns and live talent performances.
(much to my disappointment), where closet. In this regard, the degree of
Unfortunately, this expression was
J-FLAG was located, and then real- fear, discrimination and violence was
very tenuous beyond the gates of the
ized that my housing was less than a much more serious than in the U.S.,
compounds where gays gathered.
block from Emily’s apartment. This and these were the issues that kept
Very few individuals were openly
began a 3 year affiliation with the me very busy as a volunteer.
gay. Among the upper class, certain
organization first as Emily’s volun- As I mentioned earlier, the idea
individuals were known and “accept-
teer assistant (this was my official that a PCV would be working with a
ed” but never publicly identified. Pro-
Peace Corps secondary project, much priety and decorum precluded this, LGBT advocacy organization didn’t
to some people’s consternation) and sit well with some people, most nota-
even for those whose social status
eventually as the Programme Direc- bly a U.S. Embassy official who I had
would prevent any negative repercus-
tor. During this time, I experienced approached for assistance in finding a
sions. For the well-to-do, working
a very complex and fascinating gay venue for a fund-raising performance
class, right down to the inner-city
community and a cause worth fight- unemployed, fear of losing their continued on page 6
2

Parza: Writing His Name
- Mark Canavera, RPCV Burkina Faso
Funny, that I thought writing my
partner’s name, “Parza,” would be
a relief. Oh, it may not look like
much to you since you’re reading
it in Times New Roman or maybe
Arial, who knows. But know that
when I write it, when I really write
Parza with a thick pen that’s purple
or green or royal blue, it swirls on
the pages with curlicues, basking in
its newfound glow of legibility. It
sounds even better. Read it out loud:
Parza. Do it, read it: Paaaarza. Rolls
off the tongue with a zing, doesn’t it?
PAARZA!
You might have read about Parza
before, just without knowing it. In
an earlier edition of this newsletter,
Parza was P_____, my anonymous
Burkinabè lover (February 2003, see
http://www.lgbrpcv.org/articles/02_
03_burkina.htm). I wrote anonymous-
ly as well since this newsletter is sent
to Peace Corps staff in Burkina Faso
and both Parza and I feared losing
our thin veil of secrecy. We’re no
longer anonymous: P_____ is Parza,
and I am Mark. I had thought that
writing Parza, outing Parza, declaring
Parza, would rush through me like
an electric wave, a thrilling release, a
throwing off of the protective cloak
of anonymity. A naked jump into icy
waters. Writing Parza was supposed
to be a Defining Moment, both his
coming out and ours.
Parza gave me permission to
write about him by name about three
months ago, some two years after
my departure from Burkina Faso.
“Write it all,” he said. “Everything!
Don’t leave out a single detail.” At
the time, I itched at the prospect
of artfully sketching vignettes of
Parza’s coming-out process: the
day he learned the French words for
“homosexual” and “fag,” our first
kiss, the time he saw Doug kiss his
boyfriend on “Melrose Place” (yes,
it showed in Burkina), and finally,
triumphantly, the moment he declared
to me, “Voilà! That’s who I am – a
man who prefers men to women.”
All interesting in their own ways, but
stories like these have already been
told a thousand times.
Parza’s story has more. In May of
last year, Parza, who like me is 27,
faced increasing pressure from his
family to get married and to start a
family. To stem the tide of marriage
proposals, he decided to tell his father
about our relationship, one-upping
me. I feared that he would be chased
from the village, ostracized. “What
did your father say?” I asked with
baited breath. “He asked to see your
picture,” Parza replied. We have his
family’s felicitous and unexpected
blessing.
“What did your father
say?” I asked with bait-
ed breath. “He asked to
see your picture,” Parza
replied. We have his
family’s felicitous and
unexpected blessing.
Writing Parza was supposed to
be a declaration of commitment, a
putting to ink of our love. But seeing
it now, written in Times New Roman
(yours might be Palatino Linotype or
Garamond, but no matter – they’re all
typewritten), “Parza” looks vaguely
lifeless, an inaccurate transcription
of our spoken affair. Read it out loud
again and you’ll understand how
much is lost in the typing: Paarza!
ParZAAH!
There are irreducible ironies. For
starters, we speak almost daily but
have not seen each other in over
two years. The cell phone keeps
us close just as plane ticket prices,
immigration laws, and cultures keep
us distant. We never talk about “us”
anymore; we just enact the day-to-
day drone of married couples. Parza
3
LGB RPCV NewsLetter - May 2005
is working in a bakery right now,
rolling baguette loaves from 3 to 7
am. I just finished a final paper for a
political philosophy class. Our lives
seem to exist in two different spheres,
the dusty streets of Ouagadougou
and the pristine halls of academia,
yet our conversations are filled with
quotidian banalities, hardly the stuff
of star-crossed lovers. We no longer
love each other exotically.
Parza and I have been together
for more than four years now, two of
them together and two and a half of
them apart. Never once has the end
goal been apparent. A counselor I saw
recently raised his eyebrow and said,
“You call that a relationship? What-
ever.” Somehow neither of us seems
to let the obvious questions grow
too loud: where are we going, or
even more basically, what direction
are we headed in? Those sounds of
those questions remain, but they are
reduced to a soothing hum, the purr
of a well-constructed Cadillac engine.
For now we just keep coasting, some-
how together but viscerally apart.
“I’m so lucky,” I used to tell other
continued on page 5
PO Box 14332
San Francisco CA 94114-4332
lgbrpcv@lgbrpcv.org
http://www.lgbrpcv.org
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 promote
Peace Corps ideals and the legal,
political and social rights of LGBT
people throughout the world. We
encourage the submission of articles
or photographs for the newsletter.
The right to use or edit materials
remains with the editor. Copyright
remains with the author. Send
submissions or inquiries to the above
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LGB RPCV NewsLetter - May 2005
A Crisis Corps Assignment in Namibia
- Robert Philipson, RPCV, Central African Republic
As a member of the LGBT RPCV
group, I’d read about Crisis Corps in this
newsletter.
Crisis Corps is a fairly recent Peace
Corps initiative that places RPCVs in
short term assignments around the world.
I had been a volunteer in the Central
African Republic in the 70s and was at a
point in my life where I could take time
to do volunteer work abroad again. Crisis
Corps, with its normal assignment period
of three to six months, seemed a perfect
solution. And its easy one-page applica-
tion overcame any lethargy I might have
had about throwing my hat in the ring.
Some six months after applying,
Crisis Corps contacted me and asked if I
would be interested in a somewhat longer
assignment (9 months) in Namibia. I
cautiously replied that I might be, then
ran to the atlas to look the place up. Situ-
ated directly north of South Africa on the
Atlantic coast, Namibia, then known as
South West Africa, had first been a Ger-
man colony. South Africa occupied the
country during World War I and admin-
istered it as a mandate territory until the
anti-colonial wars and resistance move-
ments in Southern African during the
1980s stanched South Africa’s appetite
for supporting apartheid regimes. In 1988
South Africa agreed to end its administra-
tion in accordance with a UN peace plan
for the entire region. Namibia won its
independence in 1990. The country is a
multi-racial society made up of several
African tribes, a mixed race population
known as Coloureds, and whites of both
German and South African backgrounds.
I wondered what kind of gay life
might exist in the capital Windhoek,
where I was to be posted. When I went to
gaydar, a British-based web site serv-
ing many of the former Commonwealth
countries, and discovered over 100
profiles for men in Windhoek, I thought,
“Well, this might not be so bad.” The fact
that 90% of these guys chose not to post
their pictures should have tipped me to
the fact that digital anonymity doesn’t
lead to gay pride safaris.
My Assignment: My assignment was to
teach computer skills at Hage Geingob
High School, named after the country’s
first prime minister. The high school
serves students coming from the poorest
section of the city, the former Black
township of Katatura. Although the
school’s setting is stark - little more than
concrete buildings in an empty field - it is
fairly new and tightly run. The principle,
Hanna Garesis, is excellent: a young
woman in her mid-thirties, calm, efficient,
and compassionate. Since she also owned
the house I lived in, I saw a lot of her.
The teaching staff of 20 was Black and
Coloured, a lively mix of different tribes
and languages. As is usually the case with
teachers, especially in the developing
world, they are fun, spirited, intelligent,
and laugh a lot. The school is a real stew
of languages, with Afrikaans and English
the most common. The learners, as stu-
dents are called, are dedicated to working
their way out of their parents’ poverty.
They are extremely well behaved in class.
This island of strivers is surrounded by a
In the States I tend
to be contemptuous
of gays who are in the
closet, especially those
who live in urban areas,
but here it was a tacti-
cal decision.
sea of poverty, ignorance, crime, bureau-
cratic inefficiency, corruption, and waste.
My state-of-the-art computer lab was
donated by the United States. The U.S.
ambassador’s wife took a personal interest
in the project and got the funding for it.
On my first day on the job I took stock of
where I was and what I was being asked
to do. Hanna asked me to teach com-
puter literacy to everybody in the school,
learners and teachers alike. That was my
mandate, and that’s all the guidance I got.
Materially, I worked in American plen-
ty. Garnering the support to maintain this
absurdly out-of-context electronic wealth
was a much trickier matter. The Ministry
of Basic Education is the familiar devel-
oping world institution: poverty-stricken,
tight with funds, slow to pay its bills, and
unable to provide effective oversight. The
lines of authority between the Ministry
and USAID remained confused. The guys
who set up the lab and were supposed
to make sure the hardware and software
functioned properly, two South Africans,
4
had split up and were squabbling in court.
I met with one of them, our de facto
network administrator, and he had a bit of
the con man about him. It was apparent
as I sat looking over his shoulder that he
was self-taught in networking and didn’t
have the answers to some fairly basic
questions. He’s what I had to work with,
however. Along with everything else, I
had to learn something about network
administration.
Passing for Straight: My Namibian
friends and colleagues thought I had a
wife and daughter because those who had
been to my house had seen pictures of
me with my sister and niece and . . . um,
well, I lied about it. Actually, I lied about
it at the drop of a hat – or, more precisely,
in response to questions about my family
life in America. In the States I tend to
be contemptuous of gays who are in the
closet, especially those who live in urban
areas, but here it was a tactical decision.
Because Namibia is a highly western-
ized, multiracial society, homosexuality is
recognized as a concept – and universally
despised. In one well-publicized quote,
President Nujoma declared, “Those who
are practicing homosexuality in Namibia
are destroying the nation. Homosexuals
must be condemned and rejected in our
society.” Although homosexuality isn’t
technically illegal, men wearing earrings
in Katatura had been attacked and beaten.
I took my earring out the third day I was
in the country. I missed it.
I told my Associate Peace Corps
Director that I was gay during the initial
orientation, and she advised me to run,
not walk, into the closet. It’s not that I
couldn’t have done my work if I were
out at school, it’s just that my being gay
would have been the first, and only, fact
that people would have registered. And,
of course, there would have been no bouts
of drinking in the shabeens with my male
colleagues.
Oddly enough, the closet had its plea-
sures. There was an uncritical acceptance
of claims to the role of father, husband,
and family man that are not common cur-
rency in the gay community back home,
at least not yet. I’m a man of some imagi-
nation, and since I have a family - just not
the one that fits the dominant paradigm
- it was easy for me to rustle up an ap-
propriate anecdote about my “wife” and
“daughter” when the occasion demanded

it. My listeners never saw the quotation
marks. And so I was accepted into the
great straight world. No wedding ring?
Nobody asked me about it. Occasionally
I got questioned about leaving my “wife”
back home, but that was an easy lob. I re-
plied that I was there as a volunteer, that
my wife made much more money than I
did (she’s a lawyer), and that I couldn’t
afford to be in Namibia if she didn’t stay
in America and work.
Why couldn’t I have claimed to be sin-
gle? I could have, but at my age it would
have marked me as odd, and, among my
male friends, I would have had to con-
stantly parry offers of female companion-
ship. This way I could be as ribald as my
drinking companions—changing genders
in my war stories, of course - without
having to put my money where my mouth
was. One group of drinking companions
had dubbed itself the MBAs, Married But
Available. Cute, huh?
Like all individuals who pass, I occa-
sionally found myself party to discussions
of the outgroup - gays, Jews, Blacks, Co-
loureds, you name it. One Friday drinking
bout at a nearby shebeen, the discussion
turned to homosexuality, and the men
there shook their perplexed heads. I made
a few points in favor of tolerance but
for the most part was content to sit and
listen. Actually the conversation wasn’t as
vituperative as it might have been.
Gay Life in Namibia: Through the
gaydar web site, I’d met a handful of
gay men in Windhoek, all colors, and the
unanimity of opinion was total: gay life in
Namibia sucked. It’s not completely non-
existent, even though there’s no gay bar;
it’s just weak, fearful, and fragmented.
Only a handful of gay men are “out” in
any sense of the word.
Namibia’s semi-hidden gay organi-
Parza...
continued from page 5
Peace Corps Volunteers in Burkina. “I’ll
never have to think about where my rela-
tionship with Parza is going, never have to
worry about visas or marriage or long-
term prospects. This relationship is only
what it is right now, and right now it’s a
lot of fun.” Those words are some of the
only ones I have ever regretted uttering:
“I’m so lucky.” Maybe they were a curse
or a jinx. At the very least, they proph-
zation is called The Rainbow Project,
known among gays as TRP. The name
expresses the hopeless desire to unite
Namibia’s races under the banner of gay
pride. There’s precious little pride and
even less racial tolerance. If the whites
I’m told that there
are tribal differences
in the acceptance of
homosexuality. Among
the Ovambo and the
Herero, it’s absolutely
verboten; the Coloured
and Damara commu-
nities are much more
tolerant.
ever participated, they pulled out long
ago, retreating to private parties and so-
cial cliques. The Rainbow Project is now
a Black and Coloured organization. I’m
told that there are tribal differences in the
acceptance of homosexuality. Among the
Ovambo and the Herero, it’s absolutely
verboten; the Coloured and Damara com-
munities are much more tolerant.
One Saturday, The Rainbow Project
sponsored an HIV/AIDS fundrais-
ing dance in Khomasdal, the formerly
Coloured township where I lived. That
I wasn’t going to miss! As it ended up,
I was pretty invisible, but it was an
interesting anthropological experience:
a slice of pre-Stonewall gay life. About
40 young Black and Coloured men and
women pitched up at a plain room that
esied our separation.
Writing “Parza” was supposed to be
an explosion of truth, an outraged outcry
for our rights denied, a pitched squeal
against the manmade barriers that sepa-
rate us. But it’s not. Maybe Parza and I
will just keep coasting for a while, on
autopilot, until we turn some unexpected
corner onto vast turquoise horizons, un-
imagined possibilities. And maybe Parza
5
LGB RPCV NewsLetter - May 2005
was sparingly decorated with red hearts
and red balloons. There were a fair
number of cross-dressers, tall young men
in spiked heels and bare midriffs, and
flapping wrists everywhere. Nobody was
older than mid-30. Interestingly, all of
the music was African; not one American
song was played. Given the pervasiveness
of American music in Namibia, that was
noteworthy. On a table decorated with red
candles and red streamers stood a framed
poem, vaguely about the wonders of sex.
Handwritten testimonials of gay and les-
bian pride were taped to the wall, but the
light was too dim to read by. The music
was loud and conversation, had there
been any, would have been difficult. What
conversation I heard was in Afrikaans;
I doubt many of these kids would have
been comfortable in English. So I was out
of it by race, age, and language. I drank
two beers and left.
A Celibate Life but a Good One:
Once I realized I wasn’t going to get
laid while in Namibia, I just put that part
of me in the corner and concentrated
on what was available. And what was
available was wonderful: satisfying work
where I was appreciated, new friends
and relations, frequent epiphanies of how
beautiful life could be once the patina of
routine had been removed. As an added
bonus, Namibia is a premier tourist des-
tination, and I traveled at every oppor-
tunity. I came home relaxed, refreshed,
and already planning a return visit. If you
can spare three to six months of your life,
I recommend a Crisis Corps experience
most highly.
Robert Philipson can be contacted at
mzungu88@hotmail.com.
will never be written, preferring instead
to be spoken and sung.
Mark Canavera is in graduate school.
He travels to Burkina Faso this June to
visit Parza. In July he goes to Uganda
to work with an Italian NGO rehabilitat-
ing child soldiers. He can be reached at
mark.canavera@gmail.com.
LGB RPCV NewsLetter - May 2005

Jamaica Peace Corps Service...

Continued from page 2
(he didn’t even know it was a drag performance at the
time). I found out from a supporter at USAID that within
hours of faxing my request, he had sent a flurry of emails
to various officials in Washington and Jamaica denounc-
ing my efforts, despite the fact that he was in India at the
time. My Country Director was forced to address the situ-
ation, and to his credit, he listened to my arguments and
supported my continued involvement with J-FLAG. As I
explained to him, the work I was doing directly enhanced
the Peace Corps’ desire to help alleviate the HIV pandem-
ic. Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and other regional and
international organizations have repeatedly recognized the
link between infection rates among the gay population and
homophobic discrimination and violence. Supporting this
minority group and educating the general public about the
deleterious effects of homophobia was in everyone’s best
interest. With my CD’s blessing, I was able to expand my
work with J-FLAG and its parent organization, Jamaica
AIDS Support (JAS). It became a nearly full-time effort,
especially after Emily’s departure 15 months after my
arrival, when I assumed her duties as the Programme Di-
rector, guided by a core group of Jamaican nationals who
served on the Management Committee.
Along the way I was able to obtain several grants
through Peace Corps, the most notable a US$10,000
award from America Online (during its more profitable
years) to create a computer resource room. Ironically,
even the U.S. Embassy provided funding for us to sensi-
tize health-care providers regarding the needs and con-
cerns of their LGBT patients. My work also required me
to represent the organization on several committees and
conferences since there were no Jamaicans willing to be
publicly affiliated with the organization. After two years
of Peace Corps service, I remained in Jamaica employed
by both J-FLAG and JAS for another year. I resigned in
early 2004 when my colleagues were prepared to assume
my duties, but the experience whetted my appetite for
advocacy work and soon led to new endeavors.
In June of 2004, I joined my Jamaican partner of two
years, Jason, in launching a new LGBT newsletter, which
was eventually named The Jamaica OutPost. It focuses
on news and information of interest to the community
and provides articles about international developments
as well as religious and health topics. We have been able
to develop a good-sized internet readership, as well as a
few subscriptions for the print version. These subscrip-
tions help pay some of the printing costs for free distribu-
tion of the newsletter at the offices of J-FLAG and JAS,
as well as copies for the archive of the National Library
of Jamaica, which we believe is critically important in
documenting the history of Jamaica’s gay community. At
the same time, I began working to launch a new LGBT
volunteer exchange organization that would link activ-
ists in more liberal countries with their counterparts in
oppressive countries. This eventually evolved into an
organization, OutReach Caribbean, which has a broader
set of objectives but a narrower regional focus. Jason
has been a major contributor to this effort as well and we
have received support from individuals in the U.S., Puerto
Rico, Guyana, Trinidad, and Antigua. It has been quite a
long journey from my conservative Midwestern roots to
this multi-national effort!
When I accepted my Peace Corps assignment, gay
activism was the furthest thing from my mind. I thought
I would spend a couple of years away from academia and
hopefully returned with a renewed interest and relevant
experiences. I could never have imagined the path that I
would eventually follow, and like many Volunteers, I left
my tour of service with an entirely new perspective on life
and the challenges faced by people in cultures much dif-
ferent than our own. Considering the extent of homopho-
bia so common in the countries that Volunteers serve in,
I consider myself very blessed to have found myself in
such a supportive community, and one that has nurtured a
new passion and focus in my life. I can only hope that all
Volunteers will be equally blessed.
Tony Hron can be reached at
outreachcaribbean@gmail.com.

Membership Update
Our initial membership renewal drive in February/March 2005 has been successful. Our renewals, dues and gifts
are running ahead of this time last year. A special thanks to the five or six people who sent extra funds to help tide us
over, particularly John in Massachusetts. As we go to press, we have collected about $1500. The NPCA has recently
sent us back dues of $850. We are now up to date with them. We have picked up a dozen new NPCA members
from our membership drive and sent NPCA the appropriate funds. NPCA’s data base conversion and verification of
records is now complete. We recently solicited non-LGB RPCV members who are participants on our listserv, and
we have emailed everyone for whom we have an email address and whose membership has lapsed, asking them to
rejoin. We will continue to aggressively solicit new memberships and on-going membership renewal.

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Lesbian Health Project...
Continued from page 1
women necessary information about the general aspects
of homosexuality and about the special needs of lesbians
and bisexual women related to sexual health. Study cases
from real life will also be discussed. During the seminar
all participants will be able to get to know about the work
of GenderDoc_M and its departments. It is also planned
through this seminar to establish contacts and find part-
ners from different medical institutions who will help us
in our future work. The event will be facilitated by the
project coordinator and GenderDoc_M doctor who has 3
year experience in working with LGBT community in the
area of health. In the seminar about 15 professionals will
participate from different medical institutions working in
women’s health.
At the end of the seminar all the participants will fill
out evaluation forms. This will allow us to evaluate our
efforts, establish contacts with the doctors who are the
most interested in working with our target group, and plan
further activities in this field. These contacts will also
be used in other projects to create a network of medical
workers who will work with LGBT community.
An important component of the overall LBW health
project is a detailed, illustrated brochure on LBW health
related to STDs and safer sex practices. Publication is
planned by mid-May. We will be able to produce 500
copies each in Russian and Romanian, the two principal
languages of Moldova. In the course of preparation of the
text different medical and informational sources in Eng-
lish have been collected and analyzed. This publication
will allow us to continue our outreach and health projects
for LBW in Moldova.
This May marks the fourth consecutive year of Gay
Pride celebrations in Moldova. GenderDoc_M will be a
major celebrant and sponsor events. May is a wonderful
time of year in Moldova. We hope that more and more
international interest will be generated. The local LGBT
community is incredibly warm and hospitable. Get more
information about activities from GenderDoc_M’s web-
site: http://www.gay.md.
Molly Lamphear is finishing up her third year
as a volunteer in Moldova. She can be reached at
lamphearmp@yahoo.com.
7
LGB RPCV NewsLetter - May 2005
Bob Findlay Runs for
NPCA Board
LGB RPCV member, Bob Findlay, is running for the
newly formed Western Region Board of Directors slot of
the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA). LGB RP-
CVs is an active affiliate of the NPCA. Any LGB RPCV
member who is also a member of the NPCA is eligible
to vote for this particular position if she or he lives in
Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho,
Montana, or Nevada. The NPCA will notify you shortly
how to vote on-line or by paper ballot.
This is what Bob has to say about his candidacy:
“NPCA is the leading voice of the Peace Corps com-
munity. During the two years that I have represented the
Northwest region on the NPCA board, it has undertaken
a critical reassessment and is now positioned to carry out
its responsibilities. I have served on its Global Education
committee, the Group Leaders Forum steering commit-
tee, and on a committee to assess NPCA conferences and
meetings. Based on my experience with the mutually sup-
portive groups in the Northwest, my interest is in NPCA
service to its affiliated groups, including national groups
like LGB RPCVs, as well as representing the newly
redistricted West. I bring extensive board experience in
professional, education, and service organizations. The
Peace Corps experience served me early on in shaping my
worldview, and many years later as a Crisis Corps volun-
teer (featured in this newsletter in 2000) to reinvigorate
me as I neared retirement from teaching architecture at
Iowa State University. Board service is my payback to the
program. My partner of 21 years, Lee Haugen, and I are
enjoying a retirement of community service in Olympia,
Washington.”
You can contact Bob Findlay at rfindlay@iastate.edu.
Write an Article
Our newsletter has a long tradition of featuring articles
and stories written by current and recently returned volun-
teers. This issue of the newsletter is a prime example. You
are the best source of information for what life is like and
the LGBT situation in the countries where you serve(d).
We do publish anonymously if the security of a current
volunteer is an issue. We publish quarterly with 4 to 5
articles an issue. Contact editor, Mike Learned, at lgbrpv-
news@lgbrpcv.org with your ideas and questions about an
article.
LGB RPCV NewsLetter - May 2005

Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
Who are we?
We’re an organization of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender people and others who are
former volunteers, 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 made up of a national steering committee and two regional chapters: the San Francisco
Bay Area and Washington D.C. We are an active affiliate member of the National Peace Corps
Association.
What’s our purpose?
We promote Peace Corps ideals and the legal, political and social rights of LGBT people
throughout the world.
What do we do?
 Provide support to our national members and current volunteers.
 Actively involve ourselves as an affiliate of the National Peace Corps Association.
 Offer through our Mentor Program informational resources and mentors for LGBT applicants,
potential applicants and those offered a Peace Corps assignment.
 Take an active part in Gay Pride events around the country encouraging LGBT people to
consider the Peace Corps experience.
 Promote policies and projects that support the acceptance and active involvement of LGBT
people within Peace Corps.
 Host social events for our members.
 Communicate regularly with our members and others through our web site, quarterly newsletter
and listserv.

New Membership | Address Update Form

Name: New Member
Change of Address/Renewal
Printed Newsletter/ or
Street:
Email Newsletter

City: State: Zip:

Phone: E-mail:

Country of Service: Years:

PC Project: Current Work: 05/05

Membership: $15 for LGB RPCV Affiliate Only or FREE to Current Volunteers
$50 for LGB RPCV Plus the National Peace Corps Association (http://www.rpcv.org)
LGB RPCVs; PO Box 14332; San Francisco, CA 94114-4332
e-mail: lgbrpcv@lgbrpcv.org | http://www.lgbrpcv.org
8