PTPI Blog


Posts Tagged ‘Educational & Humanitarian Initiative’

Lunch and Learn with Author Jill Hunting

Friday, October 16th, 2009
Author Jill Hunting with PTPI staff and PTPI Trustee Chuck Theusch at our World Headquarters in Kansas City

Author Jill Hunting with PTPI staff and PTPI Trustee Chuck Theusch at our World Headquarters in Kansas City

The staff at PTPI World Headquarters was thrilled to have the opportunity to share lunch with author Jill Hunting and hear about her book, Finding Pete: Rediscovering the Brother I Lost in Vietnam. Jill’s brother Pete joined International Voluntary Services after finishing college and headed to Saigon.  He spent two years there, helping the people of Vietnam and getting to know them, and wrote numerous letters home, describing life in a country that would soon be at war.  When Jill was only 15, her brother was killed in an ambush.

The loss was discussed on the CBS Evening News and in newspapers throughout the country.  Pete’s death was one of the first civilian casualties of the Vietnam War.  It wasn’t discussed in Jill’s family and it wasn’t until years later that Jill was encouraged to explore her brother’s story, and to share it with others.  Beginning with the discovery of her brother’s letters home, which she was told had been destroyed, Jill’s book traces the journey that helped her to answer questions she had long wondered about.

Special thanks to Jill for taking time out of her book tour schedule to spend time with us, and for PTPI Trustee Chuck Theusch for making it possible.  Chuck will be leading PTPI’s next Educational & Humanitarian Initiative to Vietnam and Cambodia in December.

Educational & Humanitarian Initiative: Morocco

Thursday, October 15th, 2009
Marrakech, Morocco

Marrakech, Morocco

A total of 41 delegates departed for Marrakech, Morocco on October 8, 2009 to take part in PTPI’s latest Educational & Humanitarian Initiative.  They are spending ten days there, visiting not only Marrakech, but Casablanca, Rabat and Tangier as well. The group received a true Moroccan welcome during an evening at Chez Ali, experiencing authentic Berber tribal music and entertainment from dancers, musicians, acrobats, horsemen and magicians.

While still in Marrakech, the delegation also visited the Dar Albir Oua Ihsane Marrakech, a multi-functional center for young disadvantaged children between the ages of 12 and 18.  The center provides the opportunity for these children to finish their studies and receive training to qualify for a chosen profession, thereby ensuring that they can live a decent life. On October 12, the delegation traveled to Casablanca to meet Mary Jean Eisenhower and enjoy dinner with PTPI’s Casablanca and Mohammedia Chapters.  They spent the evening learning about the chapters’ local programs and activities.

Mary Jean Eisenhower with friends from PTPI's Casablanca Chapter

Mary Jean Eisenhower with friends from PTPI's Casablanca Chapter

The next day, the group headed to Villa Mirador, a place where historically significant political summits have been hosted.  It has welcomed Churchill, Roosevelt and de Gaulle.  Today it serves as the residence of the U.S. Consul General.  Mrs. Elisabeth Millard, the current U.S. Consul General in Morocco, welcomed the group and shared a few special historical facts about Villa Mirador and its significance prior to a briefing on U.S.-Moroccan economic and political relations.  Dinner that evening was at Rick’s Cafe, a recreation of the bar made famous by the movie Casablanca.

Boubker Mazoz, founder of the Sidi Moumen Cultural Center

Boubker Mazoz, founder of the Sidi Moumen Cultural Center

On October 14, before traveling to Rabat, the delegation headed to the Sidi Moumen Cultural Center in a low-income neighborhood in Casablanca.  The center serves youth in the community with a computer center, tutoring and a theater.  It is designed to protect the children living in the slums from being persuaded to turn to drugs or religious extremism by providing them the tools to learn and use their creativity.  They heard a presentation on the center and had an opportunity to meet and interact with the students.  Mary presented an award to Boubker Mazoz, founder of the center, and also presented a donation on behalf of PTPI and the delegation.

Stay tuned for more information on their adventure after the delegates return from Morocco!  Special thanks to Karen Melnick for taking the time to send these wonderful photos.

A young boy from the neighboring slum at the Sidi Moumen Cultural Center

A young boy from the neighboring slum at the Sidi Moumen Cultural Center