board

Given the amazing response we received for our Tigray Relief Fund and looking to the future, the E&E RPCVs Board of Directors believes it is time to expand the group’s focus beyond its traditional role as a connecting point between E&E RPCVs, its longtime Legacy Program, and recent humanitarian relief activities. To do this, we plan to use the Zoom/virtual meeting medium to attract your active participation, but for us to implement it, we need volunteers to serve on committees and new board members.

We will continue to conduct our current activities, including broadening our relief fund to include other areas of Ethiopia. At the same time, we see several new routes to providing better understanding of, and assistance to, the people of Ethiopia. We are currently planning a series of virtual presentations on the state of the nation now given by our Ethiopian friends and other experts.  We are also considering discussion groups in which E&E RPCVs will be able to talk among ourselves to better understand what is happening in the country. We are also looking into a program of cultural activities including programs on the country's art and music. 

To take on these new directions we need more board and/or committee members, particularly more recent RPCVs, to actively help bring such projects to fruition. Our ongoing Tigray/Ethiopia fundraising campaign, launched in April 2021, demonstrates the keen interest you all have in current events in Ethiopia and Eritrea. We want to point your interest to these new undertakings.

With an enlarged board and new committees, we hope to create a more active organization. For starters, we’d like committees to handle our relief fund activities, our Legacy Program, recruiting more members, our program of virtual presentations and discussions, our web site and more.  While we need more volunteers to take on this ambitious expansion of our activities, we also want members to take on these responsibilities in order to build a stronger bond between our members and the organization.

We know you are all busy with family, professional, and routine daily concerns. What we would ask of you is not an inordinate amount of time. Our board of directors meets once a month on Zoom for about an hour. Your participation in these meetings and any additional Zoom committee meetings would probably require only a few hours a month. However, your ideas, additional Ethiopia-related connections, and enthusiasm would be most welcomed.

In sum, our success with the relief fund has encouraged us to build on that and grow the organization. 

You may join our group on the Become a Member page. If interested in forming a committee or joining our board of directors, please send an email with your interests and proposal to me at leo@cecchini.org.

Thank you.

Leo Cecchini
Acting President
Ethiopia and Eritrea Returned Peace Corps Volunteers