Tony Gasbarro, Dominican Republic 1962-1964 & El Salvador 1996-1998
Tony Gasbarro served in the Dominican Republic from 1962 through 1964 and in El Salvador from 1996 through 1998.
Why did you want to join the Peace Corps?
When I graduated from Colorado State University in 1962 the Peace Corps was a new idea. It was just beginning and I was caught up in the excitement of the new program. I joined because I saw the Peace Corps as an adventure and because I thought that I should try to help to make this world a better place to live. When I retired from the University the same spirit of adventure was still there but more dominating was the feeling that with my 35 years experience in the broad fields of land management and forestry I could really make a contribution. And there was something else. I had a strong feeling that going into the Peace Corps would bring out other latent abilities that I had which I had heretofore not used.
What did you do while you were a Peace Corps volunteer?
As a volunteer in
the Dominican Republic I was assigned to a forest district of the Dominican
Forest Service in the western part of the country. My job was to
work with the District Ranger who was my counterpart in dealing with the
forestry problems of the district. I was involved in training Dominican
foresters in fire control, timber sale preparation, logging road location,
and forest measurements. I also did some teaching of English.
As a volunteer in El Salvador I was assigned to a non-profit organization
called the Association of Human Development (ADHU). This organization
was working with a small village, La Montañona that owned about 800 acres
of pine forest. My job was to help the members of the community
implement a forest management plan and develop a small timber harvesting
program so community members could earn some income. I also became
involved in environmental education at the local school and helped develop
a public relations program for tourists that visited the area.
What are you doing now?
Both experiences
were life changing for me. Sharing two years of my life with the
poor in La Montañona inspired me to continue working for the poor in El
Salvador. I can afford to this since I am retired. I return to El
Salvador twice each year to work on various projects. I continue
to work with ADHU on projects the organization has related to the environment,
scholarship programs and the construction of new communities after the
two Salvadoran earthquakes of 2001. I am also a board member of
Project Salvador, a non-profit headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
This organization funds small community development projects mostly dealing
with the empowerment of women and youth. I help coordinate
the purchase of crafts from 200 Salvadoran artisans. These crafts
are sold in the United States mostly in the Denver area. From these
sales we return about $60,000 each year to the artisans. I raise
about $10,000 each year through letter writing and presentations to support
a scholarship program that helps about 70 kids get though elementary and
secondary schools in the country.
I still spend most of my time in Alaska and do volunteer teaching both
at the University and High School level. I also teach environmental
education and am on the Board of Supervisors of the Fairbanks Soil and
Water Conservation District.