Mission of Friends of Guinea

Friends of Guinea (FOG) is a volunteer run organization consisting mainly of current and former Peace Corps volunteers serving in Guinea, and their friends and families that aims to:

1. Connect current and former United States Peace Corps volunteers serving in Guinea and their families and friends with other people dedicated to helping Guineans,

2. Support both current Peace Corps volunteers in Guinea and their families as they experience the difficulty of extended separation.

3. Work towards the long-term development of Guinea by supporting and initating worthy projects.

4. Disseminate cultural information about Guinea, its people, and their customs in order to facilitate intercultural understanding.

History of Friends of Guinea

When Steph anie Chasteen joined the Peace Corps, like most volunteers, she wanted to stay connected with her family and friends. In order to do that, she arranged for an online web blog (of sorts) to document her service in Guinea. The community of support persisted when she completed her service, and in 1999 she and her group of returning PCVs launched what eventually became Friends of Guinea in 2001.

The website went up soon afterwards, as did FOG's affiliation with the National Peace Corps Association, a national group of Returned Peace Corps volunteers. From its humble origins in 1999, Friends of Guinea has expanded to include over 170 members, and has handled tens of thousands of dollars of donations, passing them on to worthy projects in Guinea (see below). FOG maintains a website receiving over 2000 visits each month; an online, searchable RPCV directory; and three listservs for various demographics interested in Guinea. Moreover, it publishes a quarterlynewsletter, Ça Va?, for its members.

Legal information

Friends of Guinea is a non-profit affiliate group of the National Peace Corps Association.