Eradicator of Small Pox in Afghanistan Leaves Lasting Legacy

October 1, 2009 - Eugene, OR - The West Cascade Peace Corps Association (WCPCA) is proud to announce the Beryl Brink Memorial Fund, opened with generous donations by family and friends of the late Beryl Brinkman.

Brinkman was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Afghanistan in the late 1960's. She traveled by horse, donkey and camel to remote villages to vaccinate women and children against small pox. Her work helped eventually eradicate the deadly disease. She traveled the world, made hundreds of friends, and dedicated her life to fighting poverty and building peace.

The Beryl Brink Memorial Fund was launched at the bi-monthly potluck of the WCPCA, October 9, 2009, at the University of Oregon Many Nations Longhouse. The program also featured a presentation from Jason Love who recently returned from Peace Corps service in Jordan. Love is now pursuing an MBA at the University of Oregon.

"Beryl was an inveterate traveler, wordsmith, scrabbler extraordinaire, warrior for peace, student of cultures and languages, supporter of causes, and all around best friend to hundreds," says Artis Spriggs, who worked with Beryl in Afghanistan and now lives in Eugene.

"She was a role model of fearlessness," writes Karen Crane from Cottage Grove. "Bus through the Middle East alone? No problem. Visit countries barely out of war? No big deal. Travel where you don't speak the language? No sweat. Beryl was the warp and woof in the web of life - Queen of networking."

Brinkman was a founding member of the Eugene-based WCPCA and served on the board of the National Peace Corps Association in Washington D.C.

The Beryl Brink Memorial Fund will expand WCPCA's commitment to supporting the work of Peace Corps Volunteers who hail from Oregon. WCPCA has awarded dozens of small grants to Peace Corps projects since 1986. Recently, WCPCA awarded grants for a community library in Guatemala and medical staff housing for a village clinic in Tanzania. WCPCA has over 100 local members, all of whom have served in the U.S. Peace Corps.

"At both the local and national levels, Beryl was a committed advocate of the ideals that the Peace Corps was founded upon. Those of us who knew and worked with Beryl here in Eugene were continuously energized and inspired by her devotion to bringing the Peace Corps back home," says James Cloutier, current WCPCA President.

In February of 2007, Beryl unexpectedly passed away. She touched the lives of many and she is missed.

Donations to the Beryl Brinkman Memorial Fund may be sent to:
Beryl Brinkman Memorial Fund, West Cascade Peace Corps Association, PO Box 5462, Eugene, OR 97405

For more information on Beryl, click here.

Click here to see a listing of the programs funded with distributions from the Beryl Brinkman Memorial Fund.