To: All Peace Corps
From: Gaddi H. Vasquez, Director
Subject: Peace Corps Volunteers Justin W. Brady and Matthew S. Costa

It is with great sadness that I inform you that we have lost two members ofour Peace Corps family. On Sunday afternoon in Mali, Volunteers Justin W.Brady and Matthew S. Costa died as a result of a boating accident on theNiger River in Bamako.

Justin W. Brady was 27-years old from Philomath, Oregon. He graduated fromOregon State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Construction EngineeringManagement. Justin joined the Peace Corps in January of 2005 and served as awater sanitation extension agent in the village of Donthieribougou in theregion of Koulikoro. He addressed the serious human health challenges commonthroughout Mali by working alongside members of the community to build awell, improve latrines, and construct soak pits and hand washing stations.He cared about the difficult challenges faced by Malian women and involvedover 200 of them in a gardening project to increase their income and improvetheir nutrition. He also introduced a millet grinder to the community ofKita, trained 15 men in pump maintenance, educated youth about AIDSprevention, and taught English at a local school.

Before joining the Peace Corps, Justin wrote, "I want to know what it islike to live, and work, and eat, and smell, and sleep in a place that isoutside of everything I have known so far. I want to gain the experiences ofanother part of the world, and at the same time, try to give back as much asI've been given."

Matthew S. Costa was 24-years old from Cheshire, Connecticut. He graduatedfrom Tulane University with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy in 2003.Matthew was first assigned to Peace Corps Chad from 2003 – 2005 where heserved as an English teacher. He extended his Peace Corps service andtransferred to Mali in November of 2005 to become a small enterprisedevelopment Volunteer serving in the village of Kati in the region ofKoulikoro. During that time, he was a high school English teacher andorganized training for other teachers in the community. Matthew was widelyrecognized in his community as the host of a popular local radio showfeaturing American music, fulfilling the Peace Corps' second goal ofcultural exchange. He also worked to improve the radio station's marketingstrategy. In addition, Matthew was engaged in the community by playing on alocal soccer team and distributing donations of sporting equipment.In his aspiration statement, Matthew described his hope that his experienceas a Volunteer would "not only broaden my perspective on the human race butwill make me more understanding of the problems and strengths of otherpeople and cultures."Their passing is a tremendous loss for the Peace Corps and for the people ofMali. I hope you will join with me in remembering Justin and Matthew andtheir families in your thoughts and prayers.