Peace Corp

The United States Peace Corps started in 1961 as a way of engaging you in services, spreading democracy(i.e. fighting communism) and battling the notions o “Yankee Imperialism.” Initially headed by President Kennedy’s brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver, this group of well-intentioned do-gooders set out to the (then-called) Third World to bring its inhabitants the enlightenment and development of the industrialized and democratic world.

Since then the Peace Corps has been thought of as a successful–albeit “bleeding heart”–program, and one rarely ever hears anything bad about it, nor the people involved in it. As a way of filtering out anyone without the purest of intentions, I suppose, there are very few incentives that come along with volunteering in the program other than the warm feeling of helping others. So at its worst, the Peace Corps is comprised of misdirected individuals with good intentions and at its best, individuals with vision and purpose setting out to improve the quality of life in developing countries. Read the rest of this entry »

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Over the next few days we had more meetings about the Peace Corps Volunteer live-ins we were going on. We were to spend three days with PCVs who had been in country for a year and see for ourselves what PCV life au village is like. We tried out bicycles and helmets. I started getting over my bronchitis and feeling better.

The night before we left on our live-ins, there was an afternoon reception at Mamy’s for the stagiares. Johnny Young, the US Ambassador to Togo, was there. I was impressed with his French. Some local Togolese government officials were there, also. Kodjo Amesefe (KOE-joe Ameh-SEF-eh), who was to be my boss at PC headquarters, in his welcome speech, said “Welcome to Togo. Please stay. We need you.” His plea for us to stay was based on the amount of Volunteers who came then asked for early termination within a few months after their arrival. The Peace Corps is not like the Army. You can ask to leave any time, and they’ll send you back home. Finally, at the end of Kodjo’s speech he said, “Africa will change you, whether you want it to or not.” That turned out to be very, very true. Read the rest of this entry »

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Here is some information about what it is like to be a Peace Corps volunteer.

Is the Peace Corps a way to get a low budget vacation? Not exactly. You will indeed get to travel and see a fascinating part of the world you would probably never see otherwise. However it is also hard work, it is called volunteer work for a reason. But if you are not afraid of good honest work that helps people and makes the world a better place, then you might find the Peace Corps a wonderful adventure that you will never forget.

If you are in a situation where you really want to make a difference in the world but are unsure about how to start, you’ll find that the Peace Corps may be perfect for you. The Peace Corps is an organization that is made to promote world peace and friendship, and it’s members are all dedicated to serving that cause, but while this is a commendable goal, it does not necessarily give you a clear idea of what you can do in the Corps itself. Take a look at a few of the positions that are offered in the Peace Corps, and you will begin to see how much ground this organization actually covers! Read the rest of this entry »

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