Moldova RPCV Patrick McLaughlin worked to start pilot health education program
Read and comment on this story from The Southern on RPCV Patrick McLaughlin who worked to start pilot health education program in Moldova. The group assessed the health needs of the area and then tried to find ways to help, primarily through preventative health education. "The people were maybe a little suspicious at the beginning," he recalls. "They didn't know what I was doing at first. I didn't either," he laughed. "But the people were wonderful," he added. "The average salary there is $30 a month, if you get paid, but the generosity was amazing. I met some very wonderful people. I made some really dear friends there." Read the story at:
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A PEACE PLAN: DU QUOIN RESIDENT MAKES AN IMPACT AROUND THE WORLD
BY CHRISTI MATHIS THE SOUTHERN [Sat Feb 01 2003]
DU QUOIN -- So how does a friendly young man go from completing a biology degree at San Diego State University to little Du Quoin, Illinois, via Moldova and a tour of Asia?
It's been quite a journey for Patrick McLaughlin but he's found the route enjoyable and quite a learning experience.
"I was finishing college and not quite sure what I wanted to do with my life," McLaughlin, 31, explained. "I knew I wanted to learn and explore more, do something different, experience a different part of the world."
He also wanted to give something to the world and he found a way to do it all by joining the Peace Corps. That decision took him to Calarasi in the former Russian nation of Moldova.
"It's one of the poorest countries in Europe," McLaughlin said. "They're having a lot of struggles. They are in the bread basket and have fertile land, but they are very poor."
McLaughlin worked with a local counterpart to help start a pilot health education program. The group assessed the health needs of the area and then tried to find ways to help, primarily through preventative health education.
"The people were maybe a little suspicious at the beginning," he recalls. "They didn't know what I was doing at first. I didn't either," he laughed.
"But the people were wonderful," he added. "The average salary there is $30 a month, if you get paid, but the generosity was amazing. I met some very wonderful people. I made some really dear friends there."
He was soon working through the schools to prepare lesson plans and "by speaking broken Romanian," he admits, to help children learn about health.
McLaughlin said he gathered many special memories during the 21/2 years he spent in the country, but his most poignant was the day he gathered a group of seventh and eighth graders in a youth English Club around him. As McLaughlin played the guitar he taught the youngsters the Woody Guthrie tune "This Land Is Your Land."
"To me that was the epitome of what I thought the Peace Corps would be like," he said. "Sitting around singing with a bunch of kids."
He also helped get a grant for a youth center and assisted with a local water purification project. McLaughlin said his Peace Corps experience was special, something he would highly recommend to others. When his service there ended, McLaughlin and a friend traveled throughout Asia for a few months before returning to the United States.
After a stint teaching in an environmental education program in California, McLaughlin found himself in the Western Illinois University master's program. After a year of coursework he's now doing an 11-month internship in Du Quoin as a Peace Corps Fellow. When his stint in Perry County and a thesis are complete he'll have his master's degree.
What's next for McLaughlin and his summer bride, Shannon?
"I'm unsure of my plans," McLaughlin said with a shy smile. "We may go overseas. I definitely want to work in rural development, the environment and resource management. Probably something humanitarian."
mathis5@hcis.net
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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Moldova; Special Interests - Health Programs
