November 5, 2003 - Dayton Daily News: Letter to the Editor: Many had rewarding experiences by Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba

Peace Corps Online: Peace Corps News: Special Reports: October 26, 2003: Dayton Daily News reports on Peace Corps Safety and Security: Speaking Out: Letters to the Editor and Guest Commentary: November 5, 2003 - Dayton Daily News: Letter to the Editor: Many had rewarding experiences by Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba

By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-25-92.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.25.92) on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 9:31 am: Edit Post

Many had rewarding experiences by Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba



Many had rewarding experiences by Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba

Many had rewarding experiences

Letter to the Editor

Re: "Missing without a trace," Oct. 27: This article regarding Walter Poirier's disappearance is an incredibly biased and uninformed piece of journalism.

I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia from 1998 to 2000. What about all the satisfied, successful volunteers who had rewarding, life-changing experiences in Bolivia?

The Dayton Daily News only talked to people who terminated early because they had a negative experience of some kind. Is that a representative view of the Peace Corps?

Yes, some people go to their site with little experience. But many of us went there with significant experience, training and language skills. I learned Quechua, improved my Spanish, and learned more about small-scale agriculture and nutrition because I applied myself. And so did all my friends in the Peace Corps.

The ones who did not make the effort to learn and adapt are the ones who got the least out of the experience.

Yes, it's hard. We are in remote places with little contact with the outside world. That's where the people live who are most in need.

Half of the Peace Corps experience is learning to fit in and to live with the people.

Next time you do a story on the developing world, get a reporter who knows something about it. Poirier's story is a terrible, terrible tragedy but it doesn't mean that the Peace Corps is dysfunctional. Reactionary policy-making won't bring him back.

Turning the Peace Corps into summer camp is not going to help the Bolivian people (or any other country the Peace Corps serves) in any way.

Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba

Dorchester, Mass.

[From the Dayton Daily News: 11.04.2003]




Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.

Story Source: Dayton Daily News: Letter to the Editor

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Safety and Security of Volunteers; Investigative Journalism

PCOL8450
56

.


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. Enter your username and password if you have an account. Otherwise, enter your full name as your username and leave the password blank. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: