As part of International Awareness Week, Henry McKoy, the presidential-appointed Peace Corps regional director for Africa, came to Clemson to share the benefits of joining the Peace Corps



As part of International Awareness Week, Henry McKoy, the presidential-appointed Peace Corps regional director for Africa, came to Clemson to share the benefits of joining the Peace Corps

Director visits campus

by Julie Ledbetter and Jenny Mason

Published Friday, April 8, 2005

Director visits campus


As part of International Awareness Week, Henry McKoy, the presidential-appointed Peace Corps regional director for Africa, came to Clemson to share the benefits of joining the Peace Corps.

McKoy's lecture, entitled "Peace Corps in the 21st century," was held in Tillman Auditorium on Wednesday. Mary Miller, the special assistant to the provost and personal friend of McKoy, introduced him.

"He seeks to represent and foster dignity in all of us," Miller said of McKoy. "He sees the value in every person; he sees the big picture," she added.

As regional director for Africa, McKoy is in charge of 2,500 volunteers in 62 different nations. He spends five months each year traveling and talking to local African officials to make sure volunteers are safe, healthy and doing their jobs.

McKoy said that America is seen as a compassionate group of people who care about the world, and that it is viewed number one economically in the world. Because of this, he says it is our duty and our responsibility to help our community.

"There is no better time than now to have people engaged in service," he said.

Right now there are 7,500 Peace Corps volunteers in 70 different countries. Of those 7,500, 18 are Clemson alumni. Since former President Kennedy started the program in 1961, there have been 165,000 volunteers.

To join the Peace Corps, students must have already graduated from college. Volunteers serve for a 27-month period. Three of those months the volunteers spend training and then they serve in an assigned country for two years.

John Eaves, regional office manager for the southeast, said that they are looking for students in any field, but especially in those in education and agriculture. He added that most students who graduate from Clemson meet the intellectual requirements. Miller agreed, saying that what students study at Clemson helps them face challenges that they may encounter while volunteering.

Volunteers are chosen by a process that involves an application, interview and a medical evaluation. The process takes about six to nine months in all.

Volunteers are not able choose which country they will work in, but they can make regional preferences. Eaves said placement decisions are based on the needs of the country and the applicant's background, strengths, interests and passions.

Volunteers are only assigned countries that are politically stable because keeping the volunteers safe is the highest priority, said McKoy. He said he recently had to evacuate two countries, Madagascar and the Ivory Coast, because of political conflicts.
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The Peace Corps Library Peace Corps Online is proud to announce that the Peace Corps Library is now available online. With over 30,000 index entries in 500 categories, this is the largest collection of Peace Corps related stories in the world. From Acting to Zucchini, you can find hundreds of stories about what RPCVs with your same interests or from your Country of Service are doing today. If you have a web site, support the "Peace Corps Library" and link to it today.

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RPCVs and Friends remember Pope John Paul II Tony Hall found the pope to be courageous and capable of forgiving the man who shot him in 1981, Mark Gearan said the pope was as dynamic in person as he appears on television, Maria Shriver said he was a beacon of virtue, strength and goodness, and an RPCV who met the pope while serving in the Solomon Islands said he possessed the holiness of a man filled with a deep love and concern for humanity. Leave your thoughts here.

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Friends of the Peace Corps 170,000 strong 170,000 is a very special number for the RPCV community - it's the number of Volunteers who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961. It's also a number that is very special to us because March is the first month since our founding in January, 2001 that our readership has exceeded 170,000. And while we know that not everyone who comes to this site is an RPCV, they are all "Friends of the Peace Corps." Thanks everybody for making PCOL your source of news for the Returned Volunteer community.

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This Month's Feature Stories - only on PCOL Dream Come True - Revisiting India after 34 years The Coyne Column: Read Winning Vanity Fair PCV Essay Tomas Belsky's paintings inspired by service in Brazil RPCV reunites with friend after 40 years RPCV reviews "Los Heraldos Negros" by Cesar Vallejo Photo Essay: Taking it to the Streets

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April 3, 2005: This Week's Top Stories Ralph White suspended for opening locked gates 2 Apr The Coyne Column: Events in Kyrgyzstan 2 Apr Timothy J. O’Brien suggests Korea increase publicity 1 Apr Danielle Wain deals with dry areas in Uganda 1 Apr Chris Matthews says Schiavo's Dad having "Good Time" 1 Apr Chris Dodd to reintroduce workers protection act 1 Apr Steven Lawry named president of Antioch College 31 Mar Matt Sesow shines light on grief and pain of war 31 Mar Kinky Friedman Preps for Gubernatorial Run 30 Mar Police travel to Tonga with RPCV 28 Mar Randall L. Tobias speaks at PC Headquarters 28 Mar NBC apologizes to Turkey for West Wing episode 28 Mar Jim Doyle proposes domestic partner benefit 27 Mar University to name library auditorium for Elaine Chao 26 Mar Rockefeller says every young American should serve 26 Mar Chris Shays calls Republicans "party of theocracy" 25 Mar Norm Coleman to visit South America 25 Mar

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April 3, 2005: RPCV Groups in the News Houston RPCVs sponsor "Around the World in a Day"on April 6 25 Mar Vasquez to visit DePaul University on April 6 22 Mar Henry McKoy speaks at Clemson University April 6 1 Apr Minnesota RPCVs need Photos for Exhibition 24 Mar Maryland RPCVs eat crab cakes in Annapolis 17 Mar Connecticut RPCVs held fundraiser on March 5 3 Mar RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

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Crisis Corps arrives in Thailand After the Tsunami in Southeast Asia last December, Peace Corps issued an appeal for Crisis Corps Volunteers and over 200 RPCVs responded. The first team of 8 Crisis Corps volunteers departed for Thailand on March 18 to join RPCVs who are already supporting relief efforts in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and India with other agencies and NGO's.

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RPCVs in Congress ask colleagues to support PC RPCVs Sam Farr, Chris Shays, Thomas Petri, James Walsh, and Mike Honda have asked their colleagues in Congress to add their names to a letter they have written to the House Foreign Operations Subcommittee, asking for full funding of $345 M for the Peace Corps in 2006. As a follow-on to Peace Corps week, please read the letter and call your Representative in Congress and ask him or her to add their name to the letter.

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Add your info now to the RPCV Directory Call Harris Publishing at 800-414-4608 right away to add your name or make changes to your listing in the newest edition of the NPCA's Directory of Peace Corps Volunteers and Former Staff. Then read our story on how you can get access to the book after it is published. The deadline for inclusion is May 16 so call now.

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March 1: National Day of Action Tuesday, March 1, is the NPCA's National Day of Action. Please call your Senators and ask them to support the President's proposed $27 Million budget increase for the Peace Corps for FY2006 and ask them to oppose the elimination of Perkins loans that benefit Peace Corps volunteers from low-income backgrounds. Follow this link for step-by-step information on how to make your calls. Then take our poll and leave feedback on how the calls went.

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