July 17, 2005: Headlines: Speaking Out: Older Volunteers: Marin Independent Journal: Beth Ashley asks: Why didn't I spend my life helping others?
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July 17, 2005: Headlines: Speaking Out: Older Volunteers: Marin Independent Journal: Beth Ashley asks: Why didn't I spend my life helping others?
Beth Ashley asks: Why didn't I spend my life helping others?
I am reminded of the generation that invested its ideals in the Peace Corps, leaving the pleasures of home for difficult places like Bangladesh, Malawi and India. And I felt stirrings of regret that I had never fulfilled a long-ago urge to change the world with unselfish service of my own. Life catches you up and bears you along and, before you know it, the opportunities are gone and your choices have dwindled to few. It's too late now for me to dig wells in Paraguay, or work in the East African bush.
Beth Ashley asks: Why didn't I spend my life helping others?
Beth Ashley: Wishing we could thank those who work to save the world
Staff Report
One night at the Marin County Fair, Larry Meredith and I talked a bit about his daughter, Caitlin.
A Mill Valley girl who will turn 30 in August, Caitlin now works in Darfur, Sudan, as an epidemiologist with the Holland division of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), the international agency that won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Meredith, who heads Marin's Health and Human Services Department, says he has mixed feelings: pride ... worry.
She is working in part of the Sudan where violence is commonplace and the challenges enormous. Recently, her colleagues responded to an outbreak of measles by vaccinating 60,000 children. "There are 50,000 children under 18 in Marin," he says. "Can you imagine the logistical nightmare?"
As an epidemiologist, Caitlin keeps records on disease and injury in the region, so humanitarian teams can plan their responses. Recently she prepared a report on treatment of women - particularly those who have been raped, then ostracized from Sudanese society - which led to the arrest of two agency leaders. The government said the report would undermine the nation's laws.
Larry and I sat on a cement wall at the fair, infinite miles from Darfur. The weather was balmy. Friends gave us hellos and hugs.
But our conversation stuck with me.
Young people today do remarkable things - eschewing personal comfort, risking their lives - to help humanity in the rest of the world
While many of us lead lives of pleasure and comfort, others have consciously sought to do otherwise.
I am reminded of the generation that invested its ideals in the Peace Corps, leaving the pleasures of home for difficult places like Bangladesh, Malawi and India.
And I felt stirrings of regret that I had never fulfilled a long-ago urge to change the world with unselfish service of my own.
Life catches you up and bears you along and, before you know it, the opportunities are gone and your choices have dwindled to few.
It's too late now for me to dig wells in Paraguay, or work in the East African bush.
In my teens, I felt at one with the rest of the world. In college, after World War II, I worked to establish an international center on our campus, and for six months after graduation gave talks on West Coast campuses that raised money for ruined universities overseas.
In my early 20s, I was offered a job with the World Student Service Fund in Geneva, but turned it down in favor of a more glamorous-sounding job as a reporter.
And so it went: along came marriage, children, other jobs.
My life has been happier than I could ever have dreamed.
But I still have a tinge of regret.
Why didn't I spend my life helping others?
How can we thank the Caitlins of this world, who are doing these jobs for the rest of us?
bashley@marinij.com.
When this story was posted in July 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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| American Taboo: A Peace Corps Tragedy Returned Volunteers met with author Philip Weiss in Baltimore on June 18 to discuss the murder of Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner. Weiss was a member of a panel that included three psychiatrists and a criminal attorney. Meanwhile, the Seattle U.S. Attorney's office announced that Dennis Priven cannot be retried for the murder. "We do not believe this case can be prosecuted by anyone, not only us, but in any other jurisdiction in the United States." Read background on the case here. |
| June 14: Peace Corps suspends Haiti program After Uzbekistan, the Peace Corps has announced the suspension of a second program this month - this time in Haiti. Background: The suspension comes after a US Embassy warning, a request from Tom Lantos' office, and the program suspension last year. For the record: PCOL supports Peace Corps' decision to suspend the two programs and commends the agency for the efficient way PCVs were evacuated safely. Our only concern now is with the placement of evacuated PCVs and the support they receive after interrupted service. |
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Story Source: Marin Independent Journal
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Speaking Out; Older Volunteers
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