2009.11.06: November 6, 2009: Headlines: Obama: Expansion: Speaking Out: Ann Arbor Opinion: Tracey Cohen writes: Obama should keep his promise on Peace Corps

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Tracey Cohen writes: Obama should keep his promise on Peace Corps

Tracey Cohen writes: Obama should keep his promise on Peace Corps

Now that Barack Obama has won the election, I hope he'll remember something he said in his second debate with John McCain, namely that the United States should double the size of the Peace Corps. While others were focusing during the debates on what Obama was saying about the economy, Iraq or even Joe the Plumber, it was his promise about the Peace Corps that most caught my attention. Would I care so much about this program if I hadn't spent two years with the Peace Corps, seeing for myself the connections that can bind people even in places as different as Michigan and Namibia? I can't say for sure, any more than I can prove that Peace Corps helps the rest of the world know Americans are caring individuals rather than arrogant as we sometimes appear. I can only look at the tablet on my dresser and know that my experience was worthwhile, not only to Wesley and me, but to our countries as well. Barack Obama made me think about all of this when he spoke during the debates about the need to inspire Americans, particularly young Americans, through national service. He specifically endorsed the idea of doubling of the size of the Peace Corps, which has long enjoyed bipartisan support from Republicans as well as Democrats. We need such an effort to show our international neighbors that Americans are better than they have been portrayed over the past few years. Peace Corps exemplifies what's best in our hearts, changing lives for the better, both abroad and here at home.

Tracey Cohen writes: Obama should keep his promise on Peace Corps

Obama should keep his promise on Peace Corps

by The Ann Arbor News

Thursday November 06, 2008, 1:21 PM

By Tracey Cohen

Now that Barack Obama has won the election, I hope he'll remember something he said in his second debate with John McCain, namely that the United States should double the size of the Peace Corps.

While others were focusing during the debates on what Obama was saying about the economy, Iraq or even Joe the Plumber, it was his promise about the Peace Corps that most caught my attention.

I grew up in Oak Park and went to college in Ann Arbor before deciding at the age of 32 to make a radical change in my life. I joined the Peace Corps, which sent me to Namibia, along the Atlantic coast of southern Africa.

I was assigned to a primary school in a small village, where I assisted the teachers, established a library and organized field trips to the ocean and other places that most of them had never visited.

Wesley was one of my poorest students. His clothes were tattered and ill-fitting but neatly ironed. He often came to school without lunch.

Like many of the other students, his first requests of me were, "Give me a dollar." But soon the requests lessened. In his quiet way, he became one of my most eager students. He started taking computer classes and borrowing books from the library. When we tried new classes or groups, he was among the first to sign up.

For me, a white woman born and raised in Michigan, it was so satisfying to watch Wesley's confidence grow as I helped him. He started speaking English as well as Afrikaans and his native language Oshiwambo; I saw him reading English books during his leisure time.

In turn, he taught me how to greet others in Oshiwambo and often served as my interpreter when I needed help deciphering some of the other children's broken English or Afrikaans.

At the end of my service, we held a party for students in our environmental club. When the party was over, Wesley pulled me aside with an embarrassed look on his face and said, "I have something for Miss Tracey." To my surprise, he pulled out a colored tablet of paper, which he gave to me. I treasure it still and keep it on a dresser in my home where I am reminded of him daily.

Wesley was just one student for one Peace Corps volunteer serving in one country in Africa, but I think I made a difference in his life, and in how he and his family and neighbors now think about Americans. I know he made a difference in my life.

I now work for a local running company based in Ann Arbor. We're active in a program called Soles4Souls, which collects used shoes and distributes them globally to people in need, both internationally and here in the United States.

Would I care so much about this program if I hadn't spent two years with the Peace Corps, seeing for myself the connections that can bind people even in places as different as Michigan and Namibia? I can't say for sure, any more than I can prove that Peace Corps helps the rest of the world know Americans are caring individuals rather than arrogant as we sometimes appear. I can only look at the tablet on my dresser and know that my experience was worthwhile, not only to Wesley and me, but to our countries as well.

Barack Obama made me think about all of this when he spoke during the debates about the need to inspire Americans, particularly young Americans, through national service. He specifically endorsed the idea of doubling of the size of the Peace Corps, which has long enjoyed bipartisan support from Republicans as well as Democrats.

Since President Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, more than 190,000 volunteers have served in 139 countries. The current membership is about 8,000. Volunteers typically serve for 27 months, including their training, and a growing number of them are age 50 or older.

A national campaign called MorePeaceCorps seeks to double the size of the Peace Corps by the time it celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2011. Doing so would provide the volunteers and resources for more than 20 countries that have requested programs.

We need such an effort to show our international neighbors that Americans are better than they have been portrayed over the past few years. Peace Corps exemplifies what's best in our hearts, changing lives for the better, both abroad and here at home.




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Headlines: November, 2009; Presidents - Obama; Expansion; Speaking Out





When this story was posted in July 2009, this was on the front page of PCOL:




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Join Us Mr. President! Date: June 16 2009 No: 1377 Join Us Mr. President!
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Story Source: Ann Arbor Opinion

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Obama; Expansion; Speaking Out

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