RPCV Shaun McNally is a candidate for Congress in Connecticut's 2nd district
From 1982 to 1984, I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia, West Africa. Today, in honor of National Peace Corps Week, I am called to reflect on my service and on the vision that Peace Corps offers for a better world.
Early in my service, I visited a remote village to talk with farmers. When I arrived, the chief gave me a warm welcome and asked me to visit his home. It was a small hut, hand-made from mud, saplings, and thatch. After our initial greeting, he invited me inside, eager to show me the fellow American who had preceded me. Hanging proudly on the wall was a framed photograph of former president John Kennedy.
Though nearly twenty years had passed since President Kennedy's death, his face still shined like a beacon of good will, opportunity, and peace.
As a tough cold warrior, President Kennedy understood the importance of military might. But he also knew that military strength alone would not win the Cold War. He understood that America's greatest power rests in our values-and in the promise that comes from sharing our values with the world. President Kennedy knew then what we must remember today: that through friendship, help, and hope, we serve the cause of freedom.
The Peace Corps is founded on three powerfully simple goals: To help other countries meet their need for trained men and women; to give Americans an opportunity to learn about other people and other cultures; and to promote a better understanding of Americans and American values around the world.
The legacy of Peace Corps is impressive. Since 1961, over 170,000 men and women have served in 137 countries. While the average Peace Corps volunteer is under 30 years old, 6% of volunteers are over 50. The oldest volunteer is 84 years old. More than half of all Peace Corps volunteers are women, and nearly one in six represent minority groups.
Right now, from Botswana to Belize, more than 7,500 Peace Corps volunteers are teaching in schools, helping in clinics, working with farmers, and training small businesses. These volunteers not only help meet critical needs in host countries. They teach people to help themselves so that change continues long after the volunteers return home.
Peace Corps volunteers build bridges across cultures-bridges to tolerance, friendship, and ultimately peace. Like the village chief I met two decades ago in Liberia, people around the world have gained their image of America through meeting Peace Corps volunteers. Their voices help to eradicate the ignorance that fosters hatred, anger, hostility, and violence.
The experiences of Peace Corps volunteers have had a lasting impact on our nation and our world. Peace Corps volunteers are Senators, scholars, teachers, and community leaders. They return from their service with an appreciation and understanding of other people's cultures, religions, and governments. And they lead with the humility and respect that these people deserve-a perspective we need now, more than ever.
My life was forever changed in the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps taught me to rely on common sense, hard work, and independent judgment. It gave me a pragmatic, optimistic approach to problem-solving. It taught me to cherish the freedoms I had taken for granted. Most importantly, it cemented my faith that we are bound by a common humanity that is stronger and more powerful than the forces that divide us. The Peace Corps was the first time I answered the call to service. But it has not been the last.
A final footnote. In 1997, I was honored to return to Liberia to serve as a presidential election observer. A decade of war had left over 250,000 dead and created over 1 million refugees. Everywhere, citizens told stories of horrible atrocities committed by rival factions and child warriors.
Working along the Sierra Leone border, conditions were tense. Yet, each time we told the villagers that we were former Peace Corps volunteers returning to help in this small way, we were asked if we knew a former volunteer who had touched the villagers' lives. Smiles and handshakes followed. I felt as safe and welcome as my days before the war.
These bonds of friendship and respect are stronger than military assistance and diplomatic treaties, things to consider in these difficult days.
President Kennedy had a great idea in 1961. He will have my everlasting thanks.
Shaun McNally is a candidate for Congress in Connecticut's 2nd district.
