January 14, 2005: Headlines: COS - Benin: Environment: World Wise Schools: Third Goal: South Coast Today: Sean Maloney stayed in a village called Guene in the northern part of Benin for two years working as an environmental action volunteer
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January 14, 2005: Headlines: COS - Benin: Environment: World Wise Schools: Third Goal: South Coast Today: Sean Maloney stayed in a village called Guene in the northern part of Benin for two years working as an environmental action volunteer
Sean Maloney stayed in a village called Guene in the northern part of Benin for two years working as an environmental action volunteer
Sean Maloney stayed in a village called Guene in the northern part of Benin for two years working as an environmental action volunteer
Students hear Peace Corps volunteer's story
By ASHLEY LOPES, Standard-Times correspondent
Caption: Sean Maloney speaks to Hastings Middle School students at the Rogers School in Fairhaven yesterday. He first met them two years ago before he entered the Peace Corps. Photo: ANDREW T. GALLAGHER/Standard-Times special
FAIRHAVEN -- Sean Maloney has traveled around the world and is back again to share his adventures with the students of the Rogers School.
Matthew Wordell, a sixth-grader at the Rogers School, gathered with his classmates in the gymnasium yesterday to welcome home their pen pal from the Peace Corps.
During his visit, children were shown slides and got a firsthand look at what the job of a volunteer is really like and the rewards that come with it.
"The most interesting part of his job was that he got to help so many people. I think that's really cool," Matthew said.
Mr. Maloney got the call to join the Peace Corps in December 2000. "I decided to volunteer because I wanted to discover a new and different country and live the way that they live."
He stayed in a village called Guene in the northern part of Benin for two years and three months, working as an environmental action volunteer. His many jobs included tree planting, natural resource management and trash cleanup.
The thing Mr. Maloney enjoyed most about his experience in Benin is that although he was a stranger in a strange land, he was not treated as such.
"The people there were super welcoming," he said. "We got on great, and I became part of their community. It was so hard for me to leave."
In a place with no running water or electricity, and where he lived in a mud brick house, he found a place to call home.
Although he has left Africa, there are some customs he has brought home with him.
"I still have a hard time eating with a fork. I always take my shoes off when I enter a house. I greet people constantly and always ask about their family. Family is a big deal there and it commonly becomes the topic of discussion."
Mr. Maloney affirms that the Peace Corps was a positive experience for him.
"Through the Peace Corps, I learned to look at things through the eyes of these villagers. I learned patience, gained a new respect for their culture, and learned a lot more about myself along the way."
This was a learning experience for the villagers as well as for him.
"What I hoped to take home to the students is a perspective on life in the village compared to their own, to see how other cultures live and to promote the Peace Corps and the wonderful work they do," he said.
Mr. Maloney's work served as an inspiration for many children.
"I believe his work makes a difference because he is making Benin a better place to live for so many people," Matthew said. "I would definitely want to volunteer some day."
When this story was posted in January 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
 | Latest: RPCVs and Peace Corps provide aid Peace Corps made an appeal last week to all Thailand RPCV's to consider serving again through the Crisis Corps and more than 30 RPCVs have responded so far. RPCVs: Read what an RPCV-led NGO is doing about the crisis an how one RPCV is headed for Sri Lanka to help a nation he grew to love. Question: Is Crisis Corps going to send RPCVs to India, Indonesia and nine other countries that need help? |
 | The World's Broken Promise to our Children Former Director Carol Bellamy, now head of Unicef, says that the appalling conditions endured today by half the world's children speak to a broken promise. Too many governments are doing worse than neglecting children -- they are making deliberate, informed choices that hurt children. Read her op-ed and Unicef's report on the State of the World's Children 2005. |
 | Our debt to Bill Moyers Former Peace Corps Deputy Director Bill Moyers leaves PBS next week to begin writing his memoir of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Read what Moyers says about journalism under fire, the value of a free press, and the yearning for democracy. "We have got to nurture the spirit of independent journalism in this country," he warns, "or we'll not save capitalism from its own excesses, and we'll not save democracy from its own inertia." |
 | Is Gaddi Leaving? Rumors are swirling that Peace Corps Director Vasquez may be leaving the administration. We think Director Vasquez has been doing a good job and if he decides to stay to the end of the administration, he could possibly have the same sort of impact as a Loret Ruppe Miller. If Vasquez has decided to leave, then Bob Taft, Peter McPherson, Chris Shays, or Jody Olsen would be good candidates to run the agency. Latest: For the record, Peace Corps has no comment on the rumors. |
 | The Birth of the Peace Corps UMBC's Shriver Center and the Maryland Returned Volunteers hosted Scott Stossel, biographer of Sargent Shriver, who spoke on the Birth of the Peace Corps. This is the second annual Peace Corps History series - last year's speaker was Peace Corps Director Jack Vaughn. |
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Story Source: South Coast Today
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Benin; Environment; World Wise Schools; Third Goal
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