As a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, Ann Varghese saw first hand how a little financial help went a long way to greatly improving the lives of local villagers



As a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, Ann Varghese saw first hand how a little financial help went a long way to greatly improving the lives of local villagers

Woman to speak on fighting world poverty
Mar 5, 2005 - Chicago Daily Herald
As a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, Ann Varghese saw first hand how a little financial help went a long way to greatly improving the lives of local villagers.

Varghese, now with Bread for the World, will share her experience as a Peace Corps volunteer and advocate for programs to fight global poverty and hunger at 9:30 a.m. March 13 at St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 250 Gary Ave., Carol Stream.

After returning from Cameroon and settling in Chicago last summer, Varghese said she knew she wanted to continue working in the international development field. Fortunately, Bread for the World had just started a one-year internship program to promote the organization and highlight the needs of the poor both in the United States and in other parts of the world.

"I've always been interested in other cultures," said Varghese, 26, who was born in India but immigrated to the U.S. with her parents as a baby.

While in the Peace Corps, she learned a great deal about the people of Cameroon and their every day struggles. One project she is particularly proud of was the installation of a water pump on a community farm at the outskirts of Tibati, where she lived in the northern province of Adamova.

"They had to walk miles and miles to get to their water source," she said.

But with the help of a grant from the Canadian government, Varghese and local residents bought and installed the pump that saved them time and energy every day. The cost for the entire project was about $3,000.

"It was a great way to see how development can be sustainable," she said.

Her experience in Cameroon has made her particularly aware of how funds are spent on overseas projects.

"A lot of people do just throw money at the problem," Varghese said.

But sometimes it is the smallest of efforts that make the biggest difference in people's daily lives.

Another project Varghese worked on was the distribution of mosquito nets to expectant mothers in an effort to reduce the maternal mortality rates in Cameroon. Malaria is a major health issue throughout much of Africa and during a pregnancy, it can be particularly devastating.

But Varghese didn't just give the mosquito nets away.

"Most women will not come in to see a doctor while they're pregnant unless there's an emergency," she said.

So Varghese had the women come in for three simple prenatal checkups at the regional hospital. On their third visit they received their mosquito net.

"They are only a few dollars," she said.

Such efforts are also being addressed by various international aid organizations that have banded together in the One campaign. This campaign has adopted the eight goals of the global Millennium Campaign to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases while improving the lives of women and developing international partnerships.

Bread for the World focuses on the issue of hunger by lobbying and educating policy makers, Varghese said.

In Cameroon, the residents are fortunate to have a climate conducive to growing a variety of crops and livestock. But even there people often do not have a balanced diet.

"It's not so much that there's a lack of food. It's that they live in poverty," she said. "They can't afford to buy what's there."

Web sites are at http://www.milleniumcampaign.org and http://www.bread.org/one with a list of the eight goals to eradicate poverty.

When this story was posted in April 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:


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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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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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