Cameroon RPCV Edwin J. says Returned Peace Corps volunteers (RPCVs) are the kind of people who keep on giving, so Peace Corps has institutionalized this trend by forming Crisis Corps



Construed quite narrowly as a foreign aid program, Peace Corps is completely free of corruption and remarkably efficient. Our government is spending about $40,000 per volunteer, per year. That $40,000 pays for Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C., for recruiting offices throughout the United Sateas, for field offices in each of the countries served, for transporting the volunteers to and from their host countries, for three months of intensive training in-country (during which the trainers outnumber the volunteers), for medical support for the volunteers, for living allowances in country, and for a resettlement allowance of $6,000 at the end of service.


Cameroon RPCV Edwin J. says Returned Peace Corps volunteers (RPCVs) are the kind of people who keep on giving, so Peace Corps has institutionalized this trend by forming Crisis Corps

Peace Corps' impact endures after 45 years of service


On 1 March 1961, after only 40 days in office, President John F. Kennedy signed into law his proposal for Peace Corps. Forty-five years later, its mission remains unchanged and as vital as ever. That mission includes helping the people of interested countries in meeting their needs for trained men and women; helping to promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served; and helping to promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of all Americans.

Over the years, about 182,000 Peace Corps volunteers have served in 138 countries around the world. Currently, with a budget of $317 million, the Peace Corps supports about 7,800 volunteers in 71 countries, with the typical volunteer serving for two years. Construed quite narrowly as a foreign aid program, Peace Corps is completely free of corruption and remarkably efficient. Our government is spending about $40,000 per volunteer, per year. That $40,000 pays for Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C., for recruiting offices throughout the United Sateas, for field offices in each of the countries served, for transporting the volunteers to and from their host countries, for three months of intensive training in-country (during which the trainers outnumber the volunteers), for medical support for the volunteers, for living allowances in country, and for a resettlement allowance of $6,000 at the end of service.

That narrow view of Peace Corps as foreign aid only talks to the first point of the mission statement above. Peace Corps has had much greater impact in educating Americans about other countries and in educating the citizens of other countries about the United States.

My wife, Janice, and I served in Cameroon for two years, from 1995 to 1997, and returned for two months in the summer 2003. In our time there, we met many people. To a person, they had had Peace Corps volunteers as teachers, and to a person they had the highest regard for the United States because of their exposure to Peace Corps volunteers. Since our return to the United States, we have given many formal and informal presentations about Cameroon and our marvelous experiences there.

Returned Peace Corps volunteers (RPCVs) are the kind of people who keep on giving, so Peace Corps has institutionalized this trend by forming Crisis Corps. Open to returned Peace Corps volunteers, it supports shorter-term foreign service on an emergency basis. Peace Corps and Crisis Corps have always been intended to help foreign countries. In a very unusual departure, during the crisis precipitated by Hurricane Katrina, Crisis Corps recruited and dispatched 240 RPCVs to Louisiana and Mississippi, the first time that Crisis Corps volunteers have served domestically.

On four days' notice, in an interesting reprise of her Peace Corps service, which required extensive application, references, and medical screening, Janice flew to Orlando, Fla., for four days of intensive training. After some interesting adventures involving Hurricane Rita near Pass Christian, Miss., and then threats of Rita-spawned tornadoes north of Gulfport, Miss., she and six other RPCVs camped out for the next three weeks on the floor of a room in a community center in Hattiesburg, Miss. From this base, they staffed a disaster relief center to provide relief to the beleaguered local residents, as well as residents of New Orleans who had found temporary shelter nearby. Just like her Peace Corps service, this Crisis Corps service was of great benefit to the people she served, and it tremendously enriched her life.

As Janice and I look back over the 45 years since the founding of Peace Corps, we marvel at how quickly the legislation authorizing Peace Corps was passed, how thoughtfully the legislation was formulated, and how profound and enduring has been its effect.

Edwin J. is a Bethlehem resident and a professor of computer science and engineering at Lehigh University.

When this story was posted in March 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

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March 1, 1961: Keeping Kennedy's Promise On March 1, 1961, President John F. Kennedy issues Executive Order #10924, establishing the Peace Corps as a new agency: "Life in the Peace Corps will not be easy. There will be no salary and allowances will be at a level sufficient only to maintain health and meet basic needs. Men and women will be expected to work and live alongside the nationals of the country in which they are stationed--doing the same work, eating the same food, talking the same language. But if the life will not be easy, it will be rich and satisfying. For every young American who participates in the Peace Corps--who works in a foreign land--will know that he or she is sharing in the great common task of bringing to man that decent way of life which is the foundation of freedom and a condition of peace. "

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The Peace Corps Library The Peace Corps Library is now available online with over 40,000 index entries in 500 categories. Looking for a Returned Volunteer? Check our RPCV Directory. New: Sign up to receive PCOL Magazine, our free Monthly Magazine by email. Like to keep up with Peace Corps news as it happens? Sign up to recieve a daily summary of Peace Corps stories from around the world.

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Top Stories: February 2, 2006 Al Kamen writes: Rice to redeploy diplomats 20 Jan Peace Corps mourns the Loss of Volunteer Tessa Horan 1 Feb RPCV pursues dreams in America's Heartland 1 Feb Sargent Shriver documentary to be shown in LA 30 Jan W. Frank Fountain is new board chairman of Africare 27 Jan Abbey Brown writes about acid attacks in Bangladesh 26 Jan Christopher Hill Sees Ray of Hope in N.Korea Standoff 26 Jan Jeffrey Smit writes on one man diplomatic outposts 25 Jan Joe Blatchford's ACCION and microfinance 24 Jan James Rupert writes: A calculated risk in Pakistan 23 Jan Sam Farr rips conservative immigration bill 21 Jan Americans campaign for PC to return to Sierra Leone 20 Jan Kinky Friedman supports Gay Marriage 20 Jan Margaret Krome writes on Women leaders 18 Jan James Walsh leads bipartisan US delegation to Ireland 17 Jan Mark Schneider writes on Elections and Beyond in Haiti 16 Jan Robert Blackwill on a "serious setback" in US-India relations 13 Jan Kevin Quigley writes on PC and U.S. Image Abroad 13 Jan Emily Metzloff rides bicycle 3,100 miles from Honduras 9 Jan Charles Brennick starts operation InterConnection 9 Jan Lee Fisher tells story of Pablo Morillo 7 Jan Nancy Wallace writes: Was PC a CIA front after all? 4 Jan

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Paid Vacations in the Third World? Retired diplomat Peter Rice has written a letter to the Wall Street Journal stating that Peace Corps "is really just a U.S. government program for paid vacations in the Third World." Director Vasquez has responded that "the small stipend volunteers receive during their two years of service is more than returned in the understanding fostered in communities throughout the world and here at home." What do RPCVs think?

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RPCV admits to abuse while in Peace Corps Timothy Ronald Obert has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor in Costa Rica while serving there as a Peace Corps volunteer. "The Peace Corps has a zero tolerance policy for misconduct that violates the law or standards of conduct established by the Peace Corps," said Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez. Could inadequate screening have been partly to blame? Mr. Obert's resume, which he had submitted to the Peace Corps in support of his application to become a Peace Corps Volunteer, showed that he had repeatedly sought and obtained positions working with underprivileged children. Read what RPCVs have to say about this case.

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Military Option sparks concerns The U.S. military, struggling to fill its voluntary ranks, is allowing recruits to meet part of their reserve military obligations after active duty by serving in the Peace Corps. Read why there is opposition to the program among RPCVs. Director Vasquez says the agency has a long history of accepting qualified applicants who are in inactive military status. John Coyne says "Not only no, but hell no!" and RPCV Chris Matthews leads the debate on "Hardball." Avi Spiegel says Peace Corps is not the place for soldiers while Coleman McCarthy says to Welcome Soldiers to the Peace Corps. Read our poll results. Latest: Congress passed a bill on December 22 including language to remove Peace Corps from the National Call to Service (NCS) military recruitment program

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Why blurring the lines puts PCVs in danger When the National Call to Service legislation was amended to include Peace Corps in December of 2002, this country had not yet invaded Iraq and was not in prolonged military engagement in the Middle East, as it is now. Read the story of how one volunteer spent three years in captivity from 1976 to 1980 as the hostage of a insurrection group in Colombia in Joanne Marie Roll's op-ed on why this legislation may put soldier/PCVs in the same kind of danger. Latest: Read the ongoing dialog on the subject.

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PC establishes awards for top Volunteers Gaddi H. Vasquez has established the Kennedy Service Awards to honor the hard work and service of two current Peace Corps Volunteers, two returned Peace Corps Volunteers, and two Peace Corps staff members. The award to currently serving volunteers will be based on a demonstration of impact, sustainability, creativity, and catalytic effect. Submit your nominations by December 9.

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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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