2006.09.21: September 21, 2006: Headlines: COS - Mozambique: Burlington Times News: Shannon McCray is a Peace Corps volunteer who is leaving to begin a 27-month stay in Mozambique
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2006.09.21: September 21, 2006: Headlines: COS - Mozambique: Burlington Times News: Shannon McCray is a Peace Corps volunteer who is leaving to begin a 27-month stay in Mozambique
Shannon McCray is a Peace Corps volunteer who is leaving to begin a 27-month stay in Mozambique
In addition to leaving behind everyday luxuries, such as a hair dryer, the young woman, who sports a nose ring and facial piercing, said she is willing to alter her appearance to adapt to the native culture. “I'm willing to cover up or take out the earrings,” she said. “At least once a day, someone asks me if I'm nervous or scared,” she said, adding that she answers “no” to both questions. Although the limited vacation days may make it difficult to temporarily return home during her service commitment, she said she is hoping that family members and friends will travel to Africa to visit her there. “The Peace Corps encourages that,” she said.
Shannon McCray is a Peace Corps volunteer who is leaving to begin a 27-month stay in Mozambique
Lending a helping hand
By KRISTEN COPPOCK
Burlington County Times
Imagine leaving our Western land of plenty to live in an underdeveloped country where electricity is in short supply, education is scarce and the natives are still recovering from almost three decades of war on their soil.
For one Lumberton resident, that scenario is about to became reality.
Shannon McCray, 22, a recent graduate of The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in Ewing, is a Peace Corps volunteer, who is leaving Monday to begin a 27-month stay in Mo-zambique. There, she will teach English to and live among the poor country's native people and their community.
The Peace Corps is a volunteer service organization that sends Americans throughout the world to work on projects that establish educational, health, agricultural, youth outreach and business resources, as well as community development. Volunteers commit to serve in a foreign community for approximately two years. The countries served are all underdeveloped nations.
The journey for McCray, a 2002 graduate of Northern Burl-ington County Regional High School in Mansfield, began at TCNJ. Initially an education ma-jor, the former Columbus resident earned a bachelor's degree in criminology with thoughts of going to law school or taking graduate-level classes.
McCray also had taken classes for a degree minor in African Am-erican Studies. What she learned in these classes not only motivated her sense of travel, but also piqued her interest in working with minorities who are less fortunate.
“We learned a lot about African culture,” she said. “I got really interested in going to Africa.”
A 2002 winner of the Burlington County Times Teen Excellence award, McCray began considering signing on with the Peace Corps after meeting recruiters for the organization, who had set up a table with information at a fair on TCNJ campus for students weighing post-graduation options. McCray said the decision to fill out the application that led to her assignment wasn't a difficult one.
“I felt like I needed to do something bigger or more noble,” said McCray, a former writer for the Burlington County Times teen Voice section.
In addition to fulfilling a desire to make the world a better place, Peace Corps volunteers receive an allowance that allows them to live like the people they are working and living with, as well as medical and dental care, transportation to and from their host country, student loan deferment, money to transition back to the United States upon completion of their service and two vacation days for every month of service.
McCray, who has held a job on McGuire Air Force Base for more than four years, said her service will begin with a three-month training period, during which time she will be living with a host family and learning more about the country's culture and how to perform her job.
“My training is going to be
about becoming an effective teacher,” she said.
Once her training is complete, McCray will move into an independent living space. She said her home will most likely be either a house with a tin roof or a cement dwelling in need of repair. Since volunteers are not allowed to drive, she also expects to have to walk several miles to work each day.
In addition to leaving behind everyday luxuries, such as a hair dryer, the young woman, who sports a nose ring and facial piercing, said she is willing to alter her appearance to adapt to the native culture. “I'm willing to cover up or take out the earrings,” she said.
Established March 1, 1961, the Peace Corps is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year.
Currently, the organization has about 7,810 active volunteers and trainees, about a third of whom are dedicated to education, and serves 75 countries worldwide, including Mozambique.
The Peace Corps began sending volunteers to Mozambique in 1998. According to information supplied by the organization, the war-torn Afri-can nation is emerging from the aftermath nearly 30 years of conflict that devastated its infrastructure.
Close to 60 percent of the country's schools were either destroyed or closed during that time, according to the Peace Corps. Today, about 40 percent of Mozambique's school-age children regularly receive classroom instruction. The country's overall literacy rate is also about 40 percent.
In addition to time spent in classrooms, the Peace Corps' education volunteers in Mo-zambique also tutor, coach sports, organize school library committees, facilitate regional science fairs and direct theater productions.
McCray said although she has taken some Spanish and German classes as a high school and college student, she is now learning Portuguese, the main language of the Mozambique people, in preparation for her stay there. She said she has also researched the country, looking at its history, customs and what to expect.
“At least once a day, someone asks me if I'm nervous or scared,” she said, adding that she answers “no” to both questions.
McCray, whose family recently gave her an emotional going-away party, said she anticipates traveling during her time off to explore Mozambique and other nearby countries.
Although the limited vacation days may make it difficult to temporarily return home during her service commitment, she said she is hoping that family members and friends will travel to Africa to visit her there.
“The Peace Corps encourages that,” she said.
E-mail: KRISTEN COPPOCK
When this story was posted in October 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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Story Source: Burlington Times News
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