2007.09.17: September 17, 2007: Headlines: COS - Senegal: Older Volunteers: Christian Science Monitor: Diane Gallagher served as a Peace corps Volunteer in Senegal
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2007.09.17: September 17, 2007: Headlines: COS - Senegal: Older Volunteers: Christian Science Monitor: Diane Gallagher served as a Peace corps Volunteer in Senegal
Diane Gallagher served as a Peace corps Volunteer in Senegal
"My four children had graduated from college and had jobs and apartments," says Ms. Gallagher of Brookline, Mass. "It was time to give back the gifts I had received." That desire to give back led to an adventurous choice: joining the Peace Corps at a stage when many people would consider such a step impossible. In 1990 she was assigned to the Republic of Cape Verde, 380 miles off the coast of Senegal in West Africa. "I rented out the condo, sold the car, gave the cat to a cousin, said goodbye to my children, and got on the plane at Logan, not looking back," she says. "My son and daughter were watching me go through the gate. It was very hard, but I knew they would be OK, and I knew I would be OK. Sometimes you just have to trust."
Diane Gallagher served as a Peace corps Volunteer in Senegal
Peace Corps recruits older volunteers
More retirees and grandparents are finding fulfillment in serving overseas.
By Marilyn Gardner | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the September 19, 2007 edition
Caption: Diane Gallagher joined the Peace Corps in her 50s. She was assigned to the Republic of Cape Verde, where she helped to establish a women's sewing association. Photo: Nicole Hill
[Excerpt]
Diane Gallagher was in her early 50s and divorced when she faced a question common to many empty-nesters: What's next?
"My four children had graduated from college and had jobs and apartments," says Ms. Gallagher of Brookline, Mass. "It was time to give back the gifts I had received."
That desire to give back led to an adventurous choice: joining the Peace Corps at a stage when many people would consider such a step impossible. In 1990 she was assigned to the Republic of Cape Verde, 380 miles off the coast of Senegal in West Africa.
"I rented out the condo, sold the car, gave the cat to a cousin, said goodbye to my children, and got on the plane at Logan, not looking back," she says. "My son and daughter were watching me go through the gate. It was very hard, but I knew they would be OK, and I knew I would be OK. Sometimes you just have to trust."
Gallagher began giving back by helping Cape Verdean women form a sewing association and find grant money to buy fabric and thread. Old Singer sewing machines hummed as the women stitched maternity clothes. Word spread, and people from other islands came to buy.
So successful was the venture that when Gallagher returned for a visit two years later, the sewing association was still operating. "Three others had been started, along with one school," she says with obvious satisfaction.
Life was reduced to basics. She slept on a mattress made of cement bags and had no running water, no electricity, no TV. "But I had everything," she says. "I was humbled by the experience, and by the people I worked with and for, with their courage and their commitment."
Gallagher found advantages in being an older volunteer. "You get a lot more done because they respect age," she says. "They looked at my wrinkles and said, 'She's got to be very wise. She's got a lot of them.' "
Still, she does not minimize the challenges. "For an older volunteer, it's really a big commitment. You're giving up your way of life, but you're learning about another way of life."
Going through the medical exam process was "very hard," she says. She also calls the three months of in-country training "grueling," adding, "It's not a walk on the beach, it's not Club Med."
Two weeks ago Gallagher, now an archivist at Boston University's Gotlieb Archival Center, received a presidential volunteer service award, the highest award for volunteer service.
Summing up the advantages of reaching out to others, she says, "People over 50 years of age have so much to give, so much to teach."
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: September, 2007; Peace Corps Senegal; Directory of Senegal RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Senegal RPCVs; Older Volunteers
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Story Source: Christian Science Monitor
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Senegal; Older Volunteers
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