2008.01.02: January 2, 2008: Headlines: COS - Kenya: Safety: Chicago Tribune: With riots sweeping through much of Kenya in the wake of a disputed presidential election, Peace Corps volunteer Claire Schuenke's two-year mission there may have gotten a little more complicated

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Kenya: Peace Corps Kenya : Peace Corps Kenya: Newest Stories: 2007.01.05: January 5, 2007: Headlines: COS - Kenya: Safety: VOA: Peace Corps Evacuates Volunteers from Western Kenya : 2008.01.02: January 2, 2008: Headlines: COS - Kenya: Safety: Chicago Tribune: With riots sweeping through much of Kenya in the wake of a disputed presidential election, Peace Corps volunteer Claire Schuenke's two-year mission there may have gotten a little more complicated

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With riots sweeping through much of Kenya in the wake of a disputed presidential election, Peace Corps volunteer Claire Schuenke's two-year mission there may have gotten a little more complicated

With riots sweeping through much of Kenya in the wake of a disputed presidential election, Peace Corps volunteer Claire Schuenke's two-year mission there may have gotten a little more complicated

With riots sweeping through much of Kenya in the wake of a disputed presidential election, Peace Corps volunteer Claire Schuenke's two-year mission there may have gotten a little more complicated. Home for the holidays, the 23-year-old Park Ridge native is nonetheless planning to return Sunday to complete the final months of her service. "I haven't heard anything from Peace Corps," she said Monday while visiting relatives in Wisconsin. "I have to fly into Nairobi, so I'm not very excited about that, but I think I'll be fine." Alone in a no-frills abode, her lifestyle may be no less challenging than her mission. A step up from the cow-dung huts many villagers inhabit, her small concrete home has no running water or bathroom. Amenities include intermittent electricity, a backyard pit latrine and an outdoor bucket shower stall. "I was surprised that she wanted to give up her pampered life here in America for how she lives over there," said her mother, Margaret Schuenke. "At first I was upset to see how my daughter was living, but then I could see. . .she was very content."

With riots sweeping through much of Kenya in the wake of a disputed presidential election, Peace Corps volunteer Claire Schuenke's two-year mission there may have gotten a little more complicated

Kenyan unrest won't stop Park Ridge Peace Corps volunteer

By Robert Channick | Special to the Tribune

January 2, 2008

Caption: A riot police officer looks on as people flee the area of ethnic violence in Nairobi January 2, 2008. President Mwai Kibaki's government accused rival Raila Odinga's party of unleashing "genocide" in Kenya on Wednesday as the death toll from tribal violence over a disputed election passed 300. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer

With riots sweeping through much of Kenya in the wake of a disputed presidential election, Peace Corps volunteer Claire Schuenke's two-year mission there may have gotten a little more complicated. Home for the holidays, the 23-year-old Park Ridge native is nonetheless planning to return Sunday to complete the final months of her service.

"I haven't heard anything from Peace Corps," she said Monday while visiting relatives in Wisconsin. "I have to fly into Nairobi, so I'm not very excited about that, but I think I'll be fine."

Stationed about 360 miles west of the capital, Nairobi, she has spent the past 18 months in the small village of Migori, which has not been immune from the violence, according to officials. Residents there overwhelmingly supported opposition leader Raila Odinga, who lost his bid last weekend to unseat Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki amid accusations of vote-rigging.

"A couple of days before I left, Raila had come into Migori, and everyone just about freaked out in support of him," Schuenke said. "I knew if Raila didn't win, people would not be happy."

Safely ensconced at her family's home in the northwest suburbs since mid-December, Schuenke is 8,000 miles and a world apart from the Spartan existence she has been leading during her health mission on the hardscrabble fringes of the African bush.

"I just love that [here] I can wake up in the middle of the night and go to the bathroom; I don't have to go outside," she said. "I love that there's running water and constant electricity."

Attached to the Kenya Red Cross, it is her first visit home since she graduated from Marquette University in June 2006. Inspired to public health service by a professor with whom she traveled on a mission to Guatemala, Schuenke signed up for the Peace Corps and was whisked away within days of receiving her diploma.

Home to the polygamist Luo tribe, the remote village near Lake Victoria in southwestern Kenya has one of the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates in the East African nation, according to officials. Holding seminars for women's groups—composed mainly of AIDS widows—Schuenke operates with relative autonomy, grappling with language and cultural barriers in an attempt to change unsafe practices.

"I feel like I am an ambassador of good health," said Schuenke, whose service runs through July.

Alone in a no-frills abode, her lifestyle may be no less challenging than her mission. A step up from the cow-dung huts many villagers inhabit, her small concrete home has no running water or bathroom. Amenities include intermittent electricity, a backyard pit latrine and an outdoor bucket shower stall.

"You get acclimated because you have no choice," said Schuenke. "You can either get acclimated or you can go home."

Launched by President John F. Kennedy's call to live and work in developing countries, more than 190,000 volunteers have served in the Peace Corps over its 46-year history. Currently, there are 8,079 volunteers in the field, the most since 1970, according to officials.

Paid a stipend, volunteers receive a $6,000 lump sum upon completion of their service. While vacation time is accrued, they receive no financial assistance or encouragement to return home during their mission.

"If you think about the Peace Corps experience, it's about cultural immersion," said Erika Eckstrom, a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based organization. "If you break that up, you don't get the same kind of cultural immersion that you would if you just stayed put in the village."

Families are invited to visit the volunteers, and Schuenke's mother, father and older brother did for six days in June.

"I was surprised that she wanted to give up her pampered life here in America for how she lives over there," said her mother, Margaret Schuenke. "At first I was upset to see how my daughter was living, but then I could see. . .she was very content."

Set to fly back to Kenya on Sunday, she has a busy agenda for her final months of service, including a new grant-funded educational program she plans to institute.




Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: January, 2008; Peace Corps Kenya; Directory of Kenya RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Kenya RPCVs; Safety and Security of Volunteers





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Story Source: Chicago Tribune

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Kenya; Safety

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