The culture shock of coming back home this July to extravagance and excess has been more unsettling, he said, than going to a small, poor rural village in South America in the first place. "In some senses, some of my habits have changed. I think every time I have something, I have a hard time throwing something away," he said. Now Montague wants to start a Mississippi group of returned Peace Corps volunteers who would work on small development projects right here at home. "In Mississippi, I would like to have reforestation projects and cleanup projects," he said. This fall, Montague worked with a group of returned Peace Corps volunteers in Louisiana who replanted native vegetation in bayous destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Montague said a returned volunteer never stops being a part of the Peace Corps.
Paraguay RPCV Brett Montague wants to start a Mississippi group of returned Peace Corps volunteers who would work on small development projects right here at home
Peace Corps volunteer looks to start local group
By VALERIE WELLS
Caption: Brett Montague points out the state of Caaguazu he worked in on a map he brought back from Paraguay during his Peace Corps travels. Photo: Rebecca Latimer | Hattiesburg American
Readapting to life at home in Hattiesburg has not been easy for Brett Montague, who spent 18 months as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay.
"I went native," said Montague, 26. "When I came back here and saw all this traffic, nice cars, 40-inch plasma TVs. ... It was too much. Your values change. That happened to me. It's been a challenge."
The culture shock of coming back home this July to extravagance and excess has been more unsettling, he said, than going to a small, poor rural village in South America in the first place.
"In some senses, some of my habits have changed. I think every time I have something, I have a hard time throwing something away," he said.
Now Montague wants to start a Mississippi group of returned Peace Corps volunteers who would work on small development projects right here at home.
"In Mississippi, I would like to have reforestation projects and cleanup projects," he said. This fall, Montague worked with a group of returned Peace Corps volunteers in Louisiana who replanted native vegetation in bayous destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
"Peace Corps is a grassroots development organization. You start at the bottom," he said.
The Peace Corps is an independent U.S. federal agency that was founded in 1961. About 8,000 volunteers are serving in 139 countries. Sixteen volunteers from Mississippi currently are serving. Since 1961, 411 Mississippians have been in the Peace Corps.
Montague met several other local returned Peace Corps veterans in October at a recruiting event at the University of Southern Mississippi. Many of the returned volunteers share his desire to organize and spearhead community improvement efforts.
"It's something I've been interested in," said Elliot Cassell, 30, of Laurel. "I know I'd like to join it."
Cassell worked in Mozambique as a biology teacher through the Peace Corps. He said being in Africa was surprising and fulfilling. He expected to work on his French, for example, but discovered the people spoke Portuguese.
Forming a Mississippi association fits the central purpose of the Peace Corps by sharing volunteers' experiences with other Americans to increase cultural awareness, Cassell said.
Montague said a returned volunteer never stops being a part of the Peace Corps. He speaks to clubs and schools to explain the Paraguay he knows and the Paraguayans he met.
Before Montague went to Paraguay, he went through a 12-week training course. He already spoke Spanish, but he had to learn Guarani, an indigenous language.
"Paraguay is the only country in South America with two official languages," he said.
As a rural health extensionist, Montague lived in an isolated village of 600 people in central Paraguay and taught health precautions such as hygiene and nutrition. He taught in the schools and worked with parents.
"A common problem was parasites. About 85 percent have suffered from intestinal parasites due to bad water sources and a lack of cleanliness," Montague said.
"We also did a big community project. We built a running water system," he said.
It was a partnership among the Peace Corps, the community and the Paraguayan health department. The World Bank provided 8,300 meters of piping, Montague said.
"The community had to put up 18 percent of the cost. Of that, 15 percent was sweat equity," he said.
The organization the community formed to get the system built is permanent and oversees maintenance, management and administration of the water system.
He stays in touch with the Peace Corps volunteers in Paraguay now, and they let him know how things are going there.
Montague, the son of Doug Montague of Hattiesburg and Carol Slye of Knoxville , Tenn., has a history of volunteer service. He's been a volunteer at Abbie Rogers Civitan Camp and at St. Thomas Catholic Church. The church work was his first taste of personal international aid.
"For about the past 10 years, we've gone to a mission in Mexico. We don't evangelize," Montague said. "We go into small rural communities and help people build houses, construct what they need. We help with suffering."
He attended DuBard School for Language Disorders at the University of Southern Mississippi when he was in the third and fourth grades. He had a mild speech impediment and motor integration problems. These were corrected. While he was at the school, he gained a deep respect for Etoile DuBard, founder of the school, and Abbie Rogers.
Rogers and Thomas were pioneers in Hattiesburg, Montague said.
"The disabled community had a revolution. They helped integrate special people in society," he said.
The inspiration from these women continues to motivate Montague as he considers what comes next.
Since he's been home, he has been volunteering with the Association for Retarded Citizens, giving parents of mentally retarded children respites on the weekend. He's also serving on the board for the DuBard School Alumni Association.
"I'll be able to use these tools the Peace Corps gave me in a professional career," he said. That career will probably be in the nonprofit world, Montague said.
"I'll see what kind of ideas grow out of that. I'm in a place I'm supposed to be."
