All in the Family - Joanne Bailis met her husband, Michael, while working in Peru from 1964 to 1967
All in the Family - Joanne Bailis met her husband, Michael, while working in Peru from 1964 to 1967
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Most volunteers will admit the Peace Corps changed their lives. That's more true for Joanne Bailis than for most. She met her husband, Michael, while working in Peru from 1964 to 1967; their daughter Anya is currently serving in Chad.
In Arequipa, the second-largest city, Bailis taught at a school for retarded children, one of only two in the entire country. She went from door to door in search of eligible pupils, asking strangers if they knew of any retarded children. Many of her students had been hidden away by their embarrassed families, rarely venturing out and lacking any stimulation. In some cases, they were living alongside the animals.
Bailis and her husband were among the first groups of Peace Corps volunteers, and in some cases were the first Americans the Peruvians had ever seen. "Getting to know people who on the surface aren't like you makes you realize how similar people are," she said. "You get a world view." When the couple returned for a visit in 1970, they found paved roads and water and sewer systems, along with intangible proof that their efforts had been effective. "People became prouder of things Peruvian," Bailis said. "They were beginning to wear the beautiful native fabrics and jewelry again."
After returning, Bailis helped found NORVA to keep the Peace Corps spirit alive in Ohio. She coordinates volunteers for the group's annual fund-raiser at the Cleveland Air Show Labor Day Weekend. "I'm very big on community service; that's my mantra."
Military service isn't the only way to serve abroad, Bailis points out. You won't see the Peace Corps in a Veteran's Day parade, but "we served our country, too," she said. "We don't have a song [like branches of the military], but we did serve our country."
