From what I know of Peace Corps, they take excellent care about where and how they place volunteers. I had a friend who went to Zimbabwe with Peace Corps, and when the situation became unstable, all the volunteers from the country were pulled out. Peace Corps gives excellent language training to its volunteers, which is one of the best security measures you can have, because if you can communicate like a local, people will treat you with a level of respect and care you couldn't get otherwise. Peace Corps also takes health concerns seriously.
Christine Jeske writes: Life in Africa not always dangerous
Commentary: Life in Africa not always dangerous
By Christine Jeske
This week, a question from a reader:
Mrs. Jeske,
I am a father of a 23 year-old daughter who will graduate on May 5th. She now wants to go into the Peace Corp, which I am OK with however she wants to go to Africa. Her mother and I are concerned for her safety given the current situation in the world. What is the current situation as you see it?
Kathy and Fred Redman
Kathy and Fred,
First, as you know, Africa is a huge continent, with quite a diversity of situations. Yes, there are some places that are unsafe. I wouldn't want to live in Somalia or Sudan right now, for example. But on the other hand, there are many places that are calm—in fact probably safer than many places in the U.S. My husband has a book called The World's Most Dangerous Places. It ranks countries of the world for danger, based on political stability, crime, terrorist action, etc. In a recent edition, the U.S. made it into the book, as did South Africa, where I currently live!
But it all comes down to where you live and how. I feel very safe living with my two children in South Africa, because of a number of factors. First, I know my neighbors and they know me. Secondly, I'm in a part of the country with relatively low crime. I wouldn't want to live in the capitol city of South Africa, because there's much higher crime—unless I wanted to have a razor wire fence around my home. As you hear news reports about instability in Africa, keep in mind that there are many beautiful, safe places.
Second, from what I know of Peace Corps, they take excellent care about where and how they place volunteers. I had a friend who went to Zimbabwe with Peace Corps, and when the situation became unstable, all the volunteers from the country were pulled out. Peace Corps gives excellent language training to its volunteers, which is one of the best security measures you can have, because if you can communicate like a local, people will treat you with a level of respect and care you couldn't get otherwise. Peace Corps also takes health concerns seriously.
My husband got malaria when we were living in Nicaragua. The disease sounds frightening, but most strains basically go away overnight with drugs. Seeing pictures of sick Africans on the news doesn't mean a foreign volunteer, with access to a balanced diet and health education, would suffer those illnesses. Most sicknesses are preventable with clean water, medicine (we've learned to live with the fact that our kids will take a de-worming pill every six months), and reasonable precautions (not swimming in certain waters, etc). Life in Africa may sound strange, but strange is different from unsafe. There's nothing inherently dangerous about living in a home made of mud or not owning a car.
And finally, I firmly believe that sending volunteers with organizations like the Peace Corps in the long run increases the safety of all of us Americans, both within the U.S. and as we travel overseas. When people see us as coming to help, rather than to invade or boss them around, their picture of America changes. The world needs a lot of brave ambassadors like your daughter. You must have raised her well if she has the courage, self-confidence, and compassion to make this step.
Christine Jeske is a former community member of the Northwestern editorial board. She and her husband Adam work with a micro-finance program in South Africa. Email acjeske@gmail.com or online www.jeskelife.org
