Webster's responsibilities will include taking charge of all the duties and activities to be carried out in Jamaica for the next two and a half years by the Corps, supervise her immediate staff, liaison between the Corps and the Jamaican government - which includes working with various ministries in determining need for and placement of volunteers - and liaising with Peace Corps Washington on her progress.
Leila Webster was appointed by the US embassy as the new Country Director for the US Peace Corps in Jamaica
Leila Webster is taking charge of volunteerism
By DONNA HUSSEY-WHYTE All Woman writer
Monday, April 20, 2009
Caption:..I am really looking forward to the job (Photo:Karl McLarty)
FOUR weeks ago, Leila Webster was appointed by the US embassy as the new Country Director for the US Peace Corps in Jamaica, where she will, along with her staff of 24, oversee a total of 114 Peace Corps volunteers scattered across the island, while ensuring the continued success of the programme.
Webster's responsibilities will include taking charge of all the duties and activities to be carried out in Jamaica for the next two and a half years by the Corps, supervise her immediate staff, liaison between the Corps and the Jamaican government - which includes working with various ministries in determining need for and placement of volunteers - and liaising with Peace Corps Washington on her progress.
"I am really looking forward to this job. I am very excited about being here. My father who is now 86 is excited that I am here," she laughed. "I work a lot, but I consider my job to be so much fun, so while I am working I am having fun!" she said.
Webster explained that she officially started in the position on February 16, at which time she spent three weeks in training in Washington and a week in the Dominican Republic. She arrived in Jamaica on March 14, then became country director on the 18th.
Despite the fact that her job is so time consuming - 12 hours at work, eight hours of sleep - she said her remaining four hours will be used to do something she absolutely loves!
"I intend to tear up my back yard and plant it up," she laughed. "Will I have fun in Jamaica? Yeah! I look forward to seeing the plants growing. And I look forward to swimming in the ocean! When I get home all I want to do is find a bridge partner and grow some lovely flowers!"
While the bulk of her job will require that she be in office for the most part of her week, Webster hopes to spend at least two days visiting with volunteers across Jamaica, thus familiarising herself with the island.
"I think I work a lot, but my job is fun. I get to go out and visit volunteers and talk to them about their jobs and help them solve their problems. The staff here is absolutely fabulous. This staff is incredibly hard-working. And so I work with them all day long because they are the ones doing the real work. They are out there supporting the volunteers and taking care of their health, we have a safety and security officer, we have programme officers - my job is to help them do their jobs," she said.
Volunteers are involved in teaching children, training teachers, setting up and designing water systems, environmental work and health.
In Webster's view, the role of the Peace Corps in Jamaica is very beneficial to both volunteers and Jamaica.
"I think it is a win, win situation for everyone," she said. "Its all very basic, but it's the basic stuff that makes a difference."
She explained that volunteers are not paid for their services nor are they given any special treatment. Instead, they are equipped with just enough to live like the locals in the communities in which they are placed with their host families for the tenure of their 27-month long stay.
This is Webster's second visit to Jamaica. Her first was in the Christmas of 1990 when she spent a week on the North Coast after her mother passed away and her father, whom she spoke fondly of, felt it would have been good for them to get away.
Webster started out as a volunteer in Thailand where she taught at the school for the blind in Bangkok. She later worked with the World Bank for 20 years, focusing mainly on small business development and microfinance in Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. She also spent six years in North Carolina, where she grew up, establishing a domestic violence centre.
"I started in the Peace Corps as a volunteer, so it is only fitting that I end in the Corps. I would really love to help these Peace Corps volunteers to do the best they can because when the programme works, it really, really works!" she said excitedly.
"Giving to others is the most important thing you can do. I think I am from a family used to helping people. I am really happy to be in this role."
Webster has consulted for various development agencies and regularly taught graduate courses in small business and microfinance for public policy students at Duke University for five years. She holds three graduate degrees in Social Policy and Economics, as well as a MBA from the Georgetown University in Washington DC.
