By Admin1 (admin) (98.188.147.225) on Wednesday, December 01, 2010 - 11:05 am: Edit Post |
John Young served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica 40 years ago working in an agricultural extension program in a very small village in the northern province of Guanacaste
In retrospect, what I learned and gained from that experience far exceeded what I was able to impart to residents in that village. I learned that you can live simply and do very well even without running water and electricity - you just adapt. Horses and a motorcycle were the preferred modes of transportation.
John Young served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica 40 years ago working in an agricultural extension program in a very small village in the northern province of Guanacaste
JOHN YOUNG: Costa Rica, 1970
PEACE CORPS ALUMS TELL THEIR STORIES
October 17, 2010
I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica 40 years ago. I worked in an agricultural extension program in a very small village in the northern province of Guanacaste.
In retrospect, what I learned and gained from that experience far exceeded what I was able to impart to residents in that village. I learned that you can live simply and do very well even without running water and electricity - you just adapt. Horses and a motorcycle were the preferred modes of transportation.
One of life's simpler pleasures was to listen to Sunday NFL football games via the Armed Forces radio network on a battery-operated radio!
The Peace Corps instilled in its volunteers a sense of adventure and willingness to embrace other languages and cultures and most importantly to see people for what they are. It's provided a unique perspective for me.
John Young
Liberty Township
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: October, 2010; Peace Corps Costa Rica; Directory of Costa Rica RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Costa Rica RPCVs
When this story was posted in November 2010, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
Support Independent Funding for the Third Goal
The Peace Corps has always neglected the third goal, allocating less than 1% of their resources to "bringing the world back home." Senator Dodd addressed this issue in the "Peace Corps for the 21st Century" bill passed by the US Senate and Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter proposed a "Peace Corps Foundation" at no cost to the US government. Both are good approaches but the recent "Comprehensive Assessment Report" didn't address the issue of independent funding for the third goal at all.
Memo to Incoming Director Williams
PCOL has asked five prominent RPCVs and Staff to write a memo on the most important issues facing the Peace Corps today. Issues raised include the independence of the Peace Corps, political appointments at the agency, revitalizing the five-year rule, lowering the ET rate, empowering volunteers, removing financial barriers to service, increasing the agency's budget, reducing costs, and making the Peace Corps bureaucracy more efficient and responsive. Latest: Greetings from Director Williams
Join Us Mr. President!
"We will double the size of the Peace Corps by its 50th anniversary in 2011. And we'll reach out to other nations to engage their young people in similar programs, so that we work side by side to take on the common challenges that confront all humanity," said Barack Obama during his campaign. Returned Volunteers rally and and march to the White House to support a bold new Peace Corps for a new age. Latest: Senator Dodd introduces Peace Corps Improvement and Expansion Act of 2009 .
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