Glin said he was especially fascinated by the activities of the U.S. Peace Corps as they went about the business of helping to develop Ghana's economic and educational systems.

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Ghana: Peace Corps Ghana : Web Links for Ghana RPCVs: Glin said he was especially fascinated by the activities of the U.S. Peace Corps as they went about the business of helping to develop Ghana's economic and educational systems.

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Glin said he was especially fascinated by the activities of the U.S. Peace Corps as they went about the business of helping to develop Ghana's economic and educational systems.



Glin said he was especially fascinated by the activities of the U.S. Peace Corps as they went about the business of helping to develop Ghana's economic and educational systems.

Peace Corps Recruiter Hopes Message Will Reach Students

Leonard E. Colvin, Chief Reporter
New Journal and Guide
Date posted: 11/30/00

In 1995, C.D. Glin, Jr., was carrying out his responsibilities in Ghana as a Foreign Service Intern with the U.S. State Department.

The Howard University Political Science Major was excited and took time to enjoy the people and culture of that African country. Ghana was a fascinating place. Glin said he was especially fascinated by the activities of the U.S. Peace Corps as they went about the business of helping to develop Ghana's economic and educational systems.

"But one thing I noticed was that all of the Peace Corps workers were white in a nation which was mostly Black," said Glin, who hails from upstate New York. "I felt as a Black person that I should have a hand in helping out a nation of the motherland. I wanted to do something about that as soon as I got back to the United States."

Back in the states, he applied for and was accepted to the Peace Corps, an organization founded in the early 1960s by President John F. Kennedy. The organization dispatches professionals in education, agriculture, economics and health care to help develop these areas in many under-developed nations on the continents of Africa and South America. Glin was one of the first contingent of Americans to be assigned to South Africa, he said, in the midst of its transition from a nation ruled by a white majority via apartheid to one which is in the infancy of exploring democracy.

(Left to right) Peace Corps recruiter C.D. Glin at Norfolk State with Dr. Thelma Thompson Deloatch, VP Academic Affairs; Mr. Schneider, Peace Corps Director; Mrs. Schneider; Marty Miller, Asst. VP Student Affairs. Photo by Kelvin Oliver
Today, Glin is a recruiter for the Peace Corps and works the nation's Mid-Atlantic Region, encompassing the states of Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and Washington, D.C. Glin visits most of the historically Black and white college and university campuses in the region. Recently, Glin was in Hampton Roads visiting with Mark Schneider, the current National Director of the organization.

Glin and his boss visited Norfolk State, Old Dominion and Virginia Wesleyan University to talk to students and stimulate them to sign up for a volunteer tour of duty overseas.

"Apart from giving up a portion of your life to help develop the lives of people in a underdeveloped nation, there are some other qualities we look for in recruits," said Glin. "They have to forego many of the modern conveyances like indoor plumbing, TV, cable, radio stations and modern housing. They have to be willing to absorb the host culture and live as the people do in that country for the most part."

Glin was involved with education, helping South African teachers to develop lessons plans, develop alternative forms of disciplining students and cultivate means of using new found skills as a result of reforming the education system.

Glin said that, as in America, there are obvious class differences and estrangement among Blacks in South Africa. A growing Black middle class is developing a cultural and economic disconnect from the poorer masses in South Africa.

"Like America, you have many middle class Black South Africans who are becoming educated and prosperous after years of growing up in the shantytowns," said Glin. "Many feel they have no obligation to reach back and help those still there."

Glin managed to bridge the gap between himself as a African American and the cultural baggage it brought in the eyes of native Africans by "making them realize that despite our differences we all share a common past. I tried not to highlight the differences and background which would have created friction."

Glin experienced his share of frustration.

"At times I would schedule a workshop for the village teachers and some would show up and at times no one did," he said. "At times, I felt that I was intruding into their community. What did I know about their culture and educating their people?"

But he left with a sense of accomplishment. "At least I was reaching a few who promised they would talk to others and tell them I meant well and was trying to make a difference. I wanted South Africans to advance. I wanted to help them do it. I did not have all the answers. But I did have a desire to help them to help themselves."

For Full Text, See New Journal and Guide, November 29 - December 5, 2000.



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Story Source: New Journal and Guide

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Ghana; Minority PCVs

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