2011.03.13: March 13, 2011: Returned Peace Corps volunteer Don Messerschmidt recently joked that he went to Nepal in 1963, and "I finally came home a month ago"

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Returned Peace Corps volunteer Don Messerschmidt recently joked that he went to Nepal in 1963, and "I finally came home a month ago"

Returned Peace Corps volunteer Don Messerschmidt recently joked that he went to Nepal in 1963, and "I finally came home a month ago"

There is the dream, of course. "Hot-blooded guys, gonna change the world," Messerschmidt smiled. The reality? "You will never convert a village to modernity," Messerschmidt said. "But the Peace Corps gives you an experience that is unique. You become part of the community, and that's the key. If a guy makes a positive impact on one or two people, that's a success." Like many returning volunteers, Messerschmidt said he got more than he gave.

Returned Peace Corps volunteer Don Messerschmidt recently joked that he went to Nepal in 1963, and "I finally came home a month ago"

Local volunteers look back as Peace Corps turns 50

Caption: Don Messerschmidt, shown in his home office, points to photographs he took while serving in the Peace Corps in Nepal in 1963. Photo by Steven Lane

By Tom Vogt
Columbian Staff Reporter

Monday, March 14, 2011

[Excerpt]

Former Peace Corps volunteer Don Messerschmidt recently joked that he went to Nepal in 1963, and "I finally came home a month ago."

No, Peace Corps assignments are not lifetime commitments. But for some local participants, the links established during their two-year stint remain strong long after they've returned home.

And with the program now observing its 50th anniversary, returned volunteers say the Peace Corps still is as relevant as it was when they went overseas.

Don Messerschmidt has written several books linked to Nepal, including: "Big Dogs of Tibet and the Himalayas;" "Against the Current: The Life of Lain Singh Bangdel, Writer, Painter and Art Historian of Nepal;" and "Fr. Moran of Kathmandu."

"I worked in a village that was a two-day walk from anything," Messerschmidt said. "We were told it was the most remote site in Nepal.

"And maybe in the whole Peace Corps," he added after a pause.

The team was chosen because Messerschmidt grew up in Alaska and his buddy had lived in northern Canada. Their assignment was rural development.

"We had virtually nothing to work with," Messerschmidt said. "They thought we could use American ingenuity to work on trails and put a roof on a school."

But while helping people improve their lives is a goal of the Peace Corps, it's not the only one.

"The first goal is to provide some skills overseas," said Waite, who did forestry work in Liberia. "No. 2, be an ambassador of the United States; and No. 3, bring the world back home."

There is the dream, of course.

"Hot-blooded guys, gonna change the world," Messerschmidt smiled.

The reality?

"You will never convert a village to modernity," Messerschmidt said. "But the Peace Corps gives you an experience that is unique. You become part of the community, and that's the key. If a guy makes a positive impact on one or two people, that's a success."

Like many returning volunteers, Messerschmidt said he got more than he gave.

"Of course. I got married out of it," said Messerschmidt, whose wife, Kareen, was the sister of a Peace Corps colleague. "Our kids were raised in Nepal."

Messerschmidt's experiences in Nepal helped him get a doctorate in anthropology from the University of Oregon. He spun careers as a college professor, international development consultant and Himalayan trek leader around his experiences in Nepal.

"Nepal is spectacular, but the people - particularly in the villages - are more spectacular," he said. "So generous, so fun to be around."

But the work sometimes can be life-saving, said Messerschmidt, whose life has been linked to Nepal for almost five decades. Leave a permanent mark? Messerschmidt and his partner sure did.

"The last smallpox epidemic in Asia was in the winter of 1963-64," Messerschmidt said. "We vaccinated 25,000 children in the next five months. We weren't doctors, but we knew how to vaccinate."

Typically, they'd vaccinate on the upper arm. But the Nepalese kids were so tightly bundled up in their winter clothes that Messerschmidt and his partner vaccinated them at the wrist.

Now when he meets Nepalese people of a certain age, "I'll ask if they have a vaccination mark," Messerschmidt said.

"If they show me a mark there," he said, tapping his wrist area, "I'll tell them I put it there."

Tom Vogt: 360-735-4558 or tom.vogt@columbian.com.




Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: March, 2011; Peace Corps Nepal; Directory of Nepal RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Nepal RPCVs; Writing - Nepal; 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps; The 1960's; State of Washington





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Story Source: The Columbian

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Nepal; Writing - Nepal; 50th; 1960s

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