2007.03.15: March 15, 2007: Headlines: COS - Suriname: York Daily Record: Parents of Peace Corps Volunteers in York, Pennsylvania gather for support as their children serve overseas
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2007.03.15: March 15, 2007: Headlines: COS - Suriname: York Daily Record: Parents of Peace Corps Volunteers in York, Pennsylvania gather for support as their children serve overseas
Parents of Peace Corps Volunteers in York, Pennsylvania gather for support as their children serve overseas
28-year-old Margaret Gallagher is serving in Suriname, South America. Her parents were pleased when their daughter told them she had decided to join the Peace Corps. But like the other eight parents in their new support group, they had concerns. Some volunteers in remote areas have access to cell phones and computers with Internet capabilities. Margaret Gallagher, however, is working so deep inside the country it can take more than a month to get a letter and longer for a phone call. Recently, Mary Anne Gallagher got so worried she called the Peace Corps' office in Washington, D.C. The family was connected that day. "I didn't want them to tell her that we were worried, but they did," Mary Anne Gallagher said. "They told her she should try a little harder to get in touch with us more often."
Parents of Peace Corps Volunteers in York, Pennsylvania gather for support as their children serve overseas
Peace Corps parents unite
Local families gather for support as their children help communities overseas.
By JOSEPH MALDONADO
For the Daily Record/Sunday News
Article Launched: 03/15/2007 06:24:38 AM EDT
Mar 15, 2007 — Throughout the living room of Frank and Mary Anne Gallagher's Springettsbury Township home, pride of the gathered parents was evident. Each had a son or daughter serving overseas in the cause of peace.
No, their children are not serving in the military.
"My daughter is in the Peace Corps," said Mary Anne Gallagher, whose 28-year-old, daughter Margaret Gallagher, is serving in Suriname, South America.
It's been 47 years since President John F. Kennedy challenged college students to serve their country in the cause of peace by offering their time and skills to developing countries. Since then, more than 187,000 Peace Corps volunteers have ventured out to answer his call in 139 countries.
Margaret Gallagher is teaching people to read and speak English. She had hoped to use her University of Pittsburgh degree in business and finance to help the area's people.
"But they don't even have a word for business in their vocabulary," Frank Gallagher said.
The Gallaghers were pleased when their daughter told them she had decided to join the Peace Corps. But like the other eight parents in their new support group, they had concerns.
Some volunteers in remote areas have access to cell phones and computers with Internet capabilities. Margaret Gallagher, however, is working so deep inside the country it can take more than a month to get a letter and longer for a phone call.
Recently, Mary Anne Gallagher got so worried she called the Peace Corps' office in Washington, D.C. The family was connected that day.
"I didn't want them to tell her that we were worried, but they did," Mary Anne Gallagher said. "They told her she should try a little harder to get in touch with us more often."
This was the second meeting of the support group created by York photographer Bill Schintz. Bill and his wife, Carol, have a 25-year-old son, James, serving in the Republic of Guatemala, in Central America.
The idea for the group came after learning their friends, Denny and Sandy Mumford of York, also had a child serving.
"It just seemed like a good idea to get together and talk about their accomplishments and our concerns," Bill Schintz said. "They are doing great things, but the world isn't a stable place."
In addition to worrying about violence against Americans, the families worry about civil unrest, diseases and biases.
The Schintzes say their son is doing well. James Schintz has a degree in business from Drexel University, but far from teaching Guatemala's citizens about credits and debits, he is teaching them about basic farming techniques.
"He is in the business of trying to find one pickup truck that can be shared by the 120 farmers he is working with," Bill Schintz said.
The Mumfords' son, Steven Mumford, is serving in Togo, in West Africa. He is working on a master's degree at the University of Washington in Seattle.
"He has worked with nonprofits," Denny Mumford said. "But in Togo, he's teaching high school students how to grow and market vegetables."
Sandy Mumford said her son writes to say that people who don't know him or why he is there often call him rude names because he is American.
Just about everyone in the group said the people their children serve are grateful and hospitable, but not always.
"Sometimes, the people just want things handed to them," said Peter March, 26, who recently returned from a six-month tour in Gambia, Africa.
March, who attended the meeting with his mother, Molly March, said he felt frustrated with locals' attitudes about technical advancements.
"I was there to promote agroforestry," said Peter March, who lives in North Codorus Township. "But most of the people are herders that wanted nothing to do with what I was offering."
Still, he said that he feels he did his part and that he takes pride in having been involved with the program.
"The people were very friendly and open," he said. "But it's not the kind of place I would return to on my own."
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Headlines: March, 2007; Peace Corps Suriname; Directory of Suriname RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Suriname RPCVs; Pennsylvania; The Peace Corps Library; Peace Corps History; Bulletin Board; Recent Peace Corps News
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Story Source: York Daily Record
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Suriname
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