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Going Above and Beyond: Community Partnerships

In a statement issued March 1, 1961, President Kennedy acknowledged that Peace Corps Volunteers would never make a fortune from their service abroad. Most made enough to subsist. Nevertheless, volunteers often went above and beyond—taking on additional projects to satisfy the community’s needs. Projects included recruiting volunteer labor and additional funding for renovating and construction projects.

During his service in Paraguay, Robert Meade oversaw a school partnership project to build an elementary school. A school in Bethesda, Maryland partnered with the Paraguay community and raised $700 for the construction. Meade documented the efforts of local volunteers, as well as the entire building process, through photography. The partnerships created during the school project represent the essence of the Peace Corps. Robert Meade created the captions below.

“Paraguayan workers on the building of Maria Auxiliadora Elementary School. Bricks were made nearby and all labor on the school was voluntary.”

“Putting on the roof of Maria Auxiliadora.”

“Oxcart delivering bricks for the school project.”

To learn more about Peace Corps Volunteers in Paraguay, visit the Peace Corps Community Archive at American University.

“Bringing to Man that Decent Way of Life”

The Peace Corps traces its history to a speech given by Senator John F. Kennedy in 1960. In the midst of the Cold War and a presidential campaign, Kennedy, on October 14^th, challenged University of Michigan students to travel abroad giving their time and talents to nations around the world. “How many of you, who are going to be doctors, are willing to spend your days in Ghana?” Kennedy asked in an unplanned speech.

Those in attendance followed up with a petition which was eventually signed by one thousand students who affirmed their willingness to leave the comforts of the United States to work in developing countries. Their signatures and commitment to service inspired the Peace Corps. Once elected, President Kennedy followed up on his challenge and issued Executive Order 10924 establishing the Peace Corps on a temporary basis.

In a statement announcing the Peace Corps’ establishment on March 1, 1961, Kennedy acknowledged the real challenges waiting ahead for participants. However, he stressed that the rewards, compared to the challenges, would be far greater. Kennedy claimed, “For every young American who participates in the Peace Corps—who works in a foreign land—will know that he or she is sharing in the great common task of bringing to man that decent way of life which is the foundation of freedom and a condition of peace.”

Abbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston

Robert Knudsen. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston

On August 28, 1961, President Kennedy hosted a ceremony honoring the first group of volunteers, Ghana I and Tanganyika I, in the White House Rose Garden. Days later, fifty-one Ghana I volunteers arrived in Accra to serve as teachers. Less than a month later, the Peace Corps became a permanent federal agency with the Peace Corps Act.

Abbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston

Sources:

“About Us.” Peace Corps. http://www.peacecorps.gov/about/

“Peace Corps.” John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Peace-Corps.aspx

All images are courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Daily Journaling: A Volunteer’s Experience

Journals and diaries offer space for reflection. For many Peace Corps volunteers, journals provided an unbiased place to flesh out one’s private thoughts. Whether written in frustration, excitement, or simply recording the mundane events of the day, journals and diaries promoted a safe opportunity to think and write about experiences in a country far from home.

For young, inexperienced volunteers, keeping a journal provided a way to process and cope with new surroundings. Journals also include reflections on new foods, community events, local culture, and the living and working conditions experienced abroad.

Winifred Boge, Journal, January 31, 1966
Boge recalls trying a traditional Indian cheese for the first time.

Winifred Boge, Journal, February 19, 1966
In addition to working with local citizens, Boge encountered a variety of creatures: mice, lizards, and dogs.

Journals also allow us to understand the routines, experiences with illness, and the developing relationships which occurred between volunteers and local citizens. Boge reflected on her first year as a Peace Corps volunteer in India–including the challenges she faced working with people very different from herself.

Winifred Boge, 1 Year Report, February 1966

Most people who journal or keep a daily diary do so without considering the benefits it may yield to researchers in the future. Rather than document their daily activities for someone else to read, many authors record events for their own memories. Winifred Boge’s diary provides a window into the events of a volunteer’s day, in addition to discussing the complexities and challenges of serving in a foreign country with strangers. Journals and diaries provide insight into the individuals who served and the experiences in country that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

Sharing Experiences With the World: Memoirs of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

Whether sharing tales of overcoming the challenges, adjusting to a new culture, or the humor found in daily adventures, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers each possess invaluable stories about the places they lived and worked. Adventure, challenge, and personal connections built across cultural boundaries provide the basis of volunteers’ memoirs and narratives. Regardless of where they served, each story serves as a way to educate Americans about the rest of the world.

In addition to what’s available in the Peace Corps Community Archive, check out the library’s growing collection of Peace Corps memoirs. This list is far from exhaustive, but includes some of the best memoirs on the shelf. Browse the shelves for other great reads.

Beyond Siberia: Two Years in a Forgotten Place by Sharon Dirlam
Based on a collection of journals written during their time abroad, Sharon Dirlam presents the story of her and her husband’s work as Peace Corps Volunteers in Birobidjan. Serving in a Jewish Autonomous Region of Russia, removed from most foreigners, the volunteers learned about native Russians and their culture in a unique way.

From Microsoft to Malawi: Learning on the Front Lines as a Peace Corps Volunteer by Michael L. Buckler
Buckler’s memoir, inspired by his journals, depicts his yearning to serve after divorcing and completely changing career paths. The narrative recounts the fruitful collaboration between volunteers and locals in order to make significant changes within the community.

South of the Frontera: A Peace Corps Memoir by Lawrence F. Lihosit
Lihosit narrates a story about joining the Peace Corps after losing his job, which led him to meet the woman he would eventually marry. In addition to providing a sense of adventure, he presents the professional and personal challenges of living, working, and traveling throughout Mexico and Honduras during the 1970s.

The Unheard: A Memoir of Deafness and Africa by Josh Swiller
The Unheard presents a different perspective on the Peace Corps experience. Josh Swiller attempted to act normal and fit in despite being deaf. He joined the Peace Corps to experience a new opportunity. His memoir recounts the daily events, as well as his work at a local health clinic. This story provides insight into the challenges and rewards of serving in the Peace Corps with a disability.

Other books in the library’s possession include collections of stories from Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. Varying from region of the world and type of work, the stories reflect on past experiences abroad. Going Up Country includes writers who return to the country of service to document the nation’s growth, change, and what any visitor should know about the place. Tales from Colombia presents the perspectives of the earliest Peace Corps volunteers to Colombia called to action by President Kennedy’s charge. Humor evades the stories, ranging from around the world, included in The Funniest Job You’ll Ever Love.

Additional Suggestions:

A Land Without Time: A Peace Corps Volunteer in Afghanistan, by John Sumser
Even the Smallest Crab Has Teeth: 50 Years of Amazing Peace Corps Stories, edited by Jane Albritton
Going Up Country: Travel Essays by Peace Corps Writers, edited by John Coyne
Power Lines: Two Years on South Africa’s Borders, by Jason Carter
Tales from Colombia: The Deeds and Misdeeds of 41 Peace Corps Volunteers Who Answered President Kennedy’s Call to Serve, by Gary Dean Peterson
Tarnished Ivory: Reflections on Peace Corps and Beyond, by Peter Bourque
The Funniest Job You’ll Ever Love: An Anthology of Peace Corps Humor, edited by Lelah Conrad

Peace Corps and International Relations: UGA’s Russell Library Collection

Robert J. Bielen served as a staff physician for the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic in the early 1960s. While living abroad, Bielen and his wife witnessed the 1965 revolution and U.S. military intervention in the Dominican Republic. Bielen recently donated his collection of personal papers and related artifacts to the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University of Georgia.

The collection includes manuscripts, scrapbooks, reports, slides, photographs, articles, and newspaper clippings. To learn more about the collection, visit http://www.libs.uga.edu/russell/index.html or contact russlib@uga.edu.

A Peace Corps Exhibit at Gallaudet University

The webpage for “Making a Difference: Deaf Peace Corps Volunteers,” which debuted at The Gallaudet University Museum.

In October 2011, Gallaudet University Museum opened an exhibition centered on the experiences of deaf Peace Corps volunteers. “Making a Difference: Deaf Peace Corps Volunteers” incorporates photographs and objects to tell the stories of returned deaf volunteers. Volunteers’ experiences abroad span from 1967 to 2011 and the countries of service include various locations including Ghana, Kenya, Ecuador, Zambia, Nepal, and the Philippines. Using volunteers’ artifacts and personal experiences, the exhibit discusses issues relevant to society’s perception of the deaf, accessing education, and international relations.

To learn more about the experiences of deaf Peace Corps Volunteers, visit the exhibition located in the Weyerhaeuser Family Gallery and Exhibition Hall of the I. King Jordan Student Academic Center.

The Benefits of Peace Corps Service

Ever wonder what a Peace Corps volunteer actually gains from their experience abroad? What new insights do they leave with? What did volunteers learn about themselves?

Summer Program Participants, Cristo Rey Village, 2002

“I’ve survived the challenge of Peace Corps and found that I really like working with little kids. I also found that I like to write and edit,” reflected Alanna Randall in an email to family and friends in the United States. As a volunteer in San Ignacio, Belize, Randall worked as an Environmental Education Coordinator. It makes sense that you might not love every aspect of the job you are assigned to do. Yet, the Peace Corps environment provided many young individuals a chance to work in positions they might not originally choose. Randall reflected on her own experience, “I’ve learned quite a bit about our environment, but I still don’t really feel qualified to be an ‘environmental educator.”

Volunteers like Randall left the Peace Corps with a deeper understanding of areas they were interested in pursuing post-Peace Corps, as well as those they unquestionably felt were not for them.

Alanna Randall with Summer Program Participants, 2002

Improving the Health of a Community

Peace Corps volunteers educated local citizens about topics other than math, English, and science. Health care and wellness provided an opportunity for volunteers to share basic information with citizens, while working to improve the community’s overall well-being. Assignments included educating local citizens about the importance of clean water and sanitation, in addition to other issues of public health. However, in order to educate local citizens, volunteers not only had to understand another language, but also needed to speak proficiently. Knowledge of the country or region’s native language ensured volunteers’ ability to communicate essential information to local citizens.

Peace Corps Trainees at Presbyterian Clinic, Penasco, New Mexico, Oct. 1963

The image shows the Peace Corps trainees, of the Rural Community Action and Health Program, at the Presbyterian Clinic in 1963. While they were not nurses, volunteers provided essential instruction to locals regarding hygiene, nutrition, child care, and health practices for expectant mothers.

Dana Dahl, Piojo Health Center, June 1964

Volunteer Dana Dahl Seaton, learned Spanish in college before joining the Peace Corps. Her knowledge paid off because she delivered a speech to the people of Piojó, Colombia shortly after arriving in-country to work as a health educator. She explained to community members what the volunteers would be doing. Her handwritten speech is in the collection.

In addition to the initiatives for community development and health education, the Peace Corps began sending professionally trained nurses to Colombia in the 1960s. Peggy Gleeson Wyllie, one of eighteen who volunteered, served in the Peace Corps’ first group of nurses sent to Colombia. Training took place at Brooklyn College, where nurses were paired together and prepared for working in urban locations. Sent to Fusagasuga, Colombia, Wyllie trained in local hospitals before she taught practical nursing classes, in Spanish, to local students.

Such stories show the diversity of educational projects carried out by Peace Corps volunteers. Many experiences highlight the importance and value of understanding and speaking the country’s native language.

“Pomp and Tradition” in India

Stephen Bossi, Invitation, 1967

It’s not every day that you’re invited to a party at the local palace. As a Peace Corps Volunteer working with the Andhra Pradesh Science Workshop in Hyderabad, Steve Bossi received an invitation to attend a celebration at the new Nizam’s home. The celebration took place the evening of April 6, 1967 at the Chow Mahala Palace following the formal instillation of Mir Barkat Ali Khan as the Nizam. This example demonstrates the unique opportunities presented to Peace Corps volunteer while living abroad.

In a letter home, written the following day, Bossi detailed the evening’s events and reflected on the significance of the experience. Bossi wrote, “They really turned out to be very gracious and very approachable—both Ray and I shook his hand and spoke to him (Ray got a picture of me with him—Hope it comes out.)” Bossi’s photo with the Nizam did in fact turn out.

Stephen Bossi (right) meets the Nizam. Caption on image reverse: “Meeting the Nizam of Hyderabad—grandson of the former Nizam—April, 1967”

He continued, “But the most exciting part was just seeing first hand the kind of pomp and tradition which surrounds even the modern shadow of a court with the kind of history this one has.” Not only did the Peace Corps offer volunteers a chance to travel to a foreign country and provide service, but also gave individuals an opportunity to learn about the country’s government and history personally. This event reflects the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities presented to Peace Corps volunteers during their service. Peace Corps was not only about working hard. It provided volunteers with diverse occasions to experience and enjoy the local culture.

Adventure in “a Great Big World”

Alan Crew used letters to describe experiences in Benin City, Nigeria to his family in the United States. Included in his donation to the PCCA, a memoir—compiled years after his experience—contains typed copies of the letters he wrote home, as well as transcriptions of audio tapes and photos. His letters capture the excitement and hard work of serving in the Peace Corps.

Working as a teacher at the Edo Boys’ School, Crew taught literature, English grammar, and French. The Boys’ School, surrounded by an old rubber plantation, appeared to be a difficult assignment. In a January 19, 1965 letter home, Crew wrote “The school has real problems and as Sam Selkow, our regional representative (administrator in charge of the Midwest Peace Corps volunteers) says, –it’s the most challenging assignment he’s ever given anyone.” Despite the challenges that lay ahead, Crew eagerly admitted,

The veteran Peace Corps volunteers are really exciting, and as independent as anything I’ve ever seen or imagined. I guess that the living alone does it to you, but man are they self sufficient. I get the feeling that they’d be right at home on the moon! The next two years look to be tough, challenging and intense. I think I’ll like it.

Based on his letters, Crew’s possession of a motorcycle enhanced the overall experience in the Peace Corps. On January 22, 1965, Crew informed his family about the new mode of transportation. “My school has just provided me with a rather large motorcycle for transportation, and, as you can imagine, I’m having a ball with it. As the Peace Corps supplies us all with crash helmets, the danger of serious injury is lessened, so you needn’t worry.”

This isn’t the only time he mentions his motorcycle in letters home. As Crew adjusted to living in Nigeria, he also got used to traveling by motorcycle. On January 27, 1965 Crew wrote,

My motorcycle is running beautifully, although it still isn’t completely broken in. I can understand the almost reverent feeling the old volunteers have for their machines, as they afford one the only means of mobility available…There are 104 of us within 125 miles of each other so that we can all get together on weekends if we like. Therefore, the mobility of the motorcycle takes on a new dimension of importance.

By reading Crew’s letters, it is easy to get a sense of what’s important. They also possess insight into the volunteer’s thoughts about their experiences, how they dealt with the challenges that arose (being in a new country, work, living conditions, illness, etc.), as well as what they did for fun. Peace Corps volunteers’ letters, like Crew’s, also convey their attitudes and feelings towards a range of topics. Crew claimed in a letter on March 10, 1965:

Whoever said that P.C. life was dull and frustrating must have had his head in the ground. I’ve got so much to do now that I don’t know when I’m ever going to find time to feel bored. And you talk about excited! Why, man, there’s a great big world outside of the states that I didn’t even know existed until I left. It’s really a sin more people don’t see it.

Peace Corps Community Archives

AU Library