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News editor Students who yearn for adventure or
who want to contribute something to the world by working with
people in other lands might consider joining the Peace Corps.
At an informational meeting at HPU Oct. 9, regional recruiter
Mona Nyandoro said, “The Peace Corps will start a new program
in the next few months, so we welcome people who have a college
degree, a sense of adventure, and the desire to help other people
help themselves.”
According to Nyandoro, the Peace Corps, established
in1961 by former president John F. Kennedy, has three primary
goals: to help the people of interested countries meet their
need for trained men and women; to help promote a better understanding
of Americans on the part of the peoples served; and to help
promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part
of Americans.
The volunteer program lasts two years and three
months. For the first three months, volunteers will be trained
by the Peace Corps staff in order to get them ready for tough
conditions in host countries. This includes language and technical
training as well as information about the culture, the people,
and the environment of the host country.
Vivian Colon, a current volunteer in Turkmenistan,
a Central Asian country, said, via the video, “The Peace Corps
provides us with intense language classes, cross-cultural lessons,
safety awareness—anything you can think of, they cover in training.”
After the three-month training, volunteers will
be sent to their served countries to start the two-year mission.
The Peace Corps now has 7,000 people in the field, serving in
73 countries, according to Nyandoro.
People usually ask how hard it is to get in the
Peace Corps. Nyandoro explained that people with liberal arts
degrees are usually more likely to be accepted. However, a college
degree is not a necessary requirement. If you have had abundant
life experiences and practices in the real world, you will be
considered, too, Nyandoro said.
“Although it seems that a lot of people now have
liberal arts degree, you still can try to do many things to
increase your advantages,” Stephen Latimer, a returned volunteer,
said. “Just don’t give it up.” The Peace Corps has six types
of assignments for its volunteers, which include education,
business, environment, agriculture, health, and community development.
Teaching English is the Peace Corps’ largest program. Volunteers
work in middle or secondary schools teaching English, science,
and math.
Nyandoro herself was an environment volunteer
in Saotame, a West African country, from 1994 through 1996.
She said, “because of my degree in biology, I worked in the
country’s tropical forest and coffee plantation to help people
there improve the environment and increase food production.”
Two other Peace Corps’ volunteers also shared
their experiences. Raquib Jamal, who is currently working with
farmers in Ghana to diversify their income by turning a local
forest into a tourist destination, said: “When I sit down and
listen to their proverbs, I learn things that I could never
have learned in a book or on a computer.”
Ed Chew, agriculture volunteer in Nicaragua,
told the audience, “if I sit down to eat, and I haven’t burned
my rice and beans, I’m very thankful, because I’ve seen other
people’s daily struggle to survive.”
For most, becoming a Peace Corps’ volunteer has
been the greatest experience in their life. For the one of four
volunteers who cannot adjust, Nyandoro said, “that is why the
Peace Corps has the training plan.”
For more information, call1-800-424-8580 or visit:
www.peacecorps.org
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