I have been spending some time lately trying to figure out what I want to do next with my life. I have one friend in Africa serving in the Peace Corps. He likes it for the most part, and thinks it is something he could see me doing.
I always thought the Peace Corps is one of those organizations that helps so much with the poverty throughout the world, bringing knowledge and education to places that have previously been considered unreachable.
However, I recently become friends with a man from Tanzania. He just graduated from a university in Japan. We have shared many stories of our differing childhoods and home communities. One topic we often discussed was service work, as that is something we have both been interested in. I would like to go to somewhere like Tanzania to do some work, and he would like to go back to his home to do similar works.
He always rolled his eyes when the subject of the Peace Corps or similar organizations came up. The first time he did this, I was shocked. How could he roll his eyes over the idea of people helping his community? Then he explained, and it made a whole lot of sense.
The Peace Corps doesn’t necessarily demand the best applicants as far as qualifications are concerned. Volunteers may have very little or practically no knowledge about the area in which they will be serving and the subject matter they will be sharing. Peace Corps volunteers may enter an area in a state of cluelessness, and without really having an understanding about the way of life of the area, they’ll try to change things. Especially in countries like Tanzania, people have acted and lived a certain way for ages. An often young, white person bouncing in trying to stir things up for a couple years and then leave can quickly get old for the locals, according to my friend.
What countries like Tanzania need is not some naïve youngster to come in, spend a few months trying to get people to plant a garden, and a few months trying to save the monkeys. Who can respect a whirlwind of trying to “make a difference” from one outsider who isn’t sufficiently prepared or given enough time to do what they were put there to do? People in Tanzania have been living in their way forever. How can someone go for only two years and expect to change that? Even if another volunteer comes right in to replace the previous volunteer, the person, methods, education, etc, will all be different.
These countries need more steady help. Not “help” that comes and goes, staying only for a short time before changing to some other “help.” That’s just not as helpful as it could be. Serious volunteers need to be qualified, and need to have a stronger understanding of what’s going on in those countries in regards to individuals, families, communities, governments, international relations, traditions, etc. To really “make a difference” in these countries, we need to show them respect by sending volunteers who know what they’re doing and who are going to stay longer than two years. Really, it takes more than two years to make the huge differences some volunteers in the Corps would like to.
Now, I’m sure the Peace Corps is a great program and I totally respect all its volunteers. However, I would love to see the Corps revamped, improved and updated to meet the needs of countries today. They need to get more qualified volunteers and need to rethink strategies of how to really make more of a positive impact in the lives and communities where volunteers are sent.
Could you give some specific examples of problems in the Peace Corps and how they might be fixed? Do you think that those problems are unique to the Peace Corps, or do they exist in all volunteer-abroad programs?
According to information I've collected from those I know who have served in the Corps, as well as those I know who are from countries receiving Peace Corps support, there are a number of issues.
One issue is that at least some (although I don't know how many areas, I won't generalize and say "all") volunteers do not get the support they need in order to do all the work they're supposed to do. Sure, the administration in America has wonderful goals and ideas, but this support doesn't always trickle down to the in-country administration and support-staff where its needed. I think this issue needs to be examined further.
Also, volunteers often find it difficult to motivate the community members, and in some cases, find that the volunteer or volunteer's work isn't even welcome. This is a difficult problem to solve, however, since it doesn't have much to do with the administration. I think one way this issue could be tackled, however, is by choosing volunteers who are qualified, understanding, and aware of the situation they are going to be working in. If I was a native in a country with a long tradition of doing things a certain way, I would also be wary of a foreigner coming in, trying to "improve" things, then leaving after two years. Then another comes in, also trying to change/improve things, etc. How can community members learn to trust these "outsiders" when they're constantly coming and going? These communities need more permanent help in order for the service to be more effective.
I know people often join the Peace Corps to gain some international experience. However, maybe what the Peace Corps really needs are volunteers who already have that experience. I understand that's not always possible, however.
Basically, there are no easy solutions to these problems. No, I don't think these issues are unique to the Peace Corps, either. I would tend to think they exist in most, if not all, volunteer-abroad programs.
The goals of the Corps are great, and amazing work has been and continues to be done in countries where volunteers are sent. However, with a bit of brainstorming, work and updating, I believe this program could be even more effective.