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Hmm..I just called in and was disappointed that the interviewee in Ukraine kind of missed my point. The Peace Corps does a fine job of providing technical training, but I felt that it does a rather poor job of providing support on a personal level-- at least in the early 90's in the Third World for volunteers straight out of college before the Internet age. I think they would do a lot better at creating effective, well-adjusted volunteers if they provided more training upfront, ongoing support during assignments, and opportunities for RPCV's coming home to readjust. It's really hard to leave your culture and jump into a completely different one and then back when you are young and don't really know who you are yet! I hope PC is doing a better job these days of drawing on education and psychology theory and letting folks know that it's OK to have trouble adjusting, that it's normal, and that they are there to help.

Don't get me wrong, my PC service was very valuable and was the springboard for a very satisfying federal career. I'm just not hearing much substantive conversation on the air about the tough stuff:

-Does PC do enough to help volunteers adjust on a personal level?

-Are the projects volunteers do really effective?

-Is our money best spent on PC programs vs. Americorps at home or alternative programs overseas?

-Does PC do enough to prepare and support non-traditional vols, like the lesbian woman above?

-Does PC deal effectively with the threat of violence and sexual violence?

We all have our great stories to tell- but it doesn't serve anyone well, especially those considering joining, to gloss over the really tough stuff that a big bureaucracy is not very effective at dealing with.

Kristin

posted 2 years, 3 months ago
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