Jason Pearce

Today is my last day on the job. Being the sole employee at a satellite office in Indianapolis (my den), my going-away party consisted of left-over pizza, a few emails, and an instant message. I spent most of my day submitting expense reports and username/passwords to my boss.

I greatly enjoyed working for Carden Jennings Publishing and its Fraternity Solutions Group. I only wish that our satellite office was more successful and that I had more time to test new ideas. I wish them continued success upon my departure. Thanks CJP.

Now I have to face two years without income. It won’t be until August 2004 that I’ll be able to look for a job that pays. Sure, the Peace Corps will take care of my food and living expenses, but I’ll have to live within their financial constraints.

In the last few months, I’ve been preparing myself (although mildly). I’ve started getting rid of many of my possessions. You can sell just about anything on ebay.com. In fact this week, I’ll even be selling my car.

On another note, Jennifer Griggs and I enjoyed a relaxing weekend together. We spent all of our time exploring downtown Indianapolis and stayed in a very nice bed and breakfast. We visited the Benjamin Harrison and Morris-Butler homes, went to a comedy club, ate at several fancy restaurants, and enjoyed some of the finer things in life. It was nice to spend some quality time with someone who will be missed greatly.

My upcoming agenda includes a USAV regional volleyball tournament May 4 - 5, moving back to Raleigh May 9 - 13, fishing at home May 14 - 16, attending my brother’s graduation and Doug Finberg’s (Elon 1994) bachelor party in Los Angels May 17 - 19, and a family vacation in Hawaii May 20 - 29. I’ll depart for Miami June 3 and will be in Guyana June 5.

It’s going to be a busy and exciting moth. I’ll keep you posted.

Peace Corps basks in the spotlight

Bush push for volunteerism has boosted interest in mission
By Petra Cahill NBC NEWS

April 18 - The Peace Corps is experiencing a huge surge in interest in the wake of Sept. 11, particularly since President Bush’s call to service in his State of the Union address. The organization itself says its mission hasn’t changed since its founding in 1961, but its prominence has soared since the attack on America.

IN HIS STATE of the Union address in January, Bush seized on the idea of using the renewed sense of American patriotism to press for an expansion of the Peace Corps.

The president called for a doubling of the number of corps volunteers throughout the world, but especially in the Islamic world.

Since then, the organization says the number of requests for applications has increased by 77 percent.

In addition, in the months since the State of the Union address there were 329,923 unique visitors to the Peace Corps Web site, an 85 percent surge over the same period a year ago.

NEW MISSION?
Bush’s emphasis on expanding Peace Corps service to more countries in the Islamic world has provoked concern about whether the administration is attempting to alter the mission of the organization.

The answer is no, says the organization’s spokeswoman, Ellen Field, who notes that volunteerism in the Islamic world has always been an integral part of the organization’s work.

The mission remains “to help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women; to help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served; to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans,” she says.

There are Peace Corps volunteers currently serving in Jordan, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Senegal, Niger, Mauritania, Mali, Guinea and Gambia.

In addition, prior to Sept. 11, there were volunteers serving in the Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Bangladesh; service in those countries has been suspended because of the war in Afghanistan, but the Peace Corps hopes to return as soon as possible.

At the swearing-in ceremony for Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez on Feb. 15, Bush reiterated his goal of spreading the organization’s activism to the Islamic world. “I look forward to working with the members of Congress to strengthen the Peace Corps, to reassert its independence and to create new opportunities in Muslim nations for us to spread the good story about the values, the universal values, we hold so dear.”

The Peace Corps says the president isn’t trying to introduce a religious element to its duties, but is “spreading the good word” of American culture.

Field said the real challenge for volunteers is to “bring back what they’ve learned about why these people hate us, why they treat women the way that they do, and other elements of their culture to America.”

7,000 VOLUNTEERS
Created in 1961 by President Kennedy, the Peace Corps now has 7,000 volunteers serving in 70 countries. They are U.S. citizens ranging in age from 22 to 82, although the median age is 25.

The Peace Corps budget for the 2002 fiscal year is $275 million. Volunteers commit to two years of service in a given country, working on projects ranging from small-business initiatives to helping communities ensure sources of potable water and improve sanitation, to AIDS education.

Volunteers live in both urban and rural environments; about a third live in communities without electricity and running water.

Given the surge in interest, the Peace Corps has responded by trying to shorten the time it takes for a person who has completed an application to depart for their country of service.

It has a lengthy application process that includes a detailed written application, an essay, numerous recommendations and a medical exam.

In the past it could take up to 18 months before a candidate could depart for service overseas; the aim is to shorten that wait to a maximum of four months.

SPREADING TOLERANCE
In his State of the Union address, Bush said there was no plan to impose American culture on other nations. “But America will always stand firm for the non-negotiable demands of human dignity. ”America will take the side of brave men and women who advocate these values around the world, including the Islamic world.”

Many former volunteers agree that in light of the events of Sept. 11, the Peace Corps’ mission is an important way to spread tolerance at home.

Matt Bockner returned from Ivory Coast, where about a third of the people are Muslims, in 2000 after serving two years with the Peace Corps.

He noted that Bush “wants to spread understanding of what it is to be an American. … This is the point of the good story.” … Peace Corps Volunteers teach people the values, interests and beliefs of America, while at the same time, volunteers learn the same from their hosts.

“When the volunteer leaves, one ‘good story’ goes back to the U.S. and hopefully one stays there.”

NBC’s Petra Cahill, who served for two years with the Peace Corps in Ivory Coast, is a news assignment editor in Secaucus, N.J.

I have noticed that the Peace Corps doesn’t offer much as far as alumni relations or networking. There are countless ad hoc online communities that have formed so that current and past volunteers can keep in touch with each other.

Seeing no community or network for Guyana, I created a list serve for current, past, and future Guyana Peace Corps volunteers. You’ll find it here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peacecorpsguyana/

In less than a week, three new volunteers and seven current members have subscribed. I’m hoping that this community will help me learn more about what to expect before arriving.

The community has been great for introductions. One current volunteer, Brian Tarallo, is serving in Guyana with his wife Liz. Brian has organized a great collection of photos from his experiences in Guyana, which have been very helpful in giving me an idea of the living conditions I should expect to have. Be sure to explore his online photo albums by going here http://photos.yahoo.com/bjtara/ and clicking on the folder labeled Guyana.

Thanks Brian for sharing these images.

If you are interested in seeing some photos of Guyana and its people, consider visiting this site. These photos were taken by Peace Corps Volunteers in 1999.

Pam Kingpetcharat, a current Peace Corps volunteer who will be training me when I arrive in June, has also posted some photos online for all to enjoy. Click here to visit her photo album.

Last week I posted a comment about how many uncertainties that new Peace Corps volunteers have upon accepting their invitation to serve. Most of us have only a vague understanding of our living conditions or what we will be doing.

This email from Pam Kingpetcharat, the person who will be training me in Guyana, helps clear up some of the confusion. Her email was responding to Russ Starck questions. Russ is another volunteer who will be arriving with me this June.

—–Original Message—–
From: Pam Kingpetcharat [mailto:pkingpet@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, April 05, 2002 8:05 AM
To: mailto:jason@pearce.net 
Subject: RE: PC Update: Other PCV Life

Jason,

Russ asked some questions..the replies to which I thought might interest you.

Pam

———————————-
Russ,

1. How do volunteers get selected for the various assignments in the program?

It’s a matching process using (A) a series of 3 interviews with the APCD of Programming and (B) evaluation of your adaptability in the PST done by the training staff.

(A) Terrence Wilson, APCD of Programming takes all the information you sent into the Country Desk regarding your skills, etc. and compares them to the skills required by the different available (Information Technology) sites. During training, he will meet with you over a series of 3 interviews to talk about what you feel your strengths and weaknesses are and what kind of living conditions you think you can handle. Peace Corps doesn’t want people to leave and so attempts to give them no more than they think they can handle. At the same time, you ARE a volunteer so technically, you’ve signed up to be used in whatever way the country – Guyana – deems it NEEDs. Terrence attempts to balance these two but he’s also bound by the need to make sure that the politics (US/Guyana relations) remain intact and amicable. After all, we aren’t a development organization per say…we’re the PEACE Corps.

(B) In addition, throughout the PST – Pre-service Training (10 weeks in-country) they monitor how you’re adapting to the climate, culture, etc. They also assess how well you intake information, how patient you are, how you listen or don’t listen in training, and how you interact not only with the other trainees but also with the in-country staff all of whom are Guyanese. These are all very important because they want to see how much ’stress’ you can handle AND whether or not you are a risk to yourself and to the Peace Corps Guyana mission. Towards the end of training, each of the trainers actually turns in a written assessment of each of the remaining volunteers.

2. Additionally, I was curious about housing. The initial country description made it sound as if housing was hard to come by. I would prefer to live in my own apartment if possible. Is that the norm or do most volunteers live with a host family. From the pictures you sent links to (which were great!!) it appears as though volunteers had there own apartments?

I am reluctant to say very much about housing because I don’t want you to perceive anything I say as written in stone (that’s my disclaimer). The truth is that housing IS DEFINITELY hard to come by. Due to the economic situation, most Guyanese live with their extended families (3 generations under one roof) and so one and two bedroom apartments, houses, etc. are VERY VERY hard to come by. When you do come upon them, there is no guarantee that we can afford them on the PC housing stipend. For example, Libby who is a teacher in South Rumivelt (a neighborhood of Georgetown) lived with a host family until 2 months ago when she finally found her own place. There are definite benefits to this because you can ’scope out’ a place and get to know the neighborhood before moving in.

However, most all other volunteers found housing within a month to 2 months of having sworn into service. Peace Corps helps out and requires a series of security approvals before any volunteer moves into their dwelling BECAUSE there has been a history of break-ins, assaults, etc. Since Peace Corps is footing the housing bill, they can approve or not approve any Peace Corps Volunteer housing.

Having said that, this issue is VERY site specific. ALL current Peace Corps Volunteers either share a house with another volunteer, live in apartments attached to a family dwelling, or on a compound because most current Peace Corps Volunteers are in towns where housing is more available (compared to Amerindian villages or rural villages). These are the rules and again, they are there for safety reasons. Personally, I live in a 4 unit, 1 bedroom apartment. I have neighbors on all sides and I feel VERY safe because of it. Like you, I didn’t really want to share with anyone or live with a family so everything turned out ok for me.

The only problem with all of this is that there is a new Country Director who is scheduled to arrive today. I’m not sure if he’ll change any of these rules so your group will just have to wait and see.

NOTE: During the 10 week in country training program (while you’re still not a volunteer but a trainee) you WILL be staying with a host family. I recommend bringing a gift to give them…full sized cotton bed sheets [a must for yourself...because they don't exist here and if they do, they aren't affordable], chocolates, picture frames, any sort of American type housewares.

In fact, the Peace Corps Volunteer rumor mill says that your group Guy-10 will be the largest incoming training group in the short history of the Peace Corps Guyana program. We haven’t been around for many years (maybe 6-7 years) and so what each Peace Corps Volunteer does has a tremendous impact on building the Peace Corps Guyana program. That’s good and bad. You’ll notice a lot of these things for yourself when you come. Hope all my verboseness has been helpful. Do you venture to ask me any more questions or have your eyes been assaulted enough?

:) Pam