How My Peace Corps Experience Changed Me.

• Author: Green, Harlan
• Position: Company overview

I was part of a Rural Community Development contingent in Turkey 1964-66 (named Turkey V), during which time Turkey was embroiled in its struggle with Greece over Cyprus. Although we were greeted with open arms by many Turks, including a reception with Prime Minister Ismet Inonu (Ataturk's former Chief of Staff); President Johnson had just sent in the Sixth Fleet to prevent Turkey from invading Cyprus, which ruffled many a Turk's feathers, needless to say.

Watching from the perspective of a larger Turkish village that had once been a sub-county seat, I saw the transformation from Republican, secular urban elite-led (Ataturk's party), to the more rural and religious Democratic Party of Suleyman Demirel, an American-educated engineer who promised to develop the countryside. Turkey has historically had a top-down political system, with provincial governors and even town mayors appointed by the current government regime. From that perspective and being trained as a community developer (similar to President Obama's experience), I had to learn how to organize a village community to get something they wanted done by themselves, rather than wait for government aid. In this case it was mainly agricultural--drilling water wells, raising more productive livestock, crops, and teaching skills in their vocational schools.

Acquiring those community-organizing skills opened my eyes to economic development possibilities in my own country. After acquiring a Masters Degree in Film/Public Communications on my return, I made films for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, organized and made films for Cesar Chavez's United Farmworkers Union, and implemented a redevelopment plan to restore an Old Town center in my Santa Barbara community, among other things. So from being a very apolitical UC Berkeley economics graduate in 1964 (really?), I became very aware of the social/political forces that both create or prevent change. I am currently President of a local Rotary Club, which is implementing both local volunteer community projects as well as Congo Women's Projects that benefit women abused by the Congo's ongoing wars.-Harlan Green, California

I am pleased to be given this opportunity to reflect on what Peace Corps meant to me. I served in Rwanda from 1984-86, one of only a small handful of volunteers in the country at that time (there were months when I was actually the sole volunteer in Rwanda). Our affairs were handled through the embassy whose very caring personnel provided us with both practical and emotional support during the inevitable "ups" and "downs" of service. They gave us a place to stay when we needed to visit Rwanda's capital, Kigali, and a good meal and hot shower to boot. When I was viciously attacked by a pack of wild dogs a few months after I arrived in country, it was the support of the embassy personnel that helped me make the decision to stay in country rather than leave the service. The other factor was that I had no desire to move back in with my parents in Mississippi. It was absolutely the correct decision. Peace Corps taught me that I could persevere through incredible difficulties and not only survive, but thrive. That lesson in resilience has paid off numerous times in my personal and professional lives. A true anecdote: when I was trapped in a partially collapsed building at the epicenter of the Northridge earthquake in 1994, I thought to myself, "This is horrible, but it's not nearly as bad as being attacked by a pack of wild dogs in Rwanda. And a wild dog attack isn't half as bad as living with my parents in Mississippi. So all in all, a 6.8 earthquake only ranks third on the list of awful things that have happened to me." Peace Corps gave me perspective.-Donald E. Hall, Chair, English Dept., West Va. University

I had to travel halfway around the world and into a primitive culture to discover who I was.

Under the auspices of Marine Fisheries Development in Madang, Papua New Guinea, I emerged form the whirlwind experience solidified as to my place as an American and citizen of the world.

Being an American of Chinese ancestry (3rd Generation), I was constantly searching for my place in society. College only magnified my wanderlust, and, upon graduation, I already had plane tickets to a Peace Corps Service in the South Pacific.

There, I met the kindest people and most breathtaking scenery. We built boats and caught fish together, but the more important lessons were going on in the margins. Although I was the "Answer Man," I ended with more questions, like:

Is it wise to teach a subsistence culture a cash economy?

Did building a boat for one village upset the delicate harmony among previously warring tribes?

Do I intervene in a situation that, in America, but not here, would be considered child abuse?

Is our increased fishing pressure sustainable?

In a growing cash economy, who will mitigate the social growing pains of theft, rape and unemployment?

In spite of the ambiguity at work, the Peace Corp's goal of creating understanding was an absolute success. From the American GI's that stormed their shores in WWII, they figured all Americans are either white or black. I had some explaining to do. I learned that, even in a primitive island village, we are pretty much alike in dreams and aspirations, good and evil. Their version of Hatfield and McCoy mentality has created a nation of only three million people speaking over 700 distinct languages.-Lyle John Young, Papua New Guinea, 1981-85

My Mom was an amazing woman. She was interested in so many things ... when I was a child, she got me interested in everything from archaeology and astronomy to zoology. By the time I was 8 or 10, I knew a lot about Ur of the Chaldees and Babylon; I could identify most of the constellations in our night sky, and I knew all the different kinds of primates - apes, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, etc. She always wanted to try something new. She visited me on my first two diplomatic assignments - London and Madrid. Then, Pres. Kennedy formed the Peace Corps in 1961-62. Mom applied in late 1962, and was accepted in early 1963. Since my father's early death, she had gone back to work as an X-ray technician. They wanted her to be part of a medical team being sent to Ethiopia. They sent her for 2 months to UCLA to study Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia. But her team was assigned not to Addis Ababa but to a town in the north named Makele, where the language was Tigre. Despite the language problem, the team did a lot of good work, both treating people and training Ethiopians in medical skills. Mom really enjoyed it. She became a world traveler, not just visiting me in South America, New Zealand, etc., but visiting many other places on her own before she died at age 86. Elizabeth Parker Williams, RIP.-Ed Williams

My husband and I, Phil and Linda Johnson, were the first group of PC volunteers sent into the Fiji Islands in 1967. We spent 3 months on the island of Hawaii training intensely in language and culture for the two cultures inhabiting the islands. There were the native Fijians living in the village environment and the Indian population living in urban areas and running most businesses. The island was a British Colony at the time, so there were also native British there.

My husband's job was at the Kornivia Research Station at Kornivia. He worked with all three cultures studying ways to feed livestock with local available food, saving on the cost of imported food supplies. He also taught at the research station school of agriculture.

I was assigned to teach at a Muslim school. I taught a combined 3/4 class the first year and 4th grade the second year. I also was in charge of the Red Cross club at school and assisted the headmaster teach English composition to the 7th and 8th graders to prepare them for their testing to determine whether or not they would go on to high school. All schools were private and well attended by both populations. A family would go without food and other necessities to insure their children got an education. Private schools are supported solely by tuition from the students.

I learned much more than I gave as a teacher and volunteer. I know the value of friendship given freely, expecting nothing in return. I learned the importance of welcoming everyone into your circle of friends. I understand the unimportance of material goods. I came to appreciate the USA's school system where all children can and must attend; where textbooks are had by all; and where supplies are always available. I taught 50 children in a classroom with a chalkboard and a curriculum that was merely an outline to be filled in by myself every week. We had no books. My mind was challenged to create a curriculum appropriate to children who spoke English only as a second language. I am a much better listener. When being spoken to in a language learned in 3 months of training, I had to listen to every word to get the message. WE do not listen well when hearing our own language spoken.

I learned it is not what you have but how you use what you do have: your time and talents. I made lifetime friendships not only with other volunteers but with some of the children I taught and Fijians we lived near. I would make the choice to volunteer again in an instant. Coming out of college and going directly in the PC was the best thing Phil and I ever did. WE grew into responsible adults with knowledge of a culture much different from ours that we admired and respected. It affects every part of your life in ways that will never be forgotten and always be appreciated. It was a life of simplicity, free of stress, full of happiness and a true sense of loss when the 24 months' service ends and it is time to return to the states.

Happy Birthday Peace Corps and thanks for the memories-Phil and Linda Johnson

In 1966 I had hardly traveled outside the state of S.C much less the USA, but I knew that I wanted to. As soon as my education...