RPCV suggests Peace Corps outmoded and in need of major reform
With the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination having recently passed, some news outlets used the occasion to take stock of one of his most important legacies, the Peace Corps.
Ryan Rommann served as Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia from 2009 to 2011 and recently wrote a provocative essay in The Guardian on Peace Corps, drawing on some data and his own personal experience. He suggests that the model is in deep need of revision. Having been out of the Peace Corps for more than a decade, it is unclear to me if Ryan captures the contemporary reality. My sense is that volunteers are much more connected to home, to each other, and to information than they once were. That certainly has its advantages in terms of the ability to tap in to knowledge, and I imagine that it has transformed the paradigmatic notion of your solo Peace Corps volunteer isolated in a rural village. I also gather, from following Peace Corps Ecuador and some interesting programming from a country director in Senegal, that some country directors are making great strides to try and shake things up, with more professionalism and teamwork. Still, Ryan raises some important points. Read on for more details. …
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RPCV suggests Peace Corps outmoded and in need of major reform Read More »
