Peace Corps
sends Volunteers into host communities to build the bridges of understanding
that will foster friendship
that will foster peace
and build the kind of future that we all strive for
While times have changed the agency's mission to promote world peace and friendship has not
the three goals of the Peace Corps are as relevant today as they were in 1961
Goal One
to help people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women
Goal Two
to help promote a better understanding of
Americans on the part of the peoples served
and of course our third goal
to help promote a better understanding
of other peoples on the part of Americans
talking about my Peace Corps experience is such a satisfying
thing to do
it’s memories you know they were instructional stories
they were things that kind of taught you something about
other people or taught you something about
the life you want to live so telling them almost in that oral tradition you know I think is an important thing you know
I think it’s an important thing
there’s not too many people who have gone somewhere
that they didn’t know lived in another country spoke a new language and were exposed to a culture
that sometimes can be two thousand years old
it just doesn't really happen every day and when you tell that to somebody
it does open up their eyes and it really helps them understand that
it really is less about “us and them” and it’s more about “we” and I think
that's what
bringing the world back home
really embodies
the biggest impact probably occurs initially
when the volunteers are sending information back to their home country-sending it to family
sending it to friends and church groups
and so
there's a lot of interest while you're physically in the country as a
volunteer and then
that communication ends up getting spread pretty quickly
with email we were able to
share our experiences
with people at home
and people actually
copied what we wrote and took it to work to share especially in communities where people
were working with uh immigrant populations they said that our input helped them be more
culturally sensitive at their work so that felt like a nice accomplishment too
when I was in Mali I made sure that I attended a lot of cultural events and
best thing I’ve ever gotten as a gift from my parents
was a video camera
If you have a video camera
I think the memories you capture
in that camera are going to be a lifetime experience
So that’s pretty much how I have
shared my third goal coming back.
once a volunteer returns home there are a variety of third goal activities they can
do to continue to build a cultural bridge between their American
and host country communities
they can share an activity with the media by writting a letter to the editor contacting
a newspaper or approaching a local radio or TV station
they can post videos about their experience online
the can mention Peace Corps on Facebook and Twitter
they can make presentations of schools libraries civic organizations and at their work places
blogging is also a great way to get stories across
I think blogging gives the world an opportunity to know what a particular village or assignment or volunteer
are doing at
any given moment overseas
They’ll be able to translate
what they're reading in the newspaper into a personal story of an individual who's living on the
ground
Within the University is a really
great place
to bring the experience back to
and there’s good
response from
students and professors and
they're really interested in
the academic aspects and the Peace Corps aspects of my experience
The tips I would give other RPCVs once they’re back
from service
is to be open and
willing to share their experience with a diverse pool of people not just with a group of individuals
that already know your experience
firefighters
they have not
known about the Peace Corps a lot
so when I meet them and we talk to them they are fascinated about the culture
the language, the food, the people, my experience,
Peace Corps, what we are about, what we do, and how
it impacts each other
I believe that the Third Goal is so much more than just giving a presentation
and sharing information about your host country the Third Goal is an opportunity
for us to
break down stereotypes about other cultures and other people
and so it helps Americans to better understand other people and other cultures and not only be tolerant but
be inviting
and appreciative of other people and cultures
there is a vast network of returned Peace Corps groups around the United States categorized
by country of service in geographic area
many of these returned Volunteer groups can be found on the national Peace Corps Association
website and many have a Speakers Bureau eager for new participants
the National Peace Corps Association is kind of a platform
a venue
a framwork whereby those who value the Peace Corps
can continue their service
something that Sargent Shriver and Harris Wofford some of the pioneers of Peace Corps
always talked about was Peace Corps was not a two-year commitment it was really
a lifetime
obligation to service
Return Peace Corps Volunteers are valuable resource to students teachers youth groups and community
organizations who want to learn more
about other countries
Return Volunteers can join Speakers Match a program through Peace Corps’ World Wise
Schools
The Third Goal of Peace Corps has been really important to me
so I approached our French teacher at the high school and said I’d be happy to
come in and do something about Senegal since it is a Francophone country but it might not
necessarily
be something that the kids are familiar with
so I was able to compare and contrast for them what their school was like with all these wonderful
computers and
things on the wall and all kinds of stuff to help enhance their education experience compared
to what my village had which was kids having a little black slate
and chalk
for doing math problems
so their living environments are different
their religion their culture might be different
but on some very core values they’re the same and our kids are discovering that
The third goal
allows us to focus on the “peace” in Peace Corps
because it allows us to create a bridge
that bridges the cultural gap
between our different cultures around the world
and now we see we've gotten almost two hundred thousand
returned Peace Corps Volunteers here in the United States and they’re leaders in every
segment of our society
in public health, in government, in both local, state and
federal government
They’re leaders in the field of
international development
In education both in
primary secondary education and higher education
They’re business leaders
So, now
they have a chance to bring back that rich experience
in support of the third goal in the United States
Peace Corps’ website makes it easy for the Peace Corps community to learn about opportunities
that support
and promote the agency’s Third Goal
There is information on how to participate in Peace Corps week
an annual series of events that honors Peace Corps’ March 1st Anniversary
Current and returned Volunteers can sign up for Correspondence Match and Speakers Match
or submit photos and stories to Peace Corps’
Digital Library.
helpful downloadable resources are also available
tools ranging from tips from fellow returned Volunteers to creative presentation ideas.
Please share your Third Goal experiences and register your activities with Peace Corps headquarters
online
It’s really important for returned volunteers
to register their Third Goal activity with the Peace Corps
It’s a great way for the agency to say, “look, these are
our returned Peace Corps Volunteers. These are how many people in the Peace Corps community that continue
to bring the world home to America.”
For more information on how to get involved in the third goal
visit w w w
dot peacecorps dot gov
slash third goal