While I’ve never been a volunteer, I have a stake in the Peace Corps.
I think it is one of the best programs ever created by our Nation and it has a simple mission:
- Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
- Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
- Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans
Of the three goals, it is the third that has been the least successful.
For almost fifty years, The Peace Corps has been inspiring some of the best and brightest to travel to far away lands and give real service for little pay—and often under some difficult conditions. These volunteers meet the needs of interested Countries and do a fantastic job of representing what is best about America.
These are amazing people and they need your help. We need to support a Bigger, Better and Bolder Peace Corps.
It is time to end the chronic underfunding of this program.
Your support is needed.
To the jump...
I have done many things in my 52 plus years, but as of yet I have not joined the Peace Corps (but I suppose that there is still time). Over the years, I have worked with many former and future Peace Corps Volunteers as colleagues at Green America (my day job). These folks have been some of the most inspiring, courageous and thoughtful people that I have ever met. The Peace Corps seems to attract great people, but I display some bias and a bit of pride.
You see, a current Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) is my eldest daughter. She is living in a a ger (or yurt) in Mongolia. She is in a village of 950 people and teaching in the local school. I am wildly proud of her. We talk from time to time thanks to the magic of Skype and it is clear to me that the Peace Corps is yet another worthwhile program underfunded during the Bush years.
Over the years, I have heard many stories about how chronic underfunding is hurting volunteers and the mission of the Peace Corps in small and big ways. For example, the third goal of the Peace Corps—to bring understanding of the world back to America—has been all but lost and is almost completely without funding. The other goals are underfunded as well. The program relies on the integrity of PCVs to succeed. It would be nice if there was the budget to keep faith with these volunteers, but cuts to the budget and the impact of the global financial meltdown are requiring PCVs to do more with less.
It used to be that every PCV was sent a regular subscription to Newsweek, but budget cuts have put an end to that regular link with home. Cuts have also led to reduced in-country trainings and the need for some PCVs to pay for their travel to receive annual medical check-ups out of their own meager salaries. The stipends for PCVs are set in the Federal Budget and the recent global financial crisis has reduced how far this money goes from month to month. This is not new. For decades now, the Peace Corps has been chronically underfunded, but the current global economic forces are hitting the program hard. One volunteer story I heard was about a PCV taking a cab ride in their host Country. The cabbie asked him about the Peace Corps and his job. After a while, the cabbie asked him how much he was paid. When the PCV told him, the cabbie refused his money for the fare and offered the volunteer a handout. Somehow, I think we, as a Nation, could do a better job of funding and expanding this program. Fortunately there is an effort afoot to do just that.
The National Peace Corps Association was formed in 1979 and has a mission to foster peace by working together in service, education and advocacy (Polyglot is the NPCA blog). Members include returned PCV and supporters of the program. They have been calling for bold steps to fund, expand and improve the Peace Corps and the appointment of a new Peace Corps Director who will fight for the program.
They recently sent a letter to President-elect Obama that cited the four key job skills needed in the next Peace Corps Director:
- The Director needs to be a forward thinking innovator, prepared to adapt the Peace Corps to better meet the needs of the 21st century. While we believe that the Peace Corps is as important now as it ever has been, the world has changed in dramatic ways since the Peace Corps was created nearly a half century ago. Despite monumental global changes, the Peace Corps model and approach remains essentially unchanged. Thus, the next Director must bring the Peace Corps into its next 50 years, taking advantage of new opportunities, such as utilizing the skills sets provided by older volunteers and developing strategic partnership with other best of class organizations, while maintaining its core values.
- The Director needs to be a passionate advocate for the independence and integrity of the Peace Corps: A hallmark of the Peace Corps’s success has been its independence. The Peace Corps’s mission is based on promoting peace and prosperity, rather than being defined by narrower geo-political interests. Any collaboration with other agencies of the U.S. government around broad national interests, such as promoting peace, addressing global poverty and advancing national service, must be done without compromising the independence of the Peace Corps.
- The Director must emphasize the success of volunteers. The effectiveness of the U.S. government in promoting peace and prosperity through the Peace Corps depends on the support provided to the volunteers in the field. The primary role of Peace Corps staff in Washington and in the field must be to find better ways to enable volunteers – and thus the communities they serve – to succeed. Peace Corps has retained global respect and admiration due to the energy, creativity and idealism of its volunteers. It is essential that the Director consider the voices of experienced Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) and work with both staff and volunteers to employ strategies that maximize successful programs for volunteers and the communities they serve.
- The Director should embrace the greater Peace Corps community as a collaborative partner with common interests and goals. It is our fervent hope the next Director and his/her staff values the relationship with the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) and the broader Peace Corps community. This community includes more than 190,000 former volunteers and 30,000 former staff, as well as their families and friends and others directly touched by the Peace Corps experience. This community is organized into more than 140 RPCV member groups and countless more on-line groups, who share the goal of bringing the Peace Corps experience back home through service, education and recruitment. This partnership is essential to realizing the statutorily mandated Third Goal of bringing the world home, which has been historically under-funded. This partnership is also of critical importance for the next Director, who will most likely oversee the 50th anniversary celebration of the agency.
As of yet a final choice for the new Peace Corps Director has not been named. Some interesting names are being floated, like former PCV and Republican Congressman Chris Shays, who is being recommended for the job by freshman Congressman Jim Himes (who defeated Shays last November). It may be months before a new Director is named, but today the Obama Transition Team named long-time Peace Corps staffer Dr. Jody K. Olsen as the acting director of the Peace Corps until a new appointment is made.
During the Bush years the Peace Corps budget has been reduced even as the need expands. Even in years where Bush increased Peace Corps funding in his budget, Congress has always found it an easy place to cut. Last September, Common Dreams published and article, No Bailout For Ailing Peace Corps, that examined this ongoing failure to support the Peace Corps. Every politician seems to express support for the Peace Corps when they run for office. Barack Obama has pledged to double the size of the Peace Corps by 2011. As the article points outs, this promise has been made before:
In 2001, President George W. Bush announced he would double the size of the Peace Corps by fiscal 2007, to 14,000 volunteers. But the popular program is currently some 6,000 volunteers short of that goal, and budgetary problems are forcing it to eliminate 400 new volunteers as well as postponing—in some cases, indefinitely—the deployment of volunteers already approved.
The Corps is also seeking to cut costs by consolidating some of its recruiting offices in the U.S. and deferring the hiring of some new personnel overseas. It has asked its managers in Washington and its 11 regional offices to reduce their budgets by 15.5 percent. Overseas, many of the Corps' foreign posts are reducing spending by consolidating two or more employee positions into one and reducing time devoted to volunteer training. [snip]
The Corps currently has 8,079 volunteers working in 74 less-developed countries. Recruiting reached a peak of about 15,000 in 1966. [snip]
The Peace Corps budget shortfall has been caused primarily by the declining value of the dollar and the consequent increases in the cost of overseas leases, living costs for volunteers, energy outlays, and foreign staff salaries. The agency, which has a budget of 330.8 million dollars, estimates its foreign currency losses from 2008 alone to be 9.2 million dollars.
We need a commitment to this program that does more than just fully funding the current needs of the Peace Corps. We need to expand the goals, vision and opportunities of the program. In short we need a bigger, better and bolder Peace Corps that is ready to meet the needs of a new century. Fortunately there is a group working to do just that and they have launched More Peace Corps, a campaign dedicated to expanding, revitalizing and funding the Peace Corps.
And here is where you come in. There are a number of ways that you can get involved to support the effort and some clear strategies to help expand the campaign. This is a grass roots effort that could use a little love from the netroots.
One strategy is to get folks to add their names to a petition that will be delivered to our next President, Barack Obama. Here it is:
To: President-elect Obama
We congratulate you on your election victory.
We are inspired by your call to U.S. citizens to serve the nation, and are especially excited by your often repeated pledge to double the Peace Corps by the 50th anniversary in 2011.
We sign this petition to express our strong support for a bigger, better and bolder Peace Corps. The Peace Corps can and should be at the foundation of your administration's renewed commitment to reach out to other nations in the very best traditions of the American people - cooperation, friendship, cross-cultural understanding and positive engagement designed to improve the human condition for millions of individuals around the world.
We look forward to working with you in achieving your goals for the Peace Corps.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
So far they have collected over 15,000 signatures, but their goal is at least 25,000. We should be able to help them get there and then some. Please add your names and spread the word. And like all grassroots efforts, they could use a donation to help fund this effort. The campaign also has a neat interface to help you write letters to your Senators and Member of Congress. Some, like Senator Herb Kohl are already on board, but we will need to get more Congressional supporters if this important program is to finally get the support it needs.
The current Peace Corps budget is small—only $331 million—and yet it delivers a big impact. This happens because of the dedication and integrity of the men and women who volunteer to serve. The budget is less than a tiny fraction of 1% of the funds spent on our Military budget. Imagine what would happen if that changed. Imagine if this program to connect the grassroots of the world was expanded. The good news is that it can. It is time to build a groundswell of support for the Peace Corps and other grassroots programs of service here and abroad.
It is time to turn the page on the Bush years.
It is time to show the world what is best about America.
Cheers