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15 October 2004

Peace Corps Helping Others Better Understand U.S., Official Says

Volunteers highlight U.S. diversity, agency's Vasquez adds

By Kathryn McConnell
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- In a world of security concerns and cultural misunderstandings, Peace Corps volunteers from all backgrounds are changing views of the United States and of its people, says Gaddi Vasquez, the agency's director.

"There has never been a greater time to promote understanding," he said October 14 at the National Press Club in Washington.

With more than 7,500 volunteers, the Peace Corps is at its highest level in 28 years and hopes to grow further, Vasquez said, adding that the institution is continually changing to meet developing countries' needs. In recent years, he said, the agency has expanded its programs in agriculture, community development, information technology, HIV/AIDS, and programs focusing on educating girls and helping them build self-esteem.

Volunteers also are working around the world in areas such as environmental protection and job creation, he said.

But as the agency changes, the Peace Corps goal remains the same: "promoting global peace and understanding," Vasquez said.

The director said that there are no boundaries to where the Peace Corps could serve in the developing world. He said currently 20 percent of Peace Corps volunteers serve in 18 Muslim countries, ranging from Morocco to Uzbekistan and Mauritania. Of the 27 countries that have asked for the Peace Corps to start or restart programs, 13 are Muslim, he said.

"These countries want to better understand America," he added.

The Peace Corps also is evaluating how it might reopen a program in India, where 1,000 volunteers once served, Vasquez said.

Vasquez said the effect of Peace Corps volunteers on the people in their host communities can last lifetimes. For instance, he said, a woman who is now a leader in Afghanistan's government told him that she had learned English from a volunteer.

As a boy, Peru's President Alejandro Toledo also was taught by volunteers, Vasquez said.

By living and working at the community level, Peace Corps volunteers are able to change beliefs "that all Americans look the same," Vasquez said.

He recalled a Muslim volunteer serving in Cameroon telling him that his host community initially was surprised to see a Muslim from the United States. Then the volunteer sat down and talked to his neighbors and they developed a greater appreciation for the diversity of the United States, Vasquez said.

Vasquez, a Hispanic American, recalled another story illustrating how the Peace Corps helps change peoples' views of the United States. He said when he visited a school in Casablanca, a Moroccan boy told him, "You don't look like an American."

"That experience gave me an opportunity to put a face on America" for the boy, the director said.

To further illustrate the diversity within the Peace Corps, Vasquez pointed to the volunteers now in the Peace Corps' newest host country -- Mexico. That group includes volunteers born in Iran, Armenia, the Czech Republic and India as well as in the United States, he said.

Wherever they serve, Peace Corps volunteers do so in a manner that respects their host countries' traditions and cultures, Vasquez added.

Since its beginning in 1961, the Peace Corps has served in 137 countries. It now serves in 71. The Peace Corps serves only in countries where it has been invited and where volunteers' safety and security can be assured, Vasquez said.

More than 170,000 people have served as Peace Corps volunteers.

Pointing to the Peace Corps' impact on the people of the United States, Vasquez said that when volunteers return home they are able to help people in their communities better understand the cultures and values of the countries in which they served.

The administration has requested $401 million for the Peace Corps for the fiscal year that began October 1, Vasquez said.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)