Don't cut short America's best civilian diplomats
In a small village in Gambia, Africa, in 1973, my parents traded marriage vows among a swarm of Gambians.
My mother told me how they had invited only a few of their closest Gambian friends and fellow Peace Corps volunteers. Nonetheless, in Africa, all the villagers invite themselves when someone they know throws a party.
After their wedding, my mother and father went on to finish their remaining year in the Peace Corps teaching in the Gambian schools and living a humble lifestyle.
I followed in their footsteps in 2002, volunteering to serve in Nepal as a Peace Corps volunteer . My experiences and my parents’ stories have taught me that Peace Corps volunteers are indeed America’s best diplomats.
Volunteers introduce the generosity, kindness, and friendship of America to the citizens of the world. It’s not uncommon that a Peace Corps volunteer is the only contact someone from another country may have with America.
Peace Corps volunteers live among the people, learning the language, the culture and the values of their host country.
I believe our reputation around the globe has been damaged by much of our government’s foreign policy. Peace Corps reverses that damage, lending a helping hand and an open mind instead of military action or another mega-corporation business partnership.
Understandably, I am a huge proponent of the Peace Corps’ mission to help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women as well as promote a better understanding between peoples of various cultures. As National Peace Corps Week 2009 comes to a close, I urge you to support an increase in the size and budget of the Peace Corps.
Rajeev Goyal, the campaign coordinator for MorePeaceCorps and a former Peace Corps volunteer with whom I served in Nepal, said that the Peace Corps received over 13,000 applications in 2008 for fewer than 4,000 spots and nearly 20 countries are asking for new programs.
“The continuing resolution for 2009 budgets just $340 million for the Peace Corps, just a $9 million increase over the 2008 budget,” Goyal said. “This increase will result in hundreds of fewer spots in the Peace Corps due to costly new security procedures worldwide.”
I join Goyal and the MorePeaceCorps campaign in asking you to contact your legislators and tell them you want them to become a co-sponsor of the Peace Corps Expansion Act 2009 . This legislation, introduced by Congressman Sam Farr (D-Calif.), authorizes $450 million to Peace Corps in 2010, $600 million in 2011, and $750 million in 2012.
For more information, please visit www.MorePeaceCorps.org .
Help the Peace Corps continue to send willing Americans overseas as they did for my parents and me. In this time of budget cuts and financial uncertainty, Peace Corps is a sound investment for our nation and world.
