I know I’m a bit late posting on this, but this week is National Peace Corps Week! Check out more about it on the Peace Corps Polyglot, the National Peace Corps Association’s blog. Also, an article by a returned Peace Corps volunteer appeared in yesterday’s USA Today arguing for a “rebuilding of the Peace Corps” from its current level of 4,000 annual volunteers to the more than 8,000 it sent 40 years ago. Money quote:
So here we find ourselves, celebrating the inauguration of President Obama, a farsighted leader who has inspired millions of young Americans with his call to service. We also find ourselves on the threshold of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s new diplomatic initiative, the exercise of “smart power” in a multifaceted effort to reclaim our moral and political integrity in the eyes of the world. The obvious equation seems written in neon: “Call to service” plus “smart power” equals Peace Corps.
Dollar for dollar, you cannot get a more reliable, cost-effective answer than the Peace Corps when the challenge is to win hearts and minds around the globe.
PS—Apologies for a few days of no posts, but like Sherry had been earlier this month, I’ve been “flat out” this week with the Alliance’s big event, an advocacy day in which our members descend on Capitol Hill to lobby their Members of Congress. I’ll post more this weekend/next week, but will also try to bang out a few latent posts now.
Tags: In the Field
