A Backpack and a Blog

From 10 countries and countless conversations, NPCA Board Chair John Lee Evans sees a Peace Corps that's thriving — and urgently needed worldwide.

With the world in political turmoil and questions swirling about the Peace Corps’ future, I decided to embark this past fall on an epic journey to see firsthand what Peace Corps is doing around the globe. It’s been decades since I served Honduras, and I wanted to understand what service looks like today. With my 15-pound backpack in tow, I set out to circle the world and reconnect with the essence of Peace Corps, which I shared on a blog with friends and family. Here are some excerpts from what I found; a Peace Corps that’s still getting the job done. 

Albania and Montenegro  

I began my journey heading east, from California to Albania. Having served in Latin America, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Peace Corps service in Europe. Once I was outside the beautiful capital cities, however, I quickly realized that rural life can be worlds apart, and that English, a language of economic opportunity, clearly moves these countries forward. 

The Albania/Montenegro post operates as a single program covering both countries. The host-country staff provide remarkable continuity; some have been with Peace Corps since its inception. A few even learned English from Peace Corps Volunteers years ago.  

Moldova  

Moldovans are extraordinarily hospitable. Despite its small size, the country welcomed a million refugees from Ukraine when war broke out with Russia, all without establishing refugee camps. Instead, families and hotels opened their doors. 

Volunteers in Moldova serve in schools, community centers, and local government offices. Many counterparts have worked with Peace Corps for years and are crucial to sustaining the program’s impact. And many of the host-country staff have worked with Peace Corps for 20 years or more and expressed gratitude to NPCA for its ongoing advocacy. 

NPCA Board Chair John Lee Evans with Volunteers
in Timor Leste, where outgoing NPCA president
Dan Baker once worked on Peace Corps staff.

Georgia  

Peace Corps Georgia demonstrates the organization’s ability to adapt. The post has been without a country director for some time, but two American staff members have alternated leadership duties while the local staff ensures long-term stability.  

I met Volunteers working in the country’s underserved Azerbaijani communities. One English teacher, fully integrated into his school, teaches students who speak Azerbaijani at home, learn Georgian at school, and are now learning English, making his students trilingual. Another Volunteer works at a radio station promoting bilingualism. The Volunteers themselves are also becoming trilingual.  

Georgia is undergoing elections this year, with the typical political tensions of this era. While the government may be more aligned with Russia than the U.S., the country’s Ministry of Education is fond of Peace Corps. Peace Corps’ effectiveness here is attributed to its nonpartisan nature, which allows it to operate in countries with diverse types of governments.

Nepal 

A few weeks before I arrived in Nepal, I heard about a protest against government corruption called the Gen Z protest, which was massive, as roughly half the Nepali population is under the age of 25. The police began shooting after it turned into a riot, and many people were killed. Once the dust settled and the government was brought down, a 73-year-old woman was named interim prime minister. When I arrived, I saw the aftermath of the destruction, including burned-out government buildings, but all was calm.

TEFL Volunteers in Nepal do much more than work with teachers in the classroom. They initiate a variety of extracurricular activities and are beloved by the community. And some Volunteers work in environment and other sectors. They all have to deal with a wide diversity of languages from village to village, going beyond the standard Nepali language that they learn in training.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is primarily Buddhist, in contrast to Nepal, which is mainly Hindu. However, there is great respect in both countries for both religions. Here in Sri Lanka, the principal at one Volunteer’s school is a practicing Buddhist monk.   

In the hill country, where vast tea plantations can be found, I visited two Volunteers whose schools are very near each other. One is a Tamil school, and the other is a Sinhalese school. These two groups of Sri Lankans have long been divided by language and culture, and endured a long civil war, from 1983 to 2009. At the Peace Corps office, for example, the Tamil staff also spoke Sinhalese, but the Sinhalese staff did not speak Tamil. Interestingly, English can sometimes serve as a bridge between the two languages. 

Indonesia 

In Indonesia, I had the opportunity to meet with a new Volunteer cohort, a diverse group of individuals who had been in the country for only a few weeks. They were excited about what was coming up for them and were interested in what Peace Corps was like in “the old days.”  

I visited a Muslim public school and a secular public school, but there was a strong religious component in both schools. At one school, the welcoming ceremony was extravagant, featuring dignitaries, faculty, students, and religious figures. Everyone was focused on the importance of international understanding and had a great appreciation for Peace Corps. 

Timor-Leste 

Most Americans have never heard of Timor-Leste and have no idea where it’s located. The only reason I knew about it was that Dan Baker, NPCA’s CEO, had volunteered there. It’s a beautiful tropical paradise next to Indonesia, and it has great economic need. Peace Corps Volunteers are meeting some of those needs  working in classrooms, at community youth centers, and in economic development. The teachers and youth center Volunteers go beyond their stated job descriptions, participating in a variety of community projects.  

One late-career Volunteer was an international businessperson who decided he wanted to do something more meaningful. Through Peace Corps, he began working with the Bamboo Institute, a government-supported enterprise. This Volunteer was not a bamboo expert before coming here, but he has become one while utilizing his keen business skills. He is also integrated into the community and enjoys teasing his much younger host mother by calling her “mom.”

Paraguay 

My next stop was Paraguay, which has one of the agency’s largest programs, with over 130 Volunteers. It has also received significant recognition from NPCA for the outstanding work its RPCVs are doing. I met with staff, Volunteers, and longtime partners, including Lucy Aquino, director of the World Wildlife Fund in Paraguay and recipient of NPCA’s 2025 Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award. Fun fact: Two current Volunteers here first learned about Peace Corps from movie references! 

Final Thoughts 

I left Honduras and the Peace Corps 47 years ago, and it’s the fitting final stop on my trip. As I reflect on and contrast my time here with what I discovered on my journey was deeply reassuring: dedicated, hardworking Volunteers, stable and capable host-country staff, warm and welcoming host families, and counterparts who truly value the collaboration. What I’ve witnessed across continents affirms that Peace Corps continues to do precisely what it was created to do— foster international peace and friendship —something needed now more than ever.  

Read the full blog HERE