WorldView Magazine: RPCV Stories
Frostbound and Down
The desire to run a full 26.2-mile marathon in one of the world’s most inhospitable environments in existence isn’t without its fair share of cocked eyebrows and earnest inquiries into one’s mental health.
Reading Room: RPCV Book Clubs
For many, book clubs have become a doorway back to service, a place where returned Volunteers can feel the same spark of curiosity that once led them across oceans.
Snapshots of Service
RPCV Sam Friedberg (Madagascar 2017–19) has spent more than a year traveling solo through Africa and Asia, staying with over 50 Peace Corps Volunteers at their sites along the way.
Made in America
Charlie Clifford (Peru 1967–69) is the founder of Tumi Inc., a global travel luggage brand, as well as Roam Luggage. He spoke with WorldView editor Robert Nolan about how Peace Corps helps develop entrepreneurial skills and gives RPCVs the tools and confidence to start their own business ventures.
Return on Investment
As federal funding for international aid and cultural exchange programs continues to shrink, policymakers are increasingly asking whether these initiatives deliver tangible benefits to Americans. In 2021, National Peace Corps Association commissioned a major study to mark the Peace Corps’ 60th anniversary. The result—The Domestic Dividend of Peace Corps—was published in 2023 and stands as the most comprehensive analysis to date that demonstrates how Peace Corps service benefits communities back home.
Signal Boost
The digital world is awash in voices seeking monetary reward or improved social status, as the online acronym goes, IRL (in real life). There are, however, some that have dedicated their time, effort, and social media platforms to those who are in most need of the spotlight. Not surprisingly, these voices include several Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.
Plains to the Pacific
Individual actions are the building blocks to continued success. As the following updates show, when our community is mobilized, we can reach every part of this country. Here are a few examples of how local and state-based advocacy can advance our cause. This not only includes NPCA’s ongoing Stand Up for Service campaign, but, critically, our annual National Days of Advocacy in Support of the Peace Corps. During this year’s event, advocacy leaders in more than 30 states carried out close to a hundred successful activities throughout March and April.
You GLOW Girl
One of Peace Corps’ most widespread gender empowerment initiatives is Camp GLOW, which has provided the opportunity for tens of thousands of girls and young women to attend programming that develops self-confidence, leadership skills, goalsetting, gender equality, and more. Camp GLOW has been hosted in 60 different countries by Peace Corps Volunteers, counterparts, and participants over the past 29 years.
Domestic Dividend: Part III
As Dean Rusk, former U.S. Secretary of State, once said, “The Peace Corps will make its greatest contribution to foreign policy by not being a part of foreign policy.” It’s a concept the agency has had to navigate since.
Retrograde
Baktash Ahadi (Mozambique, 2005– 07) is an award-winning filmmaker, human rights activist, TEDx Speaker and RPCV. His latest film, the Emmy Award winner Retrograde, offers a first-hand account of the controversial U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the human toll the war has taken on Afghans and Americans alike. Below is a condensed and edited conversation Ahadi had with WorldView editor Robert Nolan. Robert Nolan: When I watched the film there was a particular scene when the Green Berets are breaking the news to their Afghan counterparts about the U.S. withdrawal. You could just feel how emotional those guys were and...
