A Seat at the Table
David E. White Jr. was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate and sworn in by Director Carol Spahn as the 14th Deputy Director of Peace Corps on December 29, 2023. Previously, White held high-level positions at the Department of State and the White House. White began his career in public service as a cavalry officer in the U.S. Army and served on active duty in Kandahar, Afghanistan, from 2011 to 2012. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and earned his law degree, cum laude, from Harvard Law School. He recently spoke with Munson Steed,...
The Power of Affiliation
NPCA President Dan Baker with members of the Chicago Area Peace Corps Association in 2023Bound by our shared commitment to global peace and understanding, I am often reminded of the immense power that lies within our collective hands. The global challenges we face today are numerous and daunting, from the pressing threats of climate change and pandemics to the rise of authoritarianism and the erosion of civil dialogue and compromise. In the face of such formidable obstacles, it is imperative that we, as RPCVs armed with a unique worldview, stand united in our resolve to promote peace, justice, and compassion...
Virtual Empathy
I'm hiking through rural Haiti; birds are soaring overhead and I hear the gentle sound of waves lapping against the shore. I come across a modest three-room school- house. I wander inside among the desks, pick up a piece of chalk, and playfully scribble my name on the board. Back outside I see a well, pump water into a bucket, and carry it back to the school. The Haitian flag is fluttering in the breeze, and I turn a crank to raise it high in the air. I’m not back in Peace Corps. I’m in my living room, standing near...
Domestic Deployment
A vaccine against the virus was still a work in progress. The response to the pandemic was politicized and disorganized. And for the first time in its history, Peace Corps evacuated all Volunteers serving in the field. They returned through empty airports to a country in lockdown, with an economy in shock and a medical system pushed to the edge. But from all this bad news a possibility emerged. Public health systems across the country were in desperate need of contact tracers to reach out to people who had been diagnosed with COVID. And more than 7,000 Volunteers had suddenly...
Keep the Pep in PEPFAR
From my first week living in Motse Mocha, Quthing District, Lesotho, I heard drums and singing late into the night every Friday. Only after meeting my neighbors and making friends did I understand that the music was for funeral preparations. After several months I, too, was invited to stay up late, peeling carrots and chopping onions by paraffin lamplight to make food for grieving family and friends gathering for the next day’s burial. Eventually, I lost count of the number of funerals I attended. When my Peace Corps service began in 2005, nearly one in four people in Lesotho were...
Diary of a First-Time Advocate
8:30AM It is a windy morning when I arrive at our Peace Corps meeting point in an old church located two blocks away from the Supreme Court and the Capitol building. Ever since I moved to Washington D.C., I am continuously amazed and humbled by our nation’s magnificent venues. When I arrive at the church, I am impressed by the large number of former Peace Corps Volunteers who, like me, had served our country in previous years. Everyone I greet is kind as we share experiences about serving on the ground with our global communities. 8:45AM Jonathan Pearson, Peace Corps Advocacy...
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...
Rallying Point
Peace Corps service instills an ethos of growth through giving back that still drives Returned Peace Corps Volunteers today. Volunteerism is declining across the United States, according to Philanthropy News Digest, but RPCVs understand the personal enrichment that comes from service done right. We have firsthand experience of the profound fulfillment offered by meaningful volunteer opportunities with visible community impact, versus passive acts such as signing petitions or donating money. In the current social and political climate, we must keep this distinctive spark of service alive by engaging in actions that have purpose beyond ourselves. That doesn’t mean preaching morals;...
Engineered for Consumption
Most people in the developed world would agree with the statement “Water is life.” After all, our hands, lips, food, clothing, and household surfaces come in contact with clean, safe water multiple times a day. How could we exist without it and still be healthy enough to maintain our daily activities? We couldn’t. Most of us have never needed to try. Poor-quality water equates to a suboptimal life, one at significant risk of poor health, poverty, and hopelessness. Water Engineers for the Americas and Africa (WEFTA) is intent on reducing that risk by working with rural and Indigenous com- munities...
Putting the Peace in “Peace Corps”
Peace Corps has played a significant yet often unrecognized role in global peacebuilding, the focus of this edition of WorldView. Current conflicts around the world, especially those occurring in countries where many of us have served, are heartbreaking to follow and devastating to our families, counterparts, and communities. At NPCA, our unequivocal goal is to help counter the forces that drive conflict by supporting the deployment of greater numbers of Peace Corps Volunteers to serve (safely) in developing countries where war has existed in the past and will likely exist again. And, of course, we continue to support the valiant...