American I.V.S.volunteers carry on amidThe following articleappewed re.

cenily in Parademagazine;itisre.printed here with permission, Moreinformation aboutthe activities of In.termtional Vo!unta~ Services may beobtained by writing to the organizational 1555 Connecticut Ave. N. W,,Wmhington, D, C, 20036.

By M~otie Hope

TO the45,000 U.S.militaryservingin embattledVietnam;add 80 youngAmerican volunteerswho each dayliterallyrisktheirlivesina swuggleasgrim as thewar itself.These youngpeople—65 men and 15 girl-arefightingsomehow to yank a way oflifeintotherealitiesof the20thcc”.tu~.Servingon two-yearcontractsfor

$80 a month,theseyoung AmericansrepresentingInternationalVOluntaWServicesare schoolingSouth Viet-namese peasantsinimprovedagricu-lturaltechniques,working in public.healthprogramsor teachingscience,vocationalsubjects,and English.Op-eratingout of 30 centersscatteredthroughoutthecountryside,theylivewiththepeasants,sharetheirdangersand hardships,evenlearntospeaktheextremelydifficultlanguage,I.V.S,,foundedin 1953,withhead-

quartersinWashington,D, C.,istheonlyvoluntarygroupworkinginViet.nam. Ithasgoneintodangerousareasof theworld where thePeaceCorpshasnot,WhileI.V.S,-ershaveseldombeenunderfire,theyarepreparedforanything,Some of them work in thestrife-tornDelta,some inpartsofthecount~ more freeof VietCOng co”.trol.Washingtonhas saidLV,S.willremain in Vietnam as long as thereareAmericansthere.Encounterswith the Vlet Cong—

director indirect—arepartof every.day lifefor I.V.S.-ers.Agriculturalteams may arrivein a town to pickup supplies4nlytodiscoverthatthewarehousewas burneddown an hourbefore,CarlieAllenderhas receivedprintedwarningstellinghernottobein contactwith the military.LesfieSmalltellsof a timehe stoppedalonga road in theDeltato takepicturesand was invitedintoa farmer’shousefor tea, Another guest there wasrather“unusual”and began to arguethattbe Viet Cong r~rexnted the

Vietnamese—whiletheotherstriedtokeep him quiet.When theVietCong attackedMy

The, KirkDimmit witnessedthesud-den deathsof severalVietnamesehehad known. Then quicklyhe beganorganizingan escapefortheremain-ing villagers.After being flown toSaigonto reportthe incident,Kirkinsistedon returningto My Tbo toattendthefuneraloftheslainvillagers,Althoughauthoritieswantedto trans-ferhim immediatelyafterwardsfromthisdangerousarea,Kirk stayedonforseveralweekstohelpmaintainthemoraleof thepeople,BeforeleavingMy The, he was citedhy theAmeri-canambassadorforheroism,

Despite these experiences,therehave been no casualtiesduringtheeightyews LV.S.+rshave worked inVietnam. How have theybeen abletoavoidaccidents?LV.S. teams are based in towns

heldhy thegovernment,and memberswork outfrom thereintomore remoteareas,How fartheyventuredependson the individual+n his feelingsshoutthis,and on how wellhe knowsthepeople,Leadersneverask teammembers togo intoareastheydo notwishto enter.On thecontra~,theyask the group to the precautions,%metimes theyhavehad toholdbackI,V,S.-ers.

fighting in VietnamActually,the Viet Cong seldo@

molestAmerican civiliansand gener.allywan them againstgoingintocer-tainareas.As a Vietnameseschoolprincipalputit,“The VietCong knowhow much the people appreciateI,V,S,-er~the V.C. wouldn’tdaretouchthem.” In fact,I.V.S,membershave heard themselvesdescribedinCommunist broadcastsas young pe~pleworkingforthegood of thevii.lagerswho shouldnotbe molested,It is ve~ difficultto describea

,,tYPicalday” in I.V.S.,formembersareconstantlyadaptingto new situa.tions,John timmers,forinstance,isa hamleteducationadtiserwho maydo anythingfrom seeingthatcementforschoolfoundationsismixed properly,to dismibutinghealthpamphlets,or helpingraiserabbitstosupplementthesalariesofIocdVietnameseteach-ers.D~ing a month he oftenmakesmore than 70 visitsby hehcopterto50 differenthamletsinthetwo Htgh.landprovincesinwhichhe works,Ifthehelicopterbreaksdown, he maystayovernightina Montagnardtribes-

*man’s hut,diningon rice wine an:fish,learningtoplaytheMontagnar ~flute,and sleepingon a woven bambooplatform,When theflodscame lastfall,John

helpedmobilizeteamsof Vietnamesestudentsheadedforthedisasterareas.

(Continued on back page)

QI,V.S.vol””teerCharlesSweet,of Ithaca,NY.,supewisesa workcampPrOieCt0the NationalVolunta~SewicesofVietnam,a sewiceorganizationforstudent!begun by I,V.S,Sweet has a B.A.in Englishfrom Cornell,grantedin 1964,

2

The new batch

*

!. More than 6000 potentialPeace‘orpsVolunteersare going throughainingthissummer in 110 separate

trainingprogramsatcolleges,univer-sities,and othersitesacrossNorthAmerica—and infourinstances,over-seas,Of the6000-PIusTraineesentering

trainineinJune.Julv.andAueust.475arecol~egejuniorst~kingpart~nPhase1 of theAdvanced TrainingProgram,eight-weekcoursesforcollegejuniorswho plan to enterthe Peace Corpsupongraduation,The remainderofthesummer Traineeswillbe candidatesforsonle4400 assignmentsfor newVolunteersinfourPeaceCorpsregions—Africa,LatinAmerica,theFarEast,and “NANSSA—North Africa,theNear East,and SouthAsia,Roughlyfourof everytennew Volunteerswill

go to LatinAmerica,threeof eve~tento Africa,and theremainderwillbe dividedaboutequallybetweentbeFar Eastand NAN=A.At theend ofJuly,therewereg241

Volunteersalreadyatwork in46 coun-tries.Of thatnumber,about900 arescheduledtocompleteservicethisyear.With the new Volunteersbeginning

“*”

~ervicethissummer and fall,therewille approxlnlately11,400Volunteerson the10bby theend oftheyear.By

PEACE CORPS

AUGUST 1965Volume Ill,Number 10

P“b!ished monthly by the Wvlslonof Vol.”teer Suppon, Peace Corps,

Wa$hin @on, 0. C, 20525,

Deane Wylie, edlton Job” English, as.ststant editoq Susan Murray, editorialassistant; PaulReed,atidirector.

ON THE COVER—TOGO Moniq.e,Laure,and ColettearestudentsatcollegeNotreDame de,AP4tre.InLomb;NancyMerritt(page111istheirteacher.SENEGAL Mel Zwey8ardt[St,F,a”cis,K..,)teacheswrestlingto S...8.1.s.students.IVORYCOAST:man..HafiIpage21)visitshomeoffoyerstudent.NIGER:KarenSelser(Newpoti,Ten”.]teaches.Utri.t!..and childcareInmndu homevisit.GUINEA:Ron Boring(A%adia,Callf,texaminescor”fie!dsoilwith$t.de”t$atNationalSchoolofAgri.cultureinFouta.RePortsfromeachofthefiveCO”ntrie$begin0“Dage7.Featurednextmonth:Brazil,

VolunteersboundforTurkeyawaitdepartureinPanAmericanterminalatKennedyAirpotiinNew York.MorethanWOO new Volunteerswillgo abroadthissummer.

theend ofAugust,1966,PeaceCorpsplanscallformore than15,000Volun-teerstobe workingabroad.Thissummer asinthepast,mostof

the trainingprograms are 12-weekcoursesrunby Americancollegesanduniversities,operatingunder PeaceCorps contracts.The PeaceCorpsit-selfis responsiblefor a number ofprograms at its“in-house”trainingsitesin PuertoRico and the VirginIslands,usedforVolunteersbound forLatinAmerica and Africa.Some 400 former Volunteersare

workingwithmaining-institutionstaffsthissummer,offeringtheirexperienceto tbe Volunteers-to-be,Except forthoseatthePeaceCorpscamps intheCaribbean,theex-Volunteersarehireddirectlyby the participatingcollegesand universities.The largestnumber of Traineesin

a singleprojectisa group of 286 atSan Jose (Calif.) StateCollegepre-paringforteachingdutyinthePhilippines;togetherwithanothergroupof161 atSacramentoStateCollege,alsopreparingforteachingassignmentsinthe Philippines,they representtbelargestnumber of Traineespreparingforservicein any one country.Thesmallestgroup ison the campus ofSouthernIllinoisUniversityatCarbon-dale—12 Traineeswho arepreparingforjohsintheWest AfticannationofSenegal,wheretheywillbe ruralvma-tionalteachers.Thissummer fourgroupsarecom-

pletingtheirtrainingoverseas.Afterspendinga month ontbePrincetonandPortland(Ore.)StateCollegecampuses,

3

a gOUP of 272 Englishteachersandruralcommunity-developmentworkersforTurkey arefinishingtheirmainingatRobeflCollegeinJstanbuland theMiddle East TechnicalUniversityinAnkara.AnothergroupofVolunteerstrainingoverseasistbeThailandma-Iaria+radicationproject,whichwillgettwo months’ technicaltraininginManila. Rural community-develop-mentworkerstrainingattheUniversityof Missourihave fiveweeks of in-countV traininginBolivia.

Trainingin Canada md Metico

ThreepredominantlyNegro univer.sitiesarecurrentlyadministeringPeaceCorps progranls,AtlantaUniversity’sMorehouseand SpelmanCollegesarebandlingTraineesinAdvanced Train-ingPro@ams forGhana,Nigeria,andSierraLeone projects.LincolnUni-versityin PennsylvaniaisconductingtrainingforBarbadosand St,Lucia.A Gabon school-constructionprojectwas co-ordinatedby SouthernUniver-sityon botb itsBaton Rouge, La.,campus and the new Peace CorpsCenter on St.Croix in the VirginIslands.Severalprojectswillhavefieldtrain-

ing in neighboringcountries.In”tbefinalphaseof an Advanced TrainingProgram directedby DartmouthUni-versity,Traineesassignedto Guinea,Senegal,Togo,ind Cameroon areliv-ingwithFrench-CanadianfamiliesinLa Pocati&re,a town about80 milesnorthof Quebec City,whiletrainingattheCol12gedeSte,Anne de laPoca-

ti2re.Four Latintiericu propamswilltrainin Mexic*Trainees in aColombia projectat San Diego StateCollegewillwork invillagessouthofTijuana;Chile community-develop-ment workersatMichiganStateUni.versitywilltrainin the Michoacinareaof centralMetico,and Traineesassignedto Boliviaand El Salvadorat the Universityof Oklahoma willspenda month insoutheasternMexico.On the otherhand,Traineesin a

Jamaicaeducationprogramaretrain.inginJamaica—atSt.Johns’sUniver.sity,Jamaica,bng Jsland,N.Y.TraineesforBrazilarewell-scattered

acrosstheu.S.:sch~l.lunchprogramTraineesare at Georgetown Univer.sity,urbancommunity-actionworkersareattheUniversityofFlorida,healthworkersare at MarquetteUniversityin Milwaukee,4-H organizersareatArizona StateUniversity,and com-munity developersin the AdvancedTrainingProgramare‘attheUniversityofTexas.

An expedmentd progmm

In thePeace Corps-staffedcenters,a GuatemalaresettlementprojectisatCanlpRadley,and DominicanRepub.Iicand VenezuelaTraineesare atCamp Crozierin kecibo, PuertoRico.Agroupof Trai”eesforNigeriawillhaveagriculturaland communitydevelopmentfieldexperienceat theSt.Croixcenterin lateAugust,aftertrainingat MichiganStateUniversity,An experimentaltrainingprogram

isundeway at St,John’sCollegeinAnnapolis,Md. Traineesin an Jndiapoult~projecthavea four-patsched.ttlcthatincludeslanguageinstruction(Hindi),areastudiesand otheraca-demic courses,poultv production,and eveningseminarsbased’on theGreat Books proflam forwhich thecollegeiswellknown. Reduced em-phasisisplacedon classroomlecture,and more importanceisattachedtoreading,reflection,and discussioninseminarsessionsofabout20 Traineeseach.%rving on the St,John’straining

staffas languageand areainformantsare fiveIndianswho representa“initialeffortfor a ,~reversePeaceCorps’’—anideathatgrew out of aconferenceof returnedPeace Corps

Volunteerslast March. Followingcompletionof theSt.John’strainingprogram,tbeIndianswillwork indis.advantagedareasof the U.S. alongwithVISTA volunteersasworkersinAnlerica’santipovertyprogra”.

Doctors at DukeA new Peace Corps program got

underway in mid-Julyas 17 Volun.teerdoctorsenteredtrainingatDukeUniversity.Headed for seven countries—Af.

ghanistan,Ethiopia,Jndia,Iran,Ma.Iawi,Tunisia,andTurkey—theVolun.teerdoctorsin most situationswilldividetheirtimeabroadbetwee”workincurativemedicine;teachingmedicalstudents,dmtors,and healthworkers;and inpreventivemedicine,includingsanitation,nuwition,mass immuniza-tion,a“d otherlarge-scaleeducationpropams.

The 12-weekwainingprogram atDuke includesinstructionin each of,theseareas,togetherwithmethodsteaching,

@Practicalwork in labor

toriesandittnearbycommunitiessup.plementsthecourse,More than300hoursof classesin languagetraining,regionalstudies,and historyare in-cludedinthecurriculum,Most of theVolunteerdoctorswill

takedependentsahroad.Only2 ofthe17 doctorsintheprogramaresingle.Wives of the other 15 have skillsrangingfrom microbiologytoelemen.tary teachtig.Five are registerednurses,Betweenthe15 familiesthereare22 children(andin one instance

4

anotherisexpectedshortly);one doc-tor—a specialistin obstetricsand

@

‘ ‘qnecology—hasfivechildren.The childrenwillalsoundergosome

phasesof the trainingprogram,in-cludinglanguagetraining.Wives of thedoctorshave theoP-

tionof becoming Volunteersthem-selves.Most havedecidedtotakethestepand areparticipatingfullyinthetrainingprogramwiththeirhusbands.Most of thedoctorsarein theirlate20sandearly30s,butseveralareover50 and two areintheir70s.In anotherPeace Corps program,

50 doctorsdepartedtheu.S. in lateJulyforposts.abroadas PeaceCOrPSstaffphysicians.They spenttwo weeksat theCommunicableDiseaseCenteratAtlanta,Ga.,and a week atPeaceCorpsheadquartersinWashingtonbe-forebeadingoverseas.A staffnursealsotookpartintheprogram.Thegroup studiedtropicalmedicine

and parasitologyand bad PeaceCorpsorientationtogetherwith “preventivepsychology”duringthe trainingses-sions.

u.S.P.H.S.wis@ Peace Coqs

All staffdoctorsand nursesarecommissionedofficersintheU.S.Pub-

*ICHealthService,DetailingofPublicHealthServicedoctorsand nursesasPeace Corps medical-staffmembersdatesto 1961 when Peace Corps Di-rectorSargentShriveraskedtheserv-icetoassistthefledglingPeaceCorpsorganization,During the past fouryears,more than125 U,S.P.H.S.doc-torshaveservedinPeaceCorpsmed-icalposts,Most went abroadshortlyaftercompletinginternshipsin theU.S, Theiraverageage has been 27,and theyfulfillselective-serviceobli-gationsby theirduty as U.S,P.H.S.officers.The solenurse in thislastgroup

to go abroadisMargaretGallen,ofPhiladelphia.She seinedas a Volun-teernurseinTunisia,and willbe as-signedto work withthePeaceCorpsstaffdoctorinGuinea.Anotherform-erVolunteernurseisalreadyworkingoverseasas a U,S.P.H.S. officeras-signedto the Peace Corps, She isAndrea Reule,of Garden City,N,Y,,assignedtoTanzania,The PeaceCorps MedicalDi”ision

has askedfor additionalstaffnursesand isencouragingformerVol””teernursesto applyforU,S,P,H,S.tom.

P

issions(a bachelor’sdegreeis re-qtiiredalongwiththeR.N.) and serve

“ anothertwo yearsabroad.

VolunteerengineerstrainingforNepaltesttheirhandiworkat thePeaceCorpstrainingcamp inWaipioValleyonislandofHawaii.Fmm leftareRobertGunderson(Peetz,Colo.],EricJohnson(Chatham,NJ.),supewisorRaymond Arrayjo,PeterCoyne(Pittsburgh,Pa.),DanielHarris(Rolls,Me.),and ScottWalker(Nassawadox,Va,).They builtthe 93-footbridgeovera 19-footgorge,ttslnglocalmaterials.

More ex-Volunteers for the Foreign ServiceThe PeaceCorpsmd theStateDe-

pztment aretakingstepsto seethatmore formerVoluntmrsareacceptedinto the Foreign Srvice, SargentShriversaidinJuly.Shriver’scomments came inanswer

toaletterfrom SenatorFrank Churchof Idaho,a member of the SenateForeignRelationsCommittee.Churchhad askedwhy more formerVolun-.teerswere not joiningthe ForeignService.Shriver’sanswernotedthatpartof

tieproblemwas thattheStateDepart-ment currentlyadmitsfrom thousandsof applicantsonly about 165 newForeignServiceOfficerseachyearintotheForeignServiceand theU.S.In-formationAgency.CitingtheexperienceofVolunteers

who have appliedfor tbe ForeignService,Shrivernoted thatthroughDecember,1964,865 Volunt=rs(al-mosta quarterofthemor~tftan3700Volunteerswho had then completedservice)had applied;579 had takenthewrittenexam; 110 had passedthewrittenexam, and 46 had passedtheoralexam.As of May 3, 1965,therewere 74

waitingtotaketheoralexam. Sixhadbeen appointedForeign&mice Of-ficers,and eightappointmentswerepending,For thesame perid therecordof

Volunteerexperiencein applyingforthe U.S. InformationAgency showsthat407 had applied;229 had taken

5

thewrittenexam; 37 had passed,and12 had takentbe oralexam. As ofMay 3, 15 were waitingto taketheoralexam and 4 had beenappointed.For the most recent combined

ForeignSewice-U,S.I.A.exam, givenMay 1, Shrivernoted thatof 361Volunteerswho apphed,220 actuallytookthetestand67 passed.He notedthatthepassingratewas thesame asfornOn-VOlunteerapplicants.“I believethe recordshouldand

can be better,”Shriversaid,althoughhe calledita “good rmord,consider-ing the Volunteershave oftenbeenaway from unacademic environmentforat leasttwo ye~s and are oftenout of touch with currenteventsinthiscountry.,’Anotherthingthatkeepsmore Vol-

unteersfromjoiningtbeForei@ Sem-ite,Shriversaid,istbetimeittakesforappointment;many waittwo yearsfromthetimeofapplicationmtiltheyreceivean appointment,he noted.Inthemeantime,many mkeothercom-mitments.To helpreducethedelay,Shriversaid,theStateDepament hasagreedtousetheresultsof thePeaceCorps backgroundinvestigation,andmay soongivetheoralexaminationaswellas thewrittenexaminationover-seasat tocationsaccessibleto Volun-teers.The PeaceCorpshasalsosuggested

thatForeign%rvice recruitersstresstheadvantageof PeaceCorpssemiceasa preparationfortbeForeign&rv-ice,Shriversaid.

Accidents inthree countries take thelives of four Volunteers; four are injuredFour PeaceCorps Volunteerswere

killedin accidentsin threecountriesinJuneand July,bringingthetotalofVolunteerskilledin serviceto 17.In southeasternEcuador,Volunteer

James Joseph Hughes, 24, of SanFrancisco,and a localRoman Cath@licmissiona~were drowned July30astheywere fordingtheUpano Rivernearthecommunityof Macas,on theeasternslopeof theAndes 150 milessouthofQuito.me accidentoccurredas Hughes

and themissionarywere crossingthestreamwitha canoe,assistedby twolocalmen. A strongcurrentsweptthem downstream,hut thelocalmensurvived.Hughes was a community-action

worker assignedto the developmentof co+ps. He went to Ecuador inOctober,1964. At the time of theaccidenthe was travelingtoMacas toteacha coursein accountingfor alocalcreditco-operative,A graduateoftheUniversityofSan

Franciscowith a B.A. in history,Hugheshadspentthes”mmerof 1962studyingatGuadalajara,Mexico,thenenteredlaw schoolat the Universityof San Francisco,where he had beengranteda scholarship.He was man.agingeditorof the universitynem-paperand had receivedan award forexcellencein journalism.He iss“r.vivedby hisparents,Mr. and Mrs.John A. Hughes, of San Francisco.Funeralserviceswere held in SanFrancisco.

JosephHughes FrancisKirting

A VolunteerinIran,FrancisLesterKirking,22, of Cashton,Wis.,diedJune 23 inan attempttosavethelifeof an Iranianyouth.Witnessessaw Kirkingplungeinto

theCaspianSea “earBandar Farah-naz,a portcityi“lran,sFirstPrOvincenear the cityof Resht. Kirkingre-spondedtocriesforhelpfrom AbbasKarimiof Shiraz.Theirbodieswerelaterrecovered.

Kirkinghad bee” in Iran sinceMarch,1964,assignedtowork withalocala~iculture-extensionagentoffer.ingtechnicaladvicetofarmersintheFarahnazarea.The peopleof Farah-naz mourned Kirking’sdeath bymarchingthroughthestreetscarryingblack“bannersand whisperingprayers,A memorialservicewas heldat thefran-AmericaSocietyCulturalCenterinTehran,Funeralserviceswereheldin Cashton,Kirkingwas theoldestofeightchil-

dren.His parents,Mr. and Mrs.Les.terKirking,raisecattleand tobaccoon a farm nearCashton,Kirkingat-tendedWisconsinStateCollegeandtheUniversityofWisconsinfrom 1960to 1963,working30 hoursa week tofinancehiseducation.He plannedtoreturnfora degreeafterPeaceCorpsservice.In additiontohisparents,heissurvivedby fourbrothersand threesisters.

DominicanRepublicaccident

Two PeaceCorps Volunteerswerekilledandfourinjuredina two-vehiclecollisionJune 25 in the DominicanRepublic,Gareth Wayne Simmons, 22, of

Binghamton, N. Y., and RobertFranklinZech,24,of Ponce,PuertoRico,diedwhen a jimeyinwhichtheywere ridingcollidedhead-onwith asmalltruck.The accidentoccuredinthelateafternoonon a highwaycumeabout 16 milesnorthwestof SantoDomingo.Simmon’s wife,JudithEllen,22,

was wriouslyinjuredwith a frac.luredpelvisand abdominalwounds,Also hospitaliztiwith a fracturedpelviswas Resna EloiseAllen,22,ofFayetteville,N,C. VolunteersDamelLee Diedrichs,21,of Lincoln,Neb.,and JulieJane Cunningham, 21, ofErie,Pa.,weretreatedforminorcuts.Mrs. Simmons, firsttreatedat a

U.S. kmy fieldhospitalin SantoDomingo, was sentto a hospitali“Binghamton,N.Y.,near her parents’home.TraveOingwiththeVolunteerswas

JOS6Borrero,a friendof&cFs fromPuertoRico who had come to theadjoiningislandto help ~ch run aY.M.C.A, summer camp. Borrerosuf.fereda concussionin thecrash.Thejitneydriverand pmwngers of theothervehiclealsoincurredminor in.juries.

6

. .—-.

~Q-p-

/kyi &%GarethSimmons RobertZech

PeaceCorpsofficialsintheDomini-canRepublicsaidtheVolunteerswereenroutetoSantoDomingo from theirassignmentsinthetownsofSan Fran-ciscode Macoris,inDuarteprovince,and Constanza,inLa Vega Province,Zech had been workinginSan Fran-ciscode MacoriswithY.M,C.A. pro-grams and othercommunity-develop-ment projects.In May, he extendedhistwo-yearservicefor sixmonths.Simmons and hiswifewere servingascommunity-actionworkers in Cons-tanza,Zecb was born in Chambersburg,

Pa,,and grew up inPonce,wherehisparents,theRev,and Mrs. Harry E.

‘*Zech,aremissionaries,Zech was b]lingual,and was activeinBoy Scouts-and Y,M.C,A, and presidentof hishigh-schoolclass.In June,1963,hereceiveda B.S. in chemistryfronlOtterbeinCollege,Westerville,Ohio.

LatinAmerica childhood

In additionto hisparents,Zech issurvivedby a sisterand two brothers.Funeralserviceswere heldin SpringGrove,Pa.Simmons spent his childhoodin

LatinAmerica.He was borninLagoColony,Aruba,intheDutch Antilles,where hisfatherwas employedwithan oilcompany. He fivedforperiodsinSan Jos6,CostaRica,and Caracas,Venezuela,and attendedhighschoolin San Antonio,Tex. He spenttwoyearsat GracelandCollege,Lamoni,Iowa,and a yearatWashingtonUni.versity,St.Louis,Mo,His parents,Mr. and Mrs. Wayne

E. Simmons,arenow missionariesinMexico,Simmons isalsosurvi”edbytwo brothers.Funeralserviceswereheldin Cameron, Mo, Specialme-

4

morialservicesfor both Volunteerwere held in Santo Domingo anPonce,

FRENCH-SPEAKING WEST AFRICA

Volunteers encounter ‘la civilisation franqaise’

HE OLD French West Africa,agroup of eightFrench overseas

,=:.errltorles,coveredan areanearlytwo-thlrdsas large as the continentalUnited States,encompassinga widerange of topographicaland climaticconditions.The formercoloniesembracedmost

of thegreatAfricanbulgeprotrudingintotheAtlantic,withGambia,Portu-gueseGuinea,SierraLeone,Ltberia,the Gold Coast (now Ghana), andTogoland(nowdividedbetweenGhanaand Togo) formingenclavesalongthecoast,Establishedby an 1895decree,FrenchWest Africaincludedtheterri-toriesthatnow xe theindependentna-tionsof Mauritania,Mali, Senegal,Guinea,theIvoryCoast,Upper Volta,Niger,andDahomey.Today infourof thosecountries—

Guinea,theIvoryCoast,Niger,andSenegal—and in Togo, formerlyaU.N. trusteeshipunder theFrench—thePeace Corps has more than 250Volunteersatwork.Peace Corps programsin French-

speaking(orfrancophonc,a word thatseemstobe catchingon) West Africabegan in 1962,largelywith English-teachingprojectswithinetistingschoolsystems,but alsoincludingsuch ex-

B

erimentsas themedicaland fishingrejectsinTogo.Programshavebeendiversifiedsince

then,and now Volunteersareworkingin agriculture,publichealth,schoolbuilding,secretarialtraining,commu-nityaction,road construction,andmore, in additionto teaching.NowintrainingintheUS. are160 poten-tialVolunteerswho willbe goingabroadinSeptemberand October.Volunteerworkingand livingcondi-

tionsin thefivecountriesvaryfromconsiderablehardshiptorelativecom-fortand even luxury,by localstaod-ards;thereare actuallyVolunteerslivinginmud huts—whichmay comeas a shock to some who dec~ thatelusive“image’’-andthere~e a fewwho have air-conditionedcottages,

Islamdominatesinterior

French influencein the fivehost-countiiesis alsovaried,almost aswidelyas theexpanseof theregion.Ties with France are stiongestinSenegaland the Ivoy Coast,wherethe prevailinggovernmentsremainalliedboth economicallyand cul-turally.Even inGuinea,whereWest-ernapproachesarelessinevidence,ameal at the H6tel de France inConakryisservedintraditionalFrenchmanner. Once outsidethe capitalcities,however,Volunteersencounterlocallanguages,customs,and tradi-tionalways oflife.

7

in former colonies

Some of the peoplesof the fivecountriessubscribeto Christianity,some toIslam,and some toanimism.Oftentheestablishedreligionsaread-mixed with fetishism.Toward theinterior,where Muslim influencehasbeenfeltsincethetraderscrossedthedeserta thousandyearsago, Islamdominates.For the nomadic peopleofthenorthitseemstbeidealreligion,sinceitinvolveslittleorganizedritualand allowsfor polygamy,a custompracticedby mostAfricantribesfromtheirorigins.The Volunteerin French-speaking

Africahasadjustmentstotwo culturesto make on hisamival.On tfteonehand,thereistheinfluenceprevailingamong theFrench-educatedelitewithitsemphasis on formal education,reasoning-within-the-system,and alltheotherelementsfound in lacivili-sation iran~aise. On theotherhand,

once Out of settledurban areastheVolunteerimmediatelyfindsculturesfardifferentfrom any he hasknown.The challeng+and thefrustrations

—are as greathere as in any areawhere Peace Corps Volunteerswork.What follows,inthewords ofVolun-teersand staffmembers, willsuggestsome of the flavorof West Aficatoday,and willde~ribethekindsofjobsVolunteersthereareundeflaking.

TOGO

Progress with a

By Samuel V. StilH

Lomi, Togo

Most stampcollectorshaveheardofTogo. For yearsshehasissuedmanystamps,beautifulstamps,bearingtheexoticnames Togo andTogoland,Butveryfewpeopleknow much aboutthissmallcount~,which was firsta Ger-man colony,thenwas ruledby theFrench for forty-oneyears,and be-came independentjustfiveyearsago.VolunteershavebeeninTogo threeofthosefiveyearsof independenceinteaching,medical,and fishingprojects.Togo was nevera Frenchcolony,It

was a LeagueofNationsmandateandthen a United Nations trusteeship.This has made a differencefor tbeVolunteers.For example,95 percentof theteachersareTogolese;theVol-unteersoutnumber allthe expatriateteachersput together,There isnoproblemof identificationwithexpatri-ates,The Peace Corps teacbe~havebeen acceptedas helpfulco-workers,Another differenceresultingfrom

gong-gong

recentpoliticalhistoryalso affectsEnglish teaching,Firmer BritishTogolandisnow thee~ternthtidofGhana, buttribaland fmily tiesarestillstrong,and many peopleinTogospeaksome,English.Almostallwanttolearnmore. StudyingEnglishisnotjustsomethingtobe done topasstheexamination,Tbe 33 Volunteerteachersaccount

for60 percentoftheEnglishteachersinsecondaryschools.Next yeartheirnumber willdouble.Theireffectisnot in numbers alone.They aretheonly non-AfricanteachersinGovern-ment schoolsteachingoutsidetbetwolargestcities—Lom&and Sokod6.Theaudio-lingualmethod isbeingslowlyadoptedby theTogoleseteachersofEnglish,The fishingproject,which started

in marine fishing,has gone inland.Volunteersarenow helpingto buildponds and teachingpeopleto raisefishin them—to “fishfarm.’,Inprotein-shortcentraland northTogothiscanbe a village’sanswertoK~,a-

Ata well-childconferenceinSokod6,EileenSchreffler(Compton,Calif,)im.munizesa childwhilenurseAudreyDoudt (Allentown,Pa,)lookson,

shiorkor, theprotein-deficiencydiseasethatisone of the largestkillersof

4

children.The pondswillalsoprovide <water for drinkingand imigationoftenallowingthe cultivationofsecondcropeachyear,Thissummerhalfa dozenoftheteachersarework-ingwiththefishermentoincreasetbenumber ofpondsa“d reservoirs,The medical project has also

changedconsiderablyin threeyears.Originallyitwas basedatthehospitalin Sokod6 and emphasizedcurativemedicine.In recentmonths,theCOV.erageof theVolunteershasbeen ex.tendedby emphasizingpublichealth:preventivemedicineand healtheduca-tion.Livesaresaveda“d healthim.proved by teacbi”gsuch “simple,,thingsas washing a cut,eatingavarieddietwith vegetablesand pro-tein,and buildingand usinga latrine.The public-healthnurseshave de-

velopedseveralapproachesforseekingouttheirpatient-pupils.Theirschoolprogramof exams,shots,and healtheducationhasbee”welcomed by stu.dentsand teachers.The parentsaresoughtby programsarrangedthroughthetraditionalchiefsof the quartiersin Sokod6,and by specialclinicsforexpectantmothers,new babies,pre-

‘Choo’chi’dre”’and ‘he’ike’ aThis year a vdlageprogram ba

beguntospreadpublichealthbeyondSokod6 to ruralvillages.Tbe tradi-tionalchiefsare again tbe key toreceptivity,and nearlyallareanxioustoorderthegong-gongtoannounceaClinic.It isalmostpossibleto see daily

changesasa resultofwork ina coun-try as smallas Togo. There’sstillmuch to be done,but no none canrivalthe Togolese in warmth- ofappreciation.

Samuel V. SJiles Jr., 39, ActingPeace Corps Director in Togo, servedm a mano~eme”t analyst with thePeace Corps from November, 1961,until August, 1964, when he wm ap-pointed Deputy Director in Togo, Anative of Frankfort, Ky., Sf;les re-ceived a bachelors degree i?l politicalscience from Emo,y University, At-la”ta, Go., a“d a mmter’s from Indi-ana University, Bloomington,,Stileswa an instructorin the Deportmentof Political Science at the Uniye,sityof Kentucky, Lexington, a“d the” amonagemen( analyst at the Nationallnstitu[e of Mental Health be for

mcoming to the Peace Corps. He i ~married and ha two children,

a

Some havebeen here

‘shce stice’

By Mtilyn Hjoti

Hihdalro, Togo

From thebeginninguntilthe 15thcentu~, Denyigba (Ew6, meaningliterally“one’sown country”)justwm—territoryundefinedbutbeautifulandverygreen,populationuncensuredbutbusy,The nextthreecenturiesdifferedonlyinthattraders,missionaries,andothervisitors,horrifiedby thelackofstatistics,begancatalogingthings.

P

It was not easy. There were in-digenouspeoplesof one sort:. Tbe Naoudemba,who (singlyandincouples)descendedfrom heaven

duringa storm,carryingtools,ionio(crabgrasswithseedsusedas cere-al),rice,and peanut plantsandpromptlyfoundedNiamtougou;. The Kabr6,whom God pemon-allysetdown (bard:thefootprintsare stillvisible)equippedwith asix-dayweek, ab}lityto cultivateverticalsurfaces,and ceremoniesassensibleas theyarespectacular;

and another:. The Ahlo and theAkposso(five-day week), whose claim to havebeen here ‘<sincesince”cannotbedisprovedalthoughthey alone,ina SudanicbeltrunningfromWnegalto Somali,speakBantu languages;

and immigrantsof allkinds:. The AdLIL from Ghana, whosechiefFirikodjou,the nightof alosingbattlewithsome neighbors,flew175 milesnortheastand founda spotforresettlement(hispeoplejoinedhim later,on foot);● The Kotokoli,arrivingmajesti-callyfrom Mali and Niger withafeudalsystemto warm the heartofa Plantagenet—suzerains,vassals,enfeoffment,and all;. The Ewi from Nigeria,whosechiefAgokoli(c.1720)was person-allyresponsibleformore migrationsthan any individualsinceAttila.With forcedlabor,he had a protec.tiveearthenwallbuiltaround hiscity of Nuatja—and refusedtoshelterthebuilders,They were thelucky ones;around hisrainysea.sonretreat,he builta six-footstonerampart-cum-archers’walk— andwouldn’tletanyone out. Sincehewas murderousas wellas cranky,

9

the peoplesoon .tunnelledout andscatteredin alldirections.This iscalledtheGreat Ew6 Exodus,andthe resultantdisunionis stillaproblem.Therewere,inall,about40 peoples,

severalnaturalregions(coastalplainscoveredwithrainforest,hillymoun-tains,grasslands),and two climates(equatorialand tropical)withinnum-erablevariations.All.veryinteresting,but confusing—and it stillhad noname and no boundaries.On Christmaseve,1885,againstBis-

marc~s betterjudgment,a coastalen-claveof 45 squaremilesbecame aGerman prot=torate.One of thevil-lagesincludedhad so catchya namethatthe Germans alsoappliedittothesome 35,000squaremilessubse-quentlyprotected.Running only 35milesalongtheBightof Benin—and330 milesintotbe interior—itisallnonethelessTogo (to= water;go =on theedge/bankof).With theprotectoratecame Progress

and concrete.The “model colony”acquiredpost offices,telephones,aradiostationcommunicatingdirectlywith Berlin,landingstrips,a beach-fulof pillboxes,347 schools,severalrailroadlines,and a wharf.The Treatyof Versaillesended the

Cement Age, and in 1922 theLeagueof Nations@aced tbe Volta regionunderBritishmandate(itisnow pmtof Ghana). The remainder(about21,500squaremiles,as bigas Mary-land,Delaware,Rhode Island,andNew Jerseycombined)was mandatedto theFrench and became independ.ent in 1960,alongwithGhana and

Dahomey, neigbbo~tothenorthandsouth. Ninety pr cent of Togo’s1,642,000inhabitmtscultivatecwoa,coffee,and cottonfor export,andyams,manim, and thefikeforthem-selves.Ten ~r centfish,make bricks,mine phosphates,or keeptiackoftheothers.The coun~ k stillbeautiftdand

veryfleen,and everythingisproperlycataloged.

In Togo since September, 1962,Marilyn Hjort (San Francisco)on com-pletion of her first term of semice withthe Peace Corps re.enrolled for a sec-ond tweyear term m a VoiuMeer. Shereceived a B.A, in 1958 from the Uni.versityof California at Berkeley, andworked m a medical secreta~ inSanFrunctico, She is asigned to the Min-tit~ of Educ~ion of Hihdatro as asecondu~.schml Engltih teacher.

LarvFlynn(Cambridge,Mass,)poseswithstudentsfromhisfoufih-yearclassatCOI16Ehe has taughtEnglishforthe pasttwo years,Flynnwas a member of the fir

Why teach English ?By Wchael Sak

Palim[, Togo

With herdarkhairbrushedup andback and her rightleg demurelycrossedover her left,Madame d’Al.meidalookedbothsternand attractiveas she askedthenervousstudentbe-sideheran exam question.“HOW old areyou? she asked in

hermeasured,Togolese-En~ishaccent.“Ihave18years,”he replied,ralher

unsureofhimself.A gray-greenfizardpaused to listenand then continuedhIsscamperacrosstheconcretefloor.

“When were you born?’she con-tinued,notcorrectinghislastreply.“1 am born 1947;’he said

softly,aftera longpause.“Thank you. That willbe all.

Next .“ And so tbeEnglishoralexaminationcontinuedthatday andthenextattheGovernmentseconda~schoolinPalim6,whereIteach.That student,likedozensof othem,

had come from theprivateand Gov-ernmentscboo!sin the areato takethebrevet, thelongseriesof “made-in-France”exams which deteminewho has satisfactorilycompletedhissecondary-schoolwork and can begincollege-prepmato~studies.The brevet comes afterfouryears

of Englishclasses,butmy concerniswiththefirsttwo. My 57 beginningand 55 s=ond-yearstudentsae just

becomingacquaintedwithEnglish,Allduring theirsix yeas of primwy%hool,theyhave been inskuctedinFrench,andathome theyhavespokenEw6, theirtribalton~e.The 13-to 16-year-oldsI teachare

a spirited,oftenunrulylot.The fewgklsin each classmake up in noisewhat they lack in number, Yvette,proudandsullen,bmshespastme andmutters,“Yai la diarrhde,” (I have

diamhea) and heads for tbe bushesbesidetheschool.Jos6e,her cohort,who mtielstobestadvantagehersur-prisinglylargewardrobe,neverfailstoforgetherbwk.For thosewho can’tsettledown in

ctass,there’salwaysthesoberingef-fectof discipline,givenouton Satur-day afternoons.Accordingto schooltradition,thestudentscanwok attheirprofessors’homes,and aboutonce amonth,adroveofthosetobepunishedand more who have volunteeredde.scend upon my hou%. Ang21e andComfoflsweepthecobwebsfrom theceilingSikiroulaiand Jssifouattacktheweeds in my dirtyard withma-chetes,and anothergroup buildsapalm-frondoutdoorshelter.The after-noon oflaborendswithpunch,chew-inggum, and an admonitiontocom-pletethe exercisesin the book overthewmkend.The textadoptedby thewhool is

probablythebestone aroundtoteach

10

Englishto French-speakingstudents.Itusespicturesand dialoguesinsteadof vmabula~ listsand disembodiedgrammm rulestoteachconversationalEnglish,Yet the situationsand ex-amplesareoftenfm beyond tbefifeof Togolesestudents.They readthat●a nurseispushinga pram aCIOSSazebra+rossingon her way home toafternoontea.Suchexamplesmustbeexplainedpointby point.What isapram? Togole% women carrytheirbabieson theirbacks.And soitgins.Some peoplemay wonder, “WY

teachEnglish?What good is itinPalim6,so pleasantlysumounded bygrovesof coffeeand cwoa treesandshadowed by jungle<overed moun-tains?What use willitbe to Togo,so smalland narrowand hemmed inby Ghana to thewestand Dahomeytotheeast~In answer,Togo’srequestforPeace

Corps Engtishteachershas multiplelogicbebbtdit,Geographically,TogoneedsEnglish,ifjustto speakwithher two most powerful neighbors,Ghana and Nigeria.Englishinfluenceis distinctlyfeltin my town,whichisabout10 milesfrom theGhanaianborder. Many a market woman,proudlydisplayingher selectionofplasticjugs,boxed sugarcubes,con-densed milk, and toiletsoa~allsmug@ed in from Ghana—will Weetyou with a “Good afternoon”andleaveyou witha “Cheerio!”There is alsothe convictionthata

a lan~age and itsculturearelearned

t.Joseph,a boys’schoolinLomb wherellunteergrouptoarriveinTogoin1962.

VolunteerNancyMerritt(EastAurora,N.Y.)teachesattillAgeNotreDamedesApatres,a girls’schoolinLomb.

together.Britishsongbirds,flowers,and treesallcome up in thelessons,Justthe mention of Shakespearesoimpressedone studentthathe insistedthateve~one callhim Hamlet insteadof Ignace.Allwent welluntila laterlessonon Englishfxmyard animals.Now some of hisfriendshave con-fused“Hamlet”with“piglet.”In the broadestsense,Englishis

requiredasan academicdiscipline,onepartofthecountry’scurriculumwhichisdeterminedinFranceand followedto thelastcircumflex.Englishtakesitsplacealongwith French history,French geography,French literature,

●French geology,philosophy,and theothersubjectstaughtin metropolitan

,. France,This insistenceo“ a sophisticated

French cumiculttmin an underde-velopedcount~ has ledto problems.By the time Togolesestudentstaketheircomprehensivebrevet, theyhavethe same aspirationsas theirFrenchcounterpxlssittingdown totbesameexams in France. They want to belawyers,doctors,teachers,and espe-cially,Government officeworkers.TheseTogolesestudentsareacademi-callyand psychologicallyunpreparedto filltheircountry’surgentneed formodern, scientificfarmers. Theirschoolsystemhasledthem tobefievethatworkingwiththeirhands isbe-nealhthem,and thepresenceof theiruneducatedparentsand relativestoil-ing in heredita~manim fieldshasunderscoredthe point.But white-collarjobsin Togo are scarce,andmany studentswho are scholasticallyqualifiedto begincollege-preparatorywork findthatTogo’shandfulof pre.universityschoolsaretoocrowded toacceptthem.Togo’s educatorsare aware that

theirsystem’saimsand theircountry’sneedsarefarapart,Only lastweek,teachersmet in theirvariousschoolsto discussa topicsuggestedby theministryofeducation,“How toadjustTogo’seducationalsystemtothereali-[iesof Africa,,’The directorofPalim&sofficialsecondaryschoollistedTogo’sunderdevelopmentas tbenum.ber one reafity.Togo must producemodern farmers,not ftt”ctionariesorphilosophers,hc said.This willre.quirefreshideas,revisedtexts,andbold commitments to an African.oriented,French-infl”e”ced edu.cationalsystem, Perhaps change ISnow on theway,

M;chael Saks (Gov, Ind.) receiveda B,A, in iourntdism whh a minor inAfrican ec~non,ics from Stan/oral Uni-versity in 1963, For fix motihs ofhis junioryear,he otlended S,anford.

in-France at Tours. He received anMS. in journalism from C6hdmbia

University in 1964,

SENEGAL

Volunteers get alongin strong French culture

By Hyman V. Hoffm~

Dakor, SeneEa!

Senegal was Frances firstcolonialholdingin Africaand the base forFrench penetrationa“d developmenti“West Africa.Sophisticatedleaders,trainedi“ Frenchschoolsand politicalinstitutions,stillmaintain,strongtieswithFrance.Dakar, the capital,is one of the

most modern citiesinAfrica(andthecitywiththehighestcostof livingintheworld,accordingtoa recentUnitedNations survey).It is the intellec-tualcenterof French-speakingAfrica,Structureand practicesofgovernmenthavebeen inheritedfrom theFrench,and Senegalhasseveralbilateral-assist-ance afleementswithFrance.ThereareseveralthousandFrenchtechnicalassistantsand advisorshere,and themajorityof about5fJ,000non-AfricanresidentsareFrench,largelybusinessand professionalpeople livinginDakar,

11

Inshort,Senegalremainsthestron~est bastionof French influenceinAfrica.Into thisenvironmc”ccame the

Peace Corps in February,1963, AmajorobstacleforVolunteershasbee”theFrenchpresence.Volunteershavetriedtoestablishtheiridentityaspatiof a Governmentof Senegalprogram,separatefronltheFrenchaidprogram.IthasbeenespeciallydifficultforVol.unteerteacherstodo this,In Julytherewere 33 Volunteers

in Senegal,and some 50 in trainingin the U.S. Volunteersare involvedinthreemajorareas:Englishteaching,vocationaltraining,and socialwork.A coachingprojectwith Volunteersworkingwith nationalathleticteamsand atthelyc<eswas phasedoutthisyear.Volunteerteacherswillcontinuetheprogra”lssetup by thecoachesinphysical-educationclassesthisfall.JnSenegal,asintheothernewlyin-

dependentcountries of French-speak-ingWest Africa,thesevereshortage

I

of trainedmanpower standsasa seri.ous barriertosocialdevelopmentandeconomicself-sufficiency.Aware of theessentialrelationship

betweensocialwell-beingofthepopu-lationanddevelopmentofthecoun~,in 1960 the %negaleseGovernmentestablisheda Depament of SocialMaim. Although iw goal liespri-mmily in theareaof bealtbmd hygiene,itshouldinfluenceotherareasof Sengaleselife,When tbefistgroupofPeaceCOPS

socialworkerscme to Senegallastfall,threesocialcenterswere Opera-tive.Now, lessthana yem later,11new cente~ have been setup adtheexistingcentershave been sttiedwithVolunteers.Most socialcentersspecialimin mother and ch]ldewe,nutiition,and homemaking.

SnegaleseacceptanceoftheVolun.teersbas been warn and cordial.Inmany ruralareasthey xe the tistAmericans to apyar. Response totoubds (foreigners)likeMel Zwey-gardt (St,Francis,Kan.) and BillAossey(CedarRapids,Iowa),bothofwhom b%ame proficientinSenegalesetraditionaldancing,basbecomealmostlegendary.Zweygmdt and Aosseycame to Snegal to developGrec~Roman-stylewestling for Olympiccompetition.Wrestiinghas alwaysken a nationalspotiin Senegti,al-though the Iwal versionis a tradi-tionalbrand of unbalancingact.

~erwhelming French influenceintbeeducationalsystemhas preventedfullrecognitionofVolunteerteachers,althoughtheirco”tiib”tio”sare ac.knowledge by theMiniskyofEduca.tionas wellastheproviseurs of their

schOols.~eir extracumicularactivi-tiesare impressive— Mike Popkin,s(Minneapolis,Minn,)Bignonabasket-balltem has become a powerhousein theCasamance leaguewhere pre-viouslytheschooldidn’thavea team.In Rufisque,a suburbof Dakar,Juh.annaFree~wmouth, Me.)directedaperformanceof a combinationof TheWizwd of Oz and Peter Pan wbicbsheadaptedinFrenchand Wolof,Rura14evelopmentVolunteemhave

beenresponsibleforplmning md SU.pemisbg the instructionof sma~bridges,roads,peanut storagebins,and wells.~eir work took them totbemost remoteareasof Senegal.Senegalisa count~ pmr in natu-

ralresourceswith is economic fatepeggedto thesde of pemu~ on theworld mwket. As tbe secondFour-Year Plm is now being Iauncbed,majoremphasiswillbe on agictdture,paflicularlycropdiversification,Mostof the country’svitalfoodstuffsareimpofled,accountingforthebigbcostofliving.A dozenVolunteersarenowengagedin a ruralvmational-trainingproffamdesipedtoteachfarmes im.provedtechniques.~ree Volunteersme implementinga Food and AWi-

StudentsatTambacoundaCourComplbmenbire,Senegal,areshowna NewHorizonsbmk collectionby Terw Allen(Fresno.Calif.)who teachesthere.

culturalOrganizationpro~am to in-creasericeyieldsthroughtheuse offertilizer.John Hansen (Grandview,Mo,)and Bob Ricbudson(Deansboro,

&N.Y.)we inskttctorsat a ruralagr-icultureschoolwhich teachesfarmem,among otherthings,how touseoxen,Remarkableprogresshasbeenmade

in the pasttwo yean and the pres-ence of Peace Corps Volunteersiswidelyrecognizedand appreciatedbythe &negale%, from grassrootstoministries.

Hyman U. Hoflman, 39, hm servedu Peme Corps Representative in Sene-gal since Februaq, 1963. Raised inFargo, N. D,, he ,eceived a B.A. fromthe University of Minnesma in 1949,and after o year of graduate work inpublic-heuhh educationattheuniver-sity,he went to Morocco withA flasComtructorxm director of the com-pany’s medical supply department. In1953 he returned 10 the UniredSlatesto work with Kim berlyKluk Corpo-ration’s sales-promotion department inNeemh, Wk. He is married and hmfour children

Senegalisthewesternmostpr-otrusionon theAfricancontinent.A member of the FrenchCom-munity,itisbunded onthenotihby Mauritania,on the eastbyMali,andon thesouthbyGuineaand PotiugueseGuinea,Gambia,Africa’ssmalleststate,formsanarrowenclaveinSenegalalongthe banksof the Gambia River,extending2W milesintothe in-teriorfrom St.Maw’s Islandatthemouthoftheriver.

Senegalbe-me independentin19~; fmm JanuaV,1959,untilAugust,lH, itwas associatedwiththeSudaneseRepublic(nowcalledMali)inthe MaliFedera-tion.Senegalhasa Ppulationofmore thanthreemillion,and oc-cupiesan areaof 76,0Wsquaremiles,aboutthe sizeof SouthDakota.Dakar,thecapital,hasapopulationof300,W.The counby is predominantly

agricultural;the prima~ cropispeanuts,Rice,millet,and cottonaregrown in riverareasof thenotihandsouth.Phosphateisthechiefmineralexport.Chiefethnicgroupsare the Wolofs,Sereres,Peuls,Toucouleurs,Mandingues,and Diolas.Islamisthereligionof 80 percentof thepeople.

Failure leads‘a (you ~essed)

to happy endBy Jtdfmna free

Rufique, Senegal

This articleis dedicatedto alltheunheraldedstatisticsin thePeaceCorps Report— to thoseVolunteerswho have foughta good fightagainstovewhelmhg odds and lost,Having dabbledin dramaticssince

I portiayed“Mother Pumpkin” inkindergwten,I was doingtheobviouswhen I decidedtopresenta children’splayas my summer projectlastyear.Gnaxna au Pqs de Kwa is a Shake-speare-likeblend of the themes ofThe Wizard of Oz a“d Pe[er Pan. Ihad notoriginallyintendedto authoras wellas directmy creation,but aday spnt rummagingthroughDakar’sbookstoresand findingonlyThe ThreeMusketeers soonconvincedme thatifI wantedan Africm children’splayinFrench,I would have to writeitmy-self So 1 combinedmy two favorite

,,chddhood plays,a friendtranslatedthe scriptintoFrench,and my stu-denu put the lastsceneintoWolof(thepredominantlanguageofSenegal),%negalesechildrenareswikinglyun-

inhibitedso I was quiteconfidentthat

I

theprojectwouldappealtothem. ButI am stationedin a French-speakingAfricancountrywhere any extracur-ricularactivityotherthancompetitivesportsisnonexistent.Only a few ofmy,actorshad everseena play;nonehad everbeenin one, They couldn’tget excitedover a performancesixweeks away, and I triednot to cryshout gettingthem intoprofessionalshapeinthatshorta time.The projectfoldedbeforethethird

week ofrehearsal.We had a differentcasteveryday. I expectedthe typi-

Gnagnaand thecowardlvlionmeetthelostbovsinGnagnaau PavsdeKwaI writtenand direc~edby JuliannaFree‘inRufisq;e(see;tow).

tallyAmerican overflowof girl>1couldn’tfindany foreventheleadingrole.The supportingmale cbaraderswereconsistentaboutcoming,butthebitpart+well,bow do you convincea pirateto come and diedaily?SoGary Schenck (East Longmeadow,Mass.),anotherPeace Corps Volun-teerwbo had beenhelpingme asmusi-caldirector,Uansferredintoautome-chanics,and I slunkarounddoingoddjobsuntil1 couldleavetbecountry—on’vacation,of course.

My schooladministratorsweren’tcontenttoacceptdefeat,and aftermyreturneveryofficevisitendedwiththequery,“When ae you going to re-attemptyour play?’My firstreplieswere flippant,hut graduallythe ideatook rwt, I found anothermusicaldirector,and lastFebruary a veryskepticalPeace Corps Volunteerem-barkedon what was sureto be “Fail-ure196S.”To my amazement,I found that

usinga girlfrom thelocalboardingschoolassuredme of an always-avail-ableleadinglady,and thatIheotherstudents,who now had schoolas atime-habit,were more co-operative.Also,now as theirteacher,.1 couldnag and even punishthem forskip-pingrehearsal.I foundtheirretentionremarkable:they.wereofftheirbooksinone tosevenrehearsals,1 keptthe“pirates”and the “lostboys”singingand dancingwhen theyweren’tfight-ingtopassthetime.Eve” then1 stillhad a completelynew castof “lostboys”by performancetime,But “Failure1964” was unmistak-

ably“Success1965.”Thisfirstschoolplayhad fourstanding-room-onlyper.formancesin two days and a “com-mand’ performanceon thethird,Thistriumphwas in spiteof the janitorwho keptus lockedout of theaudi-toriumuntil15 minutesbeforecurtaintimeon openingnight,and theGov.ernor,sdelegatewho moved a quarterof thechairsfrom the“public”audi.toriumtohishousefora patiyon thesecondday.

I was as surprisedby my play’ssuccessas 1 had been nonplussedbyitsinitialfailure.Itisonemore proofthatin the Peace COVS dictionary,successisspelledt-i-m-i-n-g,

[Julianna Free has sent copies ofher play, Gnagna au Paysde Kwa, tootherPeace Corps projects ;n French-speaking Africa. Volunteers may ob-ta;n diem through Representatives.—Ed.]

Peace Corps Volumeer Julianna Free(Yortnouth, Me.) has been teachingEnglish in Rufisque, Senegal, sinceSeptetnber, 1963. She received a B.S.in English f,om fhe University ofMaine in 1963,

NIGER PC uses camels in arid land ●

Nigerissituatedon the south-ernborderoftheSahara;itsvastnorthernsection,coveredby sanddunes,ispan ofthegreatdesen,Thecountry’sclimateisexcessive-lyhot.Narrowstripssome lNmileswideby theNigeriaborderand by the NigerRivercontainmost agricultureand stock.rais-ing.The capital,Niamey,is in.landabout500milesnorthfromthenearestseacoast,theGulfofGuinea.The countv isborderedon thenodh byAlgeriaand Libya,on theeastbyChad,on thewestby Mali,andon thesouthby Up-perVolta,Dahomey,and Nigeria,Landareaisabout458,995squaremiles,or aboutas largeas thestatesofTexas,New Mexico,andDklahomacombined,Frenchpen.etrationbeganin the1890s,andin1900theregionwas establishedas a Frenchmilita~territo~in1922 itbecame an autonomousterrito~,and in19~ gainedinde-pendence,electingtoremainout-sidethe FrenchCommunitybutretainingclosetieswithFrance,

The Peace Corps had a rmky be-ginninginNiger.In September,1962, a group of

sevenVolunteerEnglishteachersar-rived in Niamey aftertrainingatHoward Universityin Washington,D.C.They soonfoundthattheFrench-administeredschoolsystemwould al-low them toteachno more thana fewhoursa week. What todo therestofthetime?Some turnedtocoachingand adult

classes.Attritionfrom illnessandotherrepatriationreducedthenumberof Volunteerstofour.InFebrua~,1963,nineagricultural

Volunteersarrivedinthecountry,andthe picturebrightened.These earlypioneershave sincecompletedtheirservick,and therearenow 42 Volun-teersin Niger who arrivedlastSep-tember.They areworkingfortheministries

of ruraleconomy,health,youthandsports,andeduca~ion.Some irelocatedin the threeadministrativecenters,Niamey, Maradi,and Zinder,whileotherswork insmallruralvillages.

All the Volunteersuse French astheirprimarymeans of communica-tion,and most havelearnedthelocaldialects.Housing, furniture,andtransportationare suppliedby theGovernment of Niger.A number ofVolunteershave bought can?elsandhorseson theirown.An aridland,thecount~ has no

exploitednaturalresources(geologistshavefoundironorenearNiamey andbelieverichoilandgasdepositsunder-lie theland)and dependsalmosten-tirelyon itspeanutcropforcashin-come. Historicallya crossroadsforthecaravantradefrom the Mediter-raneanand a highwayforpopulationmovements throughoutthe Sudan,Nigertodaystillhasblue-veiledTuaregtribesmenwandering the-desertincamel caravans;in the eastare no-madic Toubou people.The Kanuri,a peoplewhoseancestorscame from anumber of tribesin the Lake Chadregion,inhatitthe southeasternpor-tionof thecountry,

*The largesttribalgroup is theHausa, the tradersof West Africa,

At Niger’sonlyschoolof nursing,GailSinger(Elmhurst,N.Y.)givesa demon-strationin pmcticaltechniquesto some of her 60 male nursingstudents.

Bob Garland(Dowag-iac, Mich,)and re-turnedVolunteerLeonSelle(Ambrose,ND.)work on a concretewellbuiltby villagers

many of whom are descendedfromthe Hausa of Nigeria.They movednorthto escapethejihad—theseriesof Islamicwars that spread overAfrica.Today an estimated70 percentof

thepeopleofNigerareMuslim, Thereligiouswarsatthebeginningof the19thcenturywcurred largelyinwhatis now northernNigeria,and Islamcame peacefullytoNiger,The Government iswellaware of

thecount~’sweak financialpositionand hasfoughta determinedbattletobalanceprogresswith economic sta-bility.The count~ has moved cau.

tiouslvin itsdevelounlent.buildine.,slowlyfrom thegroundup ratherthaninvestingin grandiosea“d costlyprojects.

A good exampleof thismethod isthe semiprivateagriculturalco-opera-tive,theUnion Nigeriennedu Creditet de la C-operation (U.N.C.C.),which providesfarmerswitha marketforcropsand withcredittobuy seedsand tools.PeaceCorpsVolunteersareworking

as Cmp agents,permittingtheU,N.C.C, to establisha solidbawwhiletrainingitsown agents.Expan.sionof theco-opmovement hasbeen

15

purposelyretardedinorderto insuresolidfoundations.Volunteersliveandwork in ruralagriculturalcenters,demonstrating equipnlent,buyingcrops,and auditingfinancialtransac-tions.They liveinNigerienhousesofmud brick,oftensharingcompoundswithneighbors,A secondbasicprogramdealswith

publichealth.The infantmortalityrateinNigerisnearly50 percent,andmany of the deathsare the indirectresultof malnutrition.A sufficientamOUnt of nutritiousfoodsisavail-ableinmost Nigercommunities,but,throughhabit,motherstend to raisetheirchildrenlargelyon a dietofbreastmilk and millet.Peace CorpsVolunteershave undertakena seriesof home visitsto teachmothersthebenefitsof a balanceddiet whichwould includemeat,eggs,fruits,andvegetables,They alsoprovideinfor-mationinchildcareand sanitation.

Instructionin nativetonpes

French isthenationallanguageofNiger,buttheliteracyrateislessthan10 percent.InordertocommunicatebetterwithitspeopletheGovernmentaskeduNESCO to designa literacyprogram.Thisuniqueprogramteachespeopletoreadand writeintheirownlanguage(Hausa,Djerma,‘andTama-shek)and tospeakbasicFrench.Vol-unteersactasliaisonbetweenthecen-tralofficein Niamey and thevillageteachers,supplyingthem with mate-rials,moralsupport,and when neces-sary,instructionin teachingadultIiteracy.Volunteersalsoteachinthreeagri-

culturalschools,one ofwhichsuppliesallof the agriculturalagentsforthecountry.Three registerednursesareteachersintbeschoolof nursingandthreeVolunteerwomen sert,easphys-ical-educationinstructorsinthecoun-try’sschools.SeveralVolunteersworkunder lhe auspicesof localgovern-ments supervisingtheconstructionofwells.Localvillagerssupplythelaborfortheconstructionofthewells,whichwere designedby a technicianof theU.S.Agency forInternationalDevel-opment,Two Volunteersserveassec-retariesin the Peace Corps officeinNiamey.A new group of Volunteerswill

come 10NigerinOctober,chosenfrom42 Traineesnow atSouthernIllinoisUniversity.They willbe assignedtoagriculturaland adult-educationwork.

A day onthe M~daoualiteracy front

By Petertiton

Madaoua, Niger

One hotdryseasoneveningIclosedup my housemd walkedup themudstreetsof Madaoua to a smallwhitebuildingthatistheregionalheadq”ar.tersofNiger’sadultliteracycampaign,or the “war on ignorance’,as theHausa languagemore colorfullyputsit, Waiting near the officewas aweatheredblueJeepand standingoverit,oilgaugeinhand,was my Nigeriencounterpart,a teacherjustrecruitedtohelpon theMadaoua front.Itwas timeto leave,We gavethe

Jeepa sympatheticinspection,wedgedinoursuitcasesand thelastfewlampsand brochures,and bounced out oftown.As twilightapproached,clerksand

Government employees were goinghome and otherswere movingoutsideintothe coolof lateafternoon.Westoppedatone,two,threevillagesona zig-zagcourse,leavingkerosene,books,and encouragementwith theyoung teachers,passingon news andhearingreportsoftheirnightlyclasses,Most mentionedattendanceproblems.Of thenumerousadult~up to 80 toa center—who turnedup in Janu~tolearntoreadand writetheirnativetongue,to learnarithmetic,and tospeak<mple French,thereremainedlessthanhalf,%me leftthed~ landto seekseasonalwork abroad;otherslostinterestorneverquitesawtheuse.At thefirststopmy counterparts“g.gestedthattheinstructorconvenethevillagecounciland trypersuasion;atanotherwe promised to returntospeak to the villagersourselves.Atthelaststopwe pickedup a broke”lamp.Then, as peopleaboutus finished

eveningprayersand turnedtosuppersof milletcake and gravy,we turnednorththroughthe sand,pasta longcamelcaravan,acrossa shallowsprin&fed lake,untilTabotaklcame intoview.The skyhelde“o”ghof itslastblue and orangelight—beautifulre-compensefora hotday—to make outthe villageand itssprawlingmarketspreado“ton a raky plateau.A cor-don of shoutingchildrenbroughtus

PeterEastonand hisNigeriencounterpaflAbba Aboubacar(secondfromleft)distributeliteracymaterialsinNiger’s“waron ignorance’,(seestow).

intotow”. ThereinfrontofhiscOm-pound was our teacher,an inspectorof hidesassignedto thisdesert-edgemarket,Yes,he said,classwillbeheldtonight,hutnotintheliteracyshelter.That structureburned down, so anempty compound has takenitsplace.No, no problemsexceptcontinuedlackof a film-stripprojectorto teachFrench, The men of Tabotakiwerestayingwiththeirstudies.That nighttheypacedthroughthe

weeYs lessonsfor theiroccasionalvisitors.The instructorhelpedthemwritetheirnames,taughtthem newsyllablesofwrittenHausa,a“d then—withthesortof pureand unexpectedinventivenesswhich keeps thiscam-paignr“nni”g—tackledsarismaterialsa spiritedFrenchlesson,dramatizingand drawingin chalkthe imageshecouldn’tproj~t.Old men and youngtook up the refrain,volleyingbackanswersandchucklingatoneanother’smistakes.The classwas over in two hours,

We greetedand congratulatedtheadultsand stayedon halfan hour togivetheirteachera few suggestions,And then we climbedback intotheJeepforthelastlegof ourjourney.We talkedwhilethe Jeep labored

south through the sand—talked ofmethods a“d resultsat Tabotakl,of

16

fatiingattendanceand what ittakestobringa villageeldertoschool.Tbe ideathatliteracyisessentialto *

developmentlaunchedthisyoung re-pubticon ambitiousplansofadultedu-cation.PeaceCorpsVolunteerswereinvitedhereto swellouttheranksofthecampaignandallowittomove for-

ward on course,evenwhileawaitingthetrainingof furthernationalstaff,Butwe discoveredan evenmore chal.Iengingtasktobe thatof helpingourNigeriencounterparts,by question,suggestion,and dailywork,tofindintheirwarmly human count~ theele.mentsofa programthatwillspeaktotheirilliteratepeople as a purelyEuropeanimportnevercould.Thisisa work of diplomacyand linguisticgymnastics—admixedwithsome automechanicsand physicalendurance—which neverceasesto be fascinating,evenwhen itceasestoseem possible.At I a.m.withouttbeJeephaving

so much as coughed,we pulledintothe administrativeoutpostof Bouzaand calledita day,

Peter Emton (Glen Ridge, N. J.) re-ceived a B.A. in A me,icon studiesfrom Amhe,st College in June, 1964.While in college he sewed in on Op-

9erations Crossroads A jrica group to -Guinea.

F“;———–-—””— ‘-”””””—--““”””--”””–—””””—”–—””—-—--”--—”‘“—””’-—-”—’”-—””””-”1!

‘In theoasistownof Bilma,Niger,C.PayneLucas,PeaceCorpsDirector,demonstmtescorrectmountingtechniquestoU.S,A.I.D.DirectorAl Baron,

C’est du progres au Niger

By Tom H&e

Til/ab4ri,Niger

The 43 Volunteerswho arrivedinNiamey lastSeptember’in the thirdPeaceCorpsgoup toNigerhad beentoldtheywouldbe undertakinga diffi-cultassignment.Niger,a landlocked,semi.Saharancottnt~,is one of theleastdevelopedofWest Africa’snewlyindependentnations.The ruggedcfi-mate and theisolationwouldcombineto underminethemoraleof thenewVolunteers,warned the Peace CorpsStti.Afternearlya yearthePeaceCorps

projectinNigerisstillingmd spirits,a littleworseforwearbutdeterminedto assistin the effortto change the

@

raditionswhich tiemost of Niger’seopleand her economy to thepast.All illusionsVolunteersmay have

had about buildingtangiblesymbolsofprogresshaveby.now beentroddenunderby thedailyroutineofteachingnutritionandchildcare,demon:~ratinganimaldrawn a~iculturalequipment,or deliveringanotherbundleof book-letsto a rural-villag~adult-fiteracyclass.Most Volunteershavemanagedtoadjustto thedesertheat,thelivingconditionsinlocationssometimeshun-dredsof kilometenfrom thenearesttown,and thelimitedvarietyof localfood and highcostof impotis,cloth-ing,and hardwarein the smallbut~owing capitalof Niamey,In spiteof thesehandicapsVolun-

teerscontinuetheirwork atup<ount~outpostsin Niger. And therearesome diversions.For example,hardlya Volunteer

workingwitha~icttlturalcooperativeshas escapedtheshatteringarrivalofPeaceCorpsDirectorC. Payne Lucas

17

atsome distantvillagemarket.Lucas,a ferventadv~ateofIemningthelocallanguage,atfirstinvariablygreetedthevillagechiefwitha hearty“goodbye”—usuallyinthewrong dialect.

Most Volunteershave made a spe-cialeffortto,learneitherHausa orDjerma,and many can handlethem-selvesin any situationwitha dialect,whilea few speakthelocallanguagefluently.Anotherproblem isthe inferiority

complex bred by the proximitytoNigeria,a comparativelywealthycountryon Niger’ssouthernborderwhichboasts15 timesasmany peopleand.a modern capitalcity.Nigeriaisa well-knownWest Africannation,but try to convincean Americanfriend,relative,or magazine-subscrip-tionagencythatNigerisa different,independentcount~, Only Allahknows bow much mailfrom theU.S.isfiledinthedead-letterdepartmentsof Niger’sneighborto thesouth.Transportationhas been another

problem.Inthewake of a new PeaceCorps policyfimitingthe distributionofvehicles,many Volunteershavepur-chasedhorsesor camels.Those whogot new jeepsdiscoveredthatmain-taininga vehicleon the country’s,,washboardroadsimposedcertainobli-gations,usuallyrepairingtires.Niger’sdirtroadsareregularlysmoothedbya tractorwhich dragsa wire brush,and half-inchbrush sliverswhichbreakoffin theroad findtheirwayinto Jeep tireswith alarmingfre-quency,Whileno onehasapproachedtbe Peace Corps-Nigerrecordof 11flatsin one day, severalVolunteersarenow consideredagrkgd(adept)inthefineartof flat-fixing.Despitea few gripesabout the

minorproblemsoflifeinNiger,mostVolunteersareencouragedby tbesignsofprogres+a groupoffarmerslearn-ingto usesteelplowstheyhave pur-chasedwiththeaidof a Government-sponsoredcreditprogram;a villagerreadingtheprovisionsofa loan-repay.ment form thanks to adult.lkeracyclasses;a ruralmotherpermittingherchildto be treatedat a localclinic;and DirectorLucas ~eeting villagechiefsusingthe propersalutationintherightdialect.Cest du progris au Niger.

Tom Hale (Lexington, Mms,) ha aB.A. in French from Tufts University,where he wm editor of the colle~e

newspaper.

GUINEA

A value on personal dignity

By Hen~ R. Noman

Conakq, Guinea

There ismuch to be proud of inthe Peace Corps’firsttwo yearsinGuinea,butlittleto shoutabout.Toa realisticVolunteerthethingsto dofarexceedwhat hasbeendone.Aftercompletingtwo yearsofwrv-

ice,the 18 Volunteersin agriculturehave not succeededin changingtheagriculturalpicturemuch in Guinea.The 90 percentof thepopulationin-volvedinagricultureisstillunabletoproduceenough surplusriceto feedtheother10 per cent.There isstilla proteinshortageintheforestregion.Regionalfarmsstillproduceata loss,The 24 Englishteacherscompleting

servicecannot claim to have pro-duceda generationofEnglish-speakingGuineans.Six.socialassistantshavenot succeededin revolutionizingthe

Guinea,beforeindependencei“19W,was a FrenchWerseasTer.ritory.The Frenchcame toGuineainthemid-19thcentury,and com-pletedtheirdominationby 1911withmilitaryactionagainsttribalchiefsand diplomaticsettlementwithotherEuropeanpowers.Thecount~,with96,865squaremiIes,isaboutthesizeofOregon,Situ-atedon thesouthwesternedgeofthegreatbulgeofWest Africa,itissurroundedbySierraLeoneandLiberiatothesouth,Maliand theIVOV Coastto the east,Portu-gueseGuineaand Senegaltothenorth,Climateisgenerallytropi-cal,withtworainyseasons;upperGuineahasonlyone rainyseasonand greatervariationinseasonaltemperatures,Populationwasestimatedin1963tobe 3,357,000,withabout113,000livingin Co.nak~,thecapital.The populationismore than90 per centrural,Most importantethnicg,oupsi“-cludethe Foulahs(calledPeulsby theFrench),theMalinkes,andtheSousous.The majorityofthepeopleareMuslim,FrenchistheOfficiallanguage.Most of thepeopledepend on subsistenceagriculture,Guineahasimportantdepositsof bauxite,ironore,anddiamonds.

care givento expectantmothersornewborn childreni“ the clinicsi“whichtheyhaveworked.The Guinea”slikea“d resp~tVol.

unteers,and personalrelationshipsareexcellent,but the U.S. stilltakes~dailybeatingin thepressand on theradio.VisitorstoGuineafrequentlyaskif

itisreallypossibleto operateetTec-tivelyhereat all,They citethelackof materialsand suppliesforprojects,theerraticavailabilityof foodwhichnecessitatesa stockof forestrationsin Conak~, the constantgasofineshortageswhichfrequentlybringPeaceCorpsvehiclesto a completestopforextendedperids of time,the lackof reliablecommunications,theaxle.bustingroads,and so forth.There isno denyingthataftertwo

yearsin Guineathesame questionisposed repeatedlyby each Volunteerand staffmember. My feelingisthatGuinea isthesortof placeinwhichthePeaceCorps belongs.The answertowhy thePeaceCorps

belongshere is bestunderstoodbyexamininghow Guinea obtaineditsindependence.“We preferpovertyin fibertyto

richesin slave~.We willneversur.renderour justrightsto independ-ence,” Seko”To”r&toldFrenchpre~i.dentCharlesde Gaullewhen thelattervisitedConakry in 1958, De Gaullewas travelingthroughoutFrance’svastsub-Saharaempke expiatingthenew constitution,theFrenchCommu-nityitwould create,and thereferen.dum tobe heldinwhich thecoloniescouldvoteforindependenceor mem.bershipinthecommunity,Stung by Tour?s statement,De

Gaullereplied,“You want independ.ence,You can have itby voting‘no,on September25.>9Vote ““o,,theydid,1,136,000to56,000.Guineawastbeonlycolonytochoosetheroadoftotalindependence.The Frenchwith-drew allsupportand personnel.These dramaticeventsand their

consequencesarethecentralfactsoflifein G“i”ea.To ignorethem istoinsureftilure.To recognizethem mdwork withinthecontextof theimita-tionstheyimposewilli“s”re~ surfeitof frustration,but alsoa rewardkgsenseofcontributiontoa bravepeople

la

GwendolynDillard(Chicago),inwhiDabola,Guinea,as MaV Lou Cal

who havedeliberatelytakena difficultroadtodevelopmentasanindependentnation. They aremaddeninglyjealousof theirindependence,and one oftenwondersifitisreallypossibleforanycountry to be as independentasGuineawantsto be,There are no European tutorsto

instructeach civilservantin hisdu-ties,There have been none sincei

ede~ndence. Allforeignaid-missions,whetherfrom Eastor West,arewel.come and appreciated,However,theirpresencewillnot be toleratedfor24hours longerthan they are needed.Whatever the motivesof thosewhogivehelp,’theonlymotivetheGuin-eanshave in acceptingisto developtheircount~, PresidentTour& oncesaid,“We valueour personaldianitymore thantheliningof our pockets,”What can thePeaceCorpscontrib-

utetoGuinea?Thl! Government has asked for

many more Volunteers,particularlyinagriculture,The PeaceCorpsisnowmoving into activitiesin which wecan make substantivecontributions,Aftera yearofeffort,anagricultural

schoolstaffedby VolunteersandGuin-eansandsupportedby theU.S.Aaencyfor InternationalDevelopment hasbeenestablishedatTolo nearthecityofMamou, Itisdesianedtograduateagricultural-extensionworkers ratherthanayiculturalbureaucrats.The Volunteersin agricultureset

up sixpottlmyprojectswhicharenowrunningata profit.They arereadytmove into the stageof settinguvillagepoultryco-operatives, @ .:.)

Other agriculturalVolunteershave

ft,hagglesoverpricesinthenoonmarketinermilion,Ohio)lookson, Bothareteachers,

James Kutella (StevensPoint,Ws.) operatesa mixeras an assistantre-loadscement fora foundationof a @lm+if plantin Wongifong,Guinea.

improvedand repairedexistingirriga-tion systemsthat had deteriorated.Socialassistantshave r~eivedurgentrequestsfrom theirregionsthattheybe replacedwhen theyleave.PeaceCorps teachersmake up 60 per centof alltheEnglishteachersinGuinea,and they n)ade it possiblefor theMinist~ of Educationto establisbacompleteEnglish-teachingprogramforthefirsttimesinceindependence.Intwo years,PeaceCorps teachingpro-

●takeover.gramswillbe phasedoutasGuineans

The philosophyand manner of op-

erationof the Peace Corps are par-ticularlysuitedforGuinea. Personalrelationshipsare of extiemetipor-tancetotheGuineans.A Volunteer’spresencein one placeforalmosttwoyears,and hisresponsibilitytobecomea Pam of thecommunity,assuresthedevelopmentof thepersonalrelation-shipswhich in turnmake itpossibleforhim tobeeff~tive.

Hen~ Norman hm been PeaceCorps Representative in Guinea since1963, when Volunteers first mrived inIhe countv. At 35, he is one of the

youngest Represenfafives. A native ofSyracuse, N. Y., he received n B,A. inpolitical science from Western MaV-land College, Westmiwter, Md., thenobtained a law degree irom GeorgeWmhington University. Before goingoversem he wm a lawyer with a Syra-cue firm m well m minority leader ofthe Onondaga County Board of Super-visors, the counfy Iegblarure. He ismarried and has a daughter.

There’s oilh Gutiea’s

lowland palms

By ~chmd Spencer

Won8ifong, Guinea

1 came to Guineaasan agronomist,butinsteadI stick oil—palm oil.The palm+ilproject,which began

as an operationof the U.S. AgencyforInternationalDevelopmentbeforemy arrival,WM designedto aid theGuineanGovernmentinexploitingthegrovesofpalm foundinlowerGuinea.The goal was to divertthe moneyspentto importcookingoil.~e initialoperationincludeda pilot

planthousing a hand-operatedhy-draulicpresswhichcouldprocesstwoand a halftonsof fmit per day. Itwas locatedi“ thevillageof Kagba14intheDubrekaregion,an hour’sdrivenortheastfrom Conak~ by a rotted

19

Ivo ~

#Volunt rInGueckedou,Guinea,VolunteerTom UToole(Adrian,Minn.) in-stinctsa coworkeronopemtionof a pumpto irrigategarden,

dirtroad. The bright-orangefruitiscooked,pounded,pressed,and clari-fied,The stron~tastingdark oilispressedfrom the pericarp,and ahigher-qualityoilis extractedfromthekernel.The most importantfactorin oil

productionisregularsupplyof rawmaterial.The fruitcomes from thewildgroveswhichtraditionallybelongtothevillagers.Enter the Peace Corps Volunteer.

My firsttaskwas to go withan in.terpreterto village-councilmeetingsand arrangefortheclimbersof eachvillagetodeliverfruito“ a particularday of theweek.At first,the supplyof fruitwas

chronicallyinadequate,The villagerswere reluctantto climb becauseofthe time neededto plantor ham.estmore importantcrops,The priceof.feredforthe fruitwas low,and inadditiontherewas a generaldistrustof our’motives,The women custom-arilyhirea climberto cut enoughfruitto make oilfor theirOW” useand a smallsurplusforthelocalmar.ket.Moreover,paymentinmoney forthefruitwas notenoughof an incen-tiveforthevillagers,who neededprod-uctsnotavailableattheImal marketplace,With theseproblems,thecollection

tourscontinued,Each day includedaround of seven or eightvillages,Althoughthe day of collectionhadbeen agreed upon by the council,climberswere usuallyunpreparedorabsent.The collectionhad tobe doneinthepresenceofthevillagepresident,and theweighingand payingforthefruitwas accomplishedin individualtransactionscariedout and recordedin bothFrenchand %USOU.

At mid-seasontheclimbersagreedtoform co-oprativesforthepurposeofeasingcollectionsand toallowthemtoreceivegoodsinexchangeforfruit.Formingthecooperativesmeant longmeetings,elections,carefulattention,and more meetings.At theend oftheseason,aftera yearoftrialand error,thepalm grovesbegantorepresenttothevillagersa potentialSourceof i“.come.The pilotplantitself,however,did

not proveto be a payingoperation.Long distancesto the villagesmadetransportationabouthalfthecostoftheoperation.Thismeantthemarketpriceof oilwould be higherthanpeoplecould pay; a subsidywouldresult ina lowerpriceforthefruit.The solutionwas toreducetbesize

Of theplantand move to a locationmore centialtothefmit-supplyingti.Iages.Thisplanwilldso allowfutureVolunteers,who willhelpbuildnewplants,toliveinthevillagesand assistco-operatives,encouraginggreaterpar.ticipationof the villagersfor whomtheplantsme built.Now at mid-seasonof the second

yearof operationmany of theprobIems of collectionremain,but tbevillagecommittees~e approacbhgthedailycapacityof thepilotplant(“OWdirectedby a Guinem). Interestinthe villagesbuildsas bicycles,mos-quito-netting,cloth,pots,and pansreachthepeople,Volunteerswho takeoverthe work when I leavewillbebuildingmd orga”izi”gthe~Prationof 50 new plantsrequestedby Presi-dentSekou Tour6,

Richard Spencer (Oak Park, 111.)hm o B.A. in histo~ jrom the Uni.versityof Il!inOti.

20

The lVOV Coasthas been hosttothe Peace Corps sinceSeptember,1962,when thefirstgroupof Volun-teerteachersarrivedinAbidjan.

At mid-summerthisyeartherewere55 Volunteersatwork inthecountry,dividedbetween37 secondaryteachersand 18 animotr;ces ( animators or“quickeners”)workingin foyers j4.mini”x—women,s educationcenters.

The foyer j4minin propam of theIvoryCoastGovernment has centerslocatedin most of the largeandmedium-sizedcitiesand townsof thecountry,The Volunteerwomen intheprogramteachFrench,literacy,arith-metic,sewina,hygiene,childcare,andnutritiontowomen who usuallycometoclasswithbabieson theirbacks.

Nextyear,Volunteerswillhelpstaff22 foyers.Inaddition,10women willinitiatea new programof adultedu.cationfo?thewomen of smallforestvillaaes,whereonlyoneortwo Fop]

*out of 500 speakFrench,The Vol.-unteersarenow studyingBaou16,thelanguageofthea,eainwhichtheywillbeginthisfirstattemptby theGovern-ment to teachfoyersu~ectsin thedeep forest.

One of themore interestingVol”n.teer experienceshas been that ofDianneand DaleHart,who arelivinginBouak6,thes~ond cityoftheIvoryCoast.Dale teachesphysicaleduca.

DaleHart,whosewifeteachesina fey,positioninpolevault;he teachesphysic

,>’./’* “.

+,r q[“

....--.”,.

~-

tion at Bouak&s Lyc&e Municipal;Dianne,as an animutricein one ofthe city’sthreefoyersf~minins,hasbeen judged Umparhigue by thewomen she teachesreadingand hygiene,becauseshe sharestheirmostabsorbinginterest—babies.

Dianneand Dale arethefirstPeaceCorpsparentsintheIVOV Coast.Shefolloweda 35-hour-a-weekscheduleatherfoyeralmostup totheday thatNathanJames (“Kouakou”)Hut wasborn,lastApril.Today, “Kouakou”isprobablythemost popularmemberoftheteachingcommunityinBouak6,Thisfall,anothercontingentofVol-

unteerswillgo to tbeIVOV Coasttojointhefoyerprogram.Twenty wom-en Traineesarenow atOberlin(Oho)College;theywillbesentabroad:ome-timeinSeptember.AnotherVolunteer,Anne Albrink,

has been an animalrice at a foyer~.

bmtntninDnmbokro,a coffeecenterIn a Baou16 area where a tongueof grasslandreachesdeep intotbecoastalforest.Itisin thisareathatthe villagefoyer program willbestartednext year,and Anne willbeone of tbe pioneers,Three days aweek forthepastseveralmonths shehasbeenleavingherD!mbokro foyerand tryinga pilotvillageprogramalong with her direcrrice, gatheringexperiencetopassalongtotheTrain-eesatOberlinCollege.

(seestow).correctsa student,s

The best students,who lovebabies.Whenevertheygreetme now, theyalwaysask,,,EI /e bibi?’ (and how’sthebby?)

visual aid insteadof theusual,“Er MonsieurVBefore I resumed my work at tbe

in Bouak6 ioyertheywould come by toseethebaby,whom theyliketo call“Koua-

By Dianne Hati

Bouak6, Ivory Coast

EarlyThursdaymorning,lastApril8, I awoke rememberingwhat DaveDavidson,thePeaceCorpsdoctor,toldme long ago: “You’llprobablyhavethe baby April 8, sincethat’smybirthday!”Two hourslatermy husband,Dale,

transportedme by Vespa to a smallFrenchclinichereinBouak6.NathanJames arrivedthataft~rnwn.He wasborn by what we call“naturalchild-birth.”The entireexperiencewassimpleand swift.This ishow mostof the French and Ivoirienbab]esxe born here.In fact,childbirthisso naturalformy Ivoirienladiesthatmany of them tellme theyhave hadto delivertheirbabiesthemselves,astheydidn’tmake itto the maternityclinicintime,One littleladydeliveredherbabyon tiestreetat2 A.M. whilesheand herhusbandwerelookingfora taxi.Beinga motherbasraisedmy status

one stephigherin the eyes of my

21

The IvoryCoast, formerlyaFrenchOverseasTerritow,gainedindependencein19~.Wth a 340-mile southerncoastline,it isboundedon thenotihby MaliandUpper Volta,on the east byGhana,andon thewestbyGuineaand tiberia.The count~,occu-pying 127,520square miles,isabout the sizeof New Mexico,and has a populationestimatedat3,5million.Therearesome 60triballanguages,butFrenchistheofficialtongu.p.Abidjan,thecapi-tal,isregardedasone ofAfrica’smostattractivecities,surroundedbylagoonsanddisplayingmoderntropicalarchitecturein commer-cialand residentialareas.Muchofthecountwiscoveredbydenseforests,which mer~e graduallywithgrasslandsinthenorth.Anestimated24percentofthepeo-pleareMuslim,12percentMris-tian,and theremainderanimist,ThecountwisAfrica’slargestprO-ducerofcoffee,and alsoexpotislargequantitiesof cocoa,hard-woods,and bananas.

kou,”the lwal kibe name meaning“born on Thursday.” Some evenbroughtgifts,The l~al IvotienCUS.tom istooffereithersoapormoney tobuy soap.Ad of courw with eve~ visitI

gotmore adviceon how totakecareofthebaby.Ivoiriensraelyletbabiesout of theirsight,They are ammdto discoverthatNathan hm bisownbedrwm. I’m suresome thinkwe’rea littlestrange,

Another culturaldifferenceis thepositioninwbicb tbebaby sometimessleeps,An Ivoirienmother wouldneverdream of placingthebaby onhisstomach.When theyseeour littleone lyingin thisposition,theyneverhesitatetotellme how dangerousthisis—they are certainhe willstianglehimself.An Ivoirienbabyneverhasa chance

tocry,He isalwaysgivenimmediateattention,I am toldthatifa motherletsher baby cry at all,tbe restofthefamily,and sometimesthewholevillage,poups togetheragainsther,and physicalblowsmay be exchanged.The women s!artcawing thebaby

on theirbacksassoonastheumbilicalcord has fallenoff.And the baby’sview of tbe world issen from hismother’sback for most of the firstyear.Koffi,a foyerlady,has shownme bow to trmsporthim pro~rlyonmy back,and now and thenwe takea leisurelywalktogethertothemarket-place.Her baby is one and a halfyearsoldbutisstillcarriedon Koffisback most of tbetime,He alsocon-tinuesto nurse—with a fullsetofteeth.I have begun teachingagain,a“d I

take“Kouakou” withme. He isthebestvisualaidIcouldwantforteach.ingchildcare.Besideschildcme, westudyhygiene,French,reading,writ-ing,arithmetic,and generalhome.makingskills,My greatestsatisfaction

in teachinghygienehm been seeingsome of my studentsboilingtheirdrinkingwater.It’sa triumpheachtime a woman comes over to say,“MY familyhasn’tbeensickforthreeweeks. I think1’11keep on doingityourway,”Kofi,a typicalexampleof a /oyer

lady,isabout26 yearsold,as farasshe knows. She has four childrenand isone of two wivesof a func.tionarywho works ina localgovern.ment office,Itwas herhusbandwbofirstencouragedKofi tocome tothefoyer.In fact,whenevershe isveryangrywithhim,she threatensnot toattendclassesthe next day. KoffispeaksbetterFrench than most oftheladiesso therearefew communi-,cationproblems,She bringsherlittleboy with her to class,and be playsoutsideor Viestohelphismotherinclass.He often interruptsher tonurse,Why doesKofficome tothefoyer?

Havinghad no formaleducation,shewants to learnreading,writing,andmaybe a fewhomemakingskills.Thenmaybe sbecango home and feelasifshe isbeginningto bridgethe wideeducationalgap betweenherhusbandand childrenand herself,LittlebylittleKoffiisbeginningto recognizewords a“d even shortsentences.Butevenmore important,Wrhaps,isthatsheisb=oming awareof thedignityof her role as wife,mother,andhomemaker.

Dale and Dianne Hart (Versai//e~,Ohio) have been i“ the lvo~ Comtsince September, 1964. He received o8.S. in physical education and healthfrom Ohio Sttie University in 1963;rhe majored in French at Miami Uni-versity,Oxford, Ohio, /or fwo years,then rransf erred to Ohio State Un iver.rily, They were married in A ugusr,1963.

Wanne Han answem questionsi“o“e ofhe,literacyclassesatthefoyer.----- .. –—

Ken Kressel,a teacherin S&gu&la(cloththatisdrapedtoformthetyp

Mangoesfrom ‘Ralph’ .

and ‘Me’ -By Kenneth Kr6wl

Siguhla,Ivoq Coasr

What followsisa seriesof excerptsfroma dia~ 1havebeenkeepingsince1 arrivedinSfguilaninemonthsago.I have added some comments to puttheseparticularmoments of ennui,elation,or what have you,in somekindof perspective.

Saturday, Oct. 17—Teaching E“g-lish grammar is not my fo,le. J ambeginning IO wonder if I like teach;ngat all, 1 cannot ho”esdy say Ihot Ilook forward to siepping into thatclusroom. So jar I have had only]ninor dticiplina~ problems, but thereare sigm of trouble on the horizon,Today I made o“e poor fellotv slondup and repeat aloud five times in Eng-lish, “I am an idiot.,, NOI exactlyPeace Corps,True,thechildpersistedin saying

“he speak”ratherthan“he speaks,”and inthefaceof allmy edifyingex-amples.But thiswas obviouslynotthe rightapproach.The firstfewweeks of teachingpresenteda wbol

asetofproblems,nottheleastofwhich.-was thatI bad nevertaughtbefore,

II,bargainsfora pagne,a lengthoflentforpeopleof the IVOV Coast.

For thesefirstfew monthsI heldmyclassesin convertedwarehousestore-rooms thatdifferedonlyinthepeda-gogicalhazardstheypresented.One

~ - ,&.hd

was a boxlikeaffairwith one thyIndowIntheupperrI t an corner,

a blackboardwhich was continuallyfallingoffthewall,and a mean tem-peratureof 100degrees.In suchsur-roundingsI lulledthem to sleepwithtalesof thepresentproflessive.Noteventhefliesseemedto cue.

Thltrsday, Nov. 12 — The newhouse:’ just moved in. My bathroomwindow is strategically placed infrontof the [oiler and shower, giving two-thirds of S4gu4faa lovelyview of thetoilet habits of a typical American.The landlord hm taken a special fanwto me. He keeps referring to me @,the American professeur,”Today heoflered tne a cadeauof a big papaya.

Sund~, Jan. 31—There are times,.hen there is nothing Yd rather dothan teach here. On those days I cansense the feeling of power and joy

that co,nes from opening locked doorsto young and eager minds. There isan electricity and happy tension in theair+ magical bond of camaraderieIhat is egual to that fouti in anyphysical advetiure. How do z do it7Damned if z know. Luck and the gifl.The problem is ro substitute knowl-

confident,somewhatcmky feelingthat1 was doingthejob.Thesewere thedayswhen “RalpN’and “Abe,,(namesI had distributedin thefirstweek toavoidthe confusionof dealingwiththelikesof KouassiKouami, KouassiKouakou,Kouakou Konan,etc.)cameby to give me some mangoes—theAfricanequivalentof an applefortheteacher;when everyoneseemed tograspmy somewhathystericalconcernthatobjectpronounsnotbe confusedwith subjectpronouns,and when Iovercametheculturalbamierinvolvedin usingtextswith such formidableand,to Africanstudents,inscrutablechapter headings as “W. WilsonNeeds A Study,“ “At theOpera,”and“DisasterIn theBathroom,”

Friday, Feb. 19—Even our ,,nobie,,eflort-the Peace Corps<re charac-terized by nothing so much m theirdullness; the d~ 10 dq encoutierwith poverty, heat, and reluctant minds(and how diflerent from what z hadimaginedJ, What we need ii a philos-ophy—not of high adventure d fa Con.rad or Sr. Exupe~—b ut of dullness;a philosophywhich wi// $ari$fy ourcraving for accomplishment and a cer-tain nobilitywhile we are faced withtedium, fatigue, and the desire to sitdown and dream of ail the fine ihingsthat can be done. And fhis, after all,is one of the remons z joined thePeace Corps. But the solution was notentirely sutisfacro~. No crmhing ofguns, no booming of heavy sem agaimtour frail ship, no firm resolution in

the face of death. But instead-nEnglish clmsroom, a hot A frican town,and the relative pronoum ‘,who” and“whom. ”I don’tremember what wcasioned

thatburstof quietpassion,but itwasn’tcultureshock anymore. Per-hapsitwas anotherdifficultday intheclassroomor a blisteringafternoonwhen 1 wanted a coldbeer and theblastedkerosenerefrigeratorwmn’tworkingagain.Probablyitwas justtheaccumulatedeffectoflivhgamongchildrentith stomachsswollenfrommalnutrition,of seeing too manywomen bentand stiivelledfw beyondthekage,offivingtoomany dayswiththeheat,theflies,md thesoundsof astrangelanguage.At othertimes,sittingbeforemy

house watchingthe young funcrion-aires (governmentclerks)go by intheirpointedItalianshoesand taperedtrousers,holdingtheirwansistorradioswith tbe sound of Chubby Checkerextollingthe virtuesof the twist,Ithinkresignedly,‘,L’Afrique c’est /eBrooklyn.” It isn’tof course. 1wouldn’tboiland filtermy waterinBrooklyn,thesun doesn’tbeatdownallthetime,thesound of futu beingpounded is never beard— and Iwouldn’tgetanoccasionalmango from“,Ralph’or “Abe” either.

Kenneth Kressel (Astoria, N,Y.J~a B.A. inp?cholo~ granted in June,z964, by Queens College, Flushing,N.Y.

JuliaCavan(Wahlawa,Oahu,Hawaii),helpsastudentwriteaIetterattheCoursCOMDlbmentaire,~6biS=U,lvowCoast,wheresheteaches.

@p/~~ ~~;,andthisz .~ ...These were thegood days when 1

couldindulgeinself+riticismwiththe

In, up, & outA seriesofPeaceCorpsstaffchanges

inJulyandAugustmoved some bandsin,some up,and some out.Includedwere thefollowing:. RobetiT.Freeman,a SpecialAs-

sistanttotheDirectorsticeApril,wasnamed AssmiateDirectorforMa~ge-ment. As oneof fiveAssociateDirec-10IS,Freeman willdirectallPeaceCorps staffpersonnel,budget,travel,supply,and administrativefunctions.He succeedsMm Medley,who inturnwas appointeda SpecialAssistanttothe Director.A former New Yorkinsuranceexecutive,Freeman spentnineyearsin West Africawhere hefounded threeinsurancecompaies,He hasa B.A.fromLincolnUniversityin Pennsylvania,ismarriedand hastwo children.ChesterR. Lane was

appOinted Deputy AssociateDirectorfor Ma”ageme”t, under Freeman.Lane was formerlyheadof thePeaceCorpsContrackDivision,. PhillipD. Hardbe~erwas named

ExecutiveSecretaryof the PeaceCorps,toactassergeant-at-armsovertbe agency’sseveralofficesand divi-sionsand toco-ordinatetheactivitiesof theDirector’soffice.He ~“cceed~Gemld Bush,who hastakenup ~ad.uatestudiesatNorthernIllinoisUni.versity.Hardberger was formerlyDeputy Directorof PublicInforms.lion,A nativeof ODonnell,Tex.,heholdsa B.A. from BaylorUniversityand an M.S, from ColumbiaUniver-sity’sGraduateSchoolof Journalism.He recentlycompleted studiesatGeorgetown Universitybw School.Working withHardbergeras DeputyExecutiveSecretaryisJemy,Fite,whoservedas a VolunteerinTunisia;hesucceedsEugene Sctieiber,anotherformerVolunteernow withtheFor-eignService.

. ROS Rtchmd, for two yearsPeace Corps Directori“ Turkey,isnow RegionalDirectorfor the FarEast.PritcbwdisfromPaterson,N.J.,and holdsB.A. and MA. degreesinhisto~and politicalsciencefrom theUniversityof Arkansas,a“d an M.A.and a Ph.D.from theFletcherSchoolOf Law and Diplomacyof T“ft~Uni.versity.He ismarriedand has foursonsand a daughter,He issucceededas Directorin Turkey by David E.Berlew,who hasbeenon theindustrial-managementstaffof M,I,T.Berlewisthe brotherof F. KingstonBerlew,ActingAssociateDirectorfor PeaceCorps Volunteers,

I

The rain in Tanzania ataya mainly in Tukuyu

e

*Tukuyu, Tanzania, August rain fal/—126 inches

Once upon an eveningreading,while1 satintentlyheeding,Many Southerncousins,warningsnottojointheCorps,While I nodded,as assenting,subtlycame a gemle himi”gOf some giant’shammer denting,dentingin my peenwood door,“Tisonly rainagain,”I muttered,“Dentingin my greenwooddoor.”

“Only thisand noti!ngmore.”

Even now clothmemory searme, therewas roommate sittingnearme;He couldhardlyhelpitifhe provedhimselfa boor.Conversationalcompetition,laybeneathhim,scarcelytwitching,Lay in normaldog,sposition,on thebambw inlaidfloor,SqualidPeaceCorps advertisement,oh thisspider.webbed decor,

“ShallI be hereevermore?’

Heard again,persistentpounding,oh! the foulincessanthoundingOf thesound,itseemedlikewave upon a distantstorm-beatshore.As I listened,I yew braver,how couldwhiteman,sspiritswaver?When thatself-sameman clothsavor,paragraphsof James Bond lore.So 1 rushedtoseekthemeaningof thethunderatmy door.

(To seem mean,I spitand swore,)

Grabbedandturnedtherust-knobhandle,thmstoutsidemy lightedcandle,“What shapehastthou,oh foulestvillain,rappingatmy greenwooddoor?”Darknessshotme backmy answer~arknessnimblemidnightdancer,Gave me backindeedtheanswer,whichI knew had beeninstore,

“Rain,man. Rain,”

—DICK WYNNE (NewportNews, Va,),reprintedfrom ●theBuh Review, publishedby VolunteersinTanzania,

. Thomas H. E. Quimby,who hasbeen PeaceCorpsDirectorinKenya,is exchangingjobs with Robed K.Poole,RegionalDirectorforAfrica.Quimby, of Grand Rapids,Mich.,joinedtheagencyin1961andwas thefirstDirectorof Recruiting.In 1962he became Directorin Liberia,Heholdsa B.A. from Harvard. Beforecoming to the Peace Corps he waspoliticalassistantto G. Mennen Wil-liams,who wasthengovernorofMich-

igan He is marriedand has twOchildren.Poole,beforecoming toWashington,was Directorin Malawi,New Deputy Directorof the AfricaregionisJosephC. Kennedy,formerresearchdirectorof theAmericanSo-cietyof Africantilture.

. RobetiMacAWter was appointedChiefofFrench-speakingAfricaoper-ations.He was formerlyIVOW CoastDirector,md hasbeensucceededthereby Hen~ Wbeatley,who was IVOWCoast Deputy Dkector, MacAlister,from New York, came to thePeaceCorpsin1963afterseningaslegisla-tiveassistanttoSenatorClaibornePen

24

ofRhode Island,Beforethathesemedas executivedirectorof the interna-tionalRescueCommitteeinNew YorkCity. He holdsa B.A. from BardCollege,New York,and an M.A, fromtheUniversityofChicago,

. Jmepb A. Hays, recentlyappointedConfessionalAffairsOfficer[Tm VOLUNTEER, May, 1965] hasnow beenassignedthepostsof&putyAssociateDirectorforPublicAffairsand Directorof Recruiting.In hisnew dutieshe succeedsRobefi L.Gale,now with the Equal Employ-ment OpportunityCommission,

Japan volunteersbegin

The firstgroupof lapin OverseasCo-operationVolunteersenteredtrain-inginJune,Men andwomen betweentheagesof20 and35 witha minimumoftwoyearsofcollegewillbe assignedin teamsof fiveto ten volunteers tofourcountriesofSoutheastAsia,Theywillserveinfarming,forestry,fishinmedicine,constriction,engineering

beducation,and small-industriesproj.ects.

Colombianman waitstohaulpurchasesof customersat Indianmarketin Bogoth

‘Mr.John’was ‘el patron’@ A former Volunteer lo:ks back

on his service and tells howhe would do it again-differently

By John Hatch

Chiclayo, Peru

When 1 terminatedmy serviceasaPeaceCorps Volunteerin Colombia,likemany of my colleagues1had rea-sontobelieve1had justcompleted[befullestand most meaningfultwo yearsof my life.Raisedin a comfortablemiddle-classenvironmentandendowedwith the advantagesof an excellentliberaleducation!good health,bal-anced diet,multlplerecreationalandsocialoutlets,employmentalternatives,and self-assurance,1 was thrustintoa new realityinwhich none of theseadvantagesexistednor couldbe con-ceptualized.

Inthesmallbarrio ofEl Socorroontheoutskirtsof theindustrialcityofMedellin—where1 livedand workedand grew for20 months-1 came toknow illiteracy,intestinalparasitosis,malnutrition,classdiscrimination,wage exploitation,unemployment,and

e :mentalltybred of povertywhere

~hope,pride,and Inlttatlvehad beenabortedintoa patheticinertia.Like

my fellowVolunteersI came to seethesethingsforthefirsttime.We alsolearnedanew language,atenew foods,sufferednew illnesses,absorbeda newculture,gainednew friends,and ac-quirednew skills.Certainlyour per-ceptionsofourselvesand our perspec-tiveof the world willneverbe thesame again.Regardlessof what wedid—as teachers,nurses,engineers,orcommunity developer~t would beuntruthfulto say thesewere not fdland immen%ly profitableyearswhichwe spentinthePeaceCorps.Yet grantingthis,Icame away from

theexperiencewitha seriousmisgiv-ing:1 regrettedthatI couldnotstartalloveragain—thesamejob,thesamecommunity—md do itdifferently.

“Mr.John,”asIwas called,was notjusta North herican who came toliveand work inEl %c,orro;a gringowho had wonderfulideas,calledmeet-ings,and organizedprojects;a for-eignerwho came aroundon Sundaysto disturbone’sonlyfreeday of theweek with the unreasonablerequestthat one drop everythingand co-

25

operatewithihe convite (work day)on thesewerline,thebridge,or theroadproject.“Mr.John”was farmorespecialthanthis.He was a localhero(when thingswent well),a martyr(when thingswent badly).Ifhe wasnota saint,atleasthe was a miracle-worker in scroungingfree lumber,bricks,dump trucks,and bulldozersfrom themunicipalagencies.Inbrief,“Mr. John” was elpatr6n, thebene-factorofEl Socorro,and withouthimthecommunity was helpless.And hat was exactlytheproblem.

“Mr. John” helpedEl Smomo buthedidnothelpthe barrio to helpitself.Impressive,visible,progresscouldbeseenon thecommunitylandscape;buttherehad been no developmentinhuman beings,no changein people’sconceptsof themselves.Bridgeshadbeen built across the quebrada(stream), butno bridgesbuiltbetweenpeople,ktween the community anditsannudlyelectedjunta,betweenthecommunity and pubhc authoritiesorserviceagencies.Specticneeds andproblems,hadbeen solved,but therewas no increasein problem-solvingskills.“Community” was stilla word,not an idea.There were peoplewhomightbe leaders—whosepotentialhadremaineduntapped—but “Mr. John”had been in too much of a hur~ togivethem a try.Jndeed,had I notre-ceiveda replacement,thecommunity

Dan Dobin(Lawrence,N.Y.)workswitha 150.familyhousingcwperative in Barranquilla,Colombia.

activitywhichmarked my 20 months,wouldhavelargelycollapsed.My suc-cessor,VolunteerPaul Mathes (Bev.erlyHills,Calif,), a man of morecautioustemperament,preferringtobea motivatorratherthana leader,hasgone farin provingcommunity de.velopment is human development.When he leavesEl Socorrothereiseveryassurancethatthe comm””i[ywillcontinueon itsown powerwithitsown human resources.Paulwillpossi-blybe rememberedasan afterthoughtwhen peopletalkof “Mr. John,’,a“dyetitisPaulwho willhave done thequiet,unspectacularbutvitallyneces.sarywork todevelopthepeople’sself.awarenessandself-helppotential.The mistakes1 made mightbe sum.

marizedby the word “over-involve.merit.” They are easy mistakestomake. In facttheydon’tseem at all

tOxiCto many Americans.To be aleaderand a“ organizer,a wheeler.dealerand a pusher,a tangible-resultsand steady-performanceman—theseskillsImm conspicuouslyinAmericanlife.(And thank God they do, fortheyhave helpedto builda greatso.ciety.) Buttotransporttheseassetsinour Volunteersto underdevelopedcountrie~to work with theseskillsbutnotteachthem patientlytoothers—is todefeatourgoalofhelpingpee.ple to help themselves.If we our-

Ina Wmyear+ld “invasionsettlement’,inCatiagena,&lombia,SusanMatiin(Livermore,Calif.)has beguna school-lunchprogramwithCARE foodgifts

selvesfillthe vacuum of leadership,initiative,and resourcefulness,weleaveno room forthepeopleto de.velopand learnsuch skillson theirown, And men are not oftenbornwiththeseskills;theyarelargelyac-quiredina learningprmess,Attend.anteatprojectsby no means guaran.tees participationand involvement,The non-inyolved,theymerelyfollow—stand and watch withinertdetach.ment,Many Vol~teers who are doers

usuallyjustifythemselveswith theseeminglylogical,good-senseargu-ment tftatthey are “settinga goodexample,” The rationaleoftenruns

26

likethis:“~11gettbe ballrolling—and oncetheprojectisgoingwell1,11turnthereinsovertothepeople. .,,PeaceCorpsknows no end toprojectsthat have fallenthrough,to reinsdroppedinmid-stream,tocrushedex.pectationsof host-coun~ continuity,Why? Becausetheseprojectsa“d pro-grams were neverthe host+ountry%stobeginwith;rathertheywerePeaceCorps projectswith a curiouslyen.thusiasticyet docilecommunity en.dorsement.“Of course!Why not?” say the

people,but itistheapprovalof fol8lowers,notparticipators;itistheen-,.,.

dorsementwhich the underlingpays

Peac,CornsPhotosbyPa.!Conklin

tohissuperior,a humhle md respect-fuldeferencetoachowledged superi-

e

rity.It is not a mutual enterprise,tnongequals.Over-involvementis doubly dan-

gerousbecauseitusuallyfeelssogoodto’be “runningthe show.” To be apa!r6n, to be loved,respected,andfollowedisgood fortheego. Itdoeswondersforself-confidence.And bestofall,tobe busy—to be reallybusy—isa Volunteer’sbestmedicine.Hissenseof dedicationand commitmentissustained;theimpressionof move-

ment and progresstowmd concretegoalsisunderscored.Butkeepingbusyisno guaranteeofforwardmotion.And finally,undercarefulobserva-

tion,over-involvementis frequentlya disguisedlackof trustand respectforthepeopleone ist~ing to help.When a Volunteercontinuallygivesthedirections,doestbeorganizing,andmaintainstbeinitiativebe isineffectsaying:“Ican do thisbetterthantheycan.”Or,“IfI leavethem alonewiththisthey’llforgetaboutit,me= itup,delay ‘tilldoomsday ~’ and soforth.While theseopinionsmay beconfirmedby abundantevidence,inany casethebigleapfomard defeatstbe projectfrom tbe beginning.In-adequaciesinthepeoplemust be cor-rectedfirst,and tbe bestway istogivethem an opportunityto be ade-quate,an opportunitytolearn..Itmayindeedtakelonger,be lessperfect,andwaste time;itcertainlyrequiresaninfinitepatienceand toleranceforfrustration;but if ihe people do itthereisgrowth,thereishuman devel-opment,

The 14 months sincemy termina-tionofserviceinColombiahavebeenfastand busy.Iservedoutconsultant-shipsintwo PeaceCorpstrainingpro-grams,gotmarried,and came toPeruwhere I am currentlyservingas Re.gionalDirectorfor the north, Bycoming“onboard”againtoa new joband a new count~,my perspectiveon

PeaceCorps sewicehas been greatlyenhanced.One mightsayIhave nowseen“bothsidesofthefence,”butthemetaphor is undignified.A fenceshouldnotexistbetweentheVolunteerand thestaffrather,thereneedstobea bridge.My roleasIperceiveitnowiscommunity developmentat a dif-ferentlevel.My communitynow con.sistsof the Volunteers.As for the“development,”tbe processis,andmust be, tw~directional—amutuallearningand creatingthrough con-tinuingdialogue.The maintenanceofthisdialogue,Ibelieve,istheforemostpriorityofmy job,Itismy hopethatImighthelpVolunteersavoidtbemis-takes1 made, Iftheymake new ones,thenthatisallrighttoo.Itmeans wearelearningand moving forwardanddoing tbe job a littlebetterallthetime.

John Hatch (McLean, Va,), a PeaceCorps stafl member in Peru sihce lastMarch, arteded Johns Hopkins fJni-.ersity and ha a B.A. in political sci-ence and English literature, granted in1962. While in schml he spent twosummers inLatin America, working inCosta Rica m a salesman and in Co-lombia m a dai~ farmer. He wu aVolunteer in Colombia from J962 to1964, working in a CARE-Peue Corpscommunity-development program. Heis married to the former Andrea Cat-

/et/ of Whittier, Calif.

InUsiacurion thetiribbeancoast,CharlesHarper(Mamaroneck,N.Y.)began abasket-weavingCO+P withN women previouslydependenton predatovmiddlemen.

IntheU.S.,ex-VolunteerSarawak,usedictionary.

Langgit

EdwinPricehelpsLanggit,hisIongboatdriverinPricearrangedIbanyouth’sstudytripto Florida.

is 6gettingprogress y

By Edwin Pdce

Palalka, F\a,

Copper-brownwater spillingoverthebanksoftheRajangRiverfloodingthericepaddieswas lmple evidencetoa young Sarawakboy and me thatBorneo’smonsoon seasonwas at itsheight.~e constantrainhad broughttheusuallycalm riverlappingintothehillrice,and now alltravelon thejungle’smain arterycemed.Squattingin his rumah kampong

(farm house on stilts),the small-frmed Iban youth,who was calledLanggit,jabberedaway aboutthein-cessantrain,his father’sricefields,and most of allabout hisancestralheritage.1was quicklyimpressedwithLanggit,butI had littlereasontobe-lievethissame young man, imbuedwithmore thanaverageself-confidenceand barely15 yearsold,would oneday come to livein my home inPalatka,Fla.,and be warmly ac-ceptedas the “sixthbrotber”in thePricefamily,I was alsounawareatthetimethatLanggit,sonof an Ibanchiefwho stillbearstattooedhandssymbolic of former headhunters,wouldsoonbemy constantcompanionand Iongboatdriver.

It seems strange,at times,thatLanggit (pronounced Len-yet andmeaning“sky”inMalay) shouldnowbe in theUnitedStatesgropingwiththe everydayproblemsthatseventh-gradehericans encounter.But he ishere,adjustingrapidly,making newfriends,and adaptingto thefolkwaysof a smallSoutherncommunity thatdepends largelyupon tbe ~ulpwoodindustryforitslivelihood.

We bothmissthericepaddies,therivers,the carefreenightsin thejungle,thecountlessexcursionsup anddown theRajang,thefestiveIbancele.brations,thesmalltalkand gossipofthe villages.For me, allof thesethingsremaintreasuredmemoriesofmy two yearsasa VolunteerinSara-wak. For La”ggit,comingtotheU.S.was ‘<gettingprogress,”a favoriteIbanexpressionmeaningsomethingnew basbeen added to one’slife.

Settlingdown in Palatkahas cer-tainlybeen somethingnew forLang.git.Only an hour’sdriveaway,itiseasyforme toleavetheUniversityofFloridacampus at Gainesvillea“ddrivehome to seeLanggitoccasion.ally.Trips home were frequentatfirstasI was theonlyone who couldtranslatesome of Langgit,sexplana.

28

tions.One day forinstance,he toldhisclassitwas thecustomforhispeo-

*

pleto eatrocks.Dan, my youngerbrother,triedto persuadeLanggiltforgettbe subjectbecauw he wasembarrassedfor his newly acquiredfriend,Langgitremainedadamant.Heinsisted,much to the dismay of hisclassmates,thatheandhisfamilyoftenaterinks.A fewdayslaterIexplainedtoDan thattheIbandideatwhat isknown as“redrock,”a softsandstonesubstancethatisgenerallymunchedon whileworking,

Langgit’sjunior-highschoolteacheris impressedwith his lban student.SpellingisLanggit’sbestand favoritesubject.He studiesdiligentlyandmemorizeseach word. His extremepolitenesstopeoplehasalsoimpressedthe studentsand faculty,and mybrotberstellme he’ssomethingof ahitwiththegirlsinhisclass.I sensedthisbackinSarawakwhen 1 was hostto Ixal friendsor Britishofficialsatmy houseinKanowit,BringingLanggittoAmericawasn’t

easy, For one thing1 encounteredtheusualgovernmentalredtapethatinvariablyaccompaniesvisaproceed-ings,My initialplanwas tosolicittheaidof theinfluentialtownspeopleofseveralIban villages—whichI did

*and thenapproachtheSarawakGov-ernmentleaderswho mighthelpme.Assuredthatallof theseindividualswould speakup forLanggitwhen thetimecame, I prmeeded to takemycausebeforetheAmerican Consulatein Singapore.After thatit was awaitinggame. How we arrivedatihedecisionofLanggit’scomingtoAmer-icaisstillvagueinmy mind. I musthave mentioneditone day—or elsebe did—and beforelongtheideabe-came paflof our dailyconversation.PromotingLanggil’sven[ureto a

foreigncountryalsohad to be takenup withthevillageeldersand Masam,hisfather.me boy was young,spokelittleEnglish,and was onlya genera.tionremoved from thejungle.Undertbew circumstancesI asked myselfwhetherbiscomingtotheU.S.wouldserveany usefulpurpose.Perhapshewould become too “Americanized”and notwant toreturntohlscountry.mere were tengthyeveningmeetings—kerosenelanternsburninguntilearlydawn — where the villagecouncilquined theirpromisingsonon hisin-tentionsof goingto anothercountry.Langgitknew eachargumentwell,an

Qhisc!inchi”gsummation alwaysten..teredaround tbe promiseto study

hardand one day returntotheKmo-witDistrict.

8

Langgitand I sharedsome hazard-us experiencesin Sarawak. Therewas thetimewhen a poisonousflyingsnakeelidedthroughan openwindowstrikin~at Langgit’simage in themirroras he combed his hair;thetime our Iongboat,jammed with 12children,became lodgedina treefork40 feetabove the ground when theriversuddenly rose to unexpectedheights;theseveralboutswithvenom-ous snakes;and the constantappre-hensionof shearinga gearor losingamotor propon an unfamiliarriverorstream;

My parentswere quick to bringLane~itintothe innercircleof thefamfi~,Mother,who has allbut re-placedme asLanggit’stutor,isquietlyimpressedwith the way the newestmember of thehouseholdlaborsoverbisbooks. It isnot uncommon forLanggitto read on long aftermybrothershavegonetobed.My father,dean of St.Johns RiverJuniorCol-lege,isequallyproud of Langgit.Heisforevertakinghis“adoptedson”tocollegeand civic-clubfunctionswhereLanggit is asked to demonstrate some

ofhisnativeskills.

*Tbe firsttimeLanggitsatdown toa

Southernfried-chickendinnerI un-derstoodhis mixed emotionsabouthavingso much food placedbeforehim. In Sarawak a chickendinnerisa rarityservedonlyat specialocca-sions and then sometimes dividedamong as many as 20 individuals.When timepermits,LanggitgetsouthisIbanrelicsand—with some appre-hension“intbe neighborhood—showseveryonehow to make dartsforhisblow gun,sharpenhisprizedswords,or beat out a bongo tempo on amonkey-skindrum. His latestinterestistofinda treelargeenough tobuildthefan>ilya longboat—aprojectthathascapturedtheimaginationofallmybrothers.The futureforLanggitisas broad

and excitingas the powerful andsweeping Rajang River we bothlearnedtoloveasnovicesfindingourway throughthejungle,In a recentletterfrom Sarawak,Masam urgedhisson to applyhimselfat hisstudies,forwhen he returnedhe would be re-sponsibleforbringingprogressto hiscommunity. “Father,”be replied,“you aremistaken.When 1 lefthome

@promisedto returnand helpal!of

,.[hechiefsofourdistrict.They believeinme and I must keep my promise.”

InSarawak,Price,Lanwit,and companionsmaneuverIongboatacrossNgemah RivermpidsnearLanMit’svillageenrouteto*H Clubproject.

InIbanceremonialdressPricegetssampletatoos(helaterwashedthemoff).As a Volunteer,he urgedIbanstokeepoldcraftswhilelearningnew ones.

Career opportunitiesEach month thePeaceCorpsCareer

InformationSewice sendsto Volun.teersa bulletinlistingpost-semiceca-reeroppotiunities.Volunteerswho arein theirsecondyew of sewicemayregisterwithC,l.S.forindividudas-sistant%registrationcwds me avail-able from Peace COTS Represe”ta.lives,Inquiriesshouldbe addressedto C.1.S.in careof the DivisionofVolunteer Support, Peace Corps,Wasbingtoo,D. C. 20525. Reprintedbelow isa selectionfrom tbecurrentC.I.S.bulletin,which shouldbe con-sultedforcompletelistingsand otherinformation,

EducationC.r.erIntorm.tl.nSerYICeiedeveloping a

rester of ret. r”i”x Vol”. tmm i“teretd infel]owh{~s, scholambim, end as.inti”tih[pe forthe achm] year bwln”ln, %Dtemb,, 1986.CoDim of the I&t will be d[8tributd ti grad..at~chml d~na, denatiment hemb, s“d ““de,.graduateadmissio”~ directim-many of whomre”r~ent ecbools which he,. ex,rmsd I“teratI. ettracti.g ret.r”cd Vol”.~m to theircam.u.~, An aDDllcat[o” fom can & obt.indfrom C.1.S,

Oremn State Unl.erB1ty,. “rogram i. i.ter.“atio”nl a,rlcuit”re nflem two ,cholamhi,. f.,the 1966.66 scad,mio year @ former Vol.”.tmm. The echooi hm w,ently k“ work[”,with htin Am,,! <,. m“”trl~, a“d is Datiic”.Inr]y anxious to hear fmm .m.le with sknow]dge of Sm”lsb, Potiuguee, JaD.nee.. . . %“thewt &i.. .. . . . . . . . Wtite wil~.mR. Furtick, Depatime”, of AsmnomY, OrWonS,.,, Univemit,, Comalfi,, Ore. 97331.

Teaching

Other

Our man in UruguayTonyDike,right,istheVolunteerinUruguay(see‘<Memorandum”on nextpage

*Herehe entetiainsa gauchocouplewithwhom he livesnearMontevideo.The-.~woman holdsa math gourd,sippingthearomatichollyteathroughi hombilla.

Embassies want speakers

a

&veral U.S. Embassiesin Europere lookingforreturningVolunteersnterestedingivingtalkson thePeaceCorpsand takingpan inradioand tel-evisionprograms.PatiicularlywantedareformerVolunteerswho can speakFrench or German. Volunteerswhoplanto studyinEurope may want toget in touch with embassy cultural-affairsofficers.European voluntary-sewiceprogams arealsointerestedinusingformerPeaceCorps Volunteersintheirtrainingprograms.For moreinformation,writeRaymond C. Par-rott,Director,National VoluntaryServicePrograms,PeaceCorps,Wash-ington,D. C. 20525,

A call for counselorsThe ForeignStudentServiceCoun-

cilof Washington,D, C.,isseekingformerPeaceCorpsVolunteerslivingin theWashingtonmetropolitanareatohelpinan orientationprogramforinternationalstudents.The ex-Volun-teerswould serveas personalcoun-selorsforstudentsfrom areaswheretheyhad servedabroad,Informationis availablefrom Mark Himelstein.1746 M St,N,W,, Washington,D, C

~6.

imprimis

imprimis:prisiine

bloodless absewe of colorthe purity of dabuter

unblemished pallor‘m snow is wh;rem m;lk is whiteas chalk is white

seemingalbinoismand yet todW:chromatic

a kaleidoscope ofSaflronmagentaemeraldcobalt

viuid.i”teme hueshere dappled

here blendi=g i“a patchwork quilted designTranslation:Today I found

my favoritewhiteblousecov-eredwithmildew.

<AROL WmTE

(ParkRidge,Ill.),

e

reprintedfrom Harka, publishedby VolunteersinMorocco,

MemorandumTo’ : The field DA~: August, 1965

FROM : The editors

SUBJE~: A fafiharquestion;A notehorn Chss 2/8

Volu”teenpint,present,md futirewbo arcasked“Why didyoujointhePeace Corps? mi@t considerthe following,which,was con-tainedina speechmade two yearsago

I ftattyrefwetoaskyou,“Why didyou jointhePea- CorpsY Iundersbndyou expectthatquestionnow—for the10OOthtime.titmesuggestthenexttimesomeonemb you thatqumtion,simplytwn itaround—likeThoreauturnedEmerson’squestion~ound.

Emersonhti ptida visitto hk friendh theConmti jail.“btydearThor=u: Emersonsaid,“why areyou here;

To whichThoreaureplied,“MY dearEmerson,why me you nothere?’,

The speaker,addressinga groupof VolunteersinPuertoRico,wasfuturePresidentLyndon B.Johnson.

❑ 00

Love lette~The Thailand Peace Corps Journal reportsthatan u-unidentifiedVolunteerteacherwent tohisclasson thefirstday of school,and insteadof studentsfoundonlya noteon theblackboard:

DEAR TEACHER,We aresorrythatwe can’tstudytodaybecausewe aretired.

Love,CLASS 218

❑ 00

How wouldyou liketobe a Volunteerwithyourveryown exclusiveprojectnumber? We happen to have such a Volunteer,If you askedUruguay 64-01-06toriseen masse,you’dtid onlyTony Duke, of NewHaven,Corm. In fact,Duke isatthemoment theonlyVolunteerinthesmallSouthAmericancountr~47 potentialVolunteersae now tratiigatTexas Christian,preparingto coach basketballand work withruralyouth,buttheywon’tgo abroaduntilfall.Meantime,Duke carrieson.Ithappenedlikethis:

InJuneoflastyear,Duke enteredtrainingwith16 otherVolunteers.He wm to work in agriculture,the otherswere scheduledforurbm-community development.He took hisa~iculturtitrainingaway fromtherestof hisgroup,thenwent abroada month beforetheywere setto go. Meantime,theGovernment of Uruguay decideditdidn’tneedurbanVolunteersafterall.In a fmt about-face,the16 Uruguay-boundVolunteersbecame 16 Venezuela-boundVolunteers.Duke wmn’t aloneforthefistyear—18 agricultural-extensionVolunteershad arrivedtheyearbefore,completingsemicethisJuly.Washingtonwfllbe gladwhenthenew Volunteersamive;Uruguay istheonlycounwy where thesttioutnumbersVolunteers,

❑ 00

Ithap~ned h MoroccK Volunteerswho complainthatPeaceCorpsmeetingsmore oftenthannot se a wroteof time might turnto thePeaceCorps in Moromo forthe secretof theirsuccess.Tom Ctier,Representativein Morocco, told a recentWashington staffmeetingthatthe projecthad had a meetingso successfulthat128 Volunteersstoodand applaudedatitstermination.

31

I.V.S. in Vietnam(Continued from page 2)

He joinedmalariaspeciahstWilliamBettsand otherI.V.S,-ersto work inlashingwindsfor 15 hews a day,7days a week, loadingand unloadingreliefsupplies,vaccinatingthepeopleagainstcholera,and teachingthemtheymust boiltheirwater.Agriculturalteamsaremainlycon.

cernedwithdevelopingnew cropsandnew technique~alwaysinthefrme.work of resourcesrighttherein thecommunity, George McDowell, whoisstationedwith hiswife,Renie,atSOC Trang in the Delta,introducedhuge watermelonsfrom Georgia—whichbecame sucha successthatonepeasantkept threeof them on hisBuddhistaltar.Teachersin I.V,S,have foundthat

theVietnameseareextremelyeagertolearnhome economics,experimentalscience,and particularly,English,JayParsons,who liveswitha VietnamesefamilyinHuL,teachesEnglishtomorethan200 students41 hoursa week.The primaryfocusofI.V.S,(which

alsooperatesinLaos,Cambdia, ~.geria,Syria,Jordan,and hbanon)hasalwaysbeenlesson plantsorproj-ectsthan on developinghuman re.sources,In Vietnam ithas achievedthisby working throughtraditionallocalleadershiptoteachvillagerswhointurnwillteachothers.It has alsosparkeda “domestic

I.V.S,,’—theVol””taryYo”tb ASSO.ciationof Vietnam.Recentlya Viet-namese writertoldme, “Thereisnohope forourcount~ unlessthepeas.ants feelthe centralgovernmentisreallywith them. And one way toachievethatisto send out teamsofstudentsto work.with thepeasants,,,Itwas a Vietnamese,too,who corn.

mented,“11,sa pityI.v.S.hastoworkon’so smalla scale.It’sthegreatestAmerican success. in Vietnam, Theseyoung peoplehavehelpedusrecognizetherealproblemsofourcount~:lowproductivity,ignorance,divisionbe-tween classes.I.V.S.-ersare actuallydoingthethingstheCommunists arealwayspromising,,,

‘A high standard of etiquette’In April,justthreemonths beforehe was fatallystrickenon a

London street,AdlaiStevensonaddressedhimselfto the PeaceCorpsina replytoan invitationhe had receivedtoattenda dinnerforreturningVolunteers:

,.. The work which thq [Volunteers] have done in the areas ofeducation and welfare k comiderable, But I have always felt thatthe greatest contribution oj the Peace corps is not a material one,but its demomtration of the concern of indipidua/ A ~erico”$ forour fellow man inallcornersof the earth.

We have never had to wor~ about the Ogden Nmh poem the!goes:

“There wm a brave girl of ConnecticutWho flagged the express with her pecticutWhich critjcs definedAs a presewe of mi=dBut a deplorable ab.rence of ecticut.,,

The members of the Pcme Corps have demomtrated “of onlyexlraordina~ presence of mind, bui a high standmd of etiquettewhich will pq our countq fm greater dividends than their weishtingold, We can all be proud of the job they have done.

A correction

To THE VOLUNTEER:

I would liketo callyour attentiontoone smallerrorinyour articleen-titled“Nepal Rated High by F.S.I.”[THE VOLUNTEER, June-July,1965].We (Nepal11)didnottrainatGeorgeWashingtonUniversity.The reason1 bringthistoyour at-

tentionisthatthe trainingprogramgivenus attheUniversityof Oregonwas excellent,The staffwas sincere,intelligent,andinformed.We had fewcomplaintsand once we amived inNepal we had much to thank ourtrainersfor.The man who directedour program,Dr, Egbert Wengert,diedabouta yearago.As atributetohim and totheotherinspiredand con.scientiottspeopleat Oregon,1 hopeyou willcorrectthiserror.

MURRAY GREGG SMITH

Independence, Mo.

—Our apologies IO Oregon and theVolunteers of Nepal IJ, and our co”.granulations to both on their fine per.formances.—Ed,

——————______________________________CHANGE OF ADDRESS

PEACE CORPS

Art-exchange programAn organizationthatsponsorsthe

internationalexchange of children’sarthasinvitedPeaceCorpsVolunteerteachersandotherVolunteersworkingwithchildrento takepartin itsprogram. @

Art for World Friendship,which

beganin1946,sponsorsexchangesona group basisbetween schools,artcenters,libraries,colleges,and chil-dren’sorganizations,More than 80countrieshave participatedsincetheprogram’sstart,Childrenexchangepic(uresthatper.

traytheirlives,theirfriends,or theiridea~the onlystipulationisthatnopictureswithwar themesbe sent.Theorganizationhas helpedPeace CorpsVolunteerswho wereinneedofrepro-ductions,artpublications,ormaterials.Suppliessuchascrayonsandpaperareoftenavailableto exchangegroupsinother countries.More informationmay be obtainedfrom kt forWorldFriendship,FriendlyAcres,5IW. 8thSt.,Media,Pa. 19063.

-— —- ——-—-— ——— ——— —--POSTAGE AND FEES PAID

Effectivedate

Pleasesendwithmailinglabelatright.