You just arrived at your new Peace Corps site. You will be there for the next two years. This is a new experience. You look around. Everybody is looking back at you. Suddenly you realize that you’re not just visiting. As a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV), you are noticed. They are very curious about you.…
Read more
At times, Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) can get so wrapped up in your Peace Corps service that creative mealtime is low on the priority list. We sometimes eat whatever is quick and available. You don’t realize that foodie games could enhance your time in service. But they can. Food is the ultimate cross-cultural bridge. Meals…
Read more
Ask any Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) what the hardest part of their service was. You will typically hear a variety of answers around dysentery, language barriers, culture shock, participation, or homesickness. But what comes up often in second place is mind-numbing boredom. Before becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV), you expected your days to…
Read more
At some point during your two years of Peace Corps service, you may wonder if your efforts matter. It might be during the mid-service slump. Or, it is on a random Tuesday afternoon during the rainy season. Are you sitting in your hut swatting bugs and looking at a half-finished project proposal? Your host country…
Read more
Many of us start the year with good intentions. We want to make positive changes. Some of those changes often include making health a priority. Every year, many of us make all sorts of new year resolutions. But are those resolutions achievable or are they too lofty? Do we forget after a few weeks? Did…
Read more
As Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs), we get so focused on our work and on helping others that we sometimes forget about taking care of ourselves. But it is important to practice self-care too. We all need to show ourselves some TLC so that we can be at our best for others. In a nutshell, self-care…
Read more
The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade created a firestorm of controversy. The loss of legalized abortions directly impacts the health and welfare of so many people directly or indirectly. Did the short-sighted decision to deny legal right to abortions puts the entire country in jeopardy? RPCV Health Crusade dissected what losing individual…
Read more
Studies have shown that patients receive better care from providers in the same racial group. Would the same be true for RPCVs? Could RPCVs get more applicable diagnoses and treatment paths when treated by RPCVs? Would RPCVs have a better understanding of the types of challenges, conditions, and situations that RPCVs experience? We believe so.…
Read more
It is time to take a moment to find your focus and perspective. A lot has happened this year. We are in a pandemic where a deadly virus is still spreading relentlessly across the globe. Millions have lost their jobs. Too many have lost their lives. We became an instant virtual society. Politics took center…
Read more
The Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteers (EPCVs) just went through a frenzied worldwide evacuation due to the covid-19 pandemic. Peace Corps sent them home to uncertainty. EPCVs had many questions but Peace Corps did not have many answers. Where could they safely stay during a pandemic? Would they get any financial assistance from the government? How…
Read more