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.…
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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…
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Dear Peace Corps Volunteers, No one understand the uniqueness or challenges of Peace Corps service better than Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs). When we noticed your confusion on all the terms and acronyms across our website, we created the RPCV Lingo Glossary. We know there are some health-related things that you are experiencing or wondered…
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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…
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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…
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Period poverty is the lack of access to menstrual hygiene products (aka period products). It also means an inability to access the necessary education and support for good menstrual health. This leads to negative health, social, and economic consequences. There are many contributing factors including cost and stigma. To tackle the period poverty problem, we need to…
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John F. Kennedy once asked what can we do for our country. Many stepped up. We have skills to share. Initially, the overwhelming majority of Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) were from a very narrow demographic (race, gender, age, abilities, etc.) of the general public. Over time, the demographics slowly evolved to be more diverse. And…
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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…
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Paying for medical visits, testing, travel, and medication can be costly. But having to pay for those all at once is a known hurdle for many Peace Corps applicants. For those without insurance or ample financial means, those medical clearance costs stop the applicant from applying for Peace Corps service. Will the increase in medical…
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RPCV Health Crusade supports, admires, and recognizes the Asian communities as vital and valued Americans and Peace Corps community members. We emphatically denounce hate and attacks in all forms against Asian Americans and all other racial groups. It is long past time to Stop Asian Hate. Asian Americans are Americans! The vicious attacks, murders, scapegoating,…
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