Volunteer Stories
Ready to Serve Again
Posted: 5/8/2013 12:31 AM
Although some may think there’s a contradiction between Peace Corps service and military service Waikwong view both as honorable ways to serve his adopted country. ... read morePeace Corps at Mid-Life
Posted: 4/2/2013 12:29 AM
By Virginia Lee
Jay Davidson (Mauritania 03-05) was 13 when JFK was inaugurated and created the Peace Corps. Inspired by this event, as so many of that generation had been, it was a lifelong dre ... read moreFollow-through
Posted: 4/1/2013 11:48 PM
Ellen Davis
By Athalia Markowitz
Ellen Davis-Zapata (Guatemala 1992-1994) had already raised four kids when she realized she had forgotten to join the Peace Corps. For three months she contemplat ... read moreOur Daughters Could Be Like You
Posted: 3/3/2013 8:14 PM
When Eva arrived in her community in Swaziland and the people learned that she was African, the women were thrilled. They would tell her “our daughters could be like you.” ... read moreBeing Muslim-American in a Muslim Host Country
Posted: 3/3/2013 7:43 PM
Mona had only one request for her first placement: to be near a mosque so she could work on her spirituality. Ironically, she found that the women were not praying in the mosque they were praying at home. ... read moreTonga… Upungake to be exact…It’s Where the Love is
Posted: 2/3/2013 7:42 PM
Andrew Barous would take an eight-hour cargo boat ride full of chickens, supplies, and other animals to see this new girl. They both could see that what they had would go beyond their Peace Corps service. ... read moreAmor en Guatemala
Posted: 1/21/2013 12:01 PM
José and Rachel met one freezing day in Conçepcion Tutuapa, San Marcos in the highlands of Guatemala. Though José had heard about the gringa living at his abuelitos' (grandparents) house, he had not gone on his mini-adventure looking for love. ... read moreCelebrating the Holidays in Niger
Posted: 12/2/2012 2:36 PM
It might seem strange that our holiday dinners with piles of gravy and stuffing could remind me of one of the most famine-prone countries in the world, but nobody does family gatherings quite like those in Niger. ... read moreA Traditional Thanksgiving
Posted: 12/2/2012 2:22 PM
Thanksgiving is a special holiday for Athalia Markowitz, marking the anniversary of her family's immigration to the US from Israel. Every year her family celebrates with a spread of Russian salads and Israeli food. ... read moreTrashy Class
Posted: 10/31/2012 5:50 PM
Sarah Sterling recalls of building her house with her community, “It was really the first time that I think they realized gringas can do a lot of hard, sweaty work.” ... read moreSou-Kou-Yan and the Dark Beings of Dominica
Posted: 9/30/2012 9:23 PM
Walking home late one night in Dominica Jerome Nelson had the ultimate battle with his rational mind and to this day, cannot explain exactly what happened. ... read moreThe Ghosts of Communist Past
Posted: 9/30/2012 8:45 PM
Eastern Europe is different from the stereotype of Peace Corps. Whereas most Peace Corps countries are building economically for the first time, in Eastern Europe, communities are rebuilding around the remnants of a society that fell around them. ... read moreThe Haves and Have-Nots
Posted: 8/31/2012 10:22 PM
By the end of Karen Littell’s second year, she felt inspired to extend her “I’d learned so much that I was finally able to make a meaningful contribution. It seemed like a stupid time to just drop it all and leave!” ... read moreExtending in Latin America: Reflections of 2 Environmental Programs RPCVs
Posted: 8/31/2012 10:10 PM
By Athalia Markowitz
Janet and Catherine were Environmental Education PCVs working in Latin America. Both extended to work with NGOs closer to the capital city, leaving rural life to have a bigger i ... read moreA comfortable place to hide your head
Posted: 8/29/2012 9:30 PM
How does a volunteer go from almost quitting in the first three months of service to being the only member of his training class to extend service to a third year? ... read moreSafeguarding Volunteer Safety: Guatemala
Posted: 8/6/2012 9:55 PM
Aliyya Shelly:Teaching HIV/AIDS Prevention
By Aliyya Shelley, Youth Development Volunteer, Guatemala 2008 - 2011
Peace Corps Guatemala is one of the oldest posts Peace Corps has in its portfolio a ... read more
Two Benin RPCVs speak on safety in Benin after Kate Puzey’s Murder
Posted: 8/6/2012 9:22 PM
In 2009 Benin Peace Corps Volunteer Kate Puzey was found murdered at her home. The story hit the national spotlight and ignited a debate about volunteer safety. Two Benin Volunteers share their thoughts. ... read more
Evacuated from Mali
Posted: 6/30/2012 11:05 PM
Marlow Schindler
By Sharon Heiny
News came by radio to the village of N’tjilla, Mali. Marlow Schindler, a Business Development volunteer, listened as they broadcasted Mali's recent coup d’état over ... read more
Reduce, Reuse, Evacuate
Posted: 6/30/2012 10:49 PM
By Marlow Schindler
Jenna Pierce
Most Peace Corps Volunteers are familiar with waste management in the developing world, or rather the lack thereof. Trash is burned indiscriminately or tossed on ... read more
Everything Seemed Fine Until I Saw the TV
Posted: 6/30/2012 10:33 PM
Shortly after the Kenyan presidential elections of 2007, Maya had left her site to visit another volunteer and do some traveling for New Year's. "We didn't realize anything was wrong until we were listening to the news." ... read more© 2013 Northern California Peace Corps Association.
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