Global Health Jobs - Peace Corps | Global Health

Global Health Jobs - Peace Corps

Published July 29, 2009 @ 07:10AM PT

When you're considering Peace Corps, you have to remember that it's not an international development organization. It's a US public diplomacy agency, and a powerful opportunity for personal growth and development. But you don't join Peace Corps to do international development work, and the organization will tell you that itself.

The opportunity to experience life as though you were poor can give you powerful insight into development and its obstacles. It's probably the equivalent of a graduate degree in development and what it may or may not mean. But Peace Corps volunteers don't have the resources, support, or often knowledge to have a long-term impact on the problems they are experiencing. Once again, that's not a criticism of the volunteers, or of the Peace Corps - it's just not what the program is designed to do.

I've seen a lot of miserable, bitter Peace Corps volunteers. I have personally talked two separate volunteers into early departure. (If you've woken up every morning and cried for the last six weeks then yes, I think you should go home.) This is in part because of my regional focus - Central Asia is supposed to be one of the hardest parts of the world for Peace Corps volunteers (PCVs).

I have also seen volunteers do some really great stuff. I remember two projects in particular. One was a food recall study, where PCVs talked to people in rural villages about what they ate. It took advantages of the specific skills of PCVs - languages and connections to rural life - and produced a document that was a major reference for everyone in the country who worked on nutrition. The other project was on growth charts. A Peace Corps volunteer trained doctors in his village to use growth charts to track children's height and weight, and make sure they were developing normally. The charts were low-tech - just photocopied paper, but they really helped doctors improve their care for children. The volunteer also arranged for a USAID-funded health project to keep supplying the charts to doctors after he left, so that the effort would not end after two years.

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Thank you for posting this. I am graduating with a BA next year and have been toying with the idea of peace corps vs. obtaining my MPH right away vs. other work abroad. I want to be involved in global health/development, so maybe the peace corps isn't for me! Thanks again, I really enjoy reading your blog! Marta

Posted by Marta Bornstein on 07/29/2009 @ 08:37AM PT
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I don't mean to argue against Peace Corps...it's very much an education on what matters in development and global health. But it's not actually development work, if that makes sense.

Posted by Alanna Shaikh on 07/29/2009 @ 08:42AM PT
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Yes, that does make a lot of sense. I really appreciate your posts on graduate school and gaining experience in global health as well. Thanks again!

Posted by Marta Bornstein on 07/29/2009 @ 08:57AM PT
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What do you think of the MPH programs that involve the Peace Corps as part of their program?

Posted by Sam Benedict on 07/29/2009 @ 10:04AM PT
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Thanks for this post Alanna. I agree that it's not a program that makes a long-term difference as far as country development goes, but it can be an incredibly eye-opening experience for the volunteers and can help improve the lives of people in the community, even if it's not forever. I work at an organization where about half of the employees are former PCVs and everyone I've talked to had a great experience. My boss also told me that volunteering can basically write your ticket for any development agency when you return. What do you think about that? I'm also almost finished my undergrad degree, and am not sure whether to get my MPH right away or volunteer. Do you have any advice?

Posted by Emily Blynn on 07/29/2009 @ 10:57AM PT
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As a Former Peace Corps volunteer, I agree with the assessment of Peace Corps here. It does much better at its second 2 goals (the diplomacy ones) that its first (the one focused on development). I love Peace Corps and encourage others to do it. It was a great experience to me and opened my eyes in a lot of ways, and I think I can approach international development in a way now that I could not have had I not had this experience. However, I will say that it is not for everyone. As Alanna points out some volunteers walk away disheartened and others do great things. It all depends what your expectations are and what you make of it. I believe it to be our job as RPCVs to be open and honest with perspective volunteers about the realities of Peace Corps. I do believe, though, that Peace Corps volunteers could be utilized more and provide great support to the development community. With their language skills and unique understanding of local communities and culture, I think PCVs have a lot to offer in terms of bridging the gap between the development community and local populations. I also hope to see more from the RPCV community (graduates of the school of Peace Corps) along these same lines, and am especially encouraged by the NPCA's latest initiative:

http://arc.peacecorpsconnect.org/

Posted by Paul Miller on 07/29/2009 @ 06:51PM PT
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Great post. I'm actually in the middle of my Peace Corps application process (that is supposed to take approx. 9 months long to complete) and am still unsure if the Peace Corps is the right choice for me to take. I have heard that joining the Peace Corps is the best way to gain international experience and public health experience if I wanted to get experience in the GPH field. Being a recent B.S. graduate, I find it kind of hard to get a start in the GPH field, since most of the places seem to want those with Master's degrees, but I've heard that the Peace Corps may be the best way to get experience before I fully make a decision on whether to pursue the GPH field.

Posted by Phi Pham on 07/30/2009 @ 10:00AM PT
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Peace Corps is what you make of it. To echo Paul's sentiment, one's experience is determined by expectations and ability to adapt to the needs of a placement.

As Alanna says, Peace Corps never claims to be a channel to save the world, but I would argue it can help people do what the Twitterati, bloggers, and others in business and life have discovered helps them get the job done - form relationships with people that create goodwill over time - which consequently can inspire and support development.

As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, I admit that only one person in my family and a few close friends had even heard of the country before I lived there. Now, they all speak about Mali as if it were their own backyard, and the concentric circles of people that they are friends with all know about my experience. By making the world seem a little bit smaller, there may not have been direct lives saved because I lived in a village for 2 years, but the ripple effect continues because those people want to participate in causes that they know something about.

For those Peace Corps Volunteers who want a place to use some of the knowledge and insights that they gained in service, the National Peace Corps Association has built Africa Rural Connect (http://www.AfricaRuralConnect.org). It is a space where those who lived and worked in Africa, especially volunteers and villagers themselves, or their friends, colleagues, and relatives, can talk about problems and come up with creative solutions. In the ARC community, we want to encourage people to continue (or perhaps in some cases, begin) the positive contributions that come from their service.

Despite the tough conditions and lack of resources, Alanna has it right, volunteers can still make contributions that go beyond their two years in country.

Posted by Molly Mattessich on 08/05/2009 @ 01:23PM PT
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i belong to swat i am effected in swat .so plz give me a chance to him in your organization.i will be thankfull to you.

Posted by sohail talha on 08/24/2009 @ 04:30AM PT
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Author

Alanna Shaikh has spent the last ten years immersed in global health; she has worked for NGOs, companies, universities, and the US government on projects that ranged from preventing antibacterial resistance to improving maternal and child health.