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V .
The Peace Corps is one army that doesn't
hand out medals
"The Peace Corps is a chance to really do
something worthwhile for others," says Paul
Bartel, campus coordinator of the Peace
Corps "To put someone else’s needs before
your own is something that not many of us
have ever done "
The Peace Corps offers volunteers the op
portunity to spend two years in a Third World
country Their job7 Helping impoverished peo
ple toward a better way of life
The service has many advantages, but it isn’t
easy, Bartel says
"The work is demanding and forces the
volunteer to be adaptive and to learn to take
the initiative," says Bartel “A sense of humor
is a must, otherwise you can be overwhelmed
when things don't go well — which can happen
often ”
Many volunteers go overseas with idealistic
thoughts of changing the world but soon learn
to be realistic in an environment with no run
ning water, no sanitation, not even a doctor
And two years can be a long time to live with a
mistake
A few volunteers quit before their tour of duty
ends, usually because of inadequate
preparatory training A volunteer undergoes
four to 14 weeks of training, often in the host
country, but sometimes the volunteer still is
unprepared to face the harsh realities of back
country life
"I supposedly had a supervisor,' says Kay
Kaylor, who left the Phillipines early because of
health problems "But I never saw anyone A
lot of the support and help that I was supposed
to get from the government there never mater
ialized The Peace Corps was a good exper
ience, but for me it could have been better
organized "
Kaylor attributes her problems to a lack of
cooperation by the host country, but some
volunteers aren't ready regardless of how
much preparation they receive
"Some quit early because they went out with
too high of expectations," says Carl Hosticka
a University professor who spent two years in
Nepal and three more in India "Or they have
thoughts of traveling around the world and
when they found out they were stuck in one
place for two years, they get really depressed "
Most volunteers are days away from decent
roads or telephones The long distances im
pede communication about immediate prob
lems, leaving volunteers totally self-reliant
Hardships such as these make many vil
lagers suspicious of Peace Corps workers The
natives question why these Americans — com
paratively richer — would choose to live in a
mud hut
"But when you get down and work with them
to build a well or something else useful, you
make a lot of friends, and they get to under
stand you better." Bartel explains To share the
good aspects of the American culture with the
villagers and help them to raise their own
standard of living becomes a challenge, he
adds
To some people, the corps brings up
thoughts of the CIA but according to Bartel,
that is a misconception conjured up by Cuban
leader Fidel Castro, who made that association
years ago
"No volunteer has ever been shown to be a
CIA agent." he says
"If you ever think about the type that goes
into Peace Corps — usually someone who
wants to help others — then it is ridiculous to
think they would want to spy on another
country Besides how much intelligence can
you find out in a village in the back country?"
Bartel asks
The Peace Corps’ popularity has plummeted
from its high point in the 1960s with 13,000
volunteers in 90 countries to 5 400 volunteers
in 60 countries
Nevertheless. Bartel s program at the
University is thriving it is the third leading
recruiter on the West Coast Last year the
number of volunteers dropped to 35 from the
previous year's total of 48, but Bartel predicts
an increase this year He's signed up 20
volunteers already and says he expects at least
40 more
Many people don't believe they qualify for
the corps but usually anyone who has a good
educational background can join The most
important qualifications are the abilities to
communicate well and to work with people,
Bartel says
Bartel went as a volunteer to Honduras two
years ago. and says, "it was definitely one of
the most positive things I ve ever done A
person can t go there without getting some
thing out of it
"But you ve got to keep it in perspective
One person isn't going to change the world in
two years ”
By Mike Riplinger
Graphic by Russell Whang
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