Mpatanishi Tayari
"With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth and lead the land we love, asking his blessing and his help, but knowing that here on earth, God's work must truly be our own." - John F. Kennedy
He was crunched in a 15-person capacity van with 24 other people and several chickens to go to an area he knew nothing about. He was instructed to stay at his isolated destination for three days, then make his own way back home. To use the bathroom he would have to squat over a hole in the ground, and as he walked through the area, people shyly peered at him behind their doors, wondering who this strange-looking guy was.
No, this man was not a part of some bizarre fraternity initiation. Instead, he was part of a larger organization designed to promote world peace and friendship through grassroots volunteerism. Steven was in the Peace Corps.
Two years later he found himself sitting in his room with his dog and community friends eating plantains and singing songs. There were a lot of bittersweet - but good - memories in Zimbabwe that Steven would later take to law school with him - along with maturity, flexibility, resourcefulness and technical expertise.
Kennedy's vision
The 1960s and 1970s marked the height of social awareness, activism and volunteerism in the United States. In accordance to this, it was in 1960 at 2 a.m. that the popular and persuasive former President John F. Kennedy first proposed the idea on the steps of the Michigan Union. Ultimately founded in 1961 by virtue of an Executive Order of former President Kennedy, the Peace Corps currently places Americans in 94 foreign countries around the world.
The three goals of the Peace Corps are: 1) Help people of interested countries meet their needs for trained men and women, 2) Help promote better understanding of the American people on the part of people served, and 3) Promote better understanding of other people on the part of American people. Volunteers serve in Africa, Central and South America, the Near East, Asia, the Pacific, and Eastern Europe.
Minority involvement
When most people think of a Peace Corps Volunteer a white, upper-middle-class, "long-haired" young man or woman ready to save the world comes to mind. In the hope of eradicating this stereotype, it is important that citizens of color also take upon themselves the challenge of being a "world citizen."
Most of us volunteer because we carry some type of socioeconomic privilege, whether it be acquired through education, class or some other social status. An African American woman very active in American community service once expressed discontent at Americans volunteering abroad "when there are people who need help right here." This can be reiterated through the fact that while blacks have a history of volunteerism, it has historically only been focused on their own communities.
To this woman, I urged the understanding that we live in a shrinking global community. And since U.S. citizens carry with them one of the greatest socioeconomic privileges of the world, it is important that we also reach out to our brothers and sisters across the oceans.
As a country of immigrants, the United States is, indeed, made up of widely varied backgrounds found across the seas. It is for this reason that we also work to fulfill Peace Corps' second goal: to help promote better understanding of the American people on the part of people served. We need to demonstrate this ethnic diversity rather than enforce false stereotypes. Currently, 13 percent of Peace Corps volunteers come from minority communities; 4 percent from African American communities and 3 percent from Hispanic communities.
While these numbers don't reflect the population, they show promise. Black and Hispanic volunteers have more to gain than technological and professional enrichment from Peace Corps assignments. Serving in Africa, the Caribbean, or Central and South America gives them better understanding of their own ethnic, cultural and historical roots.
Benefits
Becoming a Peace Corps volunteer is a challenge in itself. Applicants should begin the application process at least eight months before they would like to serve. Only one out of five applicants are accepted into the intense program. Fields include community development, education, business, health/nutrition, natural resources and agriculture. Peace Corps covers all living, travel and medical expenses during the 27-month service.
Peace Corps volunteers are also eligible to receive partial cancellation of eligible Perkins loans, deferment of most federal college loans, complete medical and dental care during Peace Corps service, and opportunities for grad school scholarships.
- Mpatanishi Tayari can be reached over e-mail at mtayari@umich.edu.