http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4295&page=2
Robert Strauss, the author of the first and third articles, is also the guy who wrote a harsh critique of the Peace Corps in the New York Times earlier this year. I disagreed with a lot of what he said, but I can't say he's entirely wrong. So here's some random reactions from me, in no particular order.
Peace Corps needs to focus on hiring older and more experienced volunteers. Yes. My training group had one 64 year old and one 33 year old. Neither stayed for the full two years. One of them left in large part because her extensive experience and expertise was not being used at all, which is pretty depressing. The current group of first year volunteers is slightly older than my group. By that, I mean that the average age is probably 27 instead of 24. A lot of us were fresh out of college when we got here, or in my case, with one year of work experience under the belt. One year of work experience doesn't add up to much. And I do think that in general, older volunteers probably are more effective. There's a sense of work ethic and focus there that just isn't found in twenty-somethings. And we could use a lot more of that.
But... In the NYT article, Strauss made a point that I think is pretty inaccurate. He wrote something to the effect that in the '60s, Peace Corps volunteers offered something in short supply in the developing world: college degrees. But then he goes on to say that this is no longer true. The developed world, according to Strauss, is doing much better, and it is no longer sufficient just to offer a bachelor's degree as your qualifications. Bullshit. Post-secondary education is a relative rarity even in Cape Verde, which comes out at the top of the developing world in sub-Saharan Africa. The government here makes admirable efforts both to send promising students abroad to school and to develop our own national university. But both of these initiatives have a long way to go. Many students languish for years waiting for the mysterious documents to appear that will permit them to go study in São Paulo or Lisboa. I recently looked over the curriculum for a bachelor's in computer science at Jean Piaget University in Praia, and was depressed to realize that I had essentially studied 3 years worth of the program. And I was a Classics major, merely dabbling in comp sci. When mathematics that I studied in the 8th and 9th grades are part of a post-graduate study program (yes, algebra and trig), you cannot tell me that a bachelor's degree in nearly any field does not qualify you for work here. I am one of the only people on this island who knows how to remove a virus from a computer, let alone repair a faulty video card. So are we qualified? Yes, we are.
Robert Strauss, the author of the first and third articles, is also the guy who wrote a harsh critique of the Peace Corps in the New York Times earlier this year. I disagreed with a lot of what he said, but I can't say he's entirely wrong. So here's some random reactions from me, in no particular order.
Peace Corps needs to focus on hiring older and more experienced volunteers. Yes. My training group had one 64 year old and one 33 year old. Neither stayed for the full two years. One of them left in large part because her extensive experience and expertise was not being used at all, which is pretty depressing. The current group of first year volunteers is slightly older than my group. By that, I mean that the average age is probably 27 instead of 24. A lot of us were fresh out of college when we got here, or in my case, with one year of work experience under the belt. One year of work experience doesn't add up to much. And I do think that in general, older volunteers probably are more effective. There's a sense of work ethic and focus there that just isn't found in twenty-somethings. And we could use a lot more of that.
But... In the NYT article, Strauss made a point that I think is pretty inaccurate. He wrote something to the effect that in the '60s, Peace Corps volunteers offered something in short supply in the developing world: college degrees. But then he goes on to say that this is no longer true. The developed world, according to Strauss, is doing much better, and it is no longer sufficient just to offer a bachelor's degree as your qualifications. Bullshit. Post-secondary education is a relative rarity even in Cape Verde, which comes out at the top of the developing world in sub-Saharan Africa. The government here makes admirable efforts both to send promising students abroad to school and to develop our own national university. But both of these initiatives have a long way to go. Many students languish for years waiting for the mysterious documents to appear that will permit them to go study in São Paulo or Lisboa. I recently looked over the curriculum for a bachelor's in computer science at Jean Piaget University in Praia, and was depressed to realize that I had essentially studied 3 years worth of the program. And I was a Classics major, merely dabbling in comp sci. When mathematics that I studied in the 8th and 9th grades are part of a post-graduate study program (yes, algebra and trig), you cannot tell me that a bachelor's degree in nearly any field does not qualify you for work here. I am one of the only people on this island who knows how to remove a virus from a computer, let alone repair a faulty video card. So are we qualified? Yes, we are.
We don't accomplish much. Sadly, kind of true. In nearly two years here, what have I accomplished? I've passed about 100 students through a basic computer literacy program. And many of them will promptly forget what I have taught them. And I'm OK with that. I really am. But in the grand scheme of things, it's not much. It is pretty widely accepted in PCV culture that accomplishing very little is fine. I was told by many people, including my uncle who was in Nepal 30 years ago, that if you go into your service expecting to change the world, you will be disappointed. And that is a realistic thing to say. Keeping that in mind has kept me sane for quite a while. But I also don't think it's OK to simply let this status quo stand.
Allow me to illustrate a point, using the IT program here as an example. Most of my accomplishments here come from teaching. And that's a role that nearly any IT volunteer will fill, and that is as it should be. But I have spent countless hours putting together lesson plans, developing, scrapping, and redeveloping curricula, writing up exercises in Portuguese, and otherwise preparing for teaching. Well, that's just silly. With the number of IT vols that have passed through Cape Verde, why am I doing this? Shouldn't someone have done this work ages ago, so that I could spend more time doing worthwhile projects with larger impact? I think so. Well, thus was born the PC/CV website, complete with file dumps to store lesson plans. In no way can I take credit for the original idea, nor any of the technical work. But I did put together 7 or 8 course packages, in the hopes that future volunteers will use them, and thus dedicate more time to big projects.
I have digressed. The point of that last paragraph is not "Leland is awesome" (I am), but that there exists no administrative framework to accomplish this sort of thing. Ok, not entirely true: we have a resource center in Praia that is full of good books on development topics, but none of them are quality lesson plans. I grabbed the packet called "Computer lesson plans for Cape Verde." And man was it bad. I couldn't have used more than two or three of those classes. And that was the only book offering any help. But that is just me griping. A much more relevant complaint: Cape Verde has a cohesive information society in the government, with a comphrehensive national strategic plan, qualified employees, and a growing infrastructure. SO WHY IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY DO WE NOT WORK WITH THEM?!?!? My relationship with NOSi (the IT group) is precisely zero, and that is patently absurd. I've attempted contact a couple of times, but generally not followed through, and I'll tell you why: If I work with them for a year, and then leave, what has happened? Nothing. There will still be no relationship with Peace Corps. I make this small point with the admission that I could have worked harder to establish a relationship, but there is a broader lesson. Volunteers are largely on their own. Because of Peace Corps status as "almost a development agency," which Strauss rightly criticizes, we have no meaningful ties with larger groups, nationally or internationally. I understand the fear of politicizing the organization, and I understand the grassroots theme. But that is no reason to cut ourselves off from the development world at large.
Volunteers are/are not excellent diplomats. Well, let's slow down on that word "diplomat." Of course we're not diplomats. But we make nice goodwill ambassadors. Strauss makes a big fuss over badly behaved volunteers who do drugs and drink and make asses of themselves, and he goes out of his way to say that the truly excellent volunteers are a small minority. Again, I call bullshit. Yeah, there are douchebags who make bad names for themselves. But I would say that they are the small minority. Likeable, honest and hard working volunteers are the norm. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty popular in my town. Granted, Cape Verde is not exactly an America-hating country, but I like to think that I've helped undo some of the damage that Bush has done to our reputation.
We benefit more than our host countries. Almost definitely true. But I fail to see the problem with this. Is it a "government subsidized semester abroad?" No, it's not, and that's pretty insulting. OK, some similarities to college: I don't have to worry about bills or food money, because my stipend is provided; there is a lot of partying and festival-going; I am learning a lot. I don't see what's wrong with the first or third, and the second is just a fact of life here. Cape Verdeans like to have fun, and I like having fun with them. It's not all I do, and overall, there's a lot less of it than any semester of school I've ever been in (you can only survive undergraduate once... the body can't handle more than 4 years of that).
But yes, I have probably gotten more out of this can Cape Verde has. Well why not? I am one person trying to affect thousands. There are thousands of people unconsciously affecting me. Naturally, it hits me harder. I've learned two new languages, figured out how to run training sessions and develop curriculum, and a plethora of other useful tricks. More importantly, I've built a basis of skills that I plan on using in development work for many years to come. Don't begrudge me that.
We're cheap. Got damn right we are. We are amazingly cost-effective. I am probably one of the most expensive volunteers in the world, and I hardly cost a thing. You cannot mount any other kind of development plan like this.
Other development workers ain't much better. Read that other article, where Strauss rips into other development programs. I couldn't tell you how accurate that portrayal is, but I've gotten a pretty good sense in the last few years that he is spot-on. At least we're not flushing millions of dollars down the drain on grandiose projects that don't work. In general, our projects, however small they are, are pretty successful. We know our communities in and out, better than any development agency worker ever could. We'd never drop money on a seaweed processing plant where there was no seaweed. But I bet if that company had asked some PCVs in the Phillipines where they think such a plant could go, they'd have built it in the right spot and it would be doing whatever it is that seaweed processing plants do.
Anyway, I've now been writing this on an off for most of the morning, with a break for class, and it's probably time I actually went and did some real work.
August 13th is the new date for return.
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