Posts tagged community
Life is calling. How far will you go?
Building a new home in rural Zambia takes a lot of time and effort. On May 30, 2008, in a small village in the Luapula province, much of the community helped to build a home of mud bricks and dried grass for a struggling family in the village. The photograph I took shows six women carrying pails of water from a nearby stream to the men who mix the water into mud to make new bricks and mortar.
- Peace Corps Agriculture Volunteer Jason Hays
Peace Corps Volunteer Helps Build Bridge for Communities in Suriname
Peace Corps volunteer Jessica Schmitt is working with 20 local community members in two neighboring Surinamese villages to construct a pedestrian bridge. The bridge will provide access to the local school, medical clinic, store, and the nearby villages. A portion of the funds for the project are being raised through the Peace Corps Partnership Program (PCPP), a program that supports Peace Corps Volunteer community projects worldwide.
“There are many close family ties that exist between these villages,” said Schmitt, a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who has been working as a youth business educator Volunteer since 2010. “This path serves as a major highway for the men, women, and children both day and night. However, the path is currently obstructed by a large creek that often becomes impassable during the rainy season here in Suriname.”
To connect the two villages, the community has been using a log as a makeshift bridge. “This solution is neither safe nor permanent,” said Schmitt. “The path remains a safety hazard for the community members traveling to the doctor, visiting their families, picking up flour at the local store and for children traveling to school.” Community members from the surrounding villages have donated wood, sand, gravel, and housing for the bridge contractors. However, due to the low income of the communities, they are still unable to meet all of the costs necessary for the bridge’s construction.
In order to receive funding through the PCPP, a community must make a 25 percent contribution to the total project and outline success indicators for the individual projects. This helps ensure community ownership and a greater chance of long-term sustainability. One hundred percent of each tax-deductible PCPP donation goes toward a development project. Those interested in supporting Schmitt’s project in Suriname can visit www.peacecorps.gov/donate and search for project number is 568-134.
Since Community is returning to TV tonight, here’s a little reminder about Britta’s status as an RPCV!
(Click the photo for more info about the requirements to be a Peace Corps Volunteer)
Peace Corps Volunteer Roger Brubaker of Lancaster, Pa., is working with his community in Thailand to prevent incidences of Dengue fever by promoting the use of homemade mosquito traps. To date, Brubaker has helped more than 900 community members build the mosquito “ovitraps” with common household products.
(Source: peacecorps.gov)
Okay, so that’s not exactly how the conversation went in the first episode of NBC’s sitcom Community but that’s how it should have gone.
If you are thinking about dropping out of high school (or college) to become a Peace Corps Volunteer, you should considering the following facts about Peace Corps service:
- You must be at least 18 years old and a U.S. citizen.
- Approximately 90% of our Volunteer jobs require a 4-year degree. Competitive non-degree candidates must have 3–5 years full-time work experience.
- Our Volunteers are placed where their skills match the needs of host countries.
We look forward to receiving Ms. Perry’s application after she finishes her time at Greendale and gets a little more relevant experience!
Learn more about what it takes in our How Do I Become a Volunteer? section
(Source: nbc.com)
