Oregon Reflections on the Peace Corps
“(The Peace Corps is) a group of altruistic people who generally seek to make the world a better place. We have tried to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes and experienced the humility of learning another language and culture.” Angela Michalek Senegal 2005 - 2007 Hood River, OR 97031
“After returning home (from Peace Corps service), I was wondering how to help. I had close relations with six families and asked friends to help me send money for school tuition. In Haiti, only 50% of the kids get through ninth grade and 9% graduate from high school. Ten years later, when I visited, I was astonished to find students not only graduating, but also going on to professions in engineering, nursing, agriculture, and economics. Inspired by what they had accomplished, I started a nonprofit that is continuing to pay tuition in Haiti.” Richard C. Ireland Haiti 1998 - 2000 Salem, OR 97302
“The entire Peace Corps experience, including the training program, enriches my daily life.” Gwendolyn W. Gowing, RN, BA, MA Bolivia 1963 - 1965 Salem, OR 97308
“(My proudest Peace Corps moment was) being welcomed back several years ago by the (now adult) children of the family that I lived with as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1965-1966. The parents, who had rented me a room in their house in the first year I lived in the town, were no longer living. The children, who had been in grade school when I lived with them, brought me back into their homes in the town, and their own children welcomed me as though I were a long-lost uncle.” Bruce A. Weber Chile 1965 – 1966 Corvallis, OR 97330
Oregon Reflections on the Peace Corps
“(The) Peace Corps Community means giving, sharing, and friendship.” Kathy Debellis Micronesia 1982 – 1985 Corvallis, OR
“[My proudest moment in the Peace Corps was ] at the end of my three-year service as a biology teacher at G.S.S. Tatum in the Northwest Region of Cameroon, traditional rulers of the Tatum-Nkum area appreciated what I had done for the students and the school and gave me a traditional title: Ngwang, peacemaker and ruler over their children. Thanks to the Peace Corps Partnership Program, we succeeded in completing two classrooms. Thanks to a grant from the Canada High Commission, we were able to put up ceilings in six classrooms. Through the Peace Corps partnership program in-kind, we got the first 600 textbooks for English as a second language for the school library…” Pavla Zakova - Laney Cameroon 1996 - 1999 Albany, OR 97322
“(Peace Corps) matured and awakened my personality. I learned new strengths about new limits and myself. I had some of my greatest life challenges during my service, but I would do it all over again without a second thought.” Amy Michelle Small Jamaica 2008 – 2010 Eugene, OR 97404
“(Peace Corps) is a source of strength, connection, sharing, and hope for the future.” Carlyle F. Stout III Guatemala 1973 – 1975 Ashland, OR 97520
Oregon Reflections on the Peace Corps
“[My proudest accomplishment in the Peace Corps is when] I was able to set up a card file of the blood types of young male college students. Our hospital in Iringa, Tanzania, did not have the capacity to store blood, so if a patient came needing a blood transfusion, we were able to find a donor. The hospital driver would go to the college and pick up the student with the matching blood type.” Nancy Anne Yie MA, FNP-C Tanzania 1964 - 1966 Grants Pass, OR 97527
“Peace Corps has taught me to truly understand, appreciate, and respect other peoples’ perspectives. I feel like I can much more easily integrate with people different from me than I could have without having my Peace Corps experience.” Audrey Lynn Squires Guatemala 2008 – 2010 Pendleton, OR 97801
