My thoughts on the previous post...

Ok, so I know it's two posts in one day, but the repost of the article from the LA Times is very significant. As most of my friends and family are aware, PC life not only has a lot of rules and regulations, but a lot of the daily convieniances of every day life are not available or affordable to a volunteer. For example, clothes are washed by hand here, lots of food items aren't available, eletricity not only fluctuates but goes out often, water freezes in the pipes in winter, clothes are expensive, internet is dial up (and more often than not it is unreliable,) we aren't allowed to drive so we are dependant on public transportation for everything, and most of us have zero to minimal privacy for the entire two years we are here... that's not even 1% of the list. So, in light of the article, I'd like to bring a few things to the attention of the general public... and my lovely readers.

Peace Corps is a volunteer organization. Meaning, that not only do the people working in the field have to work with limited resources, but all of us don't make more than the standard of living for our community. We are provided with housing, food, and a little money for necessary transportation and communication. We are not "ex-pats" working for big international companies making thousands of dollars a month. Simply put, we make enough to do our jobs.

The few "luxuries" we have, have been mentioned in the article. Newsweek magazine has been traditionally provided to us. Most of us would rather have old news, than no news. And I know that I am not the only one who uses the magazines for projects after I've finished with them. I was able to host a book club/current events class with them. When they get to be over a year old, my office uses them for art projects and for conversation clubs. Advertisements are a great way to get kids speaking. So without the magazine, it means that not just the volunteer will miss out, but potentially thousands of people around the world who would have improved their English via a passed along magazine.

Another luxury we have always been able to say is that no matter how rough it is for the volunteers, we've had a super staff here to support us. Sadly, PC Azerbaijan has had to cut and combine several support staff positions that have helped volunteers be so successful at what we do. These people are usually local people who work in the headquarters offices, and that means fewer jobs for the community in country. These people have played a vital role in ensuring our safety, health, education, and happiness in our sites. I can honestly say that I will miss at least one woman in particular who has helped me on more occasions that I can count.

Finally, training is the most important tool Peace Corps has. We spend almost 3 months trying to learn enough of a language and culture to be successful when we finally arrive at our 2-year placement sites. I don't know about many of you, but 3 months is a very short time to learn a language, and every day counts. I felt prepared just enough to not be absolutely terrified when I entered my community. Not only do we learn language during our training, but we get to ask the tough questions for often sensitive cultural issues. It's a lot easier to ask a PC trained Language and Cultural Facilitator questions about what is appropriate than it is to ask your host family, or people who often don't speak our native tongue. Training is probably one of the most expensive parts of bringing volunteers overseas. But it is necessary. Without it, we wouldn't be able to do our jobs. In light of the financial tightening of the belt, PC Azerbaijan will have to shorten its training time to only 9 weeks.

Now, as the new volunteers are arriving in less than two weeks, we are being asked to do the same great service as a team, but with fewer resources to make the magic happen. Even as our number of Volunteers will increase from about 80 to more than 100, the budget will in effect be reduced year on year by more than twenty percent. Volunteers are being asked to be more resilient and self-supporting, and all staff members are doing everything they can to continue providing the excellent service we are now accustomed to. In essence, we will carry on and do the best that we can, with all that we have.

Basically, I just wanted to make the people at home in America more aware of what is happening here. This isn't a vacation. It isn't a game. This is the life of every Peace Corps volunteer, and every dollar counts in an international organization with over 8,000 volunteers working in 74 developing countries around the world. We give everything we have when we join the Peace Corps. For those who have followed my blog from the beginning, you know I have sacrificed over a year to get into the Peace Corps, thousands of dollars in medical and dental work, and over two years of my life to come here and help. Almost everyone here has had a similar experience. At a time when the world is facing some of it's worst natural disasters, falling economies, food and fuel shortages, drought, famine, conflicts and war in nearly every region Peace Corps works in, Peace Corps volunteers are needed NOW more than ever. It is a sad day that more than 400 communities around the world will not have the help they need this year. I can only ask the communities at home to think, if we don't stand up for an organization that promotes peace, friendship and understanding... then what will we stand up for?

Budget-crunched Peace Corps cuts volunteer positions

Reprint from article by Cynthia Dizikes, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer September 14, 2008 WASHINGTON --

THE BEGINNING: Sargent Shriver, the first director of the Peace Corps, talks with prospective volunteers at Rutgers University in New Jersey in 1961. About 190,000 volunteers have served in 139 countries since the program began that year.Volunteers who thought their assignment was a sure thing learn otherwise.

The Peace Corps boasts that it's "the toughest job you'll ever love," but this year, just getting hired may be the toughest part. At a time when both presidential candidates have pledged to promote and expand national service, the popular humanitarian assistance program that sends thousands of Americans abroad annually is now planning to cut 400 volunteer positions in the face of an unexpected multimillion-dollar budget shortfall. With fewer spots, an increasing number of Peace Corps nominees who were expecting to begin service this fall have seen their deployments delayed at least until next year -- and in some cases indefinitely."There are more people waiting this time than in years past," said Rosie Mauk, the Peace Corps' associate director of volunteer recruitment and selection. "The recruiters don't like to tell people that there isn't a spot for them. To have to tell people that they have gotten to know -- and they know are passionate about the Peace Corps -- that there is just not room for them now is the most difficult part."

Jen Casto, like many aspiring Peace Corps volunteers, applied to the program during her senior year of college. A double major in English and foreign affairs at the University of Virginia, she volunteered for years as a youth mentor and student tutor and speaks French and Spanish.Last October the Peace Corps nominated her to a secondary education program in sub-Saharan Africa, with an expected departure this month."At the end of the interview, [my recruiter] said that I was definitely nominated and that she was going to find me a spot in Africa," Casto said.

Over the next six months, she visited an array of doctors to complete the famously thorough Peace Corps medical clearance process. Although she passed without much trouble, others have had to have wisdom teeth removed and costly blood work done to gain medical clearance.But last month, about six weeks before she was expecting to leave for 27 months of service, Casto received an e-mail informing her that her program was full. Along with about 125 others, she was told she would have to wait until another program could be found."There is just a sense of frustration," said Casto, who turned down several summer internship offers to prepare for deployment. "I am really committed to this. I have wanted to do this for so long that I am willing to put my life on hold . . . but at what point do I just move on?"

The Peace Corps usually nominates twice as many people as it needs, so delays are not uncommon. Recruiters also make it clear that a nomination does not guarantee a formal invitation. But this year, as the agency cuts volunteer positions to save money, a greater number of competitive applicants like Casto, who have spent considerable time and money to join the Peace Corps, are finding themselves sidelined at the last moment. With the bar suddenly higher, some of these delayed applicants have enrolled in extra classes and volunteer programs to improve their chances. After Dorian Connelley, 24, found out she would not be leaving in October as planned, she began studying French to make her application stronger. She is waiting to hear if that has made a difference."You have to go at it full steam, with no guarantees, because that is the only way you will be qualified," said Connelley, a 2007 graduate of Cal State Long Beach. "That is why people are frustrated. They have jumped through all these hoops and now the Peace Corps is saying, 'Not in this economy.' "

The agency, which has a budget of $330.8 million, is preparing for an $18-million shortfall over this fiscal year and next, primarily because of the declining value of the dollar and increased food and fuel costs worldwide. It estimates its foreign-currency losses from 2008 alone to be $9.2 million."We are preparing for the $18 million, but that is a worst-case scenario," said communications director Richard Parker.The budget for fiscal 2009 has not yet been passed. The House Appropriations subcommittee that sets Peace Corps funding has supported the Bush administration's request for $343.5 million, and its Senate counterpart has approved $337 million. But until Congress passes that budget -- which could be delayed until after the presidential inauguration in January -- the agency must operate at its existing funding levels.

Even though the new budget is likely to mitigate some of next year's shortfall, the current funding problems are real. In addition to cutting volunteer positions, the agency has asked its managers in Washington and its 11 regional offices to reduce their budgets by 15.5%.In what Parker called a move toward a more efficient recruiting model, the agency is planning to merge its Minneapolis office with Chicago's and its Denver office with Dallas'. Although the Peace Corps has made an effort to insulate current volunteers, the budget cuts have been felt overseas as well. This year the agency plans to stop providing copies of Newsweek to volunteers -- a magazine it had provided since the 1980s -- because subscription costs are expected to rise $140,000. Foreign posts have also taken measures to reduce spending. In some cases, two or more employee positions have been folded into one and volunteer training time reduced."This all adds up to less training and less support for volunteers on the ground," said Sunaree Marshall, who served in Mongolia as a volunteer from 2005 until August.

Despite the cutbacks, Parker said, each foreign post still must meet Peace Corps competency requirements in such areas as safety, language skills, and cultural and technical training."Our priority would be to make sure we get as many volunteers out there as we can, but to support them," he said. "We believe that quality, safety and security is much more important than quantity."About 190,000 volunteers have served in 139 countries since the program began in 1961. Long a symbol of U.S. efforts in person-to-person international relations, the Peace Corps now supports 8,079 volunteers in 74 countries -- more than in the last 37 years but well off the 1966 peak of about 15,000."Congress loves the Peace Corps . . . and in most cases accommodations are made to give it a little bit more," said Maureen Carroll, who went to the Philippines in the first wave of volunteers in 1961 and still helps with training."But if they think it is a good thing or a nice thing, it seems they don't think about it enough to double or triple its funding. There are a lot of competing forces."In fact, while the actual dollar amount appropriated to the Peace Corps has risen steadily, when adjusted for inflation it has remained relatively flat for the last 30 years"We are trying to do as much or more than we did before, but with less," said Parker. Those waiting on invitations are still hoping they might come through with a new administration, but they aren't going to wait forever.

"The Peace Corps application process is kind of like roulette -- you don't know what you're going to get," said Rocio Enriquez, who was supposed to leave in September and is now working at a nonprofit in New York City. "You have to have Plan A through D."