The number of Peace Corps volunteers has not decreased and may have actually increased, despite international conflict and drastic budget cuts by President George W. Bush’s administration, Peace Corps Regional Recruiter Nancy Gilbert said at an information session in Jamaica Plain Tuesday.
Though no one attended the recruitment meeting, Gilbert said the number of volunteers has “held steady or risen” since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and the start of the war in Iraq last March.
“Safety and security has always been our first priority,” she said.
The Peace Corps is a volunteer program started in 1961 by then-President John F. Kennedy to send Americans into foreign countries to lend aid. The Peace Corps mandates a three-month training period in which volunteers are instructed on how to stay safe and healthy in their new environments.
Though volunteers inevitably face risks in their remote locales, Gilbert said no place in the world is “absolutely safe.”
She said the Peace Corps has risen in popularity because of the economic recession. The program pays all the living expenses – including complete medical and dental care – for volunteers. Additionally, volunteers can defer student loans while in service and Perkins Loans may be reduced by 15 percent.
“Economically, things are so tight [in America] that the Peace Corps looks like a wonderful alternative,” Gilbert said.
The Peace Corps has encountered its own financial problems because budget cuts have “slashed” recruitment programs and hurt many of the Corps international initiatives, Gilbert said.
“I’ve seen our programs dry up,” she said. “So many young people are unaware that the Peace Corps still exists.”
“What we really need is a national campaign to raise awareness,” Gilbert said, adding that they are always looking for more volunteers.
The Peace Corps is looking for people with educational and practical skills, knowledge of foreign languages and racial diversity, Gilbert said.
“Students aren’t necessarily the best volunteers,” she said, because they lack experience, but they are a welcome and “natural target.”
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