General Info about the Peace Corps
July 4th, 2005 by Sarin
What is the US Peace Corps?
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship.
Three simple goals comprise the Peace Corps’ mission:
1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their needs for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of all Americans.
Since 1961, Peace Corps have sent volunteers to 138 countries worldwide. Countries include:
Afghanistan, Albania, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Republic of, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada and Cariacou, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Lithuania, Libya, Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Republic of, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, St. Kitts/Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovak Republic, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, The Gambia, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks - Caicos, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
What did you get assigned to?
Country: Cape Verde Islands
Program: Community Development
Job Title: Information Technology
Dates of Service: September 2005 - 2007
Orientation Dates : July 5 - 7, 2005
Pre-Service Training (in Cape Verde Islands): July 8 - September 18, 2005
Your Primary Duties: As an Information Technology Adviser, you will be assigned to a Camara (Municipality Office), a youth organization, a local NGO or other host agency on one of the eight inhabited islands. You will be considered part of the staff of the institution. Each institution has its own program and needs. To work with such diverse needs, PC/CV calls on volunteers with different backgrounds and abilities for this assignment.
Where can I go for more info?
SoYouWanna.com has a great article on applying and the basic nuts and bolts. Of course as well, there is also the Peace Corps Main Page.
The following are terms which are helpful in understand when reading this weblog. I will most likely toss these terms left and right and will assume that most people know what they mean.
Assignment: The location and job the volunteer is placed in
APCD: Associate Peace Corps Director. A host-country national in charge of that region’s program
CD: Country Director. The one in charge of the volunteers in that country
COS: Close of Service. The end of a volunteer’s service
Country Desk: The department representing regional countries, at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington D.C.
ET: Early Termination. Leaving, for whatever reason, before COS
Homestay: Part of training where the volunteer lives with a member of the community (the owners of the house are often referred to as “family,” i.e. mother, brother, etc.)
HCN: Host Country National. A person from the Host Country.
Host Country: The country where the volunteer is serving
Invitation: A formal summons to serve in a specific job/country after receiving medical/legal clearance, which marks the beginning of one’s official Trainee status
IOS: Interruption of Service. When local political or environmental conditions require the entire program to be pulled from an area
IST: In-Service Training. A secondary training event that happens mid-service
LCF: Language and Cross-Cultural Facilitator. Trainers responsible for language and culture sections during PST
Medevac: Medically Evacuate. To return a volunteer to the States for medical treatment, usually because they have an injury/illness that is untreatable in-country
Nomination: A proposed invite to a very general region and job area made during the early application process, pending medical/legal clearance; highly subject to change
OMS: Office of Medical Services
PC: Peace Corps
PCMO: Peace Corps Medical Officer. The nurse or doctor in charge of all that country’s volunteers
PCT: Peace Corps Trainee. Volunteer’s title during training and before becoming an official volunteer
PCV: Peace Corps Volunteer
PST: Pre-Service Training. The training program, usually 3 months long, that teaches volunteers language, cross-cultural sensitivity, and job skills before they begin their official service
RPCV: Returned Peace Corps Volunteer
Site: The location where the volunteer lives and works for 2 years
Staging: The first day of training, held in the U.S., before flying out to the host country
Swearing-In: The ceremony that accompanies transition from PCT to PCV
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