FAITH LAPIDUS: John Williams is a former volunteer who is now the Peace Corps director in Thailand. He says the return for the United States on its investment in the Peace Corps is an increased understanding of the world beyond its borders.
Mr. Williams says the personal connections that volunteers make are just as important as the knowledge they bring. This is true, he says, whether they are teaching, working in health centers or assisting farmers.
JOHN WILLIAMS: "The encouragement that they give to a student or a farmer, or a woman in a weaving group, or a person living with AIDS who thinks nobody cares about them. These are the people that Peace Corps volunteers typically work with. Peace Corps volunteers don't come with a lot of material resources, but they come with a lot of heart."
STEVE EMBER: But the Peace Corps is not without problems. Some volunteers say they have been victims of sexual abuse in countries where they worked. And in March of two thousand nine, a twenty-four-year-old volunteer teaching English, Kate Puzey, was killed in Benin.
The suspect, a citizen of Benin, had been dismissed from a job with the Peace Corps. Ms. Puzey had accused him of sexually abusing girls at a school. The suspect says he is innocent. Ms. Puzey's family recently told ABC News that agency officials had let him know about her part in his dismissal, and later tried to keep the case quiet.
Peace Corps Deputy Director Carrie Hessler-Radelet recently spoke with VOA's Carol Castiel about the issue of safety.
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2013-11-25
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2013-11-25