“My Peace Corps service gave me a lifelong passion for improving education and a new awareness of the world beyond our borders,” former Ohio Governor Bob Taft told me recently. Taft served in the Peace Corps in Tanzania from 1963-65.
“The Peace Corps has stood the test of time, enabling U.S. citizens to learn how to serve others overseas and here at home,” he said.
One example of a Peace Corps project was the tsunami relief in Thailand and Sri Lanka after the devastating tidal wave in 2004. The volunteers contributed their time and energy to rebuilding and reconstruction, and helped the locals to get their lives back on track.
The general success of the Peace Corps has been high. According to National Peace Corps Association, a nonprofit alumni organization for returning volunteers, a 2011 survey shows 93 percent said the Peace Corps has improved the perception of the U.S. globally; 79 percent rated their service very or fairly effective in helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans; and 98 percent of the returning volunteers said they would recommend Peace Corps to their child, grandchild or other close family member.
Despite the widespread success of the program, there has been some criticism. Ryan Rommann, a former Peace Corps volunteer himself, wrote in the Guardian newspaper that he thinks that resource allocation and the general achievements need regular auditing. Currently, results are primarily assessed internally by volunteers in biannual reports. These self-assessments rely on introspection rather than sophisticated statistical and cost-benefit analysis.
Although the Peace Corps is often thought of as a Democratic Party project, volunteer support has come from both parties. According to an editorial in the Columbus Dispatch, six members of Congress — three Democrats, three Republicans — have served, including Rep. Tony Hall of Dayton. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala was a volunteer in Iran from 1962 to 1964. Ohio Governor Bob Taft is the first former volunteer to head a U.S. state.
Over 7,000 Ohio residents have served in the Peace Corps since it began in 1961. Ohio ranks among the top states for producing Peace Corps volunteers, this year with over 200 residents serving overseas, according to a blog for the Peace Corps Midwest region.
One of the challenges has been the funding for the Peace Corps from Congress. Although the 2014 budget of $379 million is a slight increase over the 2013 budget of $356 million, the entire 50-year budget of Peace Corps amounts to about five days of current military spending. I hope there will be continued bi-partisan support for Peace Corps funding.
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