The Peace Corps continued its Thought Leaders series with a virtual gathering on July 21. Four returned Volunteers — all professionals in technology — provided their viewpoints on leveraging technology to maximize effects in socioeconomic development, and how Peace Corps Volunteers can shape global development.
It was a hot afternoon as I watched the Peace Corps truck drive away, bouncing down the dirt road and kicking up clouds of rust-colored dust. I was suddenly alone at my new Peace Corps site in Mozambique.
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mozambican government made the decision to close schools and community centers to protect children and help slow the spread of the virus.
When Lee Kirby made the decision to join the Peace Corps, he didn’t only worry about how he might fit into a community somewhere on the other side of the world, he also worried about how other Peace Corps volunteers might view him. Kirby hadn’t transitioned to being physically male and still presented as female.
All Peace Corps Volunteers get asked for a success story when reporting their activities at site and every time I am faced with this request, I hesitate.
I would have never imagined myself sitting under a mango tree a thousand miles away from home, eating a mountain of traditional Thanksgiving food and Mozambican food on the same plate.
When you give a girl a
menstrual pad, she lives a normal life four out of four weeks a month. She goes to
school, she plays soccer. And when you teach a girl about her body, she’s
empowered to take control of it.
