The Peace Corps Strikes Back

I was greatly disappointed with both the tone and misrepresentations of Robert Strauss’s article ("Think Again: The Peace Corps," ForeignPolicy.com, April 2008). It is ironic that Strauss is a former Peace Corps country director. Your readers should be aware that the responsibility to monitor the performance and effectiveness of volunteers fell directly into his hands.

As the current worldwide head of the Peace Corps, I can tell you that each of his arguments is false and with all certainty, our agency is thriving. In April, President Bush met with volunteers leaving for Guatemala and said the Peace Corps "really is the best foreign policy America could possibly have."

Since 1961, more than 190,000 Americans have served in 139 countries. Today, applications are up — particularly from those older than 50 — and we are at a 37-year high in the number of volunteers serving (more than 8,000 people in 74 countries). Last year, the Peace Corps created an office to gather data and better measure the impact of Peace Corps volunteers and found that they serve more than 2 million people each year.

As I visit our volunteers around the world, I see and hear how we continue to spread international goodwill. My wife and I served in the 1960s in rural India. Since then, the Peace Corps has changed with the times, but its strong impact continues around the world. Indeed, our dedicated, passionate volunteers represent America at its best and brightest, and their work is needed now more than ever. This article is an insult to every volunteer who has ever served in the Peace Corps.

–Ronald A. Tschetter
Director
Peace Corps
Washington, D.C.

Robert Strauss replies:

Tellingly, Ronald Tschetter does not impeach a single assertion made in my article. Instead, he denounces the opinion of someone who served on the front lines for five years. Here’s what’s really insulting: The Peace Corps continues to increase its numbers even as the volunteers it has are minimally supervised and supported. The agency manipulates its own statistics to obscure the fact that 1 out of every 3 individuals fails to complete his or her service.

Since my article was published on ForeignPolicy.com, I have received hundreds of e-mails from former and current volunteers and staff members who painfully describe their dismaying experiences with the Peace Corps. Like me, they would welcome a more effective agency.

For More

In his provocative Web-exclusive article, Robert Strauss accuses the Peace Corps of being ineffective, irrelevant, and naive. The reaction from current and former Peace Corps volunteers was overwhelming. To join the debate, visit our award-winning blog, Passport, at blog.ForeignPolicy.com/peacecorps.