special issue: inauguration 2009 - National Peace Corps Association

Profiles in Service
PEACE CORPS AND THE FUTURE OF
SERVICE IN AMERICA
The Peace Corps Community’s newest Member in Congress will work to increase support for service
by Rep. Steve Driehaus
A
few days ago I was talking
with Sam Farr, a Member of
Congress from California and
a fellow Peace Corps volunteer who
spent two years working in Colombia.
He and I were discussing the future
of the Peace Corps, and our hopes to
modernize and expand the program.
But, as is often the case when I speak
with past volunteers, Sam and I quickly
found ourselves talking about our own
years of service.
Sam and I agreed that none of
the milestones we have reached in
our lives has matched the profound
impact of our experiences in the Peace
Corps. For me, the Peace Corps was
a unique time of personal growth
that broadened my understanding of
the world around me. I met a new
people and a new culture, gained an
appreciation for the global community
and a different environment, and
performed work that not only
provided a great service, but taught
me judgment and leadership. The
work was never easy and the demands
were always high, but the rewards
were lasting and invaluable. The Peace
Corps shaped the direction of my
life, and helped me choose a path to
continue working on behalf of my
fellow citizens. Twenty years later I
continue to cherish the commitment
I made, and I would do it again in a
minute.
But as volunteers know best, service
in the Peace Corps is much more than
a personally enriching experience.
Service in the Peace Corps is service to
our nation; it is service to our efforts to
build strong relationships with other
nations. When Peace Corps volunteers
learn new cultures and forge new
Rep. Steve Driehaus
friendships, they are fostering goodwill
between countries and spreading an
understanding of America. When
volunteers work to build communities
and promote growth, they are
strengthening the bonds between our
nations and promoting American
leadership around the world. Though
Peace Corps volunteers seldom seek
and rarely receive recognition for their
tremendous efforts, they are serving this
nation in the parts of the world where
American values and ideals must once
again serve as a guide and hope.
President Obama has promised a new
foreign policy that is more than just an
expression of American strength. He has
pledged to fix broken relationships and
to renew old friendships by showing a
greater understanding and respect for
other cultures, restoring America’s image
abroad, and extending a helping hand
when we are able. This is precisely what
the Peace Corps has been doing for
nearly fifty years. While the policies of
recent years have favored a narrow use
of power, the Peace Corps is an element
of the broader approach that will help
to define America’s place in the global
community in years ahead.
To reach our goals abroad, as well
as to meet our many challenges at
home, we need to recognize and
promote all different types of service
to our nation. Our men and women
in uniform have rightly earned our
support and gratitude for their service
and sacrifice. But while we honor
their commitments, we cannot ignore
the many other ways Americans
serve. We know from the success of
programs such as the Peace Corps
and AmeriCorps that if Americans
are given the chance to serve their
nation, they will do so. We know
that a greater national commitment
to service can help to solve many of
our nation’s problems. That is why
I believe we need a renewed push
to get more Americans involved in
service. That is why I am working
with Congressman Farr and others to
expand opportunities for service and
to increase support for our service
programs. Forty-eight years after
President Kennedy founded the Peace
Corps, we again live in a time when,
with the right leadership, Americans
will answer the call to help move their
nation forward.
Rep. Steve Driehaus is serving his first
term in Congress as the Representative of
Ohio’s first district. He was a Peace Corps
forestry volunteer in the village of Ngaye
Diawar, Senegal from 1988 to 1999.
32 Spring 2009