El Salvador, Peru
Health
28
2002-2003
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My first placement was El Salvador until April 2002. I was a water, sanitation, and health Volunteer who worked with the Salvadorian Ministry of Health. I accepted the position of being one of the first four Volunteers to reenter Peru since the program reopened in 2002, after 27 years. I am a community health Volunteer and work with Peruvian community health promoters in my village alongside the Ministry of Health. I am married and serving with my husband, David.
My high school physics teacher was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Southeast Asia and on the last day of class before summer break he gave us a slide show of his experience. That was the day that inspired me to join Peace Corps. I just thought that I had to do that too—an adventure meeting new people, speaking another language, and trying new things.
My husband and I live in a rural village. Reed houses and corrugated tin roofs are very common here, but there is the occasional adobe or brick home. We live in a family's compound and have our own personal living quarters within: a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom with shower and flush toilet.
A few times a week we cook for ourselves since there is a great local market right outside our door. I can buy fresh fruits, veggies, potatoes, and several types of beans every day along with fresh herbs like cilantro, mint, and parsley. I eat with Peruvian families most other days to try more local food and to talk with a variety of neighbors in the evenings. Since my village is near the coast, I eat fish almost daily along with white rice
I am usually in the village health clinic in the mornings and in the afternoons working in the community assisting the health promoters in their activities. My free time is in the evenings.
I've helped show people in my community that the impossible can be done. It is a process; each level has its difficulties. A lot of my help is just showing that I have confidence in their abilities to succeed in developing their communities. In two years' time, I could see my confidence slowly transfer to them and their confidence in themselves grow even more. With this, they will rebuild a school or improve their potable water system and learn to take matters into their own hands and not wait for international assistance.
Peace Corps has also given me a sense of confidence. If I can learn a language, gain the respect of village as an outsider, build something together against many odds and accomplish it, there is no reason I can't do the same anywhere else.
Don't go into the Peace Corps thinking you'll change the world. Join instead to show a good face of Americans and to serve your country and your community peacefully.
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