To be perfectly honest…

Warning – this is a slightly downer blog post by Bridgette.

I think it’s important to recognize that Peace Corps isn’t always fun. I had a really hard time for a few months; I call it my 7-10 month slump. Everyone goes through ups and downs while they are serving in Peace Corps. It’s just like life back home, but the added stressors make the downs really low. I hadn’t really felt fulfilled or entirely happy since we came to Botswana. While I love living in the Okavango Delta Region and understand that this is a once in a lifetime experience, I felt/feel like we are putting our lives on hold for Peace Corps. We made a serious life decision when we chose to join the Peace Corps; either settle down and have kids or postpone that and become PCVs and use our skills to help others. While I have created projects that use my skill set, we were placed in a program that focuses on HIV/AIDS. When I report the work I am doing, there is very little indication that I am doing anything that Peace Corps Botswana or the Government of Botswana wants me to do. Sure, I help out with things that fit into the project framework, but these aren’t things I seek out and they are few and far in between. I think those projects are important and admirable, but I just don’t feel enthusiastic about them. Matt has been happier than I am/was. He says he’s having the time of his life, but he also feels he is losing his work and field knowledge he had back home. Of course this has to do with the fact that he doesn’t do anything related to geology.

Peace Corps does a lot of things right – the program is in over 70 countries with almost 10,000 volunteers serving. They have to ensure the safety, security and health of all of these volunteers. I think they do a pretty good job. I believe strongly in the mission of Peace Corps – to promote world peace and friendship. I also work hard to meet the three goals of Peace Corps – to train host country nationals, to teach Batswana about the US and American culture, and to teach Americans about Batswana culture. 

Peace Corps does a good job in placing people who are just out of university. However, for those who are mid-career or have some sort of expertise, Peace Corps leaves something to be desired. As a fellow PCV stated, Peace Corps is in the midst of an identity crisis. While it wants to create more professional level opportunities (PC Response is a great example), it still caters to recent graduates, who are admittedly the vast majority of volunteers. Those of us who have some level of expertise are often placed in programs that don’t require any of our education or work experience. Matt and I are great examples of this – he’s a geologist, I’m an environmental scientist and we are assigned to health work. As I stated before I have sought out opportunities to use my skills, but because it’s not part of the wider PC Botswana program, I feel like we could have been better placed in a different PC program. 

In our group, we’ve had 4 people leave early so far – about a 10% early termination (ET) rate, which isn’t too bad. There are many reasons people leave early, some have issues back home they need to deal with, while others are simply unhappy as a PCV. Other Botswana PC groups have had a much higher ET rate – one group is almost at 50%.  Some of the people who have left or talk about leaving have struggled with the same things I struggled with. They are mid-career or have some expertise they aren’t using. Peace Corps said to not have expectations of your service, but that is impossible. I don’t blame people for leaving if they feel like they aren’t having an impact or using their skills at all. Two years is a long time to be unhappy and feel like you aren’t doing anything. 

Below are some suggestions I have for how PC could keep PCVs happier and more fulfilled in their service.

1) Provide options during the invitation process. If Peace Corps provided three options to applicants that they could choose from – maybe they are in different sectors or in the same sector but different regions – PCVs would feel like PC is partnering with them to make the best choice. As it stands, you usually get one option and you have to either accept it or decline without a guarantee that you will get another invitation. This makes applicants feel like they have to accept it, even if they know it’s not a good fit (again, we are a perfect example of this). Of course your project description isn’t everything, but it sets you up with some sense of what you will be doing in your service.

 2) When you are in country, either assign PCVs as true community volunteers where they can pick and choose who they work with or provide options for different types of organizations they can work with. The NGO program in Botswana just assigns PCVs to an organization, regardless of whether or not the PCV would ever want to work with them. I know that placement is difficult and the staff try really hard to match interests, but most PCVs feel like it was a poor fit and that their skills aren’t wanted or needed. 

3) Make PC service one year, not two years. Twenty-seven months is a long time. People would feel like they can stick it out and try to get as much done as possible if they had a one year time line. If it was set up that you could extend for an additional year if things were going well, you would have happier volunteers and there would still be quite a few who would choose to continue serving (remember the majority of volunteers do not leave early). As it stands, the benefits of staying a full two years aren’t that great. True, the non-competitive employment and potential graduate school fellowships are nice, but not deal breakers for most volunteers. I also think having a shorter service time would attract more volunteers (again, I think PC Response is great for this reason).

I will continue doing the work that I enjoy and not doing the work I don’t enjoy. We will take lots of vacations and enjoy the region. We live in the Okavango Delta and that’s pretty cool. Also, despite the fact that I’m not nearly as happy here as I was back in the States, I know that I will look back at our experience and be glad we did it.Things are much better now and I'm glad I'm over my 7-10 month slump :)