September has been a month of celebration! I have been fortunate enough to celebrate Peace Corps' 50th anniversary twice in one month, which nicely coincides with my 5 year anniversary of officially swearing in as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer (September 2006)!
As you are aware, I was honored to serve as a guest panelist during Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health's celebration of 50 years of Peace Corps. Panelists participating in this event represented each decade of Peace Corps service to the United States and communities around the world. Today, along with my friend Blain (RPCV Paraguay, 2004-2008), I attended another celebration hosted by Peace Corps- Lesotho. The invitation requested guests to either wear business attire or 'national dress'. Believe it or not, I have not yet purchased a seshoeshoe (a dress worn in both Lesotho amongst the Basotho and in South Africa amongst the Batswana (where I served in PC))- pronounced se-shway-shway. Instead I wore a beautiful dress representing my new home away from home- Ethiopia!
Today's celebration was well represented by dignitaries from both Lesotho and the United States, specifically His Majesty King Letsie and U.S. Ambassador Bond, respectively. The common thread woven throughout the celebratory event was the enormous contribution Peace Corps Volunteers have made in the lives of not only the communities they've served, but in their home communities as well. One of the dignitaries from Lesotho commented about his personal experience with Peace Corps. One of his former teachers was a PCV in the 1960's. The impact this 23 year old teacher made on his life has made a lasting impact...some 50 years later!
In her speech, Ambassador Bond noted that Peace Corps Volunteers show that the world is both big and small- big in that each culture/community is unique in its own way, small in that, with each difference, there are many more similarities. Further, she stated that once an individual accepts the call to service in the Peace Corps, they will forever be a Peace Corps Volunteer. Just think about it, you'll never hear someone say, "I am an ex-PCV." No, we are "Returned Peace Corps Volunteers", because we have completed our two years (or longer) of service to our PC community, but spend the rest of our lives living out the 3rd goal (see previous post on 3rd goal). We are forever connected to the Peace Corps. I am so honored to be part of this awesome fraternity!
In addition to speeches, the audience was also treated to:
Cultural performances
Music sung by currently serving PCVs, and
We were honored to witness the new batch of Lesotho PCV being sworn in by Ambassador Bond and presented with certificates by King Letsie. How cool is that?!
Something else that touched my heart was to see that RPCVs, who served in countries all over the world and are now based in Lesotho, were well represented!
I'd say that today was a great day! Wouldn't you?!
As I end this little blog post, I'll leave you with a video of President John F. Kennedy's University of Michigan speech (1960), calling students to serve their country on a mission of global peace- a speech that inspired the development of the U.S. Peace Corps.
...and at the end of every speech or gathering in Lesotho, we pray for- Khotso (Peace)! Pula (Rain)! Nala (Prosperity)!
How far would you go to serve your country? Peace Corps!
Danielle
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