No one would argue that Peace Corps volunteers make an impact on the community in which they serve, but it is sometimes hard to realize the lasting effects that a volunteer has 20, 30 or even 40 years down the road.
Paul Mack, an RPCV from Brazil (69-70) recently had the opportunity to find out.
Mack's volunteer service included work as a community organizer with the local Mayor’s office in the city of Ipora (150 km southwest of Brasilia) where he helped facilitate the building of rural schools through the Peace Corps School Partnership Program. One of the rural schools he helped get off the ground was the program's 1,000th partnership school.
This July, Mack made the trip back to Brazil where he was honored as one of twelve people recognized for making outstanding civic and economic contributions. Stunned and humbled, he was even more surprised to find out that following a group ceremony one evening at the county council chambers, he was to be honored again the following evening in a special ceremony just for him.
"Former students included the president and two aldermen of the sitting county council, lawyers and many teachers, everyday working men and women, plus housewives who were the first in their families to attend school," said Mack, who had the opportunity to reconnect with many of his friends during the celebrations. Forty years later, one of the rural schools is still functioning. While many students now attend school in the city, strong community feeling helps maintain municipal support for the one remaining school, which offers morning and afternoon sessions for children and adult literacy programs at night.
Having had the opportunity to see first-hand the lasting impact that his service had on the community, Mack intends to return to Brazil annually to "build on existing relationships and to deepen new ones."
And, like other volunteers, he received just as much as he gave. "It would not be an exaggeration to say that every day since I left Brazil in 1970, when I have been confronted with a management or personnel decision, I consciously or unconsciously would think of some lesson learned or related situation that I had experienced in Brazil, to use as a benchmark."
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