Response to a Comment

Anonymous said...

"It's kind of strange to think that in two hours we decided the next two years for 20 PCVs, but I guess that's how things go in a government gig."

And probably disturbing to those whose loved ones are in your hands.

This was the comment that was posted on the blog after my last post "Un-Zamboined Ice and Impropperly Oiled Lanes". The quote is directly from my post, and the commentary was added by "Anonymous".

First off, I want to thank everyone again for reading my blog. I know that at times it can get a little boring or repetitive (I try to keep it interesting and funny), but writing this all down helps me to process all the emotions that I´m going through, and your reading it helps to fulfill one of Peace Corps´ objectives, to increase American´s understanding of foreign cultures.

I also want to thank those who go through the effort of posting comments. There haven´t been that many, but I do take them seriously. I´m not sure who posted this comment, but I wanted to take a little time to clarify things. I´m assuming that whoever posted this was either a family member of one of the current Trainees, a concerned party, or just someone who thinks that I shouldn´t have taken so jocular a tone with that issue.

Because they are taking this seriously, I´m going to take it seriously too.

I need to remind people of the disclaimer that is at the top-right of the blog, and at the very bottom as well. This blog represents MY OPINION ALONE. I´m going to talk a little bit about the inner workings of the PC later, and I want to make sure that this is clear.

I would like to respond first to the commentator using the phrase "whose loved ones are in your hands". I need to say that the responsibilities of the Technical Co-Trainers is very limited. We assist in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the Technical session, we have planned the Technical Trips, and we act as extra resources to assist the PCTs in cultural and professional adjustment in Ecuador. To say that their lives are in our hands is a gross overstatement.

I also hope that this comment is not insinuating that the Peace Corps takes its responsibilities lightly when it comes to the health and safety of all PCVs. From Washington all the way down, everyone at Peace Corps is committed to the PCVs and puts this factor first in all the decisions that they make. That being said, the person most responsible for the well-being of the PCV is the PCV themselves. Everything that we do during training is to ensure that the PCVs will be able to handle life at the future work sites, but if they do not follow the instructions given to them, they may put themselves at risk.

Instead of giving a short one-liner about the site determination process, I´ll now give a fuller explanation. Before the PCTs arrive in country, we are given access to their resumes and aspiration statements. By reading these, we (and when I say we, I mean relevant PC staff) are able to get a feel for the Trainees skills, abilities, and personal goals. When the PCTs arrive, we are constantly watching them to see how they interact with fellow PCTs and PC staff and noting their participation levels during training sessions. We then have introductory interviews where we can talk face to face with the PCTs to clarify their background and find out what they would prefer in their site (for example hot vs. cold climates, city vs. rural, working with a NGO vs. a community). We also do a skills assessment and have frequent individual conversations to get to better know the PCTs and if they are having any problems adjusting.

Training is an intense period where the PCTs learn a large amount of material on a multitude of subjects very rapidly. It is almost like cramming for an exam in college. For the staff it is the same. We are trying to get to know 45 PCTs in the weeks before the sites are determined.

When it comes to actually picking the sites, first we can assign the married couples to the few sites that can accommodate them. Then we assign PCTs who have special skill sets (computers, animals, business, chemicals) to the sites that have specifically requested a Volunteer with these skill sets. We are able to place the majority of the PCTs without much discussion because they are clearly a good fit for a certain site.

Several of the remaining PCTs were assigned based on their desire or ability to learn a third indigenous language.

The rest of the PCTs were placed based on a combination their site preferences and abilities. At the end of this process there were only one or two PCTs whose sites we felt could have been changed.

After the Co-Trainers and Technical Trainers had created this list, we submitted it to our boss. I have to be honest here. I do not know what decisions or meeting take place at the HQ level on site assignation. I would assume that the PC nurses and Safety and Security Coordinator have a say in the site determination, but because of privacy issues, we are not, nor should we be, privy to that information. In the case of the current PCTs, the final site assignments were the same as what we had decided.

We are faced with difficult decisions and have a limited amount of time to make them, but I feel that we did a good job getting to know the Trainees and made the right choices with the information that we had. I´ve heard the other countries make this determination before the Trainees are even invited to join the PC. When I received my PC invitation it just said "Ecuador", but I think they feel that if the PCT knows from day one where they are going, they can be better prepared for their service. Another model would be to give the PCTs their sites at the very end of training so that we can use as much time as possible to get to know the PCTs. I think our system of assigning sites at the middle of training is the best option, but each of them has its benefits and down sides.

So there is the real story. We do take this very seriously. As I said, I think we did a good job placing the PCTs, but the reality is that the Peace Corps experience is what the Peace Corps Volunteer makes of it. They will be put in a variety of situations and all have the opportunity to use (or not use) their skills where they feel they can be productive. Sometimes its scary, and often you may hate your site at first only to grow to love it.

It is a crazy two years, but what do you expect from a government gig!