Note from Peace Corps Wiki administrators The pdf. at: Unethical_treatment_of_trainee_by_Peace_Corps_Washington.pdf containing emails concerning circumstances surrounding Erica’s early departure from Peace Corps service was contributed by a Peace Corps Wiki contributor and are highlighted this month’s “Current Volunteer News.” Erica kept a blog at: http://ericawilliamscameroon.blogspot.com/
Showcasing contributor’s articles or blogs or documents is not meant to direct endorse them or their content. Erica’s experience demonstrates that serving as a US Peace Corps Volunteer often involves complex issues regarding interactions with the Peace Corps Administration. A variety of troubling issues have arisen in the administrative mechanisms that operate the Peace Corps. These have been outlined in several editorial pieces in major newspapers as well as independent research and reporting.
Nevertheless, Peace Corps continues to provide an important service to the citizens of the US and the world, Peace Corps Wiki hopes to enrich and strengthen this government agency by providing a venue for posting and dialogue. While, well documented personal accounts certainly contribute to understanding the often unfortunate issues surrounding volunteers leaving their service early is critically important to have multiple perspectives on the circumstances. Furthermore, it is important to know the procedures, requirements, and rules that volunteer commits to when starting service.
Conclusion
The Peace Corps headquarters has not yet released a public statement about their opinion on the handling Erica’s situation. However, the documents contributed to the Peace Corps Wiki may enlighten those interested in the issues faced by recently returned volunteers. Again, the opinions expressed in the documents contributed to the wiki are not necessarily those of the nonprofit”Developmentary “. In adherence to our original goals and mission of the Peace Corps Wiki, the articles and documents that are contributed are meant to express a spectrum of opinions about Peace Corps. We believe importance must be placed on establishing clear and concise sets of facts and data surrounding contentious subjects or issues. As long as contributions to the wiki do not defame or misrepresent any party their posting is relevant to building an “institutional memory” for Peace Corps. For more information about contributing or creating a wiki article please see our Peace_Corps_Wiki:Frequently_Asked_Questions.
Thank you, those that continue to contribute to the wiki for demanding more transparency and critical dialogue about Peace Corps, and thanks for not being part of the silent majority.
–Admins of Peace Corps Wiki, Mike Sheppard and Will Dickinson
Resources
For further information please consult the following:
- http://www.peacecorpswiki.org/reports/ET_Report.pdf (page 37) “Out of 100 Volunteers, at least 1 in 8 will resign due to a reason within PC’s control. Statistics collected by the inspector general reports as well have the annual reports have been distilled in an independent report by Mike Sheppard.
- http://peacecorpswiki.org/Inspector_General_Reports Inspector General report on Management in Cameroon http://www.peacecorpswiki.org/FOIAdocs/CameroonOIGOct06.pdf
- http://peacecorpswiki.org/The_Safety_of_the_Volunteer Crime statistics of Cameroon http://www.peacecorpswiki.org/FOIAdocs/SOV2006.pdf(Appendix E “Property Crime Events and Incidence Rates, page 7 out of 9)
John Smith | 02-Nov-08 at 11:12 am | Permalink
The entire approaching to posting this information is clearly biased. You call this “unethical treatment” but base everything on one viewpoint. It is a huge strech to call this unethical, and the fact that the account is riddled with errors (e.g. wrong names and titles of the people involved) weaken the credibility of this argument.
This blog post also shows that you have a certain viewpoint that bring bias. You clearly think that the Peace Corps exists primarily to serve its Volunteers; that they are “owed” above and beyond all else.