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Calling on our Peace Corps Spirit

Calling on our Peace Corps Spirit

By Patricia Nyhan

 

Many former Peace Corps Volunteers can recall times when we could have given up in the face of overwhelming challenges. We didn’t, though; we adapted and tried again. We were made better people for the experience. We may feel a lifelong connection with the friends we made, and at times a responsibility to help people like them.

Now is one of those times.

Moved by the suffering of refugees trying in unprecedented numbers to find a sanctuary, many RPCVs have contacted us to volunteer their assistance. Others have already helped resettle a refugee family. Now, although the White House’s executive order puts refugee resettlement on hold, there is much we can do.

 

We won’t give up

 

In fact, some refugees in the pipeline, vetted and waiting to be sent to American communities, are expected to make it here during the 120-day ban on admissions. They will need everything once they arrive, from basic household furnishings, to English lessons and job training, to grocery shopping, assistance enrolling their children in school, and friendship.  Others are already here. They too need us.

“Helping this refugee family is one of the most rewarding things my family has ever done” is a common refrain from Americans already engaged in the process.

That was true for my own family. Years ago, we mentored an Afghan refugee family from Kabul, where I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer back when it was peaceful, but where they had fled war years later. Rohafza, a widow with three daughters, had survived smallpox (a scourge eradicated by Peace Corps Volunteer nurses) and the loss of her husband to torture and death as a political prisoner. Relentless bombings had left her severely traumatized.

But she had incremental moments of joy, because she had a friend in us and others who opened their homes to her. Our families became so close that she hired a Kabul tailor to make traditional Afghan outfits for my kids, who connected naturally with hers. Today my grown children recall the friendship as a reason they feel a kinship with people from other cultures.

 

We are here for you

That positive experience prompted me to join this refugee support group, as we hope you will. We have the skills. We have the love of other cultures. We are good for this effort.

  • Join the NPCA and choose our Peace Corps Community for the Support of Refugees affiliate. Refer to the list of refugee agencies on our website and get in touch with the one nearest you.
  • Your advocacy on refugee issues can also play a crucial role in this time of political uncertainty. Call your elected representatives on the national, state and local levels to express your views about the executive order. Speak on behalf of refugees wherever you can.
  • Please join our community.  Follow this blog, share on Facebook and  http://www.twitter.com/pcc4refugeesTwitter, and tell us how your refugee support experience is going. We want to hear from you!

 February 03, 2017