Being a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa is a special experience. Not only will you know new languages, new cultures and new peoples, but you will have had the unique opportunity to learn at first-hand how a colonial past and a new nationalism are shaping the destiny of a vital continent. Africa today is characterized by a creative surging as its peoples strive to find their own talents and traditions. But today\u27s Africa is also hampered by poverty, illiteracy and disease. Volunteers working with the peoples of Africa in classrooms and communities are meeting one of the great historical challenges as they help to shape the future of a continent.  -- [p.15

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University of Memphis University of Memphis Digital Commons Miscellaneous/Other Documents Peace Corps 1965 Peace Corps in Africa Peace Corps (U.S.) Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/govpubs-peacecorps-misc peace corps tn <£u rxIbJMF NTS CHALLENGE OF A CONTINENT Week after week, before sun-up and after sun-down, men carefully shaped bricks, cleared land and carved furniture. The women planted flowers and prepared the paint. Even the children helped. They carried water and light tools. Only one person from outside the village worked on this im­portant project. Together with the villagers, a Peace Corps Volunteer helped to build the first school in this community in Malawi, East Africa. This school is very important. With the presence of the Peace Corps Volunteer teacher, it brings modern education and the beginning of a bright new future to the village. For Africa as a continent, the last decade has marked the beginning of a new future. In less than 10 years, many nations have received their independence and begun their modern de­velopment. And to ensure this development, education has as­sumed high national priorities. The reason is simple. Educa­tion is necessary to translate political independence into social and economic progress. In 1961, the first contingent of Peace Corps Volunteer teachers arrived in Ghana. A measure of their effectiveness is that cur­rently, in response to increasing requests for educational aid, there are more than 2,500 Volunteers teaching in elementary and secondary schools, universities and vocational institutes in 19 nations of Africa. With 80 per cent of all Peace Corps Volunteers in Africa teach­ing, their presence has increased student enrollment, expanded school facilities and improved the variety and quality of educa­tion all over the continent. In Cameroon, the Peace Corps has helped double the secon­dary school enrollment and enabled 14 new schools to open. Volunteers are primarily involved in teaching English, math and science. Ethiopia, with more than 500 Peace Corps teachers, has nearly doubled the student body in secondary and vocational schools, teacher training institutes and the university. Volunteer subjects include English, math, science, history, geography, home eco­nomics, business administration, teaching methods and vocational trades. In Gabon, Peace Corps Volunteers are teaching secretarial skills, while in Ghana, Volunteers reach two out of every three secondary school students with courses in math, science and French. In Guinea, Peace Corps teachers of English made it possible for that country to have a wide-spread English teaching program for the first time. Kenya Volunteers have a variety of secondary school subjects including history, biology, chemistry, physics, general science, English, math, home economics and vocational education. In the Ivory Coast, Volunteers are teaching English as a foreign lan­guage. The emphasis of the 320 Volunteers teaching 17,000 students at the elementary and secondary level in Liberia is on English, science, history and math. In Malawi, in 1962, the secondary school enrollment was just over 2,500. In 1965, with 168 Volunteer teachers of English, math, science, history, politics, geography and geology, the stu­dent body has increased to 7,600. On the other side of the continent, in Morocco, Volunteers specialize in teaching English to secondary school students. The number of Peace Corps teachers in Nigeria stands at 548, affecting 50,000 students or more than one-third of all Nigerians enrolled in secondary, university and teacher training schools. Subjects on the secondary school level include English, French, math, history, science, geography and physical education, and on the university level, a similar range. In Senegal, Volunteers concentrate on teaching English, while in Sierra Leone, where the 119 Volunteers comprise 40 per cent of the degree-holding teachers, subjects are English, math, science, history, physical education, art, music, French, and home economics. In Somalia and Tanzania, Volunteers teach secondary school students English, math, science and history. Somalia also has a Peace Corps program in intermediate schools and Tanzania in elementary education. Volunteers in Tunisia and Togo specialize in teaching Eng­lish, while in Uganda, the Peace Corps secondary educa­tion project includes English, math, science and geography. EDUCATION IN AFRICA Facts and figures only begin to reveal the depth of the Peace Corps impact on education in Africa. For each Volunteer is an individual whose background and personality shapes the scope and character of his job. In their methods of instruction, how­ever, Volunteer teachers have made their greatest contribution. They have attempted to teach students to think problems through, not just to memorize faets and rules. "Developing reasoning processes," said Bill Donohoe, a Peace Corps history teacher in Ethiopia, "is hard work, but I felt gratified when my best student said to me at the end of the school year: 'At first, Mr. Donohoe, I didn't like your new method, but now I think it is best. You have forced me to think, and I am glad.'" Peace Corps Volunteer teachers have made other contributions as well. Nigeria's Minister of Education and Economic Develop­ment, Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim, said: "The Volunteers have en­riched life by a wide variety of extracurricular activities. They have organized libraries. They have given radio lessons. They have created science laboratories. They have produced plays. They have led school excursions. They have undertaken re­search in local history. What is more—they have identified themselves with the future progress of their pupils in such a manner that lasting friendships have been formed." THE WHOL STORY Africa needs teachers, but as in all developing areas, there are other needs as well. Six hundred Peace Corps Volunteers are try­ing to fulfill these needs. There are community development workers in Cameroon, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal and Sierra Leone. They are helping the people articulate and solve their own problems through democratic group action. Tangible results of community development take the form of new schools, roads, wells, gardens and latrines. But many Volunteers feel the most important result is a community's realization that it can help itself. Volunteers with experience in agriculture are serving in Cam­eroon, Guinea, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, and Tunisia, to help the people improve soil conservation, crop yields and farm management. In the field of health, Volunteer medical teams including doctors, dentists, registered and licensed practical nurses, X-ray and medical technicians, pharmacists and social workers are serving in Ethiopia, Malawi, Morocco, Tanzania, Togo and Tunisia. Staffing hospitals and clinics, and providing instruction in hygiene, nutrition and sanitation, these teams are battling diseases long considered conquered in the western part of the world. In Cameroon, Ethiopia, Liberia, Malawi and Nigeria, Volun­teers with skills in public, business and education administra­tion are helping to set up school systems, teach management and other business school courses, demonstrate modern public admin­istration techniques and give instruction in hospital management. In Gabon, Guinea, Tanzania and Tunisia, Volunteers are in­volved in public works projects that construct the facilities of modern nations. Architects, engineers, surveyors, general laborers, and machine and motor repairmen are helping to build roads and highways, dams, water supply systems, schools, clinics, libraries, housing and other needed structures. Geologists are working in Ghana and Tanzania to take stock of natural resources and plan proper future resource develop­ment. In Togo, Volunteer fishermen are stocking ponds and introducing new fishing techniques and marketing methods for improved national nutrition and product diversification. In Morocco, 30 home economists are staffing women's centers to improve the country's domestic skills. And in Tunisia, Volun­teer architects are designing new towns and rehabilitating ancient cities. One day in the future, the Peace Corps hopes to work itself out of all jobs in Africa. But until the new nations have suffi­cient trained manpower to meet their own needs, the Peace Corps will continue to play an important role. THIS IS AFRICA Africa is the second largest continent in the world, equal in size to the United States, Europe and China. There are 49 11 countries and colonies in Africa with a population of over 250 million. Modern Africa is considered to have come into being in 1957, when the Gold Coast, now the nation of Ghana, received her independence from Great Britain. That move signified the break­up of the European colonial empires and the subsequent emer­gence and independence of dozens of former colonies. In 1955, independent countries covered only one-fourth of Africa. Today, they occupy almost the entire continent. The diversity of these countries can be measured by their size —from Togo with 21,500 square miles to the 459,180 square miles of Niger, and by their populations—from less than one-half million people in Gabon to 55 million people in Nigeria. In terrain, much of the continent is covered with the grass­lands or savannas that surround the tropical forests of equatorial Africa and occupy two-fifths of the land area. Deserts cover the other major portion of the continent. But the wonder of Africa is the sheer physical contrast, from the arid plains of the Sahara to the snow-capped peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro to the Great Rift Valley to the rain forests of Cameroon and Gabon. Like South America, the climate of Africa is warm, with tem­peratures near the equator averaging 80 degrees. The northern and southern regions have hot summers and mild winters, while in the mountainous areas of East Africa, temperatures are cool and comfortable. Although parts of West Africa receive over 150 inches of annual rainfall, most of the continent is not quite as well watered. Terrain and climate together have induced the majority of Africans to earn their living from agriculture. Three-fourths of the world's supply of cocoa, palm oil and peanuts comes from this continent. Production and variety of food-stuffs will in­crease as more farmers modernize their agricultural methods. The standard of living in Africa will improve also as the methods of mining mineral resources and the processes of manu­facturing are developed. Today, a great source of wealth is Africa's still untapped mineral resources. Her mines produce one-third of the world's gold and 95 per cent of its raw diamonds. Other valuable minerals include copper, cobalt and uranium. English and French are still the academic languages in many of Africa's newly independent countries. Also common, how­ever, are the more than 800 native dialects which are a result of the continent's tribal heritage. A PART OF HISTORY Being a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa is a special expe­rience. Not only will you know new languages, new cultures and new peoples, but you will have had the unique opportunity to learn at first-hand how a colonial past and a new nationalism are shaping the destiny of a vital continent. Africa today is characterized by a creative surging as its peoples strive to find their own talents and traditions. But today's Africa is also hampered by poverty, illiteracy and disease. Volunteers working with the peoples of Africa in classrooms and communities are meeting one of the great historical challenges as they help to shape the future of a continent. Peace Corps Washington, D.C. 20525 Photographs by: Paul Conklin - 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16 Mort Engleherg — 3, 5, 10 15 peace car UNIUERSITV OF MEMPHIS LIBRARIES 3 E1CH Q13T3 3415 

Peace Corps in Africa

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Peace Corps in Africa

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