Peace Corps is most effective when new volunteers replace old ones, building a legacy of interaction
with the USA in a small community.
My input group had around
70 volunteers because Peace Corps was receiving excellent funding at the time of our
recruitment. Our large group expanded the presence of Peace Corps in Rwanda.
Most of our sites (the villages where we work), had never seen a volunteer
before.
However,
once I was installed at my site, I learned that the input groups of future
years would be smaller, around 20-30 volunteers per year. Some of the sites
which had never seen an American before might not see one again anytime soon,
and their Peace Corps experience would be just another bizarre interruption
from the western world. That is why, until today, volunteers have been waiting
anxiously, hoping to hear that they will receive a replacement at their site.
