Sidebar #45 - Peace Corps Site ID & Placements

If you ever wondered if I chose the site in which I serve, although I'm very happy with it, I did not. Peace Corps Volunteers do not get any explicit say in where we are placed, nor do we have any idea where the possible sites are, with limited exceptions (previous sites). Determining where to send volunteers is an art more than a science, and it takes a lot of work. In the case of Youth Development volunteers, like myself, we all work in public education institutions through MEP, the Ministry of Public Education. MEP plays a significant role in determining regions where Youth Development volunteers may be needed the most. Once certain regions are determined, individual communities may request a volunteer. At minimum, there has to be academic institutions willing to welcome a volunteer, and host families willing to house the volunteer as well. From there, Peace Corps meets with teachers, families, and community members to finalize a list of sites. During our training, we had a number of one-on-one conversations with staff to determine our skillset, needs, preferences, and desires for our service. This information was used to help match us to the cadre of sites that Peace Corps staff had compiled. It’s not a perfect science, but they did a great job from my perspective. My Youth Development cohort has yet to lose a volunteer due to resignation, and I believe that is a testament to the effectiveness of their placement process.



Comments

  1. efuscoOctober 1, 2025 at 2:44 PM

    You do get to pick the country you volunteer in though, right? Can you decline a site or request a change?

    ReplyDelete

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