Musings: Three generations later, Peace Corps still resonates
Arthur Dobrin, a Peace Corps volunteer, addresses coffee union directors in the Kisii region of Kenya in 1965. Credit: Lyn Dobrin
March 1 was the day President John F. Kennedy signed the Peace Corps into existence in 1961, though I suspect that few, even former volunteers, are aware of Peace Corps Day. These volunteers deserve mention.
I volunteered for national service twice: As an Army reservist, I spent six months on active duty and three years attending weekly meetings. After being discharged, my wife, Lyn, and I joined the Peace Corps, spending two years in rural Kenya.
I am glad to have served my country in two capacities, although admittedly grateful that when I was a soldier, the United States wasn’t engaged in a war. But as Peace Corps volunteers, Lyn and I were thrust into the Cold War being played out in East Africa.
The United States was there with the CIA, U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Peace Corps. Russia and later China countered with their own spying apparatus and assistance programs, such as building a large hospital not far from our station.
The Peace Corps office in Nairobi told us to avoid contact with the CIA as it would compromise our programs. We helped peasant farmers with cooperatives and, as Lyn did, establish self-help programs for women.
Did my military service do any good? I don’t know. Did being a Peace Corps volunteer matter? This is easier to measure. Lyn’s women’s group, the first of its kind in the district, was a success. It empowered women and led to one member becoming leader of the national group. Lyn wrote a book of folktales from Kisii still in publication and used throughout the country. We have maintained deep ties to Kenya and have friendships there with people we met nearly three generations ago.
My service presents the two sides of American foreign policy: military power and what is known as soft power. Hard power is more visible with soldiers, sailors, and airmen. Soft power is less apparent, with friendships made and programs designed to help local people with economic and social development.
Kennedy’s call for idealism still resonates with Lyn and me. It is what we try to bring to our local communities, volunteering where we can and receiving nothing in return other than the satisfaction of trying to make a better world.
— Arthur Dobrin, Westbury
WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO JOIN OUR DAILY CONVERSATION. Just go to newsday.com/submitaletter and follow the prompts. Or email your opinion to letters@newsday.com. Submissions should be no more than 200 words. Please provide your full name, hometown, phone number and any relevant expertise or affiliation. Include the headline and date of the article you are responding to. Letters become the property of Newsday and are edited for all media. Due to volume, readers are limited to one letter in print every 45 days. Published letters reflect the ratio received on each topic.
