Just One Small Thing

The other day I had the pleasure of attending an embassy meet-and-greet with Hillary Clinton. As we were waiting for her to arrive, I began chatting with a couple guys from USAID. 

I didn’t catch the one’s country of origin (but from the accent, I surmise he comes from French-speaking Africa). After he learned that we were Peace Corps volunteers, his face lit up and he began this story:

When he was a teenager, a PCV was placed in his village. The volunteer taught science classes at the local high school as well as taught the students to play sports such as basketball and baseball. Because of the PCV’s influence, this man was able to attend university on a basketball scholarship, and, because of the PCV’s passion for teaching biology and chemistry, this man pursued a degree in the sciences. He now has a lucrative position in a US government agency working in the agriculture field. He attributes his success to the support and encouragement he received from this volunteer years ago.

The volunteer probably doesn’t know what a lasting impact he made on this man. The volunteer might even have a cynical perception of the impact of his time there. But at least I can learn from the testimony of this man: We as PCVs don’t change the world. But just one small thing can change someone’s life. 

(posted July 16, 2012)