Reflections from IREX's Returned Peace Corps Volunteers: Kazakhstan

Some of the American, oil-company-based engineers with whom I play basketball in Atyrau, Kazakhstan understand what “Peace Corps” service means—thanks in part to its exceptional reputation and marketing—but have a tougher time understanding IREX’s international development work. “So do you get paid now?” is a question I’ve heard. But really, how much should Peace Corps service and international development differ in the perceptions of others or even me? As I’ve gained more responsibility with IREX over the years, I see that one can lose focus on the humanity of the people we’re assisting if one doesn’t get away from the inbox, staff meetings, and paperwork often enough to get out and understand the problems we’re addressing, seek out success stories firsthand, and personally push an initiative or two. A co-worker advised me during the graveyard shift of a temporary factory job I’d taken during the winter break from university: “When you make it to the corporate office, kid, remember this side of the business. Get out and see it regularly and TALK to the workers doing this kind of [stuff], because it’s the real work.”

As a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) doing grassroots work at a tiny NGO and teaching in a school, I used to question some of the international development folks in their fancy houses in the capital city and imported foods as being out of touch, and maybe I mistook living in more comfort with remaining close enough to sympathize and understand. Sure, I hold onto a few RPCV quirks, such as washing used Ziploc bags and treating a cold with vodka, black pepper, and lemon, but I don’t invite rats to live in my apartment, read by candlelight for weeks at a time, turn the heat and water off for fun, ride in the cheapest train class, or eat noodles with mayo and (the cheapest) ketchup for dinner. These are the tales that captivate people’s attention more than hearing about people or projects. While some of these Peace Corps hardships were tough, I suffered more when saying goodbye to the friends I’d made, failing to engage a classroom or two, and realizing my investments in at the business support center were sabotaged by corruption.

I’ve heard of and seen that PCVs sometimes leave CIS countries more cynical than they were before putting in their two years (or less, as was too often the case in Kazakhstan, where I served from 2000-2002). I get it; I’ve had my own moments of frustration and questioning. But real development work isn’t easy—and neither is making any change anywhere in the world, right?

Without a doubt, I wouldn’t hold my position today with IREX if it weren’t for the Peace Corps experience, which has translated so well to understanding how to take an American idea for a project and make it work locally. I’d hesitate to trade either professional experience, even with my basketball buddies.

Mark Skogen is the Director of the Tech Age Teens Program, Kazakhstan and the Chief of Party for the USAID Promotion of Information and Communication Technology in Turkmenistan Program.