Adam Plagge program - Romania and the Peace Corp

Adam Plagge spoke about his time in the Peace Corp serving in Romania.

 

Adam had just graduated college in 2001 when he became inspired by a story his aunt told him about her time in the Peace Corp serving a developing country in Africa.  So Adam applied to serve in the Peace Corp himself shortly thereafter.  At the time of application, they told him he would be stationed in a country in Western Asia.  Later he received notice that his country would be Romania.  Adam received three months of Romanian language training by living with a family there and attending classes.  Afterward, he was stationed in a city in northwestern Romania where he wrote grants for funding Romanian improvement projects and taught English to both grade school and college students.  Teaching the college students was a challenge as Peace Corp workers were not allowed to drive, so he had to hitch-hike 45 minutes to and from the college one evening each week.  Toward the end of his service there, his family came to visit him, during which time they toured the country together.

 

Romania is about the size of Iowa and has about the same climate.  Romania has a colorful history of rulers, including Wallachia, Vlad III, or Vlad the Impaler, or Dracula - as legend goes, who was a ruthless ruler, but also consolidated land into the area from then on known as Romania in the 1400s.  In 1989, communist dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu was overthrown after four decades of communist rule by the people of Romania, thereafter starting a republic form of government which elected presidents to lead its country.  This also opened the country to helpful influences like the U.S. Peace Corp. to help educate its people and provide role models for its government and economy.  In various periods from 1967 forward, Romania imposed a tax on childless couples to combat periods of stagnant or declining population growth.  This policy, common to several countries in the region, was proven to be counter-productive as it resulted in a high rate of orphaned children that were mis-cared for by an overloaded system, resulting in developmental issues in those orphaned children that still plagued them into adulthood.

 

The Peace Corps itself was created on an initiative of President John F. Kennedy on 1 March 1961, to promote world peace and friendship between nations. So far 200,000 Americans served as Peace Corps volunteers to promote intercultural understanding between Americans and the citizens of 139 other countries. Today nearly 9,000 volunteers are working in local communities in  77 host countries.  Those serving in the Peace Corp tend to be recent graduates and the retired.  It was obviously a great formative experience for Adam at his relatively young age.  Adam suggests the retired are a very good fit as well because of the lift-time of experiences they can bring with them to the cause.