Opinion> Hillary Clinton> Talking It Over 1998 09 16

	1 Jan 2008 Talking It Over EDITORS NOTE: The following column is the first syndicated column written by Hillary Clinton for Creators Syndicate.… Read More.
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Talking It Over

There's a great story about Sargent Shriver, the first director of the Peace Corps: Early on, when the architects of the Peace Corps were deciding how it would be structured, they created an organizational flow chart detailing the hierarchy of the agency. It showed Shriver at the top, with lines leading down through various levels to the bottom, where the word "volunteer" appeared.

When he saw this chart, Shriver immediately turned it upside down so the word "volunteer" was at the top. From that point on, it was clear who mattered most at the Peace Corps. And that's the way it's been ever since.

To Sargent Shriver and the leaders of the agency who have followed him, the Peace Corps has always been about individual volunteers carrying their spirit of service to countries around the world and then returning home to share what they've learned with others.

Sargent Shriver took President Kennedy's vision and turned a bold experiment in public service into a reality. Thirty-five years ago, he told an audience, "Guns won't change the world. Dollar bills won't change the world. Nor will simple goodwill, or even international organizations. What can change the world today is the same thing that has changed it in the past — an idea and the service of dedicated, committed individuals to that idea. The Peace Corps," he said, "is a group of men and women dedicated to an idea."

What Sarge said then, both about our world and about the Peace Corps, still holds true today.

There are 6,500 Peace Corps volunteers serving in 80 countries around the world. One of my favorite parts of traveling abroad is meeting these volunteers. In Asia, in South America and, most recently, in Africa, I've met hundreds of volunteers who convey America's message of hope and progress to individual families, entire communities and even whole countries.

The Peace Corps' new recruitment slogan is "How far are you willing to go to make a difference?" This slogan brings to mind a young volunteer I met in Nepal. She lived in a house without running water or electricity and had walked 10 hours from her remote village to catch a bus that brought her to meet with me. She described her work at a school where nearly all the students were boys — since most girls were still denied schooling and were often married by the age of 12 or 13.

In Ghana, I talked with volunteer Felicia Burzell of Greensboro, N.C., who worked with a group of Ghanaian women in a basket-weaving cooperative.

She helped the women find new markets for their beautiful baskets, which they are now exporting all over the world.

Last year, I met another exceptional volunteer in Tanzania. Trevor Murphy led a class of young girls on a successful climb up Mount Kilimanjaro, a feat that requires enormous amounts of preparation, discipline and courage, and one that few girls in Tanzania ever dream of accomplishing.

The expedition Trevor led captures for me what the Peace Corps does so well — giving people the skills, opportunities and encouragement to reach the top of any mountain on their own.

Peace Corps volunteers like these are truly willing to travel far to make a difference. Sometimes, it seems that the farther they travel — whether it's measured in miles down a dirt road or in distance from their personal comfort zone — the closer they get to what matters in life.

And what matters in life is helping others realize their own power and live up to their own abilities. While each experience is different, every volunteer I've talked with has told me: I learned more than I taught. I received more than I gave.

And, in the process, these volunteers contribute not only to the development of a family, a village or a community but also to a deeper understanding between Americans and the people of other countries.

As I cut the ribbon officially opening the new Peace Corps Building here in Washington this week, I understood that we were dedicating a building that would help enable this country to pursue and expand the extraordinary work of the Peace Corps into the 21st century and meet my husband's goal of 10,000 volunteers by the year 2000. But, perhaps even more importantly, I realized that we were dedicating a building that reflects America's most enduring values: our optimism about the future, the importance of service and the belief that every individual can make a difference.

The work that the Peace Corps is carrying out today has never been more important. We know the forces of globalization can help bring nations together or widen the fault lines that keep us apart. What better time to rekindle the spirit of democracy and promote justice in the farthest corners of the globe? What better time to strengthen our common purpose here at home? What better time to support and strengthen the Peace Corps?

To find out more about Hillary Rodham Clinton and read her past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.