Peace Corp in Tonga

David Rosen spoke to the Bluffton Rotary members on November 14 about his experiences while serving the Peace Corp in Tonga. David elected to serve two tours and chose the South Pacific area. After a three month training program, David was assigned to Tonga, a small monarchy in the South Pacific with a population of only 100,000. David soon learned a new way of life. His assignment was with the local prisons, assisting HR in staff development and working with prisoners for rehabilitation as well as teaching viable job skills. One of the projects David took on while in Tonga was to help bring in books for the local library. Working through his Mother, a librarian in Bluffton, John George and the Bluffton Rotary club, he was able to get books donated to the Library in Tonga, such as occupational training books, like the Time Life "How To" series.

T he Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to 1960, when then Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. From that inspiration grew an agency of the federal government devoted to world peace and friendship. Since that time, more than 190,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have been invited by 139 host countries to work on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation.