Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 25, 1990 TAG: 9007240192
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERTA GREEN SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Cooper House in Blacksburg is working with the Soviet Peace Fund in Moscow to sponsor Peacework, the second annual joint U.S.-Soviet volunteer program in developing countries.
"We'll be volunteers on ongoing projects, but our contribution will be tangible. We will accomplish something," said Steven Darr, director of community-college ministries at Cooper House and organizer of this program.
Three of the 12 American student delegates, who will spend a month helping build homes and day-care centers, are students at Virginia Tech. Amy Helm, soon to be a graduate student in forestry, will go to Nicaragua; Carolyn Seaman, who is studying family and child development, and Megan Hughes, a senior in international studies, will go to Mexico.
"I guess I always wanted to work internationally, to get involved in other cultures," Helm said. "I love to travel, and since I've become involved with the Coalition for Justice in Central America, I've learned about the area and gotten a wider idea of community development and community-development projects."
Hughes, a veteran of last year's project, said, "Nicaragua is definitely not like what you read in the papers, see on TV. You see bullet holes in the wall. You see the poverty. You see the economic problems. That's when it hits you."
Although a bit of culture shock is to be expected, Darr emphasizes that the student delegates are selected because of their special knowledge or skills.
"The students are selected competitively on a national basis, and those finally selected do have special qualities: unique areas of study, knowledge of developing countries, related work experience, some experience with international travel," Darr said.
As for the relationship between the Soviet and American students, it's warm and productive, said Darr.
"They're immediate friends, partly due to the kind and caliber of people selected. Yes, they have different languages, backgrounds, and sometimes interests, but they are enthusiastic and motivated, which leads to their immediately overcoming the barriers."
In addition to the student volunteers, both the Soviet and American delegations take faculty members as advisers. Mary Rojas, acting director of Tech's Office of International Development, is going to Nicaragua as both faculty adviser and researcher.
"I'm very interested in the women's associations in Nicaragua. They are models of the revolution in some ways, as shown by the revolutionary slogan, `In constructing the new country, we forge the new woman.'"
Rojas also sees the value of the program for the students involved.
"Students go on these exchange programs and just come back completely different people. They get a new perspective and vision of the world that's just unbeatable."
"I expect this trip to help me understand myself and what my place might be in helping people in unjust situations, living with less than they need to subsist. I also might get new ideas on how I can be involved in my own community."
Communication, understanding and hard work have never been the big problems, said Darr.
"Our biggest problem is underwriting the project. We need a significant amount of support to expand these programs. We're traveling to two countries this year. We'd like to do four next year, and perhaps six to eight in 1992. To do this, we need individuals and organizations willing to help provide the funds to make this possible. The future of the program is contingent on finding support."
by CNB