The Peace Corps: origins and performance in Cameroon

Date

1988-12

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Publisher

Texas Tech University

Abstract

The chapters in this study are both thematically and chronologically arranged. The first two chapters focus on the pragmatic origins of the Peace Corps agency. Chapter three surveys the problems that faced Cameroon after independence and chapter four focuses on the training of the volunteers charged with the responsibility of fulfilling the objectives of the agency listed in the Peace Corps Act in Cameroon. Chapters five and six examine the performance of the volunteers in teaching and community development work in Cameroon. Chapter seven surveys the extracurricular life of the volunteers in that country and chapter eight discusses the perception of Peace Corps services by Cameroonians. The conclusion is a synthesis of the study and also draws the attention of historians to this academic frontier that is lacking in scholarly work.

My hope is that this study will add something new to the interpretations of the Peace Corps agency, demonstrating the agency's importance in post-World War II American foreign policy, and illustrating the rocky path the early Peace Corps volunteers traveled in executing their duties. Finally, the author wishes to encourage other studies of the Peace Corps in action.

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