Anyone who has seen a Volunteer open a letter from home
knows how much support comes from the families of Volunteers. Keeping in touch
during your loved one's two years of service will be important to both of you.
In fact, families and Volunteers are encouraged to stay in touch with each
other. Family members and friends are also welcome to visit a Volunteer overseas.
The following basic information covers communicating both on a regular basis and in the case of an emergency.
Letters and Packages
Before departure, your Volunteer will receive information about how
you can keep in touch during his or her years of service. The instructions
will be tailored to his or her particular country. If you have questions
about communicating with your Volunteer, you may call Peace Corps headquarters
and ask for the Country Desk.
Your instructions will include an address for the initial 10-12 week training
period. After training, you likely will receive new mailing instructions
from your Volunteer.
Please check the guidelines before sending care packages from home. Weight,
content, and customs restrictions will apply. There may also be prohibitions
against sending food items. You should consider carefully before sending
items of great value, too. Please abide by the suggested regulations in order
to prevent the loss or delay of items.
Keep in mind that another country's postal system may take longer to distribute
mail than the United States Postal Service. It is not uncommon for correspondence
to take several weeks for delivery. For this reason, you and your Volunteer
may want to number any letters you both write to keep track of your correspondence.
Phone Calls
Telephone
systems vary from country to country, and both phone systems and access
to a telephone may be different than you are accustomed to in the United
States. Volunteers may have a phone in their home, or they may have to
place calls from their place of work or a public facility. Other Volunteers
make calls from a nearby town or a friend's house.
E-mail
Access
to e-mail is becoming more common but is far from universal. Your Volunteer
may or may not have access to e-mail during his or her service.
The reach
of the Internet around the world is changing rapidly. In some Peace Corps
countries, Internet cafés and computer access are common. In
others, they are rare and expensive. Access may vary widely within
a country, depending on the nature of a Volunteer's assignment and
the community in which the Volunteer lives.
Your Volunteer's Welcome
Book packet will contain more specific guidance for his or her country
of service.
Family Emergencies
Parents should call Peace Corps' Office of Special Services (OSS) at
any time (24/7) if they need to advise their Volunteer of a critical
illness or death of a family member (telephone: 800.424.8580, ext. 1470).
OSS, in coordination with the attending physician, will determine whether
the situation is critical enough to grant the Volunteer special emergency
leave, at government expense, for two weeks. Even if the situation does
not fall under the guidelines for obtaining special emergency leave,
OSS will inform the Country Director so that the information is passed
on to the Volunteer as soon as possible.
Visiting a Volunteer
Family
and friends can make the trip to see a Volunteer in his or her overseas
community. Visiting a Peace Corps Volunteer is one of the most exciting
ways to see and learn about another country's people, cultures, and traditions.
The cost of your vacation travel is your responsibility. The Peace Corps
provides two vacation days to Volunteers for every month of service. |