Christine Palumbo

Peace Corps Response - What is a successful Counterpart? In an article published by Peace Corps (2006), one Volunteer counterpart in Panama declared, “My relationship with them is everything,” when summarizing the many roles he plays with Volunteers in his region. When looking up the definition of  counterpart  I found these two statements resonating with my own experience during my Peace Corps Volunteer service both as a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa and as a Peace Corps Volunteer Response in San Jose, Costa Rica. Those definitions included these elements: 1. a person or thing e qual in value  or measure or force or effect or  significance, and  2. one that serves as a  complement . Hence is my experience working with my African and my Costa Rican counterparts. Them joining me added a significant, measurable effect through successful friendship/relationship building. In Mokanji, Sierra Leone work with my main counterparts supported an English Public Library with book donation