Bonny Eagle graduate returns to share Peace Corps experiences
BY NATE BRISLIN
Cori Simmons, a 2010 BEHS graduate, traveled to Togo in July 2015 to become a volunteer representative in the Peace Corps. While thousands of volunteers have visited Togo since the program began there in 1962, Simmons is currently the only volunteer from the state of Maine.
She came to Bonny Eagle High School on Oct. 14 to share some of her experiences with students at two assemblies during the school day. Simmons is a graduate of Suffolk University in Boston. After graduating, she spent a year working for World Vision International, before accepting her 27-month assignment with the Peace Corps.
The Peace Corps, a program created by the United States in 1961, has three goals, according to Simmons.
“[The goals are] to help people of other countries meet the need for trained men and women, to promote a better understanding of Americans among the people we serve, and to promote a better understanding of other people among Americans,” she told the audience.
Simmons projected a map of Africa which gave students a sense of how small this African country (with a population of 7.8 million people) is. Togo gained independence from France in 1960. There are 37 recognized ethnic tribes, and the people of Togo speak more than 50 languages.
According to Simmons, in addition to Christianity and Islam, another popular religion in the region is Animism (the attribution of a soul to plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena).
Togo is a polygamist society, meaning men can have many wives. Togo families are typically large, but the family that hosted Simmonds was smaller than most.
As an agricultural extension volunteer, Simmonds finds herself performing environmental work in what is known to the Peace Corps as the West Africa Food Security Program. She helps to grow better food by using resources that are already present in the country.
Simmons has also worked to bring about gender equality in Togo’s patriarchal society, and participated in projects to educate young girls about sexual harassment while teaching them life skills.
For more information about Simmons’ career and her work in Togo, log onto her blog at www.corimsimmons.wordpress.com.
She came to Bonny Eagle High School on Oct. 14 to share some of her experiences with students at two assemblies during the school day. Simmons is a graduate of Suffolk University in Boston. After graduating, she spent a year working for World Vision International, before accepting her 27-month assignment with the Peace Corps.
The Peace Corps, a program created by the United States in 1961, has three goals, according to Simmons.
“[The goals are] to help people of other countries meet the need for trained men and women, to promote a better understanding of Americans among the people we serve, and to promote a better understanding of other people among Americans,” she told the audience.
Simmons projected a map of Africa which gave students a sense of how small this African country (with a population of 7.8 million people) is. Togo gained independence from France in 1960. There are 37 recognized ethnic tribes, and the people of Togo speak more than 50 languages.
According to Simmons, in addition to Christianity and Islam, another popular religion in the region is Animism (the attribution of a soul to plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena).
Togo is a polygamist society, meaning men can have many wives. Togo families are typically large, but the family that hosted Simmonds was smaller than most.
As an agricultural extension volunteer, Simmonds finds herself performing environmental work in what is known to the Peace Corps as the West Africa Food Security Program. She helps to grow better food by using resources that are already present in the country.
Simmons has also worked to bring about gender equality in Togo’s patriarchal society, and participated in projects to educate young girls about sexual harassment while teaching them life skills.
For more information about Simmons’ career and her work in Togo, log onto her blog at www.corimsimmons.wordpress.com.
