Peace Corps Volunteers Find a Wired World

cold war សង្គ្រាមត្រជាក់                        back home នៅឯផ្ទះ                take weeks ចំណាយពេលរាប់អាទិត្យ  lost contact with គ្មានការទាក់ទង

these days សព្វថ្ងៃនេះ                           a quick call ហៅមួយភ្លែត         can’t imagine មិនអាចគិតស្មានដល់     used to ធ្លាប់តែ                                                  wireless Internet អ៊ីនធើណិតគ្មានខ្សែ living allowance ប្រាក់បម្រុងសម្រាប់ជីវភាពរស់នៅ

subjects វិស័យ                                      admits ទទួលសារភាព            then នៅពេលនោះ

Next year, the Peace Corps will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. Peace Corps are Americans who teach and work on projects in developing countries.  The United States create the Peace Corps during the cold war with the Soviet Union. Today, technology has changed how the volunteers do their work and stay connected with their friends and family back home. In the early nineteen eighties, Gordy Mengel served in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo. Letters from home would take weeks, or months. As a result, he socialized more with people in the local of community. He lost contact with friends and family back in the States. Today, Gordy Mengel is a Peace Corps programming and training officer in Rwanda. He says these days are different because of the Internet and cell phone service. When volunteers go back to their homes in villages, they can get on Skype or they give a quick call to Mom or Dad back at the home. Sonia Morhange is one of about one hundred Peace Corps volunteers in Rwanda. She talks with a friend in California on Skype, and the Internet calling service. She talks with her mother on the phone and e-mail her father. She says: ” I can’t imagine having been a Peace Corps volunteers in the seventies or the eighties or even the early nineties. I am just so used to everyone having a cell phone that works internationally. I am very, very lucky in the fact that where I live I have wireless Internet that makes it a lot easier.” Peace Corps volunteers receive a living allowance and other benefits in return for twenty- seven months of training service.

John Reddy is the country director in Rwanda. He says fairly easy access to the Internet means that volunteers can do more than just call home. They can research subjects to help their communities. And through the Peace Corps Partnership Program, they can get donations online for their project. But John Reddy admits he sometimes misses the old days, before the Internet and good phone service. He says volunteers has more independence then. You can comment on this story and find other Education Reports online at voaspecialenglish.com You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and iTunes at VOA Learning English.