In our Women’s History Month series, ‘Building Bridges,’ we explore the amazing adventures of women in the Peace Corps who made a big difference by serving. We’re lucky to hear from Emily Becker, who volunteered in Benin from 2012-2014. Emily’s story tells us about why she joined and the special things women bring to the Peace Corps.
1. Introduction:
Can you please introduce yourself and share a bit about your background and why you decided to join the Peace Corps?
My name is Emily, and I was a Peace Corps TEFL Volunteer in Benin from 2012-2014. I joined right after graduating from college because I was looking for a chance to give back before jumping into my career.
2. Motivation and Inspiration:
What inspired you to become a Peace Corps volunteer? Were there specific women who influenced or inspired your decision to join the Peace Corps?
As a recent college graduate, I wasn’t sure exactly what direction my life was going to take yet, but I wanted to feel like I was part of something bigger, and the Peace Corps seemed like a meaningful way to have that experience.
3. Service Experience:
Can you describe your service experience and the type of projects you worked on? How did your gender impact your service experience in the community?
My primary role was to be an English teacher at a public middle school, but I also had an English Club and a Girls Club that morphed into a girls’ soccer team in my second year. There were not a lot of female professionals in the community that my students could look to as role models, so I wanted to work as much as possible to help instill in my female students that they could dream bigger than the traditional gender roles that they were expected to fill.
4. Challenges and Triumphs:
What challenges did you face during your Peace Corps service, especially as a woman, and how did you overcome them? Can you share a particularly rewarding or empowering experience from your time in the Peace Corps?
Benin is a very traditional patriarchal society. The father is seen as the head of the household and is expected to be treated deferentially by all, including eating first by himself before the women and children eat. As a foreigner, I was offered more respect than women in my village; as someone who would describe herself as a feminist, the constraints of this societal structure were extremely frustrating to deal with at times. There was some venting amongst the other female volunteers, but mostly, I dealt with these challenges by hoping that I was teaching and modeling for my female students that it was OK for them to ask for more out of life. One of the most rewarding experiences of my service was organizing a Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) in my second year. To be able to offer a group of girls a few days in a space that was entirely their own was something that felt very valuable to me.
5. Empowerment and Impact:
How do you believe your presence as a female volunteer positively impacted the community? In what ways do you think the Peace Corps empowers women in the communities it serves?
As a woman living by herself and working in a respected position in the community, I think my most important role in the community was showing other people a different version of what being a woman could look like. You can’t be what you don’t see, and I hope that my presence helped other girls see another option of what their future could look like.
6. Cultural Exchange:
How did you navigate cultural differences and gender dynamics during your service? Were there specific cultural aspects related to being a woman that you found particularly interesting or challenging?
I had a male postmate whom I relied on a lot during my service to negotiate Benin’s gender dynamics. He helped me barter at the market and would come with me when I needed to interact with the town elders, as his gender put him in a more respected position than me. It was tough sometimes, but I also felt like it was one of the things that I had to do to ensure my projects were a success.
7. Women’s Empowerment Initiatives:
Were there specific projects or initiatives related to women’s empowerment that you were involved in? How did the local community respond to these initiatives?
In my service, I had a Girls Club at my school and organized a Camp GLOW as well as generally being around and letting my students know, especially my female students, that I was available to them as a resource. One of the most unexpected impacts I think I had on the community was training for a half marathon during my service. Exercise for the sake of exercising is rare in rural Benin; after all, most villagers spend the majority of their time working in the fields. And to see a female running was almost unheard of. Slowly others asked if they could run with me, and by the end of my service, there was a group of men and women consistently running with me.
8. Personal Growth:
In what ways did your Peace Corps service contribute to your personal and professional growth? Did your perception of women’s roles and rights change during your time in the Peace Corps?
My service made me realize the importance of sharing and listening to each other’s stories. While I came from a very different background from the female friends I made in my Peace Corps village, through listening to each other and hearing where each of us was coming from, we found more things that we had in common than differences.
9. Advice for Aspiring Volunteers:
What advice would you give to other women considering joining the Peace Corps? How can future volunteers contribute to women’s empowerment through their service?
Use your service and your role in the community to uplift other professional women in your community and to be a role model for younger girls.
10. Legacy and Impact:
Reflecting on your time in the Peace Corps, what do you hope your legacy will be in the community? How do you believe your service has contributed to the broader narrative of women in history?
I hope that my service, either via the way I was living my life as a young, single professional woman or the girls empowerment programs that I worked on helped to give women and girls in my village another idea of what being a female could look like. If my service nudged at least one more of my female students to dream bigger than she was before, I would consider my service a success.
To help celebrate Women’s History Month, read more amazing stories from just a few of the Women in the Peace Corps in our series “Building Bridges.” You will hear from women who are ‘Returned Peace Corps volunteers, but also women who are currently serving. You can find more here!
The content of this post does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or the Benin Government.
