The Peace Corps Implements Community Development Projects; It Does Not Promote Trans-humanistic Values

Photo: peacecorps.gov

The post is promoting a hostile narrative and demonizing the volunteers of the US Peace Corps in the country. According to the official website of the Peace Corps, 800 volunteers have worked throughout the country in schools, municipalities, civil society organizations and state institutions in order to help the development of the communities. The post claims that they come to promote transhumanistic and gender values that do not correspond with the activities listed in the annual reports of the Peace Corps

 

We are fact-checking a post on the social network Facebook (screenshot here) stating the following:

American Peace Corps in schools!?!
I can imagine the various sorts of transgender and trans-humanistic “values” they will teach our children – these wannabe volunteers!
Go back to Wyoming, we don’t want you here. Keep your hands off our children!

A photograph of a media article dated 11th September is shared as part of the post under the headline: ”New Group of the American Volunteers in the Peace Corps”.

When accessing the original text (for which the post fact-checked has not included a link), answers can be found to the activities in which the American volunteers of the Peace Corps will be participating in the country.

It is actually the second group of 26 volunteers arriving in North Macedonia. The number of US volunteers interested in coming to the country is growing from one year to another. During their two-year residence in our country, they will work as English language teachers in schools as well as members of community development civil society organizations.

Peace Corps is an American governmental organization that implements its programs in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Local Government and Ministry for Labour and Social Policy.
Volunteers will live and work in the towns and villages throughout Macedonia, learning local languages and becoming acquainted with Macedonian culture. They will start their service in the country in December this year. More than 800 American citizens have worked in North Macedonia since 1996, the article states.

According to the official website of the Peace Corps in the country, 800 volunteers have worked throughout the country in schools, municipalities, civil society organizations, and in state institutions in order to help the development of the communities nationwide.

In the process of researching various opportunities for program development, Government officials from North Macedonia and Peace Corp staff adopted a common decision that educational projects directed towards English language learning, applying interactive teaching methods and using new technologies will meet the requirements for improving English language teaching in the country. In addition, opportunities will be launched to build the capacities of grassroots education, specifies Peace Corps on its website.

In 2005, the Peace Corps in North Macedonia started a community development program in order to help central government institutions, grassroots organizations, and non-governmental organizations build and develop their capacities and to implement sustainable programs and activities. The latest cooperation between the Peace Corps and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy was initiated in 2015. Peace Corps is directing its activities in supporting the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia in its social inclusion efforts and deinstitutionalizing people with special needs. Volunteers are working on the improvement of the skills of local staff through developing programs and activities with both beneficiaries and their parents.

To acknowledge the significant contribution and dedication of the volunteers and staff, the President at the time of the Republic of Macedonia awarded the Peace Corps а medal of merit in 2014. The website of the President of RN Macedonia shows that when President Pendarovski visited the schools, Peace Corps volunteers were present, helping Macedonian pupils learn the English language.

Also in 2013, Peace Corps volunteers were teaching English language to the population in urban and rural communities, thereby cooperating with non-governmental organizations and the local government. During their 11-week training, apart from learning Macedonian and Albanian language, they had the opportunity to teach in local schools and to implement small-scale community development projects. During the training, the volunteers stayed with host families in order to acquire better understanding of the community and the culture in Macedonia and learn the local languages easier. That group had volunteers in the age range of 21 to 72 years old.

In 2022, the annual report of the Peace Corps informs that Memoranda of Understanding were signed with the Red Cross and the Agency for Youth and Sport. Volunteers participated in training related to topics such as: leadership, communication, intercultural dialogue, youth participation and volunteering, as well as professional development and English language-related training.

The goal of the Community Development Project is to support citizens and organizations in North Macedonia to implement sustainable community development efforts that would be inclusive and benefit all categories of citizens. Project activities have been designed to fulfill three main objectives: capacity-building of organizations and social groups to implement identified community needs; improving life skills of young people; and increasing opportunities for active participation in the community, especially among young people. A cleaning-up action on the embankment of Vardar River in the vicinity of City Park in Skopje was also implemented.

The post fact-checked, in fact, shares a narrative that they are coming to promote transhumanistic and gender values which does not correspond at all with the contents of the activities that can be seen from the Peace Corps annual reports.

Transhumanism i.e., the creation of a superman who will evolve beyond current physical and mental limitations with the support of science and technology, is a frequent topic of conspiracy theories and satanization of beneficial activities such as those implemented by the Peace Corps. Transhumanism pays special attention to technology, genetic engineering, information technology, molecular nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence thereby researching possibilities for disease eradication, increasing human intellectual capacities etc. That, however, has nothing to do with the Peace Corps.

The post we are fact-checking is promoting hostile narratives and demonizing the volunteers of US Peace Corps in the country. However, unlike the claims that they are coming to promote transhumanistic and gender values, the American volunteers participate in the Macedonian social fabric – in education, improving conditions for people with special needs, implementing environmental activities, teaching the English language to Macedonian citizens etc.

Due to all of the above-noted facts, we assess this Facebook post as not true.

 

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