Peace Corps Host Country Staff: The Life of a Nepali Village Boy
Quite an accomplishment: 30 years of working with and prepping Peace Corps volunteers in Nepal then writing a book in…
He is talented: able to secure work, develop schools, and convince others to aid these selfless efforts, especially in education. And he is responsible: responsible to the farmers in the co-ops he led, responsible to the students he taught, responsible to the volunteers he prepped and supported, and responsible to his family above all. His work touched the lives of thousands.
— Will Newman, former Director, Peace Corps/Nepal.
In this enthralling memoir, Ambika Joshee explains his life experiences through a reflection of his own memories and candid storytelling. Joshee provides a unique perspective into each of his life stages, growing up in a remote village in Nepal and the struggles of his childhood days studying under dim kerosene lamps, looking back at the lessons learned from his mother through the lens of a retired person, understanding the cross-cultural difficulties faced by American Peace Corps volunteers from the perspective of a Nepali national, and going through a PhD program, with a viewpoint of a 74-year-old with a lifetime of experience in education.
He vividly narrates his struggle and eventual success opening a night high school in his village which was much needed for the government employees and farmers of the district. He candidly recounts various stories from his thirty years of experience working for the U.S. Peace Corps in Nepal, including the cultural differences confronted by the volunteers as well as the fresh perspective brought by the volunteers into classrooms of remote villages in Nepal.
Joshee’s quest for knowledge continues in his retired life in this truly inspiring collection of stories with awe, wonder, and honesty.
•
The Life of a Nepali Village Boy
Ambika Mohan Joshee (Peace Corps staff/Nepal 1971–2001)
Peace Corps Writers
June, 2021
267 pages
$24.50 (paperback)
This so important because it comes directly from a Host Country National who has worked with Peace Corps Volunteers and speaks from that experience. Thank you to Peace Corps Writers for publishing this work.
Thank you, Ambika Joshee, for all your service and for writing this book.
Quite an accomplishment: 30 years of working with and prepping Peace Corps volunteers in Nepal then writing a book in English which is probably his second or third language. Inspiring stuff and has me recalling the dedication of all the West African teachers of French who taught us so diligently when we were trainees in Lambarene, Gabon, near the Schweitzer Hospital btw. Nice review!