[Sten]

She really needs to get to her country and see what her situation is actually going to be. PC assignments range from bamboo huts w/ no running water or electricity (like I lived in for 2 years) to living in a city complete with a telephone.

If she is out in a remote village with a sat phone it will make her extremely popular with the host country nationals and her fellow volunteers.

There are three main criteria when a site is selected and developed for a PC volunteer. 1. Good communications and transportation "infrastructure" for contacting and traveling to the PCHQ. 2. Housing that is safe and sanitary. 3. Availability of food and water.

The Peace Corps had a long set of rules about what a volunteer can and can not do. Near the top of that list was we were not to treat the villagers medically. If a volunteer was caught passing out meds in a village it was cause for immediate administrative separation and a fast trip back to your home of record.

The Peace Corps is fixated on Volunteer safety. In cases of Natural disasters or military/social unrest, PCHQ will pull all of its people to the Capitol and stage them for evac. Medically no expense is spared and if needed people will be medically evaced to the States for treatment.

If she thinks she is going to do medical stuff she should consider treating everyone as if they have HIV. I know 3 volunteers who were med evaced after a bus accident that sprayed them with some blood. All 3 were sent the next day to DC for a month long AZT treatments and weekly aids test. But really all of this will be covered for her in her training.

She is going learn something about the culture and the basics of language, she is going to get safety training. The Peace Corps works very hard to prepare it people for their jobs and life in country.