The Rev. Deacon Kevin White, (St. Augustine’s), has been accepted into the Peace Corps and will depart for Morocco on Sept. 8, 2019, to begin training as a Youth Development Specialist volunteer.
Kevin is a graduate of Riverview Gardens Senior High School in St. Louis. He attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois, where he earned a bachelor’s in 1986. White also earned a master’s in health administration in 1989 from Saint Louis University in St. Louis. Prior to joining the Peace Corps, he was a three-time VISTA volunteer and is an Americorps State Alumni.
During the first three months of his service, White will live with a host family in Morocco to become fully immersed in the country’s language and culture. After acquiring the necessary skills to assist his community, Kevin will be sworn into service and assigned to a community in Morocco, where he will live and work for two years with the local people.
“I want to feel that I did my best and there was not one thing that I could have done that I did not do,” said Kevin. “I was attracted to the history of America and Morocco. I was moved by stories of hopeless behaviors of the children of Morocco it reminded me of the times when Americans have been in similar situations and have persevered,” he said.
White will work in cooperation with the local people and partner organizations on sustainable, community-based development projects that improve the lives of people in Morocco and help Deacon Kevin develop leadership, technical and cross-cultural skills that will give him a competitive edge when he returns home. Peace Corps volunteers return from service as global citizens well-positioned for professional opportunities in today’s global job market.
Deacon Kevin joins the 122 Missouri residents currently serving in the Peace Corps and more than 3,593 Missouri residents who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961. The Peace Corps currently has a high need for applicants to fill volunteer programs departing by June 2020. Interested Americans can apply online, by Oct. 1, 2019, for hundreds of available openings in nearly 30 countries worldwide. Volunteers receive a living stipend, extensive language and technical training, and financial benefits including student loan deferment and graduate school fellowships after service. To learn more about how to get involved with the Peace Corps and the benefits of service, connect with a recruiter online or register to attend an event.
About volunteers in Morocco
There are more than 270 volunteers in Morocco working with their communities on projects in youth development. During their service in Morocco, volunteers learn to speak Moroccan Arabic (Darija). Some volunteers also learn to speak local languages, including Tachelhit or Tamzight. More than 5,165 Peace Corps volunteers have served in Morocco since the program was established in 1963.
I’ve known Deacon Kevin for a long time! Wonderful story about his new, upcoming ministry. I’m so very happy for him, but he will be sorely missed!!❤
Wonderful for Kevin and especially those who will meet him on his way, during the ministry in which he has been called and all who work and pray with him.