Greetings, Denison Community! My name is Mac Hammett and I am a proud graduate of Denison University in the Class of 2023. I am currently serving with the Peace Corps in South Africa, where I volunteer in the Health Sector and my primary focus is to collaborate with community members on HIV/AIDS-Services at the grassroots level. I have been in South Africa since graduating from Denison and will be completing two-years of service in November of this year, 2025.
Please take a moment to read and learn about the Peace Corps, my service, and an opportunity to connect in December.
A Brief History of the Peace Corps in South Africa
The Peace Corps was formally invited to South Africa by Nelson Mandela’s presidential cabinet in 1995. The original invitation identified projects related to teaching Math and Science as the priority for Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) to support.
Today, PCVs work in the fields of Health and Education with the same method of approach; by serving alongside host-country nationals and local stakeholders to collaboratively address the locally identified priorities of the host-community.
I did not know any of this before coming to South Africa. Honestly, I did not research or learn anything very monumental about the history of South Africa at the beginning of my service journey. I wanted to learn as I immersed myself into my host-community. What I came to find was a beautiful country with an incredibly diverse tapestry of cultural heritage.
My Early Days in South Africa
I was placed to serve at a Drop-In Center (DIC), in rural Limpopo. In accordance with the Department of Social Development, a DIC is a community-based organization where at-risk youth attend afterschool to receive a nutritious meal and day-to-day support. While beneficiaries are at the DIC to eat, Community Caregivers also facilitate Life-Skills classes and engage in 1:1’s. Most of the projects I have contributed to have been based at my host-organization, while other projects have branched out into other areas of my host-community. 
The best projects I have contributed to have been collaborative. It is the Counterparts of PCVs who know the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Needs of the host-community! Together with my Counterparts, we have been able to:
- Conduct Thirty (30) Home-Visits to People Living with HIV Locally
- Survey Hundreds of Community Members in Three (3) Motivational Campaigns for HIV-Testing
- Facilitate Four (4) Workshops in HIV-Service/Psycho-Social Support Delivery for Community Caregivers
- Implement “Shared Reading Time” and “Reading for Comprehension” Tactics with Learners in Grades 2, 3, and 6
- Facilitate After-School Clubs to Empower Youth
- Become Wonderful Friends
Collaborative Projects with My Counterparts
All the ideas and insights for our projects came in random moments while we were simply spending time together. I can give you some examples:
- While walking back to my host-organization from a Home-Visit, it was my Counterpart Makudumela (aka Kate) who decided our Home-Visit project was too small. Kate’s criticism highlighted her interest in expanding beyond the reach of the few homes visited per-week. From a sense of urgency and care for her community, Kate felt inspired to motivate the entire host-community towards HIV/AIDS-Testing/Services. Kate’s passion empowered us to create motivational campaigns that informed, referred, and linked community members to their HIV-Councilor for testing.
- While eating street-food with my Counterpart Mpho (aka Valentia), we reflected on how hard it was to get community members to attend our Life Skills workshops and other projects. Valentia took the insights from our conversation and identified a new direction to apply our enthusiasm. Since we were having a hard time facilitating workshops with the greater-community, Valentia suggested we consider hosting workshops for people who take care of the greater-community. From there we went on to collaboratively facilitate workshops in HIV-Service/Psycho-Social Support delivery for Community Caregivers. We did these workshops alongside local stakeholders, including Social Workers and HIV-Councilors.
These remarkable moments blossomed from small conversations, like seeds sprouting into flowers after being tossed over top soil. With the appropriate attention and nurture, PCVs and Counterparts – together – can turn small ideas into projects that mobilize the community towards their identified priorities. I owe the best of my service to the creativity, diligence, and interest of my Counterparts. All of whom I am grateful to call, “bakgotsi baka” / “my friends”.
Serving with the Peace Corps in South Africa
Peace Corps opens the doors to a plethora of adventures you could never anticipate. Some are small adventures, like learning new languages and meeting new people. There are unbelievably wonderful cultural exchanges that are initiated by being brave and trying to speak to someone’s heart.
Other adventures are enormous, like navigating challenges while hiking 70kms (43miles) down the ‘Wild Coast’ in the Eastern Cape Province. Or having several excited friends pass you the necessary cooking utensils to cook ‘Pap’ as they eagerly assign you the task of providing a satisfactory meal from the fire. Either way, all adventures are welcomed by a Volunteer with excitement and curiosity.
While serving with the Peace Corps in South Africa, I have learned that all adventures, cultural exchanges, and intentional friendships require patience and curiosity. You can gain infinitely by verifying the novel thing you are witnessing by asking a clarifying question to the person standing next to you. I have learned in my service it is best to verify before leaving with an assumption. You never know what dangers might be lingering with your unverified, single story.
Acknowledgments and Looking Forward
Before I close, I wish to give thanks where it is due. Thank you, Peace Corps-South Africa, for the wonderful support provided to PCVs throughout service. And thank you for graciously extending my service as a Volunteer Leader in 2026. I look forward to continuing my service in a new capacity next year.
Thank you, to the Office of Global Programs at Denison, for motivating students to go abroad and gain new experiences. It was my semester in Wales that inspired me to commit myself to the vulnerability of cultural exchange.
And special thanks to the Global Health Department and Department Chair Dr. Rettig, for engaging with me to set-up a campus visit this December. I am eager to connect with students, faculty, and staff and to share stories from my service and answer questions.
Whatever my contributions to the mission of World Peace and Friendship have been, they have been without a doubt the most rewarding – and the hardest – work of my life. I cherish all the challenges conquered, joy shared, and love I have felt while serving with the Peace Corps in South Africa. I am ecstatic to be returning next year to continue my service. But first, I am glad to be going home to visit family and friends… many of whom are Denisonians.
Best,
Mac Hammett, ’23