Let Yourself be Led: A Peace Corps Odyssey

by Michael McQuestion

In the mid-1970s, a primary health care movement arose worldwide under the motto “health by the people,” employing community-based programs that relied on available regional technology. In the Philippine rice farming community of Jamindan, Peace Corps volunteer Leo McClatchy is determined to implement such a program, aided by a benevolent provincial governor, a charismatic physician, local Catholic priests, and grassroots government agency counterparts working with the same poor, rural population. Navigating the unexpected cultural and political challenges, as well as resistance from the formal healthcare system to which he is assigned, Leo gently guides the villages to adopt the program as their own. Meanwhile, Leo slowly begins to disconnect from his previous life and opens his heart to love, as he and his fellow Peace Corps volunteers nurture each other and undertake daring adventures throughout the scenic archipelago. Leo leaves after his two-year service, disheartened by what he feels is an unfulfilled mission, only to discover 35 years later that his work planted a seed for something much greater than he ever imagined.

Kindle Edition

Published November 8, 2023