On March 1, 1961, the
Peace Corps was officially established and the work of international aid by
U.S. volunteers began. Well this means
that just three days ago, its 52nd birthday was celebrated. Go ahead and eat some cake!
In 1960 then-Senator John
F. Kennedy challenged students to serve abroad by living and working in
developing countries around the world.
With this vision stemmed this federal agency.
One of the many unique
features of Peace Corps is given its long life; its mission and goals have
remained the same.
Its purpose? To promote world peace and friendship.
Its three goals? Helping the people of interested countries in
meeting their need for trained men and women.
Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of
peoples served. Helping promote a better
understanding of other peoples n the part of Americans.
Here are some fun numbers
about the current status of Peace Corps, as taken directly from their website.
Total number of PCV’s and
Trainees to date: 210,000+ (And think… You know one!)
Total number of countries
served: 139
Current number of PCV’s
and Trainees: 8,073
Current number of
countries served: 76
Where PCV’s serve: Africa
(43%0, Latin America (21%), Eastern Europe and Central Asia (15%), Asia (10%),
The Caribbean (4%), North Africa and the Middle East (4%), Pacific Islands (3%)
Sectors PCV’s work in:
Education (43%), Health (21%), Community Economic Development (12%),
Environment (12%), Youth Development (6%), Agriculture (4%), Other (2%)
Looking at this, I can
confidently say that I am happy to be apart of an organization with such
altruistic commitments.
Here’s to another 52 years!
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