America needs the Peace Corps more than ever



Poverty is at the root of many world problems. As the United States struggles to address the pressing need for immigration reform at home and respond to the global challenges of religious fundamentalism, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and environmental degradation, it draws on a growing pool of returned Peace Corps volunteers who offer our nation important lessons on how it is to live, as half of the world lives, on $2 a day.

America needs the Peace Corps more than ever

America needs the Peace Corps more than ever

By Maggie Keenan

Published: Wednesday, March 1, 2006

On March 1, 1961, President John Kennedy signed an executive order establishing the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship. Today, at age 45, the United States needs the Peace Corps more than ever.

The Peace Corps has three goals:

1) Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their needs for trained men and women.

2) Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.

3) Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of all Americans.

As the world grows smaller - and as economic, ethnic, cultural and religious divisions become more visible and more violent - the Peace Corps stands out as a government program with the promise of building real peace.

Peace Corps volunteers spend two years in a developing country. They work in such diverse fields as education, health, HIV/AIDS education and prevention, information technology, business development, the environment and agriculture. They get to know citizens of their host countries as colleagues and friends. And they get known as Americans, representing to others our country and our culture.
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At the time of its founding, the Peace Corps offered one of the few ways that Americans could work in a developing country. It remains one of the best. Peace Corps volunteers gain the knowledge, the skills and often the languages necessary to work with people from different cultures. They learn to solve problems in new ways, and most times with few resources. And, as many returned volunteers say, they usually gain more skills than they can offer.

That exchange has made the Peace Corps experience an important source of the compassion and knowledge necessary to make contributions to our own society as well as to work towards world peace.

In 45 years, more than 182,000 U.S. citizens have served as Peace Corps volunteers in 138 countries. They have brought that experience home and can be found in large numbers in many communities.

Lane County is home to hundreds of returned volunteers who are teaching at our local schools, building local businesses and running nonprofit organizations. Eugene's own mayor, Kitty Piercy, was a Peace Corps volunteer teaching elementary school in Asmara, Ethiopia (the present-day Eritrea).

Lane County citizens continue to join the Peace Corps. Among large universities, the University of Oregon ranks sixth in the nation for numbers of volunteers. Seventy-five UO alumni are currently serving overseas.

The local West Cascade Peace Corps Association was founded by returned Peace Corps volunteers in 1980 to "bring the world back home." West Cascade has raised support for many international development projects and in 1990 hosted the largest ever National Peace Corps Association Conference.

West Cascade appreciates Mayor Piercy for proclaiming Feb. 27 through March 5 Peace Corps Week. In her proclamation, Piercy encourages us to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Peace Corps and "reaffirm our country's commitment to helping people help themselves throughout the world."

Poverty is at the root of many world problems. As the United States struggles to address the pressing need for immigration reform at home and respond to the global challenges of religious fundamentalism, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and environmental degradation, it draws on a growing pool of returned Peace Corps volunteers who offer our nation important lessons on how it is to live, as half of the world lives, on $2 a day.

Maggie Keenan serves on the board of directors of the West Cascade Peace Corps Association. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines, from 1987 to 1990. To find out more about Peace Corps, contact pcorps@uoregon.edu or join West Cascade's monthly potluck by contacting brinkman@bigplanet.com.

When this story was posted in March 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

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March 1, 1961: Keeping Kennedy's Promise On March 1, 1961, President John F. Kennedy issues Executive Order #10924, establishing the Peace Corps as a new agency: "Life in the Peace Corps will not be easy. There will be no salary and allowances will be at a level sufficient only to maintain health and meet basic needs. Men and women will be expected to work and live alongside the nationals of the country in which they are stationed--doing the same work, eating the same food, talking the same language. But if the life will not be easy, it will be rich and satisfying. For every young American who participates in the Peace Corps--who works in a foreign land--will know that he or she is sharing in the great common task of bringing to man that decent way of life which is the foundation of freedom and a condition of peace. "

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The Peace Corps Library The Peace Corps Library is now available online with over 40,000 index entries in 500 categories. Looking for a Returned Volunteer? Check our RPCV Directory. New: Sign up to receive PCOL Magazine, our free Monthly Magazine by email. Like to keep up with Peace Corps news as it happens? Sign up to recieve a daily summary of Peace Corps stories from around the world.

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Top Stories: February 2, 2006 Al Kamen writes: Rice to redeploy diplomats 20 Jan Peace Corps mourns the Loss of Volunteer Tessa Horan 1 Feb RPCV pursues dreams in America's Heartland 1 Feb Sargent Shriver documentary to be shown in LA 30 Jan W. Frank Fountain is new board chairman of Africare 27 Jan Abbey Brown writes about acid attacks in Bangladesh 26 Jan Christopher Hill Sees Ray of Hope in N.Korea Standoff 26 Jan Jeffrey Smit writes on one man diplomatic outposts 25 Jan Joe Blatchford's ACCION and microfinance 24 Jan James Rupert writes: A calculated risk in Pakistan 23 Jan Sam Farr rips conservative immigration bill 21 Jan Americans campaign for PC to return to Sierra Leone 20 Jan Kinky Friedman supports Gay Marriage 20 Jan Margaret Krome writes on Women leaders 18 Jan James Walsh leads bipartisan US delegation to Ireland 17 Jan Mark Schneider writes on Elections and Beyond in Haiti 16 Jan Robert Blackwill on a "serious setback" in US-India relations 13 Jan Kevin Quigley writes on PC and U.S. Image Abroad 13 Jan Emily Metzloff rides bicycle 3,100 miles from Honduras 9 Jan Charles Brennick starts operation InterConnection 9 Jan Lee Fisher tells story of Pablo Morillo 7 Jan Nancy Wallace writes: Was PC a CIA front after all? 4 Jan

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Paid Vacations in the Third World? Retired diplomat Peter Rice has written a letter to the Wall Street Journal stating that Peace Corps "is really just a U.S. government program for paid vacations in the Third World." Director Vasquez has responded that "the small stipend volunteers receive during their two years of service is more than returned in the understanding fostered in communities throughout the world and here at home." What do RPCVs think?

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RPCV admits to abuse while in Peace Corps Timothy Ronald Obert has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a minor in Costa Rica while serving there as a Peace Corps volunteer. "The Peace Corps has a zero tolerance policy for misconduct that violates the law or standards of conduct established by the Peace Corps," said Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez. Could inadequate screening have been partly to blame? Mr. Obert's resume, which he had submitted to the Peace Corps in support of his application to become a Peace Corps Volunteer, showed that he had repeatedly sought and obtained positions working with underprivileged children. Read what RPCVs have to say about this case.

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Military Option sparks concerns The U.S. military, struggling to fill its voluntary ranks, is allowing recruits to meet part of their reserve military obligations after active duty by serving in the Peace Corps. Read why there is opposition to the program among RPCVs. Director Vasquez says the agency has a long history of accepting qualified applicants who are in inactive military status. John Coyne says "Not only no, but hell no!" and RPCV Chris Matthews leads the debate on "Hardball." Avi Spiegel says Peace Corps is not the place for soldiers while Coleman McCarthy says to Welcome Soldiers to the Peace Corps. Read our poll results. Latest: Congress passed a bill on December 22 including language to remove Peace Corps from the National Call to Service (NCS) military recruitment program

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Why blurring the lines puts PCVs in danger When the National Call to Service legislation was amended to include Peace Corps in December of 2002, this country had not yet invaded Iraq and was not in prolonged military engagement in the Middle East, as it is now. Read the story of how one volunteer spent three years in captivity from 1976 to 1980 as the hostage of a insurrection group in Colombia in Joanne Marie Roll's op-ed on why this legislation may put soldier/PCVs in the same kind of danger. Latest: Read the ongoing dialog on the subject.

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PC establishes awards for top Volunteers Gaddi H. Vasquez has established the Kennedy Service Awards to honor the hard work and service of two current Peace Corps Volunteers, two returned Peace Corps Volunteers, and two Peace Corps staff members. The award to currently serving volunteers will be based on a demonstration of impact, sustainability, creativity, and catalytic effect. Submit your nominations by December 9.

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Friends of the Peace Corps 170,000 strong 170,000 is a very special number for the RPCV community - it's the number of Volunteers who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961. It's also a number that is very special to us because March is the first month since our founding in January, 2001 that our readership has exceeded 170,000. And while we know that not everyone who comes to this site is an RPCV, they are all "Friends of the Peace Corps." Thanks everybody for making PCOL your source of news for the Returned Volunteer community.

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