“If I had three minutes to talk to President Biden about the Peace Corps…”
Here’s what eleven former Peace Corps directors would say. To mark the 60th anniversary of the Peace Corps on March 1, University of Wisconsin-Madison hosted a conversation with 11 former Peace Corps directors. Topics ranged across the decades, with a focus on this unprecedented moment — pandemic that led to global evacuation — and an eye toward what Peace Corps can and should do for a changed world. The conversation was moderated by Donna Shalala, former secretary of health and human services and former member of Congress. Shalala served as a Volunteer in Iran 1962–64, when Sargent Shriver was Peace...
Annotation: Changing World — The Globe in 1961, the Year the Peace Corps Was Founded
In 1961, nine countries welcomed the first Peace Corps Volunteers. THE GLOBE IN 1961, the year nine countries welcomed the first Peace Corps Volunteers — and the year after 17 nations in Africa gained independence. For the first Peace Corps programs, demand is strongest for teachers and agricultural workers. Volunteers are urged to embark on their journey in the spirit of learning rather than teaching. To lay the groundwork, Sargent Shriver, the first Director of the Peace Corps, undertakes a round-the-world trip to eight nations from April to May. Photos by Brett Simison. Words by Jake Arce and Steven...
A Plea: End Violence in Tigray
An open letter from 350 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers who have served in Ethiopia and Eritrea — signed by former U.S. ambassadors and more By Jake Arce AS BLOODSHED IN THE TIGRAY REGION of Ethiopia drew toward the end of its third month, more than 350 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and a trio of former U.S. ambassadors issued an appeal to Congress asking for the U.S. to condemn the violence and demanding better humanitarian access, heightened protection of civilians, a U.N. investigation into human rights violations, and the lifting an information blockade. The returned Volunteers were joined by...
1961: Towering Task Edition
A look at the year in which the Peace Corps was founded with great aspirations — and the troubled world into which it emerged. Research and editing by Jake Arce, Orrin Luc, and Steven Boyd Saum Map images throughout from 1966 map of Peace Corps in the World. Courtesy Library of Congress. For the Peace Corps community, 1961 is a year that holds singular significance. It is the year in which the agency was created by executive order; legislation was signed creating congressional authorization and funding for the Peace Corps; and, most important, that the first Volunteers trained and began...
Our Stories are America’s Stories
In Moldova, my work partners and our host family weren’t expecting someone like me. Instead of being young and white, I was older and Asian. And born near Mount Everest. By Champa Jarmul When I was a girl growing up in Nepal, two of my teachers were Peace Corps Volunteers. After I became a teacher myself, I attended a training workshop with another Volunteer. Most important to me was the PCV who taught at our school a few years later. David and I fell in love and got married. More than 35 years later, after our two sons had...
Virtual Volunteering in the Time of COVID-19
The evacuation of Volunteers from around the globe interrupted service everywhere. And while Volunteers have yet to return to the field, last year Peace Corps launched a program for communities and Volunteers to work together — virtually. Six months after Peace Corps evacuated all Volunteers from around the world, 45 returned to service under the aegis of the agency: the inaugural cohort of an 10- to 12-week endeavor christened the Virtual Service Pilot program. They were Volunteers and Response Volunteers and trainees. They partnered with communities in nine countries and areas: Botswana, Colombia, Costa Rica, Eastern Caribbean, Paraguay, Peru, Senegal, South Africa,...
We’ll Always Have Sefrou
Evacuation, some Peace Corps history, and #apush4peace When Coronavirus Unmapped the Peace Corps' Journey Jeffrey Aubuchon (92252 Press) Reviewed by Jake Arce and Steven Boyd Saum In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the unprecedented global evacuation of Peace Corps Volunteers. Jeffrey Aubuchon brings together stories of some evacuees chronicled in WorldView: Chelsea Bajek, who was working with a women’s group in Vanuatu; Jim Damico, evacuated from teaching in Nepal; Benjamin Rietmann, yanked from his work with farmers and young entrepreneurs in Dominican Republic; and Stacie Scott, who left behind the community she was serving as a health volunteer in Mozambique. Aubuchon follows...
Peace Corps Connect 2021: Global Virtual Conference September 23 to 25
We mark 60 years since the founding of the Peace Corps. In addition to joining us for a global conference, take part in pre-conference events beginning September 18, 2021. This year we mark six decades since the founding of the Peace Corps — culminating in an anniversary conference in September 2021. That comes 60 years after President John F. Kennedy signed into law the Peace Corps Act, legislation permanently creating and funding the agency. At this unprecedented moment, we also look to the future of Peace Corps: how the agency needs to transform, and the work it has begun to...
Notable: Policy Lead for the Western Hemisphere. And Buildings of the Earth.
A new role in the Americas for an experienced diplomat. And recognition for a veteran architect whose career has been devoted to changing the way we build — with the goal of making new buildings and renovations carbon neutral by 2030. Photo: Architect Edward Mazria from ArchDaily National Security Council Policy Lead for the Western Hemisphere Juan Gonzalez (Guatemala 2001–04) has taken on responsibilities as Special Assistant to the President and NSC Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere. He served as deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs during the Obama administration. A native of Cartagena, Colombia, he served...
Letters: Readers Respond to the Winter 2021 edition of WorldView
Letters, emails, LinkedIn and Instagram comments, Facebook posts, tweets, and other missives: Readers respond to the stories in words and images in the winter 2021 edition of WorldView. We’re happy to continue the conversation here and on all those nifty social media platforms. One way to write us: worldview@peacecorpsconnect.org Retool, then reengage The pandemic offers a unique opportunity for Peace Corps to critically evaluate programs. It’s tempting to just send back returned Volunteers to previous assignments—and probably easiest from utilizing appropriated funding. But I hope there will be a pause, and a rethinking about how best to use the skills and idealism of some...