News
The Sunrise We Carry
By Mike Roman (Kiribati 00-02) Twenty-six years ago, I stepped off a plane in Kiribati with a backpack, a notebook, and no real understanding of how deeply a place could shape a life. I believed I was there to serve. What I did not understand was that I was entering into a relationship, one that would stretch across decades, following me into classrooms, city halls, courtrooms, and conversations about what it means to move, to belong, and to survive in a changing world. In Kiribati, I learned how to live without money. It was also where I learned how people...
FY 2027 U.S. Senate Peace Corps Funding Request
We had a deadline of April 27 for swift, steady action urging Senators to sign the annual Peace Corps funding letter. We had less than one week to ask Senators to sign the funding letter, which was authored this year by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ). See who signed the letter below. The request was $479 million for the Peace Corps in Fiscal Year 2027—an increase from the current funding level of $410 million. The $479 million request is equal to the recommendation made for last fiscal year and matches this cycle's House of Representatives request authored by Representative John Garamendi (D-CA...
Peace Corps Reorganizing to Streamline Operations in Washington, DC
Following extensive dialogue and a period of review with Congress and discussions with the Peace Corps Employees Union, Peace Corps/Washington is preparing for a reorganization of the Washington, DC office. With this reorganization, the agency's intent is to streamline operations to improve communications, responsiveness to country offices, and improve overall efficiencies across the agency. This reorganization will not result in further reductions in workforce. Rather, it is focused on departmental restructuring and reporting streams. One important change is the consolidation of all country post management into a single leadership and operations division, with five geographic units: The Americas: Colombia, Costa Rica,...
The Moment I realized Belonging Isn’t Automatic
By: Jeannette Sanchez, she-hers (Peace Corps Response, Ukraine 13-14, Guyana 14-15, VPPP Moldova 23) I remember standing in a campus space meant for everyone – but it didn’t always feel that way. It was early in my time as a Diversity Center Manager at Normandale Community College. The room was active, full of students moving between conversations, some laughing, others quietly observing. On the surface, it looked like success: engagement, diversity, energy. But as I watched more closely, I noticed something else – patterns of separation. Students are grouped by familiarity. Some lingering at the edges, unsure if they truly...
Returned Peace Corps Volunteers Tell Their Stories at Fordham University
The event took place during Peace Corps Week to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the agency. by Sophie McNamee, Communications Specialist The Peace Corps is proud to highlight a recent event at Fordham University, where returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) shared powerful stories of service and impact across the globe. Hosted by Fordham’s International Political Economy and Development (IPED) program on March 5, the event marked both Peace Corps Week and the organization’s 65th anniversary. Students, faculty and RPCVs came together to reflect on the value of international service, with volunteers sharing experiences from countries including Fiji, Ecuador and Kenya....
In the Village, Everyhing is Free
By Declan Tomlinson (Fiji 2023-2025) BULA!!! In celebration of Earth Month! We are proud to bring to you this story from the beautiful islands of Fiji! I’m sitting inside, eating freshly harvested fruits and vegetables. The kids are playing outside, so I lean close to keep listening to my host-mother. “In town, everything costs money, but here, you can farm cassava or walk to the mango tree. It's all free.” My Fijian village is blessed with a bountiful tropical environment that provides more than enough food for everyone to share. “In the village, everything is free.” This phrase is as...
Representatives in the House Show Bipartisan Support for Funding of the Peace Corps
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 16, 2026 Media Contact: Joe Shaffner, Vice President National Peace Corps Association, [email protected] Washington, DC – Last week, members of the House of Representatives rushed to meet a one week deadline of March 11 to sign on to a letter calling for a Fiscal Year 2027 (FY 27) funding increase for the Peace Corps. Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA and Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) and Delegate Amata Radewagen (R-American Samoa) co-authored the letter addressed to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs — calling for $479 million to be set aside...
From Ukraine to Guatemala: Peace Corps Lessons on Gender Equity
By Helen Petrozzola (Ukraine 98-00) and Sarah Fuhrmann Thorwirth (Guatemala 07-09) Before service, many of us understood gender inequality as an idea—something studied in classrooms, debated in meetings, or addressed through advocacy from afar. We read the statistics, organized campaigns, and spoke about fairness and opportunity. But for Peace Corps Volunteers, those abstract concepts take on a different meaning. They become visible in daily routines, in conversations, in barriers faced and overcome, and in the persistent work of communities striving for change. Across countries, cultures, and sectors, Volunteers encounter how gender shapes access to education, health, economic opportunity, and voice....
TAKE ACTION: Annual Peace Corps Funding Letter Circulating in U.S. House
For more than twenty years, National Peace Corps Association and its advocates have mobilized to support an annual "Dear Colleague" letter that lawmakers in the House of Representatives are asked to sign, requesting strong funding for the Peace Corps. Ever since 1961, often amid uncertainty, division, and conflict, the nearly 250,000 citizens who have served in the Peace Corps have consistently represented fellow citizens around the world and here at home with a standard that is emblematic of the very best that our nation has to offer. Because of this, RPCV Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) and Delegate Amata Radewagen (R-American...
Celebrating 65 years from the field, Kati Cheung: Albania
By Kati Cheung, PCV - Albania Mirëmëngjes, I’m Kati Cheung. I'm a Peace Corps health volunteer serving in Albania. I'm almost halfway through service, which is incredible to me. I feel like I just arrived in Albania, but also that I've experienced more than one year could possibly hold, and that's not to say Peace Corps service is a constant string of big, exciting events. Really, so much of service is actually those quiet moments. It's moments of self-reflection. Quietly sharing coffee when the language barrier is too great and noticing the subtle points of connection happening in my...