No Light. No Water. No Chance.
In rural Ethiopia, miles of rugged terrain born’s survival. The journey to a clinic often happens on foot. It happens in the dark. It happens when every second counts. For many women living in the country’s West Omo Zone and Bench Sheko Zone, access to a clean medical facility or a skilled provider is not a given. Village Health Partnership works where the pavement ends. Our mission is to end maternal and neonatal deaths. We are building the systems that make medicine possible. In 2023, the national maternal mortality rate in Ethiopia was 195 deaths per 100,000 live births. This...
Hard Corps
A Domestic Version of Peace Corps In February 2026, Peace Corps announced the launch of its newest program: The Tech Prosperity Corps. This new service opportunity, which aims to facilitate international development and economic growth in Peace Corps host countries through the adoption of artificial intelligence, marks the latest example of Peace Corps’ continuing legacy today. In the decades since Peace Corps’ founding in 1961, its success has sparked a movement of service-based organizations, many of which have incorporated the word “corps” into their name. The word “corps” itself has long carried associations of shared mission, discipline, and collective identity....
What Does Peace Corps Do for America?
Every Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV)’s experience is unique and challenging. Facing the unknown, learning a language (or two), developing sensitivity to very different cultures, growing new relationships, identifying and completing projects, and overcoming physical difficulties are but a few of the tasks that PCVs face. When they return home, their stories tend to revolve around the experiences they had during their service and the impact they had in the countries they served. But service in the Peace Corps also affects the United States in ways that are equally important to document. The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Archival Project...
A Backpack and a Blog
With the world in political turmoil and questions swirling about the Peace Corps’ future, I decided to embark this past fall on an epic journey to see firsthand what Peace Corps is doing around the globe. It’s been decades since I served Honduras, and I wanted to understand what service looks like today. With my 15-pound backpack in tow, I set out to circle the world and reconnect with the essence of Peace Corps, which I shared on a blog with friends and family. Here are some excerpts from what I found; a Peace Corps that’s still getting the job...
Made in America
Charlie Clifford (Peru 1967–69) is the founder of Tumi Inc., a global travel luggage brand, as well as Roam Luggage. He spoke with WorldView editor Robert Nolan about how Peace Corps helps develop entrepreneurial skills and gives RPCVs the tools and confidence to start their own business ventures. RN: What skills did you learn in Peace Corps that helped you when you embarked on a business career upon your return? CC: I think it takes a certain amount of entrepreneurial DNA to be interested in something like the Peace Corps. Once you’re assigned to a particular location, everything you’ve spent...
“Bigger Than Peace Corps”
California Service Corps is the largest state-based service program in the United States, and the program is on track to place more than 10,000 volunteers across the state in 2025. Indeed, California’s Governor Gavin Newsom proudly calls the program “bigger than the Peace Corps,” a comparison Josh Fryday, chief service officer of California Service Corps, says stems from the inspiration Peace Corps provides as the “gold standard” of American service opportunities. WorldView’s Robert Nolan recently spoke with Fryday about the program, how it might be replicated in other states, and what federal funding cuts to AmeriCorps, which makes up part...
Signal Boost
The digital world is awash in voices seeking monetary reward or improved social status, as the online acronym goes, IRL (in real life). There are, however, some that have dedicated their time, effort, and social media platforms to those who are in most need of the spotlight. Not surprisingly, these voices include several Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. In many ways, social media has transformed how the Peace Corps’ third goal—to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans—is achieved. Storytelling by Volunteers is at the heart of this goal; now, that storytelling is done with...
Garden of Refuge
As part of our commitment to continued service, the Seattle Peace Corps Association (SEAPAX) is partnering with World Relief Western Washington to support a refugee community garden. For the last five years, teams of SEAPAX Volunteers have worked in the garden, clearing weeds in the spring to ready the beds for the planting season and planting cover crops in the fall to prepare them for winter. At the suggestion of refugee and immigrant community members concerned about the lack of access to healthy food, World Relief Resiliency Program created an urban garden in Kent, Washington, in 2017. In transforming a...
Show Up, Stand Up
Dear Peace Corps Community, This issue of WorldView arrives at a worrisome time. As I write, Peace Corps and the values it promotes are under threat like never before, with Peace Corps just the latest government agency to suffer substantial cuts at the behest of the current administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. So far, this has resulted in a roughly 40% reduction in Peace Corps staff at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., and up to a 25% reduction in local staff at some Peace Corps country offices, which is especially troubling. These cuts are currently underway. The...
What the Peace Corps’ 2024 State Rankings Tell Us About American Service, and Why It Still Matters
https://www.peacecorps.gov/about-the-agency/media-center/news/peace-corps-announces-2024-top-volunteer-producing-states/ The Peace Corps has released its 2024 list of the top volunteer-producing states, offering more than just a snapshot of where its recruits come from, it reveals something deeper about the enduring draw of public service and the quiet ways Americans contribute to international peace and prosperity. Leading the list is California, which sent 361 volunteers abroad this year. Not far behind are Texas (181), New York (177), Virginia (172), and Florida (171). The numbers may look small compared to state populations, but the impact of these volunteers on both the communities they serve and on the United States itself...